[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 146 (Monday, July 30, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44674-44675]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-18465]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

National Institute of Corrections


Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement--National Institute of 
Corrections Inaugural Virtual Conference: Event Planning and Delivery

AGENCY: National Institute of Corrections, U.S. Department of Justice.

ACTION: Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement.

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SUMMARY: The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is soliciting 
proposals from organizations, companies, or agencies to enter into a 
cooperative agreement for a 9-month project period for the design, 
scheduling, promotion, production, and delivery of an NIC Virtual 
Conference entitled ``Handcuff Key to Door Key: A Systems Approach to 
Re-Entry.''

DATES: Applications must be received by 4:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, 
August 8, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Applicants are encouraged to submit their proposals 
electronically via http://www.grants.gov. Mailed applications must be 
sent to: Director, National Institute of Corrections, 320 First Street 
NW., Room 5002, Washington, DC 20534. If submitted in hard copy, there 
must be an original and three unbound copies of the full proposal. The 
original should have the applicant's signature in blue ink. Applicants 
are encouraged to use Federal Express, UPS, or similar service to 
ensure delivery by the due date. Faxed applications will not be 
accepted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of this announcement can be 
downloaded from the NIC Web site at www.nicic.gov. All technical or 
programmatic questions concerning this announcement should be directed 
to Bernie Iszler, Correctional Program Specialist, National Institute 
of Corrections. She can be reached by calling 303-338-6618 or by email 
at [email protected]. All questions, answers, and additional information 
on this solicitation will be posted on NIC's Web site at www.nicic.gov 
for public review (the names of those submitting questions will not be 
posted). The Web site will be updated regularly and postings will 
remain on the Web site until the closing date of this cooperative 
agreement solicitation. Only questions received by 12:00 p.m. (EDT) on 
August 3, 2012 will be posted on the NIC Web site.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background: The National Institute of 
Corrections has been providing technical assistance, training, and 
information to the corrections field since 1974 by using a variety of 
delivery strategies, including networks, Web sites, and other outreach 
tools. As information technology has advanced, NIC has adopted the use 
of synchronous and asynchronous learning platforms, electronic 
networks, e-newsletters, and soon-to-be-added NIC mobile applications 
(e.g., smart phone apps). The Inaugural Virtual Conference is another 
step NIC is taking in using new technologies to deliver services to the 
field as effectively and efficiently as possible. The National 
Institute of Corrections target date for hosting its Inaugural Virtual 
Conference is April 2013. Titled ``Handcuff Key to Door Key: A Systems 
Approach to Re-Entry,'' the conference will cater to criminal justice 
and corrections professionals, service providers, and stakeholders in 
the field of corrections. NIC staff and corrections subject matter 
experts will be providing the content for the virtual conference. NIC 
is seeking to produce a half-day virtual conference (approximately 5 
hours in length) that will include (1) a fully branded convention 
center with a video greeting; (2) Virtual exhibit hall with scheduled 
live staff interaction (staff from all NIC divisions); (3) Auditorium 
with live and/or prerecorded keynote speakers and other presenters; (4) 
Resource center with downloadable content including white papers, NIC 
documents, and links in formats including but not limited to .pdf, 
.doc, .ppt, and .wmv; (5) Communications center with networking 
opportunities, scheduled discussions, group chat, and forums; and (6) 
Workshops with live and prerecorded presentations.
    Scope of Work: The goals and tasks of this work will include (1) a 
program manager, a team of event facilitators, and support personnel to 
manage the virtual conference through design, scheduling, promotion, 
and delivery; (2) In-studio and/or onsite production staff to create 
and capture video greetings and workshop sessions; (3) Technical and 
streaming expertise in delivering content; (4) Event scheduling 
expertise; (5) Expertise in best practices and communication tips for 
presenters; (6) Chat-based and phone-based technical support for the 
event. Proposals will outline in a project plan a detailed chart and 
description of a project management structure and team roles, a task 
plan that addresses the planning phase with specific deliverables, 
delivery phase with specific deliverables, and post conference phase 
with specific deliverables. In all phases of the project planning, 
development, and delivery, NIC involvement and approval benchmarks will 
be included in the overarching project plan.
    The deliverables for this project include (1) a fully branded 
convention center with a video greeting; (2) Virtual exhibit hall with 
scheduled live staff interaction (staff from all NIC divisions); (3) 
Auditorium with live and/or prerecorded keynote speakers and other 
presenters; (4) Resource center with downloadable content including NIC 
documents and links in formats including .pdf, .doc, .ppt, and wmv; (5) 
Communications center with networking opportunities, scheduled 
discussions, group chat, and forums; (6) Workshops with live and 
prerecorded presentations; (7) Post-conference reports outlining 
lessons learned (both technical and programmatic); and (8) Registration 
of attendees and metrics of attendees (e.g., number of hours of 
attendance per attendee).
    Specific Requirements: Requirements include event platform product 
and technical expertise in virtual conference event planning, 
scheduling, promotion, and delivery.
    Document Requirements: Documents or other media produced under this 
award must follow these guidelines: Prior to the preparation of the 
final draft of any document or other media, the awardee must consult 
with NIC's writer/editor concerning the acceptable formats for 
manuscript submissions and the technical specifications for electronic 
media. The awardee must follow the guidelines listed herein, as well as

