Request for Proposals (RFP)
Marine 30x30 Initiative Contract for Facilitating a Multi-pronged Community Engagement Process the Holomua: Marine 30x30 Initiative Summary
A 24-month contract to assist the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) with the design and implementation of an effective community engagement process. DAR is leading the Holomua: Marine 30x30 Initiative as is part of a comprehensive strategy focused on establishing 30% of nearshore waters around each main Hawaiian island as marine management areas (MMA) by 2030. A series of public meetings and workshops as well as a stakeholder engagement process are needed for implementation of this initiative and success will be determined by active and ongoing participation from the people of Hawaiʻi to achieve both place-based and statewide management goals.
Proposals Due: June 10, 2021 by 4 p.m. HST Project Background
In 2016, the State launched the Sustainable Hawaiʻi Initiative, a multi-pronged effort to ensure a healthy environment and economy for Hawaiʻi’s people. As part of this effort, the Department of Land and Natural Resources committed to effectively manage Hawaiʻi’s nearshore waters with 30% established as marine management areas (MMA) by 2030. The term marine management area refers to a balanced and nuanced approach to managing a specific geographic area for its marine resources and its uses. MMA regulations will vary depending on the area, such as regulating the type of gear used or instituting size limits for species to protect against over-harvesting. Hawai‘i leads the nation as the first state working to achieve the international conservation goal of protecting 30% of the planet by 2030 on a regional level. Leading scientists agree that this level of protection can help prevent mass extinctions, preserve critical ecosystem services, and avert the worst impacts of climate change. The initiative carries forward commitments made by the public and private organizations that launched the Aloha+Challenge, a statewide commitment to achieve Hawai‘i’s sustainability goals and framework to implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and by 1
partners who issued the Promise to Pae‘āina, which is a collective commitment for measurable change in Hawai‘i’s ocean. Created by the Hawai‘i Community Foundation (HCF), the CHANGE Framework strives to create a shared movement to solve Hawai‘i’s greatest challenges. Through a common set of data, the Framework identifies Hawai‘i’s strengths, gaps, and opportunities so that efforts can be aligned to take collective action. HCF puts the Framework into action by supporting networks that encompass a broad range of partners who are working to achieve a shared goal and have a commitment to equity. HCF supports the efforts of the Marine 30x30 Initiative through this lens of the CHANGE Framework. PURPOSE DAR works with the people of Hawai‘i to manage, conserve and restore the state’s unique aquatic resources and ecosystems for future generations. DAR does this through programs in ecosystem management, place-based management, and fisheries management. DAR leads the Holomua: Marine 30x30 Initiative as part of a comprehensive strategy focused on developing and strengthening essential components of effective marine management including: a resilient marine management area network; statewide fisheries rules; outreach and enforcement strategies; monitoring; and restoration and protection of nearshore ecosystems. Holomua: Marine 30x30 seeks to effectively establish 30% of nearshore waters around each main Hawaiian island as marine management areas by 2030. The success of Holomua: Marine 30x30 will be determined by active participation from the people of Hawaiʻi to achieve both placebased and statewide management goals. HCF seeks a qualified consultant or team of consultant(s) to design and implement a public engagement process for the Holomua: Marine 30x30 Initiative. Consultant(s) will enhance DAR’s capacity to carry out Holomua: Marine 30x30 by developing and executing a transparent process for stakeholder engagement with the goal of building trust, public awareness, and understanding about the initiative; sharing information; as well as encouraging active and sustained participation and engagement in Holomua: Marine 30x30’s planning process. To reach the Holomua: Marine 30x30 goal of establishing 30% of nearshore waters around each main Hawaiian island as MMAs, DAR envisions establishing up to seven island-based, interdisciplinary, volunteer stakeholder groups—one for each main Hawaiian island—that will collaborate with DAR staff to use the latest spatial and fishery management tools to design proposed MMA networks for each main Hawaiian island. Consultant(s) will primarily develop a cohesive public engagement process including facilitation and community communication strategies essential to the success of Holomua: Marine 30x30. 2
Consultant(s) will work with DAR’s Holomua: Marine 30x30 team and leadership to recommend ways to encourage meaningful engagement with local stakeholders and generate interest, support and engagement with the broader public. The consultant(s) support for DAR include logistics planning, coordination, and facilitation of targeted stakeholder meetings.
