This sources sought is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue a RFP in the future. This sources sought does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service. The Government is not at this time seeking proposals. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential requirement. The sources sought responses are advised that the Government will not pay for any information or costs incurred in response to this sources sought; all costs associated with responding to this sources sought will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this sources sought does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on beta.sam.gov. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this requirement, if any. Purpose and Objective: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center on HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP), Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) is seeking to determine the availability of potential large and small business vendors (e.g. 8 (a), veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantage business, and women-owned small business) for the following project. CDC/DASH focuses on ways to create safe and supportive environments so that all youth have the opportunity to learn and be healthy. Improving the health of youth requires working through settings in which youth can easily be reached. After the family, schools are one of the primary entities responsible for the development of young people. CDC/DASH would like to hear the experience and voice directly from youth in the education agencies funded. Youth empowerment allows the opportunity to develop youth leadership skills and capture valuable feedback on adolescent programming to achieve DASH’s mission of helping youth become healthy, successful adults. This requirement pertains to youth engagement, specifically via the development and implementation of Youth Advisory Boards/Councils (YAB/YAC), which have been identified as one of eight successful youth engagement approaches. Building upon peer relationships, through a united effort to implement change in their condition or community, helps in developing the youth voice. The proposed youth empowerment project aims to strengthen youth and community leaders’ capacity to plan, implement, and evaluate activities that address the structural barriers to adolescent health in their community. Local Education Agencies (LEA)s in DASH-funded districts have already demonstrated that by training community YSO, CDC/DASH seeks to establish or expand youth YAB/YAC as a mechanism to: Increase LEA capacity for engaging in school and community service activities. Increase youth skills and leadership opportunities to address health and education issues important to them. Increase positive peer relationships. Increase adolescents’ connectedness to school, supportive adults, and the broader community. Increase the number of trusted adults with the skills and abilities to support youth empowerment. Establish national technical assistance (TA) provider(s) to support the LEA’s participating in the development of tools to support other schools to implement based on lessons learned. Increase positive resilient attributes in youth to counter adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) Vendors must have the ability to work in three key areas: Materials and Resource Development Develop 3-5 key tools focused on youth empowerment and youth advisory boards for local school districts and youth serving organizations. Create training materials and tools (e.g., interactive toolkit or learning series) for local school districts to use at startup/expansion of YAB implementation in U.S. schools. Develop training plans for schools and youth-serving organizations to follow for identifying youth to participate in YABs and training youth on empowerment and leadership strategies. Develop the CDC online youth empowerment presence, which shall include 5-7 pages of web content plus training tools and resources for posting on CDC’s Healthy Youth Web site. Demonstrate extensive knowledge and expertise in developing training/resources for schools and working directly with schools, educators, and youth (ages 12-19) Youth Empowerment Expertise in Training Youth-Serving Organization and school staff Provide ongoing technical assistance and capacity building assistance to youth-serving organizations and school staff. Provide technical assistance and training to identify and market/promote YAB to students in all 3 LEA jurisdictions. Train youth to be active and effective YAB/YAC members in partnership with schools and local youth-serving organizations. Provide intensive skill development and training for youth, ages 12-19 (e.g., using data, participation in decision making). Create professional development materials on youth empowerment for school staff, teachers, and administrators. Project Evaluation Develop a project evaluation plan that includes the method for collecting, analyzing, and using information to examine effectiveness. Conduct an evaluation of YAB/YAC and youth empowerment initiatives in LEA, including the development of a project evaluation plan Develop and provide at least one (1) manuscript suitable for peer-reviewed publication. Key Acronyms & Definitions: Youth : CDC/DASH define youth as adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 years for the purposes of this opportunity Youth Empowerment: efforts intended to equip youth with the knowledge and skills to make healthy decisions and live healthy lives Youth Advisory Board/Council (YAB/YAC): a body of diverse young people within a specific LEA striving to vocalize the adolescent health needs of youth by serving as ambassadors. Members are committed to addressing the structural barriers to adolescent health in their communities to effect change Responses: Interested parties believing that they possess the expertise and experience to meet the Government's needs described above are invited to submit a capability statement with their technical and management capabilities addressing the requirements. Specifically, vendors must demonstrate experiences working with local education agencies and youth serving organizations. These experiences may include but are not limited to: (a) staff expertise, including staff availability, experience, and formal and other training and (b) examples of prior completed Government contracts, references, and other related information working with LEAs and YSOs. Interested parties are requested to include the following information in their response: 1. Company name, address, phone number; 2. DUNS number and CAGE Code, as registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at http://www.betaSam.gov/ 3. Business size and Classification (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, etc.) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code of 541611. 4. Small Business Administration Business Opportunity Specialist (name, email address, phone number) if applicable. 5. Point(s) of contact including e-mail addresses and telephone numbers for contacts Submission Instructions: Responses are due via email on or before April 26, 2021 at 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time, to Sheenum Gupta, email address:
[email protected] and must include the information requested below. Only emailed responses will be accepted. Copy and paste into subject line: Response to Sources Sought for CDC/DASH Youth Empowerment Program for (insert your company name). Responses are limited to 10 pages, 11pt Times New Roman font. Responses greater than 10 one-sided pages will not be considered. Late responses will not be accepted. Confidentiality: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in the response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s). This is strictly market research and the Government will not entertain any questions or phone calls.