[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 7, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39042-39044]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-16428]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
National Institute of Corrections
Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement: The Norval Morris
Project Implementation Phase
AGENCY: National Institute of Corrections, U.S. Department of Justice.
ACTION: Solicitation for Cooperative Agreement.
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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is soliciting
proposals from organizations, groups, or individuals to enter into a
cooperative agreement for an 18-month period to begin in September
2010. Work under this agreement will continue NIC's Norval Morris
Project by selecting two sites and testing implementation of the
concepts and strategies that have been developed over the last four
years. The Norval Morris Project is designed to develop models and
execute strategies for expediting the application of research-based
innovations by addressing specific topics of vital concern to the field
of corrections.
The project funded under this cooperative agreement will continue
and extend the work of the Norval Morris Project and other NIC projects
by assisting in the planning and execution of an implementation effort
with two selected agencies to address the dual issues of population
management and workforce alignment.
DATES: Applications must be received by 4 p.m. (EDT) on Friday, July
30, 2010. Selection of the successful applicant and notification of
review results to all applicants: September 30, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Mailed applications must be sent to Director, National
Institute of Corrections, 320 First Street, NW., Room 5007, Washington,
DC 20534. Applicants are encouraged to use Federal Express, UPS, or
similar service to ensure delivery by the due date.
Hand delivered applications should be brought to 500 First Street,
NW., Washington, DC 20534. At the front desk, call (202) 307-3106,
extension 0 for pickup. Faxed or e-mailed applications will not be
accepted. Electronic applications can be submitted only via http://www.grants.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of this announcement and the
required application forms can be downloaded from the NIC Web site at
http://www.nicic.gov/cooperativeagreements.
All technical or programmatic questions concerning this
announcement should be directed to Pamela Davison. She can be reached
by calling 1-800-995-6423 ext 0484 or by e-mail at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Project Goals: The recipient of the award under this cooperative
agreement will (1) participate in the implementation planning process
by attending 5 meetings, including two meetings at NIC in Washington,
DC, two meetings at NIC in Aurora, CO, and the Keystone Group in late
September 2010 at a location in Maryland; (2) participate in refining
the NIC draft implementation model that includes the full life cycle
from preassessment through sustainability and evaluation and
incorporates past work of the Norval Morris and other NIC sponsored
projects on organizational culture and performance, implementing
evidence based practices, and evidence-based decision making; (3)
assist NIC in selecting two sites for the intervention test, including
assessing readiness for change; (4) assist each site, in concert with
NIC, in developing and executing a plan to address issues of population
management and workforce alignment; (5) participate in NIC's evaluation
of the project to measure the effectiveness of the implementation phase
of the Norval Morris Project.
Background: The Norval Morris project is dedicated to the memory of
[[Page 39043]]
Dr. Norval Morris, who was instrumental in founding NIC and remained a
guiding influence as a charter member of the NIC Advisory Board until
he passed away in 2004. It was established as an open-ended commitment
by NIC to locate innovative, evidence-based approaches, evaluate their
potential to inform correctional policy and practice, create
opportunities to test these innovations in correctional settings, and
develop and evaluate new strategies for the dissemination and
application of this knowledge. The project has sought to continue the
spirit of Morris' work and his belief that the corrections field could
make more effective use of research in solving practical problems.
Through a number of prior cooperative agreements, NIC has been
developing a model designed to provide correctional agencies with a
step-by-step approach to promote systemic change in an agency by
addressing concrete problems such as population management and
workforce alignment. The Norval Morris Project was designed from its
inception to bring together people both inside and outside the
corrections field to develop interdisciplinary approaches and draw on
professional networks that cut across academic, private sector, and
public sector boundaries. Such an expansive vision required a steering
group to ``kick start'' the search for innovations. Because this
group's responsibility was essential for creating and maintaining the
project's overarching vision, it was called the Keystone Group.
The first Keystone Group meeting took place in September 2008. It
involved 19 thought leaders--half of them corrections practitioners--
plus NIC senior staff and project staff. The retreat itself was
designed to be emergent, without preset limits on the group's scope of
work, design, or strategy. The group's function was to identify
emerging topics and knowledge which could be imported into the
corrections field, advise the project on how best to translate this
knowledge to inform correctional practice, and assist the project in
designing an implementation strategy.
During the Keystone Group's 2008 meeting, the following two
provocative questions were developed: ``How can we transform
correctional leadership and the workforce in ways that empower staff to
reduce recidivism and promote prevention?'' and ``How can we safely and
systematically reduce the correctional population by half in eight
years?'' The next step of the process, which began immediately after
the Keystone Group meeting, was to begin to assemble Topic Teams.
Structured similarly to the Keystone Group, Topic Teams functioned
as standalone working groups and focused on the two topic areas the
Keystone Group identified. An ``invitation'' to participate in the
process was sent to a broad audience, seeking people interested in
participating in a Topic Team. During most of 2009, working through
conference calls and online meetings, the teams continued to develop,
refine, and expand on the topics. In September 2009, the two topic
teams met to finalize their work to pass back to the Keystone Group the
material they had developed. In November 2009, a second meeting of the
Keystone Group took place with 16 members attending. The group met to
follow up on the Topic Team meetings held the previous month with the
goal of providing direction on how the project should proceed on the
twin issues of correctional population reduction and workforce
alignment. Their mission was to discuss these areas and the action
plans that were created by the Topic Teams. They concluded by
determining the top strategies for Population Reduction and strategies
for Workforce Transformation. Based on the discussions of the second
meeting of the Keystone Group, NIC and project staff have continued the
conversation with group members and others. A third meeting of the
Keystone Group will take place in September 2010 to review the
project's progress, refine its products, and advise NIC on the
implementation phase.
