Notice of Funds Available (RFP) Print Apply for this Grant

Specifications

Purpose

The purpose of this Notice of Funds Available (NoFA) is to solicit proposal from a Program Evaluation Consultant who will work to construct and execute a plan for both process and outcome evaluation across all GCDD activities. The consultant will assist GCDD in ensuring the agency is measuring impact in a way that is meaningful for our consumers and useful for Federal accountability.

Schedule of Events

This Request for Proposals will be governed by the following schedule: 

• Applications Due – February 1, 2023

• Staff Application Review – February 2, 2023 - February 5, 2023 

• Grants Selection Committee Review – February 5, 2023 - February 17, 2023 

• Contract Negotiations and Signed Contracts – February 20, 2023 - February 28, 2023 

• Start Date/Work Begins – March 1, 2023

Restrictions on Communication

All questions about this NoFA must be submitted in the following format: Organization/Individual Name 1. Question Citation of relevant section of the NoFA 2. Question Citation of relevant section of the NoFA Questions must be directed in writing to the Operations & Contracts Director (OCD) Lisa Eaves at: lisa.eaves@gcdd.ga.gov. 

Questions must include the company name and the referenced NoFA section. From the issue date of this NoFA until a contractor is selected and the selection is announced, Applicants are not allowed to communicate for any reason with any State staff except through the OCD, or during the Applicants' conference, or as provided by existing work agreement(s). The State reserves the right to reject the proposal of any Applicant violating this provision. 

All questions concerning this NoFA must be submitted in writing by email to lisa.eaves@gcdd.ga.gov. Only written questions will be accepted (No phone calls please). No response other than written will be binding upon the State. All questions and answers will be responded to via email within 3 business days. Questions and answers will also be posted to the GCDD website: www.gcdd.org.

The DD Council

Scope of Work- Request For Proposals

The Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities is accepting proposals from program evaluation firms and professionals to provide support to the organization members and staff as it relates to programmatic process and outcome evaluation. This will be an 8-month contract, eligible to renewed on an annual basis based on performance and agreement among staff and members that evaluation support is still required.

The Consultant will perform the services and responsibilities as outlined below:

1. Develop a comprehensive evaluation plan that identifies annual process and outcome evaluation activities across all GCDD programs that provides meaningful data to both the consumer (people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families) and our Federal partners. Activities might include:
   1. Describing the programs and processes to be evaluated and developing the evaluation focus
   2. Identifying and collaborating with stakeholders
   3. Selecting models, methods or designs to support the evaluation that uses best practices found in the relevant literature
   4. Devising Data Collection Strategies to Support the Evaluation Questions and Design
   5. Emphasizing evaluation techniques that can be implemented “in-house” (by current GCDD staff) as well as evaluation techniques that may require outside contracting
   6. Ensuring the final evaluation plan is actionable and replicable
2. Execute the developed evaluation plan by evaluating the process and outcomes of GCDD’s current projects. The evaluation of projects should consist of the minimum:
   1. Assisting the projects in improving their operations
   2. Assisting GCDD staff and Council members in determining the success of current projects and making decisions on how best to proceed with future project decisions
   3. Involving community members who are participating or have participated in the projects
   4. Assessing the projects’ processes, specifically how they are implementing the program
   5. Assessing the projects’ outcomes 

Application Submission & Evaluation

The Applicant must submit a complete application in DD Suite which includes a Project Outline, a Project Work Plan and a Project Budget. 

Applications must be submitted online via https://www.ddsuite.org, prior to the published deadline. No hard copies will be accepted. Applicants must have or create a DD Suite user account and an organization account in order to submit an application. Go to https://www.ddsuite.org and click on "HELP TAB" for detailed instructions on creating DD Suite user and organization accounts. (See complete application process and Guide to DD Suite attached).

 Additional Submission Requirements: 

1) Upload of copy of the Federal W-9 (attached to this NoFA) 

2) Please provide at least two professional references who can attest to your abilities and experience in this type of work. (Upload references to your DD Suite application.) 

Each proposal should be prepared simply and economically, avoiding the use of elaborate promotional materials (unless materials have been requested) beyond those sufficient to provide a complete presentation. If supplemental materials are a necessary part of the proposal, the Applicant should reference these materials in the technical proposal, identifying the document(s) and citing the appropriate section and page(s) to be reviewed. 

Any proposal received after the due date and time will not be evaluated.

Evaluation Process 

The evaluation of proposals received on or before the due date and time will be conducted in the following phases. Any proposal received after the due date and time will not be evaluated. 

Administrative Review 

The Operations & Contracts Director will screen each proposal. The screening will consist of: 

(1) determining if the Applicant meets the grant eligibility and submission requirements 

(2) the budget is within the funding limits and includes the required match (if applicable); 

(3) the application is complete and all sections in DD Suite have responses; and

(4) the required W-9 form and additional submissions requests are attached (i.e. references, work samples, and resumes, etc.) 

DD Suite will issue an automatic reply acknowledging receipt of your proposal immediately after successful submission. 

There will be no debriefing for applicants who are not selected. All applicants who respond to this NOFA will be notified of the outcome of their application (awarded, application modifications requested, or denied) by email through DD Suite. 

