Request for Information (RFI) WTCHP Media Consulting

Amendment posted to attach Responses to Questions - June 2, 2020 Purpose The WTC Health Program is gathering information on best practices for health-plan outreach and education, including formative research, audience segmentation and targeting, scalability, dissemination strategies, media outreach, and metrics for evaluation of results. Note that this is a request for information. It is not a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. Release of this information should not be construed as a commitment to procure items discussed or to incur costs for which reimbursement would be required or sought. 2. Background The WTC Health Program provides medical monitoring and treatment to over 100,000 responders and survivors of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Under the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, the Program is administered by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Clinical Centers of Excellence (CCEs) and the Nationwide Provide Network (NPN) provide medical monitoring and treatment for Program members, while the WTC Health Program administers Program policy and covers the costs associated with monitoring and treatment. Responders include rescue, recovery, and clean-up workers and volunteers in lower Manhattan, the Pentagon, and the crash site near Shanksville, PA. Survivors include persons who worked, lived, or attended school, childcare, or adult daycare in the New York City Disaster Area. Individuals must meet specific eligibility requirements for medical monitoring and/or treatment covered by the Program, including types of activities performed during specific time periods surrounding the disaster, locations in which these activities were performed, and minimum lengths of time these activities were performed. The WTC Health Program is a limited-benefit program: treatment is covered only for a limited set of health conditions and only when a member's condition is substantially likely to have been aggravated by, contributed to, or caused by the member's 9/11 exposures. Conditions must be diagnosed by a Program provider and certified by the Program for the member to receive treatment. The Zadroga Act authorizes outreach and education activities and requires the Program to educate members and potential members about Program benefits. These activities must attempt to reach all affected populations and include materials for culturally and linguistically diverse populations. The Program, the CCEs/NPN, Data Centers affiliated with the CCEs/NPN, and community organizations partnering with the Program perform these activities. The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act also established a separate program called the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF). The VCF provides financial compensation to eligible enrollees with certified WTC-related health conditions. The WTC Health Program and the VCF have a large overlap in target audiences, and communication must distinguish between the two programs. 3. Roles and Responsibilities WTC Health Program The Program partners with selected community-based organizations in the New York metropolitan area by providing funding, oversight, and direction for outreach and education. It also oversees and directs the CCEs and NPN's Program-related outreach. The Program is currently developing materials with a coordinated and consistent message for use by these organizations. The Program's Communications Unit creates content for the internally managed media channels: the WTC Health Program's public website, Facebook page, YouTube channel, and Twitter account. It also disseminates information about the Program through materials like factsheets, brochures, and posters, and creates branded multimedia assets. CCEs and NPN The CCEs and NPN perform outreach at varying levels based on their staff availability. The CCEs/NPN develop print and digital advertisements for the New York metropolitan area, connect with union groups whose members may be eligible for the Program, and participate in community events such as health fairs, picnics, and parades. They also host town hall meetings for current and potential members to learn more about the Program. Data Centers The Data Centers coordinate outreach activities with the CCEs, NPN, and community-based organizations. They keep a current calendar of events and maintain a running list of partner organizations (like unions) to ensure they work with only one group from the Program at a time. Community Outreach and Education Partners The Program has contracts with selected community-based organizations to perform outreach. These partners develop public-service announcements, host outreach events, attend and table community events, share communication materials developed and/or approved by the Program, and maintain active social media channels. 4. Request for Information The WTCHP Health Program is seeking information and recommendations on how best to proceed with a new outreach activity. This message must reach underserved populations, encourage eligible individuals to apply to the Program, and differentiate the WTC Heath Program from the VCF. Please answer the following questions in order: What experience and resources does your organization have for developing a successful outreach campaign of this scope and visibility? The Program currently develops materials disseminated through the community-based organizations and CCEs/NPN at various times and thorough various forms of media. How would you develop a scalable campaign that could be implemented as budget and circumstances allow? What kind of formative research would you conduct to understand members and potential members (such as how to identify and locate them, what they know and don't know about the Program, what motivates them, what are their barriers to applying, and how best to reach them)? The WTC Health Program serves members from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Reaching some underserved populations has been challenging (for example, the Chinese-speaking population is underrepresented among members). How would you target an outreach campaign to these groups? What language and communication strategies would you use to ensure the target population understands your message? For example, the Program has complicated and specific eligibility requirements individuals must meet to be enrolled as members. How would you communicate these requirements accurately but plainly in a general outreach campaign? Many members and potential members suffered significant physical and/or emotional trauma during and in the aftermath of the 9/11 disasters. How would you conduct an outreach campaign that displays the sensitivity and tact appropriate to these disasters and those affected by them? Once you had developed the message, how would you determine which channels and methods would best disseminate it to the intended audience? The WTC Health Program has a duty as a federal agency to use its funds responsibly and avoid waste. How would you monitor the impact of the campaign on the target audience to know how effective it was? What metrics would you use, and how would you collect the data? How quickly would you be able to modify your strategy if metrics indicated it was not working as intended? Around the 9/11 Day of Remembrance, the Program makes national and local headlines. How would you reach out to media organizations to ensure stories circulating are accurate and reinforce the messages of the campaign? 5. Instructions for Submission Questions about this RFI are due by May 22, 2020, to Lauren Peel at contact@example.gov. Interested parties should respond to this RFI with a white paper, due by 10 AM on June 22, 2020, to Lauren Peel at contact@example.gov. Section 1 of the white paper shall provide administrative information, including: The name, mailing address, phone number, and email address of your designated point of contact; DUNS number; and Your business type (for example: large business, small business, nonprofit, minority- or woman-owned, etc.).