MENU TITLE: Reissue of HIDTA Solicitation. Series: NIJ Published: April 1996 7 pages 12,728 bytes Reissue of a Solicitation for an Assessment of the HIDTA Program: High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), in partnership with the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), is soliciting proposals for an assessment of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program. This is a new solicitation; enhancements to a similar previous solicitation include an increased funding level and clarified eligibility criteria. This document includes: o Information on the HIDTA program. o Solicitation request. o Description of the proposal submission requirements. o Application information. This assessment will be conducted under cooperative agreement between the grantee and NIJ. NIJ, with input from ONDCP, will consult with the awardee concerning the study design and data collection. Funding has been tentatively set at up to $200,000, with a period of performance of up to 15 months. Additional funding for one or more followup studies may become available under one or more subsequent solicitations. HIDTA background The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) leads the Nation's counter-narcotics efforts by developing policies and coordinating, promoting, and implementing counter-narcotics initiatives to successfully reduce the supply, acceptance, and use of drugs in the United States. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTAs) are areas identified as having the most critical drug trafficking problems that adversely impact the rest of the country. Areas are designated as HIDTAs by the Director of ONDCP pursuant to the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, as amended. In 1990 the Director of ONDCP designated five areas through which the vast majority of drugs are introduced into the United States. These "gateways" are Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, and the Southwest Border, which extends from California through Texas. In 1994 Puerto Rico-U.S. Virgin Islands was designated a gateway HIDTA and Washington, D.C.-Baltimore was designated a prototype "distribution" HIDTA. These two newest HIDTAs will not be included in the assessment under discussion. The HIDTA program provides resources to local, State, and Federal agencies within a HIDTA to implement their regional strategy jointly. The program, administered by ONDCP, is designed to: o Empower local, State, and Federal officials to institutionalize their collaborative efforts. o Foster innovation and systems solutions. o Require measurable objectives and product outcomes. In fiscal year 1995 ONDCP provided $107 million to local, State, and Federal agencies to support their joint efforts in the seven designated HIDTAs. Funding supports over 150 initiatives, including 100 to 250-member task forces, mutually supportive State and local drug trafficking and drug money laundering task forces, and information- and intelligence-sharing networks. Solicitation background As the research branch of the U.S. Department of Justice, NIJ will manage the work conducted under the current solicitation with funds provided by ONDCP. This assessment will be carried out under a cooperative research agreement between NIJ and the grantee. NIJ will award and monitor the cooperative agreement and serve as point of contact with the grantee. NIJ will work closely with ONDCP in all aspects. Solicitation of proposals This solicitation requests proposals to design and implement an assessment of the five original HIDTA sites that will produce an expeditious understanding of the problems targeted, approaches adopted, and progress to date. Questions to be addressed in the assessment include, but are not limited to, the following: o To what extent has the HIDTA program facilitated a reduction in drug trafficking, taking into account as appropriate external factors such as increased narcotics production and shipping? What are the best indicators for measuring the reduction in drug trafficking? Have the HIDTAs experienced a reduction based on these indicators? How did the HIDTAs facilitate that impact? o What is the "value-added" of the HIDTA program, i.e., what are the HIDTAs accomplishing that is not already being done by other programs or single agency offices? o To what degree has the HIDTA program improved cooperation and coordination among local, State, and Federal agencies? How was this accomplished? o How do the HIDTAs leverage participating agencies' resources, and what is the ratio of HIDTA resources to those resources contributed by the participating agencies? Applicants should indicate other promising areas of inquiry. Applicants' proposals should indicate how these and other questions will be addressed, including descriptions of activities, personnel, and timelines with milestones. Applicants should describe their plans for conducting the evaluation in an efficient, timely, and cost-effective manner. The assessment will include the five original gateway HIDTAs: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, and the Southwest Border. In light of the vast territory included in the Southwest Border HIDTA, the assessment may include a limited subset of the jurisdictions in this HIDTA (for example, San Diego and Nogales); applicants should specify which jurisdictions will be included in the proposed assessment. The assessment should incorporate information that is available at the HIDTA sites. Such information may vary across sites. The grantee can expect substantial cooperation from the sites, including access to records and personnel. Applicants should describe how they will identify, collect, and review pertinent records and documents and how information gained from these activities will be used. These activities must be designed to minimize disruption to HIDTA activities to the extent possible. Applicants should describe steps that will be taken to safeguard confidential or sensitive information. Applicants must describe how they will identify gaps and shortcomings in existing data and how they will collect the needed additional information. For example, data collection