Proposal Evaluation

The GCDD Chairperson will appoint a selection committee and may consider individuals other than Council member or advisory members. No one may evaluate proposals in which there is, or there is an appearance of, a conflict of interest. They will recuse themselves from all parts of the grant evaluation and award process. The Selection Committee may meet twice within 30 days of proposal due date. Before the first meeting, staff will send proposals and the Solicitation Evaluation Form. 

The first meeting may be either in person or virtual and members will review, rank, and narrow down proposals to the top 2 or 3 for consideration as finalist. Staff will collect and file all completed Solicitation Evaluation Forms. 

Using the Solicitation Evaluation Form, members will identify the most critical factors contributing to the value or success of the proposed solutions to the issues identified. Among the criteria used are the following: 

1. Does the outline clearly state goals and major activities? 

2. Is applicant qualified or experienced to complete the goals and activities? 

3. Does the application satisfactorily describe the impact of activities of the project will have on people with developmental disabilities? 

4. Is each required goal and outcome addressed? Are the goals and outcomes satisfactory? 

5. Does the application adequately describe who will be responsible for each activity and a timeframe for completion? 

6. Is the proposed budget consistent with the goals and activities identified in the project? 

7. Does the budget justification for each item include how amounts were determined? 

8. Does the evaluation plan satisfactorily describe both process and outcomes evaluation approaches? 

The criteria are scored by each member of the selection team and a proposal is eligible to receive a maximum of 1000 points. Each criteria is rated either Exceptional (receives full points), Acceptable (receives half points), Not Acceptable (Receives no points). For example, if the criterion Organizational Ability has a maximum points value of 75. An Exceptional Rating gets 75 points, Acceptable gets 37.5 and Not Acceptable gets 0. If there is more than one proposal, only those that have a score of at least 700 (70% ) will have their applications forwarded to the Council’s Grants Selection Committee. 

Oral Presentations/Interviews GCDD reserves the right to conduct site visits or to invite Applicants to present their proposals between February 5, 2023 to February 17, 2023 at 2 Peachtree Street, 26th Floor, Suite 246, Atlanta GA 30303 or by video conference (Zoom) virtually during this time. 

Financial (Cost) Proposal Evaluation The Successful Applicant will submit a proposed budget for this initiative. The Financial Proposal will provide a 25% match (standard rate in-kind funds) or 10% match (standard poverty rate in-kind funds) to augment the federal grant. The match may be in the form of matching dollars, and/or in-kind costs, on an annual basis. Match funds must be documented by reporting In-Kind costs for each reporting period. In exceptional cases a match is not required and will be listed as $0.00 on the NoFA.

 What kind of things can be considered in-kind match? 

Your in-kind match may include expenses that are: 

• allowable under federal guidelines and GCDD policies; 

• necessary for your project; 

• not paid by federal funds (ours or those of another agency); and 

• not already being used as match for another federal grant. 

Some examples include office space, utilities, volunteer time (including members of your Project Advisory Committee), printing costs, consultants (if not paid through the grant), or staff not paid for through the grant. Applicant should provide a detailed annual plan explaining how it will generate the required match and how much, i.e., the percentage that will be provided. The plan must show in detail what will be done, how it will be done, and what specific commitment the Applicant is willing to make as a match.

NOFA Policies

Rejection of Proposals/Cancellation of NoFA The State reserves the right to reject any or all proposals, to waive any irregularity or informality in a proposal, and to accept or reject any item or combination of items; when to do so would be to the advantage of the State. It is also within the right of the State to reject proposals that do not contain all the elements and information requested in this document. The State reserves the right to cancel this NoFA at any time. The State will not be liable for any cost/losses incurred by the Applicants throughout this process. 

NoFA Amendments 

The State reserves the right to amend this NoFA prior to the proposal due date. All amendments and additional information will be posted to http://ddsuite.org. Applicants are encouraged to check this website frequently. 

Proposal Withdrawal 

A submitted proposal may be withdrawn prior to the due date by a written request to the Operations and Contracts Director. A request to withdraw a proposal must be signed by an authorized individual. 

Cost for Preparing Proposals 

The cost for developing the proposal is the sole responsibility of the Applicant. The State will not provide reimbursement for such costs. 

Conflict of Interest 

If an Applicant has any existing client relationship that involves the State of Georgia, the Applicant must disclose each relationship. 

Reciprocal Preference Law OCGA 50-5-60(b) 

For the purposes of evaluation only, Applicants resident in the State of Georgia will be granted the same preference over Applicants resident in another State in the same manner, on the same basis, and to the same extent that preference is granted in awarding bids for the same goods or services by such other State Applicants resident therein over Applicants resident in the State of Georgia. NOTE: For the purposes of this law, the definition of a resident Applicant is one who maintains a place of business with at least one employee inside the State of Georgia. A post office box address will not satisfy this requirement. 

ADA Guidelines The State of Georgia adheres to the guidelines set forth in the Americans with Disabilities Act. Applicants should contact the Operations and Contracts Director at least 48 hours in advance if they require special arrangements when attending the Applicant's Conference. The Georgia Relay Center at 1-800-255-0056 (TDD Only) or 1-800-255-0135 (Voice) will relay messages, in strict confidence, for the speech and hearing impaired.