Ohio Coalition Institute for OhioMHAS FY26-27

In an MBE set-aside solicitation, only those bidders/suppliers with an active MBE certification at the time the solicitation closes can submit a response

SRC0000032224

7/22/2025 2:00:00 PM

1. PURPOSE

The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services ( Ohio MHAS) is seeking proposals from qualified contractors to coordinate, promote, and evaluate the Ohio Coalition Institute (OCI). The responsibilities of the selected Contractor will include expanding and building out the OCI and creating a pathway for community coalitions to become grounded in the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF). The OCI will assess statewide community coalition capacity, identify gaps, and work to increase capacity and sustainability of coalitions across the state. This includes supporting grassroots and emerging coalitions. The selected entity will be expected to lead the further development, on-going implementation and evaluation of OCI .

1. BACKGROUND

The state of Ohio is committed to strengthening and enhancing coalition infrastructure ensuring and work is grounded in best-practices, including the SPF and the Community Coalition Action Theory. The Ohio Coalition Institute (OCI) was initiated in 2021 by OhioMHAS in partnership with the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation, Prevention Action Alliance, and PreventionFIRST!, who collaboratively developed initial components of the OCI including the Foundations in Community Coalition Development curriculum; a cornerstone OCI program designed for all established and emerging coalitions. Since its inauguration in FFY21, the OCI has provided several community coalition leaders with training, technical assistance, and mentoring in community coalition and prevention best practices. This included training of new coalition coaches in FY25. As Ohio continues to invest in the development of strong community coalitions, for FY26, OhioMHAS is seeking to bring together the history and strengths of Ohio’s infrastructure and leaders to build off the existing OCI infrastructure, increasing its reach, evaluation, and sustainability. The OCI will serve as a hub for innovation, training, networking and advancing a shared visions for coalitions to create lasting change in Ohio’s communities.

1. SCOPE OF WORK AND DELIVERABLES

The OCI seeks to create a sustainable, collaborative and modern infrastructure that supports and elevates community coalitions through enhanced training, technical assistance, and coaching/mentoring. This includes assisting with establishing new coalitions in areas without suicide prevention, problem gambling prevention, and drug free coalitions.  This will also include the elevation of a coalition network to expand opportunities to strengthen coalitions and advance local strategies.

One Contractor will be responsible for implementing and coordinating all components of the OCI, including specified trainings and technical assistance, workforce development and coalition membership engagement. The Contractor will be responsible for establishing a leadership team composed of representatives from partners with active Memoranda of Understanding ( MOUs), OhioMHAS and other relevant stakeholders. The leadership team will support the development and refinement of all aspects of the OCI.

Contractors are required to partner with other statewide entities, Ohio subject matter experts, coaching and mentoring networks, and show how all partners will be involved in the development and implementation (duration, frequency) of the OCI deliverables. This includes traditional partners (sectors of health, education, public safety, faith, etc.) and non-traditional partners that impact social drivers of health (e.g., community action organizations, food banks, child welfare, etc.).

This funding opportunity is designed to improve outcomes across the following goal areas.  Proposals must clearly demonstrate how the Contractor will achieve the stated goals and objectives.  In many cases, goals and objectives will be interconnected and mutually reinforcing.

Goal 1: Establish and Facilitate the OCI Strategic Leadership Team

Contractor will establish a strategic leadership team within the first quarter of the grant period.  This team, including OhioMHAS representation, will guide the planning, implementation, and sustainability of the OCI’s development efforts.  The team should include diverse, cross-sector representatives, including those with lived experience. The team should also include statewide partners coordinating community coalition initiatives and networks. The team will explore and act on opportunities to collaboratively integrate the OCI into existing community coalition infrastructure, contributing to the collective impact of statewide coalition efforts. To formalize these roles, responsibilities and commitments, the Contractor must secure MOUs with each participating organization or agency represented on the team. MOUs should outline each member’s contributions to the OCI.
Objective 1: Collaborate with OCI Strategic Leadership Team to Develop Learning Opportunities
Contractor will share draft curricula for the Community Coalition Action Theory, Community Readiness Assessment, and Data Driven Strategic Planning series with OCI Strategic Leadership Team for review and feedback. Contractor will incorporate feedback into final curricula.
Objective 2: Collaborate with OCI Leadership Team to Market the OCI
Contractor will create a marketing plan to increase awareness of the OCI and communicate its impact. This plan will be shared with the OCI Strategic Leadership Team by October 1, 2025 for feedback and will include paid marketing, social media, presence at state- sponsored conferences, newsletters, and co-promotion with partners.
Objective 3: Collaborate with OCI Strategic Leadership Team to Collect Coalition Data
Contractor will collaborate with the OCI Strategic Leadership Team and external evaluator to collect data for the OCI Coalition Heat Map and will incorporate the Team’s feedback into the expansion of the Map. Contractor will engage the Team and external evaluator in assessing existing processes to collect community coalition data, working to avoid duplicated efforts.
Goal 2: Increase Ohio’s Community Coalition Capacity

The OCI is designed to strengthen the infrastructure, effectiveness and sustainability of community coalitions across the state.  The Contractor will ensure that OCI will build coalition capacity by focusing the key areas outlined and by creating a collaborative learning environment along with coaching and mentoring opportunities.