may be based primarily on interviews with key individuals in each HIDTA. Applicants should indicate how they will (1) identify appropriate respondents, (2) develop data collection instruments, and (3) collect data. Applicants should, to the extent possible, indicate topics to be addressed and potential measures. Applicants should indicate how data collection activities will be designed to minimize respondent burden and to safeguard confidential or sensitive information. The grantee must prepare a report describing the results of the assessment. The report will include cross-site findings as well as case studies describing the individual HIDTAs. NIJ and ONDCP will review and comment on the draft report. Application information Due Date. Ten (10) copies of fully executed proposals should be sent to: Assessment of the HIDTA Program National Institute of Justice 633 Indiana Avenue, N.W.Washington, DC 20531 Completed proposals must be received at the National Institute of Justice by the close of business, June 4, 1996. This deadline will not be extended. Eligibility. In keeping with the value which NIJ places upon credible research and evaluation, applicants must be able to conduct the proposed assessment in an independent and objective manner, without the existence or the appearance of any conflict of interest. NIJ considers firms that have performed consulting or technical assistance services for ONDCP related to the HIDTA program to have conflicts of interest. If firms wish to appeal this decision, they may write to NIJ explaining their position. Contact. To obtain specific information concerning this solicitation, prospective applicants may contact Jim Trudeau at 202þ307þ1355. Forms. A copy of Standard Form SF 424, Application for Federal Assistance, plus instructions, appears in the back of this solicitation. Please follow the instructions carefully and include all parts and pages. In addition to SF 424, recent requirements involve certification regarding (1) lobbying; (2) debarment, suspension, and other responsibility matters; and (3) drug-free workplace requirements. The certification form that is attached to SF 424 should be signed by the appropriate official and included in the grant application. Application requirements. The Institute has established a limit of 30 double-spaced pages for this grant application. This page limit does not include references, budget narrative, curriculum vitae, or necessary appendixes. NIJ does not wish to create elaborate regulations regarding type fonts, margins, and spacing. Applicants are cautioned, however, that obvious attempts to stretch interpretations of the Institute's limits have, in the past, caused proposal reviewers to regard such efforts unfavorably. The following page order is mandatory. Omission can result in rejection of the application: 1. SF 424. 2. Names and affiliations of all key persons, including the applicant, subcontractor(s), advisers, consultants, and Advisory Board members. 3. Abstract. 4. Table of Contents. 5. Budget narrative. 6. Assurances and certifications, etc. 7. Negotiated rate agreement. 8. Program narrative. 9. References. 10. Resumes of key personnel. Communications NIJ program managers should be kept informed of research progress. Written progress reports are required on a semiannual basis and should inform the program manager which tasks have been completed and whether significant delays or departures from the original workplan are expected. The first progress report should cover the period from the begin date of the project through the end of the first complete quarter (quarters are January 1þMarch 31, April 1þJune 30, July 1þSeptember 30, and October 1þDecember 31). Subsequent progress reports should cover the next two quarters. All progress reports are due 30 days following the end of the reporting period. For example, if a grant is awarded in May, the first progress report would cover the rest of the current quarter (through June 30) and the first complete quarter (July 1þSeptember 30) and would be due October 31; the second progress report would cover the next two quarters (October 1þDecember 31 and January 1þMarch 31) and would be due April 30. The grantee shall participate in at least three meetings with ONDCP officials in Washington, D.C.: (1) within 10 days of the begin date, (2) after 3 months, and (3) upon completion of the final draft. Data confidentiality and human subjects protection Research that examines individual traits and experiences plays a vital part in expanding our knowledge about crime control and criminal behavior. It is essential, however, that researchers protect subjects from needless risk of harm or embarrassment and proceed with willing and informed cooperation. NIJ requires that investigators protect information identifiable to research participants. When information is safeguarded, it is protected by statute from being used in legal proceedings: "[S]uch information and copies thereof shall be immune from legal process, and shall not, without the consent of the person furnishing such information, be admitted as evidence or used for any purpose in any action, suit, or other judicial, legislative or administrative proceedings" 42 U.S.C. 3789g(a). Applicants should file their plans to protect sensitive information as part of their proposal. Necessary safeguards are in 28 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 22. A short "how-to" guideline for developing a privacy and confidentiality plan can be obtained from NIJ program managers. In addition, the Department of Justice has adopted human subjects policies similar to those established by the Department of Health and Human Services. In general, these policies exempt researchers from Institutional Review Board (IRB) review provided that necessary safeguards of privacy and confidentiality have been met. However, the Institute may find in certain instances that subjects or subject matters are especially sensitive and may require IRB review. These exceptions will be decided on an individual basis during application review. Applicants should read 28 CFR, Part 46, to determine their individual project requirements.