[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 137 (Monday, July 19, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41892-41894]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-17487]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

National Institute of Corrections


Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement: Guidebook for Building 
High Performance Correctional Organizations

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 eight-month period to begin in September 
2010. Work under this agreement will continue NIC's High Performance 
Correctional Organizations Project that has been developed over the 
past four years. This project will consolidate the work into a 
guidebook to be placed in the public domain for use by correctional 
administrators.
    The project funded under this cooperative agreement will continue 
and extend the work of Building High Performance Correctional 
Organizations (BHPCO) and other NIC projects.
    Intended outcome: The intended outcome for this project will 
include creating a guidebook for jails, community corrections and 
prisons; developing ways to address agency inefficiencies that result 
from the lack of a holistic and integrated perspective; establishing a 
core set of values or guiding principles that agencies can apply to 
correctional disciplines to enhance business practices; improving 
organizational performance by assessing strengths, weaknesses, 
opportunities, resources and threats; prioritizing goals and 
objectives; and containing costs associated with operating correctional 
agencies and systems.

DATES: Applications must be received by 4 p.m. (EDT) on Monday, August 
2, 2010. Selection of the successful applicant and notification of 
review results will be announced to all applicants by 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: 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 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]. All programmatic 
questions concerning this announcement should be directed to Sherry 
Carroll. She can be reached by calling 1-800-995-6423 ext 0378 or by e-
mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Project Goals: The BHPCO Guidebook is a compendium of advice and 
best practice guidance that inform higher performance in correctional 
institutions. Its intended audience includes managers, executives, 
supervisors, and staff personnel vested in success and continuous 
improvement, contributing to a just and humane society through their 
work in safe, functional, correctional facilities. At a minimum, the 
Guidebook--a series of stand-alone issuances that can be compiled as 
chapters in a larger volume--provides credible, easily accessible 
reference material in a variety of areas in which correctional 
administrators are most vulnerable, where desired and current state 
gaps are at their widest, and where system-wide competency needs are 
defined. Because the variety of institutions is broad and the 
complexity of the myriad systems influencing performance is unique to 
individual cases, material presented in the guide cannot be expected to 
satisfy all end-state situational solutions. Instead, it offers current 
best practice advice, assessment, guidance, learning, and resource 
direction, enabling the foundation of a learning culture and a high 
performance mindset.
    The recipient of the award under this cooperative agreement will: 
(1) Coordinate chapters of the guidebook on leadership, assessments, 
intervention, change management and other related topics; (2) schedule 
and provide logistics for one face-to-face meeting (may also include 
stipend fees) for NIC selected guidebook team members of up to ten 
members; (3) compile an information library of resources and case 
studies from organizations going through organizational change; (4) 
provide the guidebook in hardcopy and electronic Word 2003 or higher 
format; (5) create learning objectives in preparation for a second 
cycle of the guidebook project to train pilot participants on the 
prototype guidebook; (6) refine assessment tools previously developed 
for this project linking assessments to interventions; (7) identify any 
additional information and/or language that will enhance cohesion of 
the guidebook for audience member's consumption; and (8) become 
familiar with Baldrige criteria.
    Background: Through a number of prior cooperative agreements, NIC 
has been developing a definition, identifying characteristics of a high 
performing correctional organization (HPCO) and developing assessment 
tools for an HPCO. During 2006, NIC sponsored a workgroup of subject 
matter experts. The group identified nine categories or core guiding 
principles

[[Page 41893]]

considered as important factors in determining criminal justice system 
performance on the state or local governance level for community 
corrections. Those principles are: (1) Leadership and management 
development, (2) information and knowledge management; (3) 
comprehensive criminal justice planning, (4) offender management, (5) 
collaborative partnerships, (6) organizational development, (7) 
accurate, fair and timely processes, (8) stewardship of public 
resources, and (9) public safety.
    In 2008, the work evolved through a series of interviews, focus 
groups, sites visits, content analyses, and literature reviews. A group 
of roundtable members authored the HPCO definition and created a 
preliminary draft model. The group authored the following definition: 
An HPCO provides public safety through guiding principles, beliefs, 
attitudes, and behaviors that the organization as a whole and each 
member of its workforce embody and promote. An HPCO visibly 
demonstrates alignment in values-oriented mission statements, vision, 
and strategic plans; distributive leadership that actively engages 
performance measures to instigate continuous learning within the work 
force and among partners; diligent stewardship of resources.
    The HPCO realizes it is part of a wider community, which must be 
related to with open communication and transparency.
    Design Preliminary Model: Various models were examined for visual 
appeal, content, and format to be used by the roundtable members to 
serve as examples for the creation of the draft HPCO model. The current 
model is nonlinear, emphasizes nine to ten core values and incorporates 
the Baldrige National Quality Program criteria.
    Required Expertise: Successful applicants should be able to 
demonstrate that they have the organizational capacity to fulfill 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 up to 15 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.
    Funds Available: Up to $100,000 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 
be used only 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 areas described.
    This project will be a collaborative venture with the NIC 
Administration Division. A blog for the project is on NIC's website. 
Literature analysis summaries, meeting reports, the annotated 
bibliography, and a Web-based survey can be found on the blog. Visit 
http://community.nicic.org/blogs/hpco/default.aspx today!
    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:
    Programmatic: 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?
    Organizational: Do the skills, knowledge, and expertise of the 
organization and the proposed project staff demonstrate the high level 
of competency in high performing organizations, culture, Baldrige 
criteria, and change management needed to complete the tasks? Does the 
applicant organization have the necessary experience and organizational 
capacity to complete all eight goals of the project? Are the proposed 
project management and staffing plans realistic and sufficient to 
complete the project within the 8-month timeframe?
    Project Management/Administration: 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: 10M15. 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.

[[Page 41894]]

    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. 2010-17487 Filed 7-16-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-36-M