Objective 1: Coordinate and Evaluate: Foundations of Community Coalition Development (Foundations)

Contractor will utilize the Foundations for Community Coalition Development curriculum, which will be provided by OhioMHAS, The Contractor will coordinate a CoP for ten to twelve new or emerging community coalitions to participate in a seven- month series of learning opportunities with a mix of self-paced, virtual and face to face. Target areas for recruitment will include areas without suicide prevention, problem gambling prevention, or drug free coalitions. These sessions are designed to enhance coalition infrastructure and capacity based on coalition best practices, regardless of each participating coalition’s primary problem of practice. Foundations shall begin no later than October 2025 with a completion date of May 2026. In between sessions, coalitions are expected to be receive coaching support in completing Foundations assignments. Contractor will recruit new and emerging coalitions for this learning opportunity.

Objective 2: Coordinate and Evaluate: From Theory to Practice: Community Coalition Action Theory (CCAT)

Contractor will coordinate the development, implementation, and evaluation of a CCAT series and CoP for eight to ten community coalitions. The CCAT theoretical framework provides a roadmap for building and evaluating an effective coalition. This CoP will enhance coalitions’ infrastructure and sustainability using the CCAT. The curriculum must be designed for established coalitions and shared with the OCI Strategic Leadership Team for review and feedback. Coalitions will receive coaching and support throughout the CCAT learning opportunity. It is expected that the CCAT learning opportunity shall begin no later than January 2026 with a completion date of May 2026. This will include ways to showcase coalitions and their work.

Objective 3 : Coordinate and Evaluate: Community Readiness Assessment (CRA) Training and Coaching Infrastructure

Contractor is expected to develop and implement infrastructure for coalitions to access high quality training and coaching on the CRA.  This infrastructure should equip coalitions to conduct the CRA with fidelity and apply results to planning and capacity building strategies. This will include showcasing coalitions and their work.

Contractor will coordinate the development, implementation, and evaluation of a Community Readiness Assessment (CRA) series and CoP for eight to ten community coalitions. The CRA series will be based on the Tri-Ethnic Center for Prevention Research’s Community Readiness Model, increasing coalitions’ CRA access and support by offering coalitions the option to implement the full or brief version. The curriculum must be designed for established coalitions and shared with the OCI Leadership Team for review and feedback.

Objective 4: Coordinate and Evaluate Data Driven Strategic Planning

Contractor will coordinate the development, implementation, and evaluation of the Data Driven Strategic Planning series and CoP for eight to ten community coalitions. The series will combine a data-driven, strategic planning process with an emphasis on working collectively across the continuum of care, utilizing a person-centered approach that promotes resiliency. Contractor will develop the Data Driven Strategic Planning curriculum, supporting coalitions in completing a Gap Analysis, Logic Model, Strategic Plan, and Showcase. The curriculum must be designed for established coalitions and shared with the OCI Leadership Team for review and feedback.

This series will guide coalitions through a structured, data-driven planning process grounded in the SPF and other relevant frameworks that will support coalitions in the development of community-level strategic plans for prevention of mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders and addressing social drivers of health impacting their communities. This will include showcasing coalitions and their work. Beyond stipends, coalitions will be incentivized to grow their capacity and sustainability in response to their unique needs (e.g., increasing membership, increasing MOUs with partners for sharing data and resources (e.g., ADAMH boards, Fatality Review Boards, LOSS Teams, Coroner Offices, Health Departments, etc.), formalizing structures and operations, integrating strategies into community health improvement plans, increased outcome and continuous quality improvement data, etc.).

Objective 5: Build Regional Coalition Capacity

The Contractor will begin developing regional prevention hubs for coalition training, technical assistance, and mentoring opportunities. This will include partnering with existing statewide coalition partners and coaching networks to integrate hubs into existing coalition infrastructure. Additionally, for counties with multiple coalitions, the Contractor will convene a meeting with all coalitions for each county, at least quarterly.

