COVID-19 Community Engagement Request for Services FAQ - December 2020
Please note that the question and answer period has ended. Final questions and answers have been posted to ensure all applicants have access to the same information prior to the proposal submission deadline.
Last updated 12/23/20 at 3 pm CST.
Question: Are intergovernmental organizations eligible?
Answer: No.
Question: Will we be able to hire justice-impacted people to help reach certain inner-city populations?
Answer: Yes, please include staff members and other partners from the communities you are engaging.
Question: Does the community-based organization have to be nonprofit?
Answer: No.
Question: Can we access these slides after this meeting?
Answer: The slides and recording will be posted on the RFS webpage as soon as they are made accessible.
Question: How much will each organization receive?
Answer: The State seeks proposals between $10,000 and $75,000.
Question: Can providers leverage external service providers, and should they be identified in the budget/proposal for specific services (e.g., for printing or video development or translation services)?
Answer: Yes, subcontractors may be used. Please include them in the proposed budget and work plan.
Question: Would a public school Community Education department be eligible to apply?
Answer: Yes.
Question: We do street outreach to homeless individuals. Is this funding available to fund existing programming?
Answer: The work you propose for this contract may include building off of your existing engagement strategies. This contract will require new activities, such as sharing COVID information and resources from MDH with communities.
Question: What is the Admin cap for this funding?
Answer: Indirect costs are not allowed in the budget for this contract. Any administrative costs must be specific to this project, allocated according to project FTE or a similar method. Those costs will appear as direct line items in the budget.
Question: Who will be on the review committee? Could you talk about the process of the selection of reviewers? How are you assuring non bias and transparency in this process?
Answer: The review committee will include MDH staff, staff of other state agencies, and community partners. We are working to ensure that the review committee includes good representation from the priority communities served by these contracts. Information about the review committee will become public once the review process is complete.
Question: Can religious organizations with large congregations apply?
Answer: Yes.
Question: How would you define a successful outcome for this study?
Answer: To clarify, the purpose of this RFS is not to conduct a study. The focus is to engage communities and connect them to information and resources related to COVID-19 vaccines and other topics. We trust you to define successful outcomes for your communities related to increasing understanding of and engagement around COVID-19 and connecting communities to resources, and indicate those in your work plan.
Question: I already have a PCA partner. Could they be a partner in this project?
Answer: Yes, they could be a subcontractor.
Question: Are we creating content or will we get the information from MDH?
Answer: MDH will share information, resources, and key messages with contractors. Contractors may use information from MDH to develop community-specific resources for engagement. MDH also wants to learn from contractors about what you are hearing from community members.
Question: If we have multiple staff working on the project, who should we list on our proposal?
Answer: Please list all staff working on the project on the work plan (by using staff positions/titles, not names).
Question: If we have satellite offices outside the metro area, should we list those too or just list the main headquarters?
Answer: Please include satellite offices and reach outside the metro area as well.
Question: When we are partnering with another organization, are there forms we should use to document the partnership if we are selected?
Answer: Please make sure the role of each organization is clearly outlined in the work plan and budget. The State does not need to review copies of any memoranda of understanding or other contracts between organizations.
Question: Can you further define what it means for an organization to be "led" by people of color, LGBTQ, etc.?
Answer: For this Request for Services, the State will consider an entity led by people of color, American Indians, individuals with disabilities, and/or LGBTQ individuals if the entity is a Tribe or at least 51% of the organization’s board and leadership identify as people of color, American Indians, individuals with disabilities, and/or LGBTQ individuals.
Question: Can funds be used to incentivize vaccinations? Can we buy gift cards for people who get the vaccine?
Answer: No, due to ethical considerations, contractors may not provide incentives to community members for getting vaccinated. However, there may be some activities for which contractors could give gift card incentives, such as participating in a focus group to learn more about community perspectives on the COVID-19 vaccine.
Question: Can community members be given bus cards for transportation if that is a barrier to getting vaccinated?
Answer: Yes, you may include that in your proposed budget.
Question: Do you have perceptions of regions that are now underserved that you would encourage focus? Are there known gaps?