[[Page 44675]]

follow (1) the Guidelines for Preparing and Submitting Manuscripts for 
Publication as found in the ``General Guidelines for Cooperative 
Agreements,'' which can be found on our Web site at www.nicic.gov/cooperativeagreements and (2) NIC recommendations for producing media 
using plain language, which can be found at www.nicici.gov/plainlanguage.
    All final documents and other media submitted under this project 
may be posted on the NIC Web site and must meet the Federal 
Government's requirement for accessibility (e.g., 508 PDFs or HTML 
files). The awardee must provide descriptive text interpreting all 
graphics, photos, graphs, and/or multimedia that will be included with 
or distributed alongside the materials and must provide transcripts for 
all applicable audio/visual works.
    Application Requirements: Applications should be concisely written, 
typed double spaced and reference the project by the ``NIC Opportunity 
Number'' and title in this announcement. The 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., July 1 through June 30); 
a program narrative not to exceed 30 pages in response to the statement 
of work; and a budget narrative explaining projected costs. Applicants 
may submit a description of the project team's qualifications and 
expertise relevant to the project but should not attach lengthy 
resumes. Large attachments to the proposal describing the organization 
are discouraged.
    The following forms must also be included: 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 the Drug-
Free Workplace Requirements available at http://nicic.gov/Downloads/General/certif-frm.pdf. Failure to supply all required forms with the 
application package will result in disqualification of the application 
from consideration.

    Authority: Pub. L. 93-415.

    Funds Available: NIC is seeking the applicant's best ideas 
regarding accomplishment of the scope of work and the related costs for 
achieving the goals of this solicitation. Funds may be used only for 
the activities that are linked to the desired outcome of 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.
    Review Considerations: Applications received under this 
announcement will be subject to the NIC review process. Proposals that 
fail to provide sufficient information to have them evaluated under the 
criteria below may be judged non-responsive and disqualified. The 
criteria for the evaluation of each application will be as follows: 
Programmatic (40%)
    Are all of the goals and project tasks adequately discussed? Is 
there a clear statement of how each task will be accomplished, 
including major sub-tasks, the strategies to be employed, required 
staffing, and other required resources? Are there any innovative 
approaches, techniques, or design aspects proposed that will enhance 
the project? Organizational (35%)
    Does the proposed project staff possess the skills, knowledge, and 
expertise necessary to complete the tasks listed under the scope of 
work? Does the applicant organization, group, or individual have the 
organizational capacity to achieve all five project tasks? Are the 
proposed project management and staffing plans realistic and sufficient 
to complete the project within the project time frame?

Project Management/Administration (25%)

    Does the applicant identify reasonable objectives, milestones, and 
measures to track progress? If the applicant proposes consultants and/
or partnerships, 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 a 
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 CRR can be done online at the CCR Web site: 
http://www.bpn.gov/ccr. A CCR Handbook and worksheet can also be 
reviewed at the Web site.
    Number of Awards: One.
    NIC Opportunity Number: 12AC07. This number should appear as a 
reference line in the cover letter, where indicated on Standard Form 
424, and outside of the envelope in which the application is sent.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 16.601.

    Executive Order 12372: This project is not subject to the 
provisions of Executive Order 12372.

Jimmy L. Cosby,
Acting Director, National Institute of Corrections.
[FR Doc. 2012-18465 Filed 7-27-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-36-P