Roles and Responsibilities
Hawaiʻi Community Foundation (HCF): HCF is an MOU partner with the State of Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources for implementation of the Marine 30x30 Initiative. Through a pooled fund of committed philanthropists, HCF is supporting this important work of ensuring DAR effectively engages the community on this initiative by providing the funding for this facilitation contract. HCF is the contracting authority responsible for issuing the contract, verifying deliverables and products, and making payments. State DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR): DAR is committed to the implementation of Holomua: Marine 30x30 that is based in engagement and partnership with community. This project is to help DAR develop a series of MMAs across the state that is publicly accepted. The DAR will coordinate with the consultant to identify appropriate stakeholders from the community. During this community engagement and stakeholder convenings process, DAR will provide the staffing, resources and leadership to support the contractor’s work and ensure success of their process. They will also provide accurate and transparent information to the contractor and actively incorporate the contractor’s input and recommendations related to the facilitated processes. DAR will also share information from and ensure coordination of efforts with other contractors working on this topic when appropriate. Selected Contractor: The contractor selected for this project will be responsible for implementing a strategy that results in the objectives listed below. DAR is the beneficiary of this contract and as such, the selected contractor will be directly coordinating with and reporting to the DAR Holomua: Marine 30x30 Initiative team to ensure the process outlined in this contract aligns with the goals and needs of DAR in the establishment of its Holomua Marine 30x30 program.
Contract Objectives:
1. Develop and implement an interdisciplinary stakeholder engagement approach: We envision this would begin with a series of workshops open to the public (attendance ranging anywhere from five to 100 people, depending on the topic) as an opportunity for the public to engage at particular stages of the MMA planning and development process, learn how to use the same spatial and fisheries management tools that DAR uses to design proposed MMA networks, and provide informal input and fresh ideas. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, events may be held online or in-person and likely a
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combination of both in the future as the public is able to safely convene in person again. The workshops would likely evolve into interdisciplinary stakeholder groups who have been identified through workshops and other points of engagement. These active and constructively engaged stakeholders from various sectors (including scientists, cultural experts, conservation and community organizations, cultural practitioners and experts, and a range of fishers [subsistence, recreational, and commercial]) would be invited participants in a more structured process for a committed duration of time (i.e. up to 24 months). These meetings will be structured for long-term engagement and provide an opportunity for DAR to receive targeted feedback at different stages in the MMA network design and implementation process. The meetings will be scheduled at set intervals (possibly quarterly), initially from 2021-2023, and potentially beyond as needed to advance Holomua: Marine 30x30 goals. DAR estimates one stakeholder group on each island, with approximately seven groups statewide. The consultant will: a. Coordinate with Holomua: Marine 30x30 team to co-design the process and implement the workshops and stakeholder meetings. b. Coordinate with the Holomua: Marine 30x30 team and communications team or subcontractor i. To ensure the workshops are well-promoted and accessible and that materials/activities are prepared with interactive and well-received messaging, and ii. To establish and implement a communication strategy to recruit participants, ensuring relevant parties are present and involved in planning efforts through participation in key meetings. c. Organize and summarize feedback to inform the planning of MMAs contributing to Holomua: Marine 30x30. d. Oversee logistics planning, schedule and coordinate meetings as needed by DAR, set agendas for meetings, liaise with DAR leadership and the Holomua: Marine 30x30 team, and facilitate each meeting so that meaningful progress is made. e. Facilitate each meeting ensuring that the Holomua: Marine 30x30 Initiative’s mission and ground rules are followed by participants, and redirecting discussion that strays from the agenda topic and objectives or repetitive or non-productive discussion. f. Manage inquiries and feedback from both the public and DAR to ensure the conversation runs smoothly and effectively. g. Ensure a transparent, participatory, and impartial process to collect feedback for DAR’s efforts in a pono way. h. Assist in achieving an inclusive and collaborative process that includes stakeholders from each main Hawaiian island, government agency representatives at state and local levels, community leaders, and a range of 4
