RFP: Community Impact Projects

Deadline Extended: Please note, the Community Impact Projects application deadline has been extended to March 22, 2022. Applications were originally due on March 15.

Community Impact Projects: Executive Summary 

The Southwest Washington Accountable Community of Health (SWACH) is seeking proposals for projects and programs that address the social determinants of health through a racial equity lens. Oftentimes, there are many factors besides physical health that affect someone’s overall wellness. These factors can include barriers like behavioral and mental health, access to social services, housing, transportation, and more.  

SWACH is specifically asking for proposals that support an identified “Medicaid Priority Population” through one of four topics: Physical Health and Behavioral Health integration, Community-Clinical linkages, Chronic Disease Management, or Opioid Crisis Response. Projects must be focused in the SWACH region, including Clark, Skamania, and Klickitat counties.  

The Medicaid Priority Populations identified for this project are: 

• Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) communities 
• Children and Youth 
• LGBTQIA+ communities 

• Low-income communities 
• Rural communities 
   

The strategic approaches to change are detailed in the full Request for Proposals (RFP). Applications are being accepted through March 22, 2022.  

Community Impact Projects: Overview and Purpose 

The Community Impact Project awards one year of funding to organizations that provide services for, but not limited to, Apple Health (Medicaid) population in Clark, Skamania and Klickitat Counties. Through this RFP, Southwest Washington Accountable Community of Health (SWACH), seeks to fund efforts that center racial equity to address the social determinants of health-related to one of four Medicaid Transformation Project areas: 1) Physical Health and Behavioral Health integration, 2) Community-Clinical linkages, 3) Chronic Disease Management, or 4) Opioid Crisis Response. 

Contact info@southwestach.org or (360) 828-7319 for more information. 
 
 
 Questions about the application? Review the presentation from recent information sessions to learn more.
 

Application Available at: https://southwestach.org/rfps/	Deadline March 22, 2022, 11:59 p.m. PST
Information Sessions:    Tuesday, February 8th  12:00pm-1:00pm  Zoom Link	Thursday, February 10th  12:00pm-1:00pm  Zoom Link
A “Frequently Asked Questions” document will be developed from the info sessions and will be posted on SWACH’s website by Tuesday, February 15th.
Eligibility    Eligible organizations include any of the following: - 501(c)(3) organizations - Fiscal Sponsor with Federal Tax ID number - Local Health Jurisdictions - School-Based Systems - Health-Based Systems - Tribal Governments - Other Systems that provide services for, but not limited to, Apple Health (Medicaid) population in Clark, Skamania and Klickitat Counties.
Funding  Awardees will receive one year of funding from July 2022 through June 2023. The maximum award amounts depend on the strategy area being applied for: Organizational Redesign ($200,000), System Redesign ($500,000), or Capacity Building ($50,000)

We are seeking to fund projects that center racial equity to 1) support at least one of SWACH’s priority Medicaid populations, 2) address one of the three strategic approaches to change, and 3) focus on one of the four Medicaid Transformation Project Areas: 

Medicaid Priority Populations: 

• Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) communities;  

• Children and Youth; 
• LGBTQIA+ communities; 
• Low-income communities; 
• Rural communities 

Strategic Approaches to Change: 

1. Organizational Redesign (Innovation and systems change within a single organization) 

Funding for organizations to work on internal processes and systems that will set them up for cross-sector collaboration. 

2. System Redesign (Multi-organization partnership) 

Funding for cross-sector collaborations and partners working on joint efforts to achieve whole system responses to whole-person health needs. Cross-sector organizations could include: 

• Community Health Workers, Community Health Advocates, and/or Peers 
• Criminal justice 
• Culturally specific organizations 

• Education or workforce development   
• Emergency response (Emergency medical services, fire and rescue)   
• Neighborhood groups 
• Public health 
• Social services (food, housing, domestic violence, shelter, transportation, utility assistance)   
• Substance Use Disorder support organizations   

3. Capacity Building (Either single or multi-organization partnership) 

Funding for a range of in-kind investments to develop a culture of equity and increase community resilience and/or better position the organization to respond to emerging needs and demands, such as: 

