Administration for Native Americans (ANA) Onsite Support and Panel Review

The proposed acquisition listed herein is a section 8(a) competitive set-aside. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Program Support Center, Division of Acquisition Management intends to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) on behalf of the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of HHS for onsite support and panel review. The RFP number is 12-233-SOL-00011. The NAICS code is 541611. The size standard is $7.0M. ANA promotes self-sufficiency for Native Americans by providing funding and training and technical assistance to eligible tribes and native organizations to develop, implement, and administer their own community-based projects. The concept of promoting self-sufficiency is based on the following core beliefs: - The native community is self-sufficient when it can generate and control the resources necessary to meets its social and economic goals and the needs of its members. - The responsibility for achieving self-sufficiency resides within the native governing bodies and local leadership. - Progress toward self-sufficiency is based on efforts to plan and direct resources in a comprehensive manner consistent with long-range goals. Section 803 of the Native American Programs Act (NAPA) of 1974, P.L. 93-644, as amended (hereinafter "the Act"), identifies the programs that ANA funds while Section 804 authorizes training and technical assistance to potential applicants and grantees. Other supporting statutes are the Native American Languages Act (Public Law 102-524) and the Indian Environmental Regulatory Enhancement Act (Public Law 101-408). In carrying out Section 803 of the Act, ANA administers the following competitive, discretionary project grant programs: (1) Social and Economic Development Strategies (SEDS); (2) Environmental Regulatory Enhancement; and (3) Native Language Preservation and Maintenance. The demand is highest for ANA grants in the SEDS program. Each year, ANA convenes review sessions to rank and score eligible grant applications. ANA recruits professionals who possess experience and qualifications relevant to ANA program areas to serve as panel reviewers and facilitators. Panel reviewers analyze, score and comment on ANA grant applications. Panel facilitators work with a team of three panel reviewers to facilitate discussion and consolidate comments. In response to Section 804 of the Act, ANA specifically provides training and technical assistance; coordinates annual panel review sessions; conducts annual project impact evaluations on its grantees; and directly administers community-based projects and several private-public partnerships. Typically, ANA administers approximately 240 projects a year. ANA's constituency resides in reservation, village, island and urban communities. The Contractor is required to provide onsite support to ANA with grant application processing, panel review planning and logistics and other related activities. The onsite providers must be knowledgeable about ANA's mission, goals, and funding priorities, as well as HHS and ACF initiatives and issues of importance to organizations and entities eligible for ANA funding. The Contractor must have an understanding of the federal grant management and administration processes and associated OMB and HHS policies, regulations, and statutes. The period of performance is anticipated to be a 6 month base period followed by 4 optional 12 month periods. The RFP will be made available electronically at http://www.fedbizopps.gov. All responsible 8(a) concerns may submit a proposal which shall be considered by the agency. The closing date will be approximately 30 days after issuance of the RFP.