fishers to develop and provide input for an island-wide and statewide Marine 30x30 vision. i. Predict and develop contingency plans and establish timely procedures and responses to difficulties (technical or otherwise) should they arise. j. Kindly advise the Holomua: Marine 30x30 team where redirection and/or bold pivots in the process are necessary based on knowledge and expertise. 2. Design and facilitate a series of public outreach meetings: These meetings aim to seek information from communities about management concerns and priorities; provide transparency and updates on work underway; and share best readily available science to inform the design of new MMAs and throughout the process of the program. After a series of virtual talk story sessions, in a post-COVID world, the Holomua: Marine 30x30 team plans to engage with the public in person in a series of outreach meetings. This approach will allow the team to provide information on current progress towards Holomua: Marine 30x30 goals and opportunities for public input. Later, these meetings can be used to present proposed MMAs and provide opportunities for the public to provide input on the development of the MMA network. Ongoing communication with the public is an essential component of the initiative. The consultant will: a. Work with the Holomua: Marine 30x30 team to design, refine and implement these meetings and establish a process and communication strategy to ensure relevant parties are present and involved in these planning efforts. b. Organize and summarize feedback from the meetings to inform the planning of MMAs contributing to Holomua: Marine 30x30. c. Coordinate with the communication team or subcontractor to strategically time and message these sessions, address opposition, and where possible, deescalate opposition and controversy. d. Oversee logistics planning in coordination with the Holomua: Marine 30x30 team. e. Kindly advise on how best to maintain active engagement and follow-up with communities following these sessions. 3. Facilitate public scoping sessions and public hearings for administrative rulemaking “Chapter 91” process: As MMA networks are designed and proposed, each proposal or group of proposals will need to go through the rule-making process set forth in Chapter 91 of the Hawai‘i Administrative Rules. This process includes a series of informal public scoping sessions (listening sessions) where the public can comment and provide input on the proposal before regulations are drafted and formal public hearings where the public may provide testimony related to the proposal. The consultant will: a. Ensure that other participatory activities are strategically aligned and timed with on-going Chapter 91 process procedures so that they are complementary and supportive of one another. 5
b. Recommend, co-develop, and implement with the Holomua: Marine 30x30 team and DAR leadership effective strategies for stakeholder engagement leading up to and during the Chapter 91 process.
Contract Deliverables:
1. The design and implementation of effective community engagement processes in alignment with DAR Holomua: Marine 30x30 Initiative goals and objectives. 2. The development and implementation of an effective stakeholder engagement process for targeted topics and focus areas for the DAR Holomua: Marine 30x30 Initiative. 3. Facilitated community engagement meetings, and up to seven (7) identified stakeholder groups meeting quarterly. 4. Process, structure, outreach and materials for all community engagement and stakeholder group meetings. 5. Meeting summaries that include participant information, issue areas identified, action items, and recommended adjustments in engagement process as needed. 6. Meeting and stakeholder group logistics and coordination with DAR. 7. Any relevant data collection needs identified in consultation with DAR.
Evaluation of Proposals
The following will be taken into consideration in the final proposal selection process: Previous experience including capability and proficiency at designing and implementing community engagement processes for proposed public initiatives Project approach and strategy Experience working with multi-sector collaborations with a variety of agendas Project team Proposal budget Top candidates may be invited to interview with HCF and DAR as part of the selection process.
Desired Qualifications
Previous experience working in partnership with state government Knowledge and experience of local issues in Hawaiʻi; strongest candidates will be based in Hawai‘i
Project Timeline
The project will commence immediately and the contract will be set for 24 months, with option to renew based on satisfactory performance.
Proposal Submittal Instructions 6
Complete proposals must be emailed to Dana Okano, program director, at DOkano@hcfhawaii.org by no later than 4 p.m. HST on June 10, 2021. For proposal submittal questions please contact DOkano@hcf-hawaii.org no later than May 21, 2021. Proposals must be submitted in a single PDF file and limited to 12 pages (not including resumes and samples of previous work). Proposals must include the following components: A. Organization Information: Name, address, and lead contact phone number and email address. B. Experience and Capabilities: Including examples of prior work projects related to this RFP. C. Project Timeline: Including tasks and deliverables, and anticipated costs and timing. This proposed project schedule will be revisited and finalized together with HCF and DAR upon contract award. A simple sample project table is shown below. Task/ Deliverable Cost Date
D. Scope of Work Narrative: Discuss your team’s strategy and timeline to formulate the deliverables discussed in this RFP. Include what you are going to do as outlined in the project timeline and how you will accomplish it. E. Budget Narrative: Discuss your team’s budget. F. Research Team with Project Participants: Include applicable past experience as appropriate. Include any subcontracts that you may require to fulfil this project. G. Client List: Provide a client list including references we may contact.
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APPENDIX I: Useful Resources/ References for Proposal Teams
A. DAR Holomua: Marine 30x30 Initiative: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dar/30x30/
B. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF HAWAI‘I’S MARINE 30 BY 30 INITIATIVE: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dar/files/2020/04/Hawaii_Marine_30x30_MOU.pdf C. Hawai‘i Community Foundation Marine 30x30 Initiative: https://www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/strengthening/marine-30x30
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