Request For Proposals

Development of a Local Public Health Education/Advocacy Platform For MACHO

October 21, 2015

  1. INTRODUCTION

The Maryland Association of County Health Officers (MACHO) is seeking proposals from qualified firms to provide certain public health education and advocacy support at the best value to the Association. This request for proposal contains background information on MACHO and specific information that must be included in the proposals submitted. The proposals must be submitted by no later than 5 pm, November 18, 2015 directly to the MACHO office at the following address:

MACHO

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

615 N. Wolfe Street, W 1504 – C

Baltimore, Maryland 21205

ATTN: Ruth Maiorana, Executive Director

  1. BACKGROUND

MACHO is a non-profit professional association for the twenty-three Health Officers who lead the state’s twenty-four local health departments (LHDs). Its members meet regularly to discuss, promote and work collectively to address the policy and legislative concerns of the local public health community and the administration of LHDs across Maryland. MACHO’s mission is to promote, protect and improve the health and well-being of all Maryland residents through an effective statewide system of local health departments. It carries out this mission in the following ways:

  • Advocate for local health needs at the state and federal level
  • Protect the health and safety of the public in any public health threat or crisis
  • Promote public health education and healthful lifestyles
  • Identify and eliminate economic, racial and ethnic disparities in health status
  • Collaborate with public health providers at the local, state and federal level to design and implement effective public health policy, and
  • Draft and support public health legislation that benefits the health and well-being of the residents of Maryland.

Maryland is one of the few states in the nation that has a LHD in every jurisdiction. Each of these 24 LHDs is under the administration of an appointed local Health Officer who is responsible for addressing the distinct public health needs in that city or county. The Health Officers work closely with the Secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene to whom they report, to serve Marylanders on a variety of public health and safety related issues. MACHO also works with many partners at the local, state and federal levels to carry out the public health mission.

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615 North Wolfe Street, Room W 1504 C

Baltimore, Maryland 21205

410-614-6891 • Fax 410-614-7642

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The association has 501 c (6) corporate status and is tax exempt.

MACHO is an affiliate of the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) and of the National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO). It also has a contractual agreement with Johns Hopkins University for the provision of administrative support of the association.

  1. THE PROJECT DESCRIPTION & SCOPE OF WORK

SCOPE OF WORK
Project Description / Assist MACHO in developing an education/advocacy platform that describes the role of local Health Officers and local public health departments (LHDs) in Maryland, LHD funding, the value and impact of LHD services, and key public health issues, provide guidance and training to MACHO on effective methods, strategies, key target audiences, and delivery timelines, and assist MACHO with designing evaluation methods to measure effectiveness of platform implementation.
Key Tasks / The contractor will:
  • Meet with MACHO leadership to review work plan and strategies.
  • Conduct interviews with Health Officers, the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo), and other key stakeholders (such as the National Association of City and County Health Officers, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, etc.) to gather input.
  • Review materials and documents that will be made available by MACHO and conduct additional research as needed.
  • Develop an education/advocacy platform that clearly explains the role and value of LHDs, sources of LHD funding, relevant historical detail, and the effects of budget cuts on LHDs and their ability to deliver services, and consists of the following components:
Identification of key stakeholder groups who should receive the education/advocacy messages
Key messages targeted to specific audiences (i.e. legislators, Executive Branch, etc.)
Communication tools (fact sheets, graphics, etc.) that include the key messages and are targeted to specific audiences
Plan for delivery of messages to specific target audiences with supporting timeline for delivery
Guidance and training to MACHO on how to effectively deliver messages and engage key decision makers
Strategies to measure effectiveness of platform implementation
  • Meet with MACHO at least once before the 2016 legislative session, once during the session and once after the session to identify priorities, discuss progress, and assess impact.

Timeframe / November 2015 – November 2016
Specific timetables for delivery of key tasks to be negotiated with selected vendor before project begins.
Selected vendor will be expected to provide a specific work plan and timeline that describes what and who they will meet with, specific deliverables, due dates, and so forth, within two weeks of initial meeting with MACHO leadership.
  1. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

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The proposal should contain two separate documents: Part I: Technical Proposal and Part II: Budget Proposal, each clearly and separately packaged. The following items should be clearly and specifically addressed in the two-part proposal submitted and must reference each item number:

Part I: Technical Proposal

  1. Company Information
  2. Name of company
  3. Location of company and primary address
  4. Type of company
  5. Vision and mission of company
  6. Year organized/established
  7. Number of current clients
  8. Type of clientele (defined by industry)
  9. Number of staff
  1. Qualifications of Company and Ability to Provide Local Public Health Education/Advocacy Platform Services

2.1Names, titles and qualifications of principals and professional staff who will be directly responsible for this project (may also include bios for relevant staff as attachments to the Technical Proposal but not instead of information to be included in 2.1)

2.2Number of years of experience in providing education and advocacy platform development or other similar type work

2.3Number of years of experience in providing services to public health groups, associations, entities, etc. and/or of public health experience as a company and of individual staff who will be directly responsible for this project

2.4Description of the company’s customer service philosophy

  1. Relevant Experience with Other Similar Non-For-Profit Associations
  2. Provide 3 specific references that MACHO may contact: include organization name, type of organization, primary address and primary contact information (individual’s name, title, phone number, and email address) for each. MACHO recommends including clients who are most similar to MACHO in type and size of organization for whom the company provided similar services.
  1. Other Services and Additional Information

4.1Description of any alternative or additional services that the company is capable of providing that might be of benefit to MACHO.

4.2Explanation of experience in providing the alternative or additional services

4.3Examples of relevant work

  1. Company Signature

5.1Signature of a representative authorized to commit the company’s services and staff for the project and date of signature

Part II: Budget Proposal

The total budget proposal submitted may not exceed $20,000. Each fee should be easily understood. A brief narrative should be provided where needed.

  1. Fees
  2. For each service to be provided itemize all fees associated with the provision of that service
  3. Include hourly rates for assigned staff and estimated total number of hours for the entire project
  4. Signature

2.1Signature of a representative authorized to commit the company’s services and staff for the project and date of signature

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  1. REVIEW CRITERIA, SELECTION PROCESS AND TIMETABLE

Each proposal submitted by the deadline will be reviewed to determine if each proposal requirement listed above has been provided. Complete proposals will then be evaluated based on ability to provide the requested services under the Project Description & Scope of Work in the requested timeline in the most effective and economic way. Preference points will be given to applicants with public health experience. Applicants whose proposals are selected for further consideration may be asked to make a personal presentation to the association and/or answer additional questions in advance of the final selection.

Proposals should be submitted and received by MACHO by no later than 5 pm, November 18, 2015 to MACHO, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, W 1504-C, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, ATTN: Ruth Maiorana, Executive Director. [in person delivery, mail, or email]. Email address: .

MACHO will make every effort to have a candidate selected by the end of November 2015 and would expect the work to begin at the earliest possible date following notification of selection.

  1. MACHO CONTACT INFORMATION

All inquiries should be directed to:

Ruth Maiorana, Executive Director, Maryland Association of County Health Officers, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, W 1504-C, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, 410-614-6891, .