Answer: The primary audience(s) for community engagement must include one or more of the following populations: African American, African immigrant, American Indian, Asian American, Latinx, LGBTQ Minnesotans, and Minnesotans with disabilities. Organizations are encouraged to reach diverse communities within communities of color and American Indian communities (such as people of color and American Indians with disabilities and people of color and American Indians who are LGBTQ). The State aims to reach a broad range of geographic areas in Minnesota through the cohort of selected contractors. Responders are encouraged to focus on regions that you know to be underserved and gaps you have identified for your communities.
Question: What kind of questions does MDH have that they want the contractors to gather answers from community?
Answer: Questions to gather input from communities about their needs, concerns, and barriers will be co-created with contractors once the contract has begun.
Question: You mentioned conducting focus groups. Will a discussion guide be provided to make sure all relevant questions will be asked in the same way across all contractors, partners and communities?
Answer: To clarify, the purpose of this RFS is not to conduct a study. The focus is to engage communities and connect them to information and resources related to COVID-19 vaccines and other topics. Focus groups are one allowable activity if a contractor wants to better understand perceptions or behaviors in their community to inform their outreach/engagement strategies, but focus groups are not a required activity.
Question: Are there any limitations to financial assistance that we can provide to participants, e.g., housing assistance and/or medical bill assistance to help with COVID-19 related expenses and/or to reduce vulnerability to COVID-19?
Answer: This Request for Service does not include the provision of direct services. Organizations and Tribes will be asked to use culturally relevant, linguistically appropriate, and timely community engagement activities to learn about community questions and needs related to COVID-19; work with the State and its partners to address those community needs; and connect communities to information and resources related to COVID-19 vaccines, testing, case interviews, contact tracing, and other topics. The State encourages applicants to use a trauma-informed lens to approach this work.
Question: Will we be able to use (and update) previously recorded videos toward the application for the communication arm of the project, or is the expectation to create new media formats?
Answer: Applicants may propose building on activities that they have successfully executed in prior contracts. The funding for this contract period would cover new work related to those existing models or past activities.
Question: I have a question about the State of Minnesota Contract form - the 26-page form. Will this be a part of the paperwork to be submitted too when I submit my COVID-19 Community engagement request for services form, work plan and project budget?
Answer: No, this is not part of the supplemental materials that need to be submitted. This form is the standard State P/T Contracts template that outlines the State’s standard terms, insurance requirements, and procurement requirements that will likely be in your contract with the State if you are selected.
Question: On question ten it asks the numbers engaged via one-on-one, in person, phone call, video, or text. In our case, we communicate in person, some by telehealth, and text. Do we combine all engagement numbers together or show a break-down of each engagement? Also, how do we correlate that with the Excel budget, as it asks for a staff position and hours per week, so do we combine all the engagements and then break down every item that delivered that engagement?
Answer: For question 10 in the Proposal Submission Form, please combine the engagement numbers from the various methods to show the number of people engaged one-on-one. In the Salary & Fringe section of the budget, please list staff members by their positions/titles and include the number of hours they would work on this project each week, the number of weeks and the hourly rate for each staff person. Engagement activities do not need to be listed in the budget; however, the hours listed for each staff person should include their time spent on engagement activities.
Question: My husband and I provided Family Foster care under the 245D license. As individual providers, can we apply?
Answer: No, this Request for Services is for community-based organizations and Tribes.
Question: We just realized that for supplemental materials, we no longer need to submit a proposal. We only need to submit a work plan and budget. Can we re-submit our request form with more detailed information on our history, experience, ualifications, and reach?
Answer: Yes, you can resubmit your proposal submission form. When you are filling out the form, please make a note that this is a resubmission and that the new form should replace the previous version.
Question: As we understand the RFS, we do not qualify to apply for these funds because our leadership is not made up of people of color, American Indians, individuals with disabilities and/or LGBTQ individuals, even though our patient and target populations are inclusive of those populations. Are we misunderstanding?
Answer: You are still eligible to apply, although priority for funding is given to organizations that are led by people of color, American Indians, individuals with disabilities, and/or LGBTQ individuals.