Goal 3: Increase Awareness of the Ohio Coalition Institute
Maintain and expand OCI communications efforts, including the website to support Ohioans with locating community coalitions and coalition resources. The OCI website will emphasize community coalitions’ role and value in statewide prevention.
Objective 1: Expand OCI Communications
Coordinate and evaluate communications efforts to increase awareness of the OCI and its resources. This includes maintaining and expanding the existing OCI website. In addition to providing coalitions with resources, the OCI website will emphasize community coalitions’ role and value in statewide prevention, with a focus on measurable outcomes. This will include partnering with existing networks of Ohio community coalitions to elevate and advance visibility, serving as a statewide resource for both coalitions and statewide coalition networks. The OCI website will also showcase outcomes from participating OCI coalitions. The Contractor will leverage additional communications strategies (e.g., paid media, newsletters, social media, conference presentations, etc.) to drive traffic to the website and increase awareness of the OCI, its outcomes, and its resources. This will include partnering with statewide entities and coalition networks to co-promote resources and trainings.
Objective 2: Expand the OCI Coalition Map
Contractor will work with an external evaluator, statewide entities, and coalition networks to annually gather community coalition data. This may include implementing a stand-along survey and/or collaborating on existing coalition data gathering efforts. The Contractor will establish a baseline of Ohio’s community coalitions and expand the data available through the interactive coalition map on the OCI website. The map will support users in locating community coalitions based on topics, strategies, and populations of interest. The map will include contact information for each coalition. The map will also function as a heat map and demonstrate the saturation of community coalitions across the gap, identifying gaps, and informing future funding decisions. The Contractor will maintain updated heatmaps that will be shared with OhioMHAS and the Governor’s Office.
Goal 4: Strategic Plan, Evaluation and Sustainability
The Contractor will coordinate strategic planning, evaluation, and sustainability of the OCI.
Objective 1: Develop the 2026 – 2028 OCI Strategic Plan
Contractor will work with the OCI Leadership Team and external evaluator to develop the 2026 – 2028 OCI Strategic Plan. The plan will outline strategies and metrics associated with expanding the reach and collective impact of the OCI, further integrating it into existing statewide infrastructure.
Objective 2: Develop an OCI Evaluation Plan
Contractor will work with an external evaluator to develop the OCI Evaluation Plan, which will include qualitative and quantitative outcomes and will describe continuous quality improvement (CQI) processes. This will include pre- and post-surveys of knowledge and skills gained for all CoPs, analyzed results, and CQI recommendations. This will also include an analysis of the process used for gathering data for the OCI Coalition Map, along with CQI recommendations for gathering, maintaining, and expanding map data. Contractor will work with an external evaluator to assess effectiveness and satisfaction of work with the OCI Leadership Team, identifying and acting on opportunities for CQI.
Objective 3: Develop a Sustainability Plan for OCI
The OCI Sustainability Plan will identify strategies for sustaining OCI work beyond the funded period. This will include processes for gathering, analyzing, and communicating the critical and ongoing role of community coalitions in statewide prevention. The plan should include identifying alternative funding sources and partners. The plan shall also indicate how the work of OCI is designed to support knowledge transfer and coaching between experienced and emerging coalition leaders; supporting the next generation of coalition leaders.
Selected entity will also be expected to engage in the following:

1. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTOR

OhioMHAS seeks Contractors from organizations that are statewide prevention organizations, community-based organizations, institutions of higher education, health care organizations, or other non-profit organizations providing statewide services. Each proposal will be reviewed independently for quality, and applicants must demonstrate the capacity to implement the project.
Only organizations that have the resources to complete each item under “Scope of Work/Deliverables” should apply. Contractors must be a 501-C (3) or (4) non-profit or government entity.
Contractor must demonstrate content expertise in prevention science; Ohio’s approach to coalition development; collective impact; the process of developing and facilitating communities of practice, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention’s Strategies; CDC Strategies for preventing suicide; community trauma; and social drivers of health. Contractors must also have the capacity to reach a statewide audience and utilize a developmental evaluation process.  Contractor must partner with, other (Ohio-based) statewide prevention providers and will have the capacity to facilitate the OCI in multiple settings (i.e., virtual, face to face).
Priority will be given to Contractors who are subject matter experts and that demonstrate a strong commitment to statewide collaboration, evidenced by signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with multiple partner organizations across key functional areas, including training and technical assistance, event planning, marketing, and evaluation.
Contractor shall not be subject to an “unresolved” finding for recovery under Section 9.24 of Ohio Revised Code.
r Section 9.24 of Ohio Revised Code.

PART FOUR: EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

1. Evaluation Process

OhioMHAS’s evaluation process of responses submitted to this request may consist of up to four distinct phases:

1. OhioMHAS’s initial review of all proposals for timely submission;
2. An evaluation committee review of the proposals for defects and scoring;
3. OhioMHAS’s request for more information (clarifications, interviews, presentations, and/or demonstrations); and,
4. Negotiations or best offer requests.

At its sole discretion, OhioMHAS will determine whether phases three and/or four are necessary under this RFP, reserving for itself the ability to eliminate or add phases three or four at any time during the evaluation process. OhioMHAS may add or remove sub-phases to phases 2 through 4 at any time if MHAS believes doing so will improve the evaluation process.

1. Proposal Evaluation Criteria

In the proposal evaluation phase, OhioMHAS staff or reviewers selected by OhioMHAS (the committee) will rate the proposals submitted in response to this RFP based on the following criteria and weight assigned to each criterion.