• Trainings 

• Learning activities 
• Materials 
• Underwriting evaluations or planning 

 
Medicaid Transformation Project Areas 

• Physical Health-Behavioral Health Integration 

• Community-Clinical Linkages 
• Chronic Disease Management  
• Opioid crisis response  
   

Eligibility and Requirements 

Eligible organizations include any of the following: - 501(c)(3) organizations - Fiscal Sponsor with Federal Tax ID number - Local Health Jurisdictions - School-Based Systems - Health-Based Systems - Tribal Governments - Other Systems that provide services for, but not limited to, Apple Health (Medicaid) population in Clark, Skamania and Klickitat Counties.

• Funding may not be used for: 
• Capital expenditures for general purpose equipment, building and land, except for costs for ordinary and normal rearrangement or alteration of facilities that support whole person care and/or community clinical linkages  

• Alcoholic beverages  
• Debt restructuring and bad debt  
• Defense and prosecution of criminal and civil proceedings and claims  
• Donations and contributions  
• Entertainment  

• Fines and penalties  
• Fund raising and investment management costs  
• Foods or services for personal use  
• Idle facilities and idle capacity  
• Interest expense  

• Lobbying  
• Memberships and subscription costs  
• Patent costs  
   
   

Funding 

Awards are based on the overall score in relation to this program’s evaluation criteria and budget category  

size based on the organization’s average annual budget. The larger the institution, the smaller the  

percentage of their budget that will be funded. In our effort towards reparative justice and to address the systemic disparity of inequitable funding, organizations that can be defined as People of Color Centered will receive a higher percentage of funding in relation to their budget size. 
 

This is a one-year funding opportunity. Each recipient will receive funding for July 2022 through June 2023. Receipt of the funds is dependent upon each organization’s follow-through in completing the required contracting and/or invoicing and reporting documents 

Project Type	Max Funding Per Application	Total Funding	# of projects anticipate funding
Organizational redesign	$200,000	$1,000,000	5
System redesign	$500,000	$1,500,000	3
Capacity building	$50,000	$500,000	10
Total Funding for New Projects		$3,000,000

Review Committee and Criteria 

SWACH will initially review applications to ensure eligibility criteria are met. A seven-person Review Committee will evaluate all RFP applications using the criteria below. The Review Committee will comprise of community members and partners across Clark, Skamania and Klickitat County and one SWACH team member. SWACH’s Director team will review final panel recommendations and vote to approve. See the Timeline section for more details. 
 
Proposals submitted for this funding will be evaluated on the following core criteria:  

Racial Equity   (20 points)	Describes how the project will address systematic racism, discrimination, and other forms of institutional inequities. Describes which communities are most impacted by the project. Describes how community voices are a part of planning and implementation.
Priority Population(s)  (20 points)	Identifies priority population(s) Describes how the project centers priority population and its community voice
Strategic Approaches to Change: (10 points)	Organizational Redesign: Describes approaches for improving internal processes and/or systems  Demonstrates the impact or opportunity the project will have on cross-sector collaboration System Redesign  Demonstrates a partnership two or more organizations. The strongest proposals will include cross-sector partnerships between behavioral health care, physical health care and community-serving organizations. Identifies partners and proposed roles. Capacity Building Describes specific capacity building activities/tools/resources the funding would support to develop a culture of equity and increase community resilience and/or better position the organization to respond to emerging needs and demands.
Impact (20 Points)	Describes a problem regarding a community need. Describes how the project plan will impact: The delivery of care or services; and/or The coordination of care across organizations and sectors; and/or Community conditions and environments to address inequities in health, safety, and wellness. How your project will improve one or more of Medicaid population priority areas
Measurability (20 points)	Describes outcomes that may be identified and measured. Describes any ways that community voice and/or other types of qualitative data will be included in measurability.  Demonstrates equity framework in measurability.
Sustainability  (10 points)	Describes a project that has the potential for continued support from partners or external sources. Includes ways that project staff and leadership will use anticipated learnings from this project to continue work post funding period.

