This is an announcement that the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution (the U.S. Institute) will be soliciting quotations from qualified professionals to analyze and interpret evaluation data for environmental collaborative problem-solving and conflict resolution (ECR) cases. Part of the effort will involve aggregate quantitative and qualitative analysis of new evaluation data and part will involve comparing the results of the analysis with findings in the published ECR literature. The goal of this Hewlett-supported project is to identify the key ingredients of ECR success, and to communicate these findings within the ECR field to improve practice. The purpose of this announcement in advance of issuing a formal Request for Quotations (RFQ) is to provide interested individuals an opportunity to identify potential team members. As noted below, three sets of professional competencies and perspectives are identified, and a two or three-member analysis and review team is anticipated. Respondents are encouraged to submit as part of a self-assembled team, although the U.S. Institute may assemble a team from individual respondents or select individuals from different proposed teams. Background The U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution is a federal program established by the U.S. Congress to assist parties in resolving environmental, natural resource, and public lands conflicts. The U.S. Institute serves as an impartial, non-partisan institution providing professional expertise, services, and resources to all parties involved in such disputes. See www.ecr.gov for more information on the U.S. Institute. In 1999, the U.S. Institute and the Policy Consensus Initiative (PCI) began an inquiry into the feasibility of developing program evaluation guidance for state and federal agencies that administer public policy and environmental conflict resolution programs. With funds from the Hewlett Foundation, PCI has extended the initial collaboration involving the U.S. Institute, the Massachusetts Office of Dispute Resolution and the Oregon Dispute Resolution Commission (ODRC) to additional states. At the same time, the U.S. Institute has been working with federal agencies to enlist their cooperation and involvement. The initial collaborative effort focused on developing a conceptual framework for evaluating ECR programs - a logic model of expected outcomes for each of the agency's programs. With respect to ECR cases, the logic model identifies necessary practice factors and a set of both process and agreement outcomes. In addition, specific questionnaires were developed to collect data needed to measure the degree to which the practice factors were in place and the outcomes were achieved. The U.S. Institute and the ODRC have adopted and are using the same theory of practice model and essentially the same questionnaires to evaluate their cases. In addition, the U.S. Institute is working with several other federal agencies to evaluate their ECR cases. This collaborative effort will produce an initial combined database collected in a consistent manner for perhaps 30 - 40 cases. Analyzing this aggregate database and interpreting the results should add substantively to the growing body of information from other ECR research and evaluation efforts. Key Questions to be Addressed Two overarching questions will be addressed through this ECR evaluation effort: 1. What aspects of ECR best practices are most important for collaborative problem-solving and conflict resolution processes to be successful? 2. Which practices need to be employed more effectively by ECR practitioners and program managers? Summary of the Anticipated Solicitation It is anticipated that a two- or three-member analysis and review team will be assembled to perform the required tasks (one member may be qualified to perform more than one function and individuals may submit responses for more than one of the described team roles). The team will reflect the following competencies: - Statistical evaluation - a program evaluation expert who is familiar with evaluation in the ECR field, and possesses methodological expertise needed to design and interpret the results of aggregate analyses of case data, and possesses (or has access to) analytical skills needed to conduct such analyses; - The ECR research - a recognized expert in research on the effectiveness of ECR and public involvement activities, will be thoroughly familiar with the associated literature, and will be able to assess the rigor and generalizability of the findings of both the aggregate case analysis and of other empirical studies; and - The ECR practice - an experienced facilitator of collaborative planning and problem solving processes and/or a mediator of environmental disputes, who is a recognized leader in the field, and who has the expertise to assess the utility of the evaluation findings to ECR practice. Individual statements of interest and quotations will be solicited from and individual contracts will be negotiated with each member of the analysis and review team. The U.S. Institute also encourages interested candidates to identify and assemble a complete team and to submit a combined response. Funding and Scheduling Funding for the analysis and review team is $ 40,000 plus travel costs, with funding levels for each of the team members to be determined based on negotiated scopes of work. The work will be conducted from June 30 through November 30, 2003. A team meeting will be held in Tucson in mid-September to discuss progress and preliminary results, and a meeting of approximately 30 ECR researchers, program managers from state and federal ECR programs, trainers, and practitioners will be held in Tucson in mid-November to review and discuss the team's findings. The second meeting will focus on distilling from the aggregate analysis and the published results of other studies, the key findings on performance that are methodologically robust and will be useful to program managers, practitioners and trainers in the field. RFQ Availability and an Informational Conference An RFQ will be available on or before May 1, 2003, with responses due by May 30, 2002. The RFQ will contain specific information on the size and nature of the aggregate data set, the types of questions to be addressed by the aggregate analysis, project tasks, the schedule of activities and deliverables, and team member selection criteria. An informational conference call will be held on May 13 to answer questions about the solicitation and the project. Interested parties must contact the U.S. Institute to obtain call-in information for the conference (contact information will be provided in the RFQ). Distribution of the Announcement Readers of this announcement are encouraged to distribute it to others who may be interested in responding to the RFQ. Institute Contact For additional information, contact: Patricia Orr U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution Program Evaluation Coordinator
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