[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 140 (Monday, July 22, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43923-43924]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-17501]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

National Institute of Corrections


Solicitation for a Cooperative Agreement--Executive Excellence a 
Training and Development Program for Correctional Executives

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, groups, or individuals to enter into a 
cooperative agreement for a 15-month period to begin no later than 
September 15, 2013. This project will be a cooperative agreement and 
will involve working under the direction of NIC's Deputy Director to 
develop modify and enhance a competency based, blended modality 
training curriculum that follows the framework outlined in 
``Correctional Leadership Competencies for the 21st Century.'' The 
framework has defined competencies at the executive level and is 
designed to meet a significant unfilled leadership development need for 
individuals the field of corrections who have demonstrated the 
potential to be the chief executive officer at the state, local or 
federal level. The curriculum that is currently in place is 
exceptional, but could always be improved upon. The content stresses 
leadership skill building, exposure to ethical and value based issues, 
self-awareness, strategic thinking, team oriented performance, 
effective decision making, executive visioning, mission and agenda 
setting, executive planning, politics of corrections both internally 
and externally as well the dynamics of creating collaborative 
partnerships in the external environment. Finally the program strives 
to develop strategic and critical thinking through a variety of 
experiential activities and group sessions. This project will be a 
collaborative venture with the NIC's Academy and Administrative 
Divisions.
    NIC Opportunity Number: 13AC04 This number should appear in the 
reference line in your cover letter, on Standard Form 424 in section 11 
with the title of your proposal, and in the right justified header of 
your proposal.
    Number of Awards and Funds Available: Under this solicitation, 1 
Award will be made. The total amount of funds available under this 
solicitation is $78,000. Funds awarded under this solicitation may only 
be used for activities directly related to the project as described 
herein unless otherwise amended in writing by NIC.
    Applications: All applicants must be submitted electronically via 
http://www.grants.gov. Hand delivered, mailed, faxed, or emailed 
applications will not be accepted.

DATES: Application must be submitted before midnight on Thursday, 
August 8, 2013.

    Authority:  Public Law 93-415

    Eligibility of Applicants: An eligible applicant is any public or 
private agency, educational institution, organization, individual or 
team with expertise in the described areas.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background: NIC has been committed for many years to the 
development and improvement of executive performance by providing 
outstanding leadership and management training to corrections' 
professionals. Executive Excellence has completed an exceptional 
history of 16 years of service to the field, with more than 500 
graduates. A proposal responsive to this solicitation should, at a 
minimum include, information that demonstrates the applicants 
experience as a correctional or criminal justice chief executive 
officer, completed the current curriculum of Executive Excellence or 
another equally prestigious criminal justice executive development 
program. In addition the applicant should demonstrate an understanding 
of the concepts included in the text Correctional Leadership for the 
21st Century, a portion of which specifically addresses the role of the 
Correctional Executive.
    Scope of Work: At the end of this Cooperative Agreement, a revised 
or new module(s) for an Executive Excellence curriculum should be 
developed using NIC's Instructional Theory Into Practice (ITIP) model. 
The curriculum should include a facilitators manual, modifications or 
changes to the current participant's manual, and all relevant 
supplemental materials (such as PowerPoint presentations, visual &/or 
audio visual aids, handouts, exercises, etc.). The use of blended 
learning tools such as live web-based training sessions (e.g.,WebEx) 
and supplemental on-line tailored courses are encouraged.
    Deliverables: At a minimum the awardee should be able to deliver 
the following products in complete and compliant form:

    a narrative review and curriculum module that focuses on and 
creates an understanding for the role of the correctional executive,
    a narrative overview and a curriculum module that focuses on and 
creates an understanding for the development of correctional policy 
at the executive level,
    a narrative overview and a curriculum module that addresses the 
typical ethical dilemmas and decision making for correctional 
executives,
    a narrative overview and a curriculum module for the 
correctional executive working in a troubled organization,
    a narrative overview and a curriculum module for the 
correctional executive that addresses effective tactics and 
strategies for working with legislative bodies,
    a narrative overview and a curriculum module for building an 
executive team within a correctional environment,
    a narrative overview and a curriculum module effective 
correctional planning, both tactical and strategic,
    develop and present a series of provocative evening sessions on 
contemporary criminal justice and correctional issues,
    develop and present an overview as well as a curriculum module 
that provides the participants with an simulated experience for 
competing for an executive position for corrections at the federal, 
state and local levels,

