Tobacco Prevention, Education & Cessation Grant Program Tobacco Cessation Awareness Campaign and Web Hub Request for Proposal #: SF-PSD13090412 CAMPAIGN I. Background, Overview and Goals The mission of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is to protect and preserve the health and environment of the people of Colorado. CDPHE serves the people of Colorado by providing high-quality, cost-effective public health and environmental protection services. CDPHE focuses on evidence-based best practices in the public health and environmental fields and plays a critical role in providing education to its citizens so they can make informed choices. Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease in Colorado. About 4,300 Coloradans die every year from tobacco-related illnesses. Tobacco use is a primary risk factor for cardiovascular disease, cancer and respiratory disease. Tobacco-related illnesses in Colorado account for more than $1.3 billion in health care costs each year. Colorado Medicaid recipients and uninsured persons smoke at a higher rate than the rest of the population. (38% and 34% respectively compared to 17%) As mandated by the statute 25-3.5-804(3)(b) C.R.S., the Colorado Tobacco Education, Prevention and Cessation Grant Program administers a grant program that funds not-for profit and government agencies to: 1) help people who use tobacco quit; 2) prevent youth from starting to use tobacco; 3) assist in the reduction of and protection from secondhand smoke; and 4) reduce tobacco use among groups disproportionately affected and/or at high risk. The Grant Program recently invited applications to fund agencies and organizations across the state of Colorado to implement evidence-based and innovative activities and strategies to achieve the goals set forth in the Strategic Plan: www.coprevent.org/2012/03/tobacco-education-prevention-and.html#!/2012/03/tobacco-educationprevention-and.html Successful bidders will work in collaboration with local partners funded through the grant program. The goal of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to obtain competitive bid proposals from qualified Colorado vendors that can develop a new online tobacco cessation hub called Colorado Quits and a statewide awareness campaign to promote the site. Health Communications Request for Proposals 1
II. Project Budget Funding Source: Funding for these projects is provided by The Colorado Tobacco Education, Prevention and Cessation Grant Program. Grant Program funding is subject to annual appropriations by the Colorado General Assembly and approval by the Colorado Board of Health. Project Term: The estimated initial term for this contract is December 2012 - June 30, 2013, contingent upon execution of a bilateral contract fully authorized by both parties. At the sole discretion of the State, this project may be renewed annually for a maximum of two additional years (7/1/2013-6/30/2015). Annual renewal options are contingent upon need, contractor performance and funding availability. Project Budget: Budget available to develop, implement, and promote Colorado Quits statewide tobacco cessation web hub for the initial contract period of December 2012 June 30, 2013 is $750,000 - $900,000. Budget for each subsequent annual renewal period (July 2013-June 2014 and July 2014-June 2015) will be determined annually. Payment Terms: The State will make payment for work actually and satisfactorily performed, or as stipulated in the negotiated contract, subject to the State s receipt and approval of invoices on a cost reimbursement basis. The vendor will be required to provide CDPHE with monthly billings of the actual hours of service and a description of deliverable(s). In addition, the vendor must provide, if requested by CDPHE, copies of monthly time reports for each assigned staff person and supporting documentation may be required on all items billed. The vendor will not be allowed to charge CDPHE for services not included in the contracted scope of work. III. Scope of Work (SOW) The purpose of this funding initiative is to fund one organization to develop a new online tobacco cessation hub called Colorado Quits and a statewide awareness campaign to promote the site. We expect this hub to be the central clearinghouse for public and private tobacco cessation information and efforts. The hub design will include a proposed content management system, site navigation and design and is intended to replace My Quit Path. Specifically, it is intended to synchronize the Quit branding into a comprehensive program, allowing for expansion beyond just QuitLine to include other information, redirects to partners and additional downstream efforts. All efforts will be made to migrate or use existing web content from past tobacco cessation and awareness campaigns into the new site. Preference will be given to sites created in a Google environment (i.e., Google Sites) to facilitate future maintenance by the State. The new site and outreach campaign will expand on the recognized brand and design of the Colorado QuitLine, including creative design, paid media campaign and public relations plans to raise awareness of Colorado Quits through a comprehensive paid media campaign. The end result is to provide a central repository for cessation information and link those seeking to quit with local, regional and national resources. The successful bidder will ensure the website is compliant with all Americans with Health Communications Request for Proposals 2
Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations. The State will provide the following resources: Existing logos, designs and templates; Subject matter experts and related market research to inform creative aspects; Gathering of stakeholders and facilitation of meetings and methods to gather input from tobacco prevention/education grantees, stakeholders and local partners. IV. Offeror Response Format Submit one (1) original document and five (5) copies of proposals (total of SIX) and one (1) electronic copy no later than October 4, 2012 by 12:00 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time. It is the sole responsibility of the proposal to ensure that the full proposal is in the proper form and received by the proposal due date. Proposals should be submitted to: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South Denver, Colorado 80246-1530 ATTN: Sam Fuller, Purchasing Agent Proposals must be compatible with Microsoft Word, Excel, and MS Windows. Responses must be no longer than twenty (20) pages long, double-spaced, and in 12-point font. Proposals shall be submitted in an organized and indexed (tabbed, divided) format following the topic headings of this section of the RFP. Descriptions may be in narrative or outline format. Offerors should be concise while discussing each element completely. Reference and attach no more than three appendices supporting your response; appendices will not be counted toward the 20 page proposal limit. For sample materials, electronic links are preferred. Reference to technical literature can be given in support of, but not in lieu of, responses to elements within this RFP. Proposals must include a completed Application Financial Assessment Questions form. The proposal narrative must use the section headings and respond to the questions indicated below. Needs Statement & Project Narrative: 1. Describe your agency s experience in conducting awareness campaigns working with a variety of demographics, including age, gender, ethnicity and geographic populations. If possible, include examples. 2. Specifically describe your organization s experience with the kind of web-based media campaigns described in the needs statement. Health Communications Request for Proposals 3
3. Describe the elements of developing a new online tobacco cessation web hub called Colorado Quits, including proposed content management system, site navigation and design. Outline a plan for incorporating existing web content into new site. Preference will be given to sites created in a Google environment (i.e., Google Sites) to facilitate future maintenance by the State. 4. Describe creative aspects of a statewide outreach campaign to promote the new Colorado Quits web hub, expanding on the recognized brand and design of the Colorado QuitLine. Assume access to epidemiology and related market research for creative aspects. Detail creative design, paid media campaign and public relations plans to raise awareness of Colorado Quits. 5. Describe your proposed strategies and activities to develop the Colorado Quits site and outreach campaign. Examples include print and electronic materials, placement of advertising, and any associated multimedia/television. Program Infrastructure: 1. Describe the proposed roles and responsibilities of staff members, contractors and other key members of the web design, creative design and media/public relations campaign team. Describe lead organization experience in monitoring subcontractors. 2. Describe your organization s capacity to comply with and monitor the implementation of contractual requirements. 3. Describe your organization s experience working with diverse audiences. Include any organizational policies supporting representation and/or inclusion of Colorado s racial and cultural diversity. Evaluation: 1. Describe the methods that will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the Colorado Quits awareness campaign. Consider the following criteria: Reach - How will you assess the project s statewide distribution and awareness? Implementation - How will you assess timelines and project activities? Effectiveness - How will you assess effectiveness of the campaign beyond reach? Modifications - How will you adjust the campaign based on evaluation information gathered? 2. Provide a description of all program evaluation activities, including timelines, tools and approaches used, and staff responsible for collecting, analyzing, and evaluating data. Work Plan: Clearly delineate the planned objectives and deliverables in the table format below. The table should be repeated for each proposed objective. Relate the work plan to the budget in the format provided. Health Communications Request for Proposals 4
Objective # Activity Description Activity Deadline Responsible Party Estimated Budget #.1 #.2 #.3 #.4 Budget: Identify all budgeted items and include a written budget justification for each item identified in the budget. The budget must include, but is not limited to, the guidance provided below. All items in the proposed budgets are subject to negotiation. Personnel: Identify all personnel likely to be involved and the applicable hourly or salaried rate for each individual. Provide a line item budget that includes staffing costs, specifying, the number of individuals working on the project, the number of FTE devoted to each activity within the budget, total salary costs, including fringe, if applicable, and other itemized costs. Subcontracts & Consulting: All subcontracts planned to complete the proposed work must be clearly stated. All terms provided in the awarded contract shall also apply to any subcontractors. With the exception of media buys, no subcontractor may be pre-paid for services. V. Proposal Evaluation Applications will be scored on a 100-point scale through a competitive review process. Evaluation factors are listed below in order of importance: 1. Needs Statement & Project Narrative 2. Work Plan 3. Infrastructure 4. Evaluation 5. Budget Health Communications Request for Proposals 5