Among the products being developed under an existing cooperative
agreement are materials for use during the implementation phase to be
funded through this solicitation. They will be designed to provide
concrete and practical strategies to the field that, based on what we
know, will have an impact. They will be designed to provide practical
and specific strategies for planning, implementing, and sustaining
changes and be presented in a structured format. The intent is to
provide packages of materials with ``off-the-shelf'' modules that
agencies can use to develop workable solutions. These products,
together with others to be developed as part of the cooperative
agreement funded through this solicitation, will be used to assist two
agencies in planning, implementing, and sustaining strategies and
policies to manage correctional populations and align the workforce
with changing agency missions and needs. NIC will select the test sites
with the assistance of the recipient and other project partners. The
recipient will also participate in an evaluation to track the success
of the overall project.
For more information on the Norval Morris Project, visit http://www.nicic.gov/Norval. For additional resources, go to: http://www.nicic.gov.
Required Expertise: Successful applicants should be able to
demonstrate that they have the organizational capacity to carry out all
the goals of the project, including experience in organizing and
providing ongoing support for complex, multi-year projects, extensive
experience in correctional policy and practice, and a record of success
in working with correctional agencies on implementation, organizational
development, or technical assistance projects. Preference will also be
given to applicants with a record of working with interdisciplinary
teams in a variety of fields beyond corrections.
Application Requirements: Applications should be concisely written,
typed double spaced and reference the ``NIC Opportunity Number'' and
Title provided in this announcement. Please limit the program narrative
text to 25 double spaced pages, exclusive of resumes and summaries of
experience (do not submit full curriculum vitae). The application
package must include a cover letter that identifies the audit agency
responsible for the applicant's financial accounts as well as the audit
period or fiscal year that the applicant operates under (e.g., January
1 through December 31), a program narrative responding to the
requirements in this announcement, a description of the qualifications
of the applicant(s), an outline explaining projected costs, and the
following forms: OMB Standard Form 424, Application for Federal
Assistance; OMB Standard Form 424A, Budget Information--Non
Construction Programs; OMB Standard Form 424B, Assurances--Non
Construction Programs (these forms are available at http://www.grants.gov); and DOJ/NIC Certification Regarding Lobbying;
Debarment, Suspension and Other Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free
Workplace Requirements (available at http://www.nicic.org/Downloads/PDF/certif-frm.pdf).
Applications may be submitted in hard copy, or electronically via
http://www.grants.gov. If submitted in hard copy, there needs to be an
unbound original and three copies of the full proposal (program and
budget narratives, application forms and assurances). The original
should have the applicant's signature in blue ink.
Authority: Public Law 93-415.
[[Page 39044]]
Funds Available: Up to $180,000 is available for this project,
subject to available funding, but preference will be given to
applicants who provide the most cost efficient solutions in
accomplishing the scope of work. Determination will be made based on
best value to the Government, not necessarily the lowest bid. Funds may
only be used for the activities that are directly related to the
project.
Eligibility of Applicants: An eligible applicant is any public or
private agency, educational institution, organization, individual, or
team with expertise in the described areas.
This project will be a collaborative venture with the NIC Research
and Evaluation Division.
Review Considerations: Applications received under this
announcement will be subject to the NIC Review Process. The criteria
for the evaluation of each application will be as follows: 1.
Programmatic (40%). Are all of the tasks adequately discussed? Is there
a clear statement of how each of the tasks will be accomplished,
including the staffing, resources, and strategies to be employed? Are
there any innovative approaches, techniques, or design aspects proposed
that will enhance the project? 2. Organizational (35%). Do the skills,
knowledge, and expertise of the organization and the proposed project
staff demonstrate a high level of competency to carry out the tasks?
Does the applicant organization have the necessary experience and
organizational capacity to carry out all five goals of the project? Are
the proposed project management and staffing plans realistic and
sufficient to complete the project within the 18-month timeframe? 3.
Project Management/Administration (25%). Does the applicant identify
reasonable objectives, milestones, and measures to track progress? If
consultants and/or partnerships are proposed, is there a reasonable
justification for their inclusion in the project and a clear structure
to ensure effective coordination? Is the proposed budget realistic,
does it provide sufficient cost detail/narrative, and does it represent
good value relative to the anticipated results?
Note: NIC will NOT award a cooperative agreement to an
applicant who does not have a Dun and Bradstreet Database Universal
Number (DUNS) and is not registered in the Central Contractor
Registry (CCR).
A DUNS number can be received at no cost by calling the dedicated
toll-free DUNS number request line at 1-800-333-0505 (if you are a sole
proprietor, you would dial 1-866-705-5711 and select option 1).
Registration in the CCR can be done online at the CCR Web site:
http://www.ccr.gov. A CCR Handbook and work sheet can also be reviewed
at the Web site.
Number of Awards: One.
NIC Opportunity Number: 10PEI38. This number should appear as a
reference line in the cover letter, where the opportunity number is
requested on the Standard Form 424, and outside of the envelope in
which the application is sent.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 16.602.
Executive Order 12372: This program is not subject to the
provisions of Executive Order 12372.
Morris L. Thigpen,
Director, National Institute of Corrections.
[FR Doc. 2010-16428 Filed 7-6-10; 8:45 am]
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