Application Outline 

Applications can be written and submitted as a Word, PowerPoint, or PDF type document to: info@southwestach.org. 

Applications can be any length to fully answer the application materials requested below. 

If interested applicant is unable to submit using written format, please contact info@southwestach.org for other options (e.g., verbal or video application). 

1. Profile 

• Organization(s) and primary contact information 
• Mission Statement, Vision, Values 
• 501(c)(3) status or Fiscal Sponsor’s Federal tax ID number 
• Racial Equity Self-Assessment 
• What are you doing to become a more anti-racist organization? What’s working? Where do you have room for growth? (Maximum Characters: 2,500) 

2. Medicaid Transformation Project Area: Identify which of the four areas your project will focus on: 1) Physical Health and Behavioral Health integration, 2) Community-Clinical linkages, 3) Chronic Disease Management, or 4) Opioid Crisis Response. 
3. Strategic Approach to Change: Identify which of the three approaches of change your project will utilize: 1) Organizational Redesign, 2) System Redesign, or 3) Capacity Building. 
4. Project Description: 

• Title 

• Problem Statement  
• Aim statement (including priority population) 
• Key milestones and change activities that will accomplish the aim  
• Clear success measures and outcomes  
• Plan to sustain efforts beyond the one-year funding period 

• Demonstration of how the project will help improve one or more of SWACH’s P4P measures (see Appendix:) 
• Project team members listed with identified roles 

5. Letter(s) of Partnership: If applicable, a letter of partnership from each organization, which identifies their contribution to the partnership (including FTE, funding, etc.) 
6. Budget: Download Excel budget template here [insert link]. 

Timeline 

February 1, 2022 RFP applications open 

February 2022 A five-person Review Committee of community members, partners, and one SWACH staff member is formed to review and score applications according to program eligibility and criteria. 

March 22, 2022 RFP applications due 

March 2022 SWACH staff complete an initial review of applications to ensure RFPs meet eligibility requirements. Review Committee meets to review and discuss each eligible application in relation to criteria. 

April 2022 SWACH Director team will review final panel recommendations and vote to approve. 

May 2022 Applicants are notified whether they have been approved for funding. 

May-June 2022 Contracting process begins, including finalizing budget and scope of work documents. 

July 2022 – June 2023 Period of Funding 
 

Obligation of Award Recipients 

Acknowledgement 

Organizations receiving awards from must acknowledge SWACH support in printed materials, signage visible to the public, via social media or in other ways appropriate to the project. SWACH will supply preferred wording and logos in electronic format. 

Reporting 
 
Prior to receiving quarterly payments, awardees will be required to complete a web-based quarterly report. Partners will have the option for a facilitated (verbal) quarterly report with SWACH staff. This quarterly report will center partner’s continued equity learnings and include significant efforts or accomplishments toward project milestones, an explanation of any changes in work plan during that period, any challenges encountered or anticipated and identification of any technical assistance or other support needed. 

Awardees will receive written and verbal explanation of reporting measures prior to first quarterly report due.  

Clinical Partners 

Clinical partners will be required to report Pay for Reporting (P4R) measures at the practice / site level to meet Health Care Authority specifications on a semi-annual basis. Clinical partners will also need to submit an integration assessment tool. Previously, the Maine Health Access Foundation’s integrated care site self-assessment survey (MeHAF) was the required tool for each site/clinic participating in Medicaid Transformation Project activities. The Washington Health Care Authority is conducting a phased implementation of a new integration tool, the Washington Integrated Care Assessment (WA-ICA). It is possible that that clinical partners will be asked to utilize this new tool as part of required reporting for this funding in place of the MeHAF. For more information on the WA-ICA, click here. 

Community Serving Partners 

Community serving partners are required to report Pay for Reporting (P4R) measures at the organization level as part of their quarterly progress reports. 

How will this information be used? 

Like all Accountable Communities of Health, SWACH is required to collect certain information from its partners to fulfill reporting obligations to the Washington State Health Care Authority (HCA) and earn the region’s payments for Medicaid transformation.