[[Page 43924]]

    develop an overview and present a curriculum module for the 
correctional executives working through the issues of technology and 
information management,
    assist the course director in the recruitment, briefing and 
coordination of instructors and presenter's for the aforementioned 
subjects listed above and additional sessions as needed,
    assist the course director with the recruitment and selection of 
36 correctional candidates for two programs to be offered within the 
next 15 months,
    develop or assure that lesson plans are developed for all 
presentations following the NIC ITIP format,
    serve as the residential practitioner coordinator during all 
residential sessions and distance phases of the program,
    develop a series of correctional case studies for the role of 
the correctional executive, the legislative process and ethical 
dilemmas in corrections,
    finally, develop and reading file of contemporary literature 
that will be shared with all faculty, participant and staff 
associated with the program.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: All technical or programmatic 
questions concerning this announcement should be directed to Robert M. 
Brown, Jr., Deputy Director, National Institute of Corrections who may 
be reached by email at [email protected]. In addition to the direct reply, 
all questions and responses will be posted on NIC's Web site at 
www.nicic.gov for public review (the names or affiliations 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.
    Application Requirements: Application Requirements: Applications 
should be typed, double spaced, in 12-point font, and reference the 
project by the ``NIC Opportunity Number'' 13-AC-04 and the 
announcement, ``Executive Excellence: A Correctional Executive 
Practitioner Resource. 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 concisely written 
program narrative, not to exceed 30 numbered pages, in response to the 
statement of work, and a detailed budget with a budget narrative 
explaining projected costs. Applicants may submit a description of the 
project teams' qualifications and expertise relevant to the project, 
but should not attach lengthy resumes. Attachments to the proposal 
describing your organization or examples of other past work beyond 
those specifically requested above are discouraged. These attachments 
should not exceed 5MB.
    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 
may result in disqualification of the application from consideration.

    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 System for Award Management 
(SAM).

    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 SAM can be done online at the SAM Web site: 
https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/
    Review Considerations: Applications received under this 
announcement will be subject to the NIC Review Process. Proposals which 
fail to provide sufficient information to allow evaluation 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 project tasks adequately discussed? Is there a clear 
statement of how each task will be accomplished, to include the overall 
project goal(s), major tasks to achieve the goal(s), the strategies to 
be employed in completing the tasks, required staffing, and other 
required resources? Are there any approaches, techniques, or design 
aspects proposed that are new to NIC and will enhance the project?

Organizational (35%)

    Do the proposed project staff members 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 complete all project 
tasks? Does the proposal contain project management and staffing plans 
that are realistic and sufficient to complete the project within the 
project time frame?

Project Management/Administration (25%)

    Does the applicant identify reasonable objectives and/or milestones 
that reflect the key tasks, 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 a sufficient cost detail/narrative, and does it 
represent good value relative to the anticipated results?
    Specific Requirements: Documents or other media that are 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. For all awards in which a document will be a deliverable, the 
awardee must follow the guidelines listed herein, as well as follow 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.
    All final documents and other materials submitted under this 
project must meet the federal government's requirement for Section 508 
accessibility, including those provisions outlined in 1194 Subpart B, 
Technical Provisions, Subpart C, Functional Performance Criteria; and 
Subpart D, Documentation and Support, NIC's government product 
accessibility template (see www.nicic.gov/section508) outlines the 
agency's minimum criteria for meeting this requirement; a completed 
form attesting to the accessibility of project deliverables should 
accompany all submissions.
    The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) should be entered 
into box 10 of the SF 424. The CFDA number for this solicitation is 
16.601. You are not subject to Executive Order 12372 and should check 
box b under section 16.

Robert M. Brown, Jr.,
Acting Director, National Institute of Corrections.
[FR Doc. 2013-17501 Filed 7-19-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-36-P