Request for Statement of Interest (RSI) – due April 30, 2014
To assist the National Park Service (NPS) – Office of Risk Management
With Project Design, Development, and Initial Implementation
Project title: Design, Develop, and Test mobile-learning (M-Learning) curriculum for
National Park Service Risk Management Program specifically “Serious Accident Investigation
Team (SAIT)” training and “Board of Review (BOR)” training.
Goal: This project is foreseen to be broken down into two general modules under Risk
Management, specifically SAIT and BOR. To provide a curriculum and implementation
framework for “just-in-time” training with curriculum including job aids and other tools for
implementing required risk management skills.
Responses to this Request for Statement of Interest (RSI) will be used to identify potential
collaborators who are National Park Service (NPS) Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)
partners for a project funded by the National Park Service Learning and Development branch.
The project may draw upon expertise from the fields of Information Technology, Curriculum
Design, Distance Learning, Law and Policy, Public Health, Risk Management for employees and
visitors on public lands, or comparable fields.
The NPS is requesting information on your interest and qualifications to provide expertise
through a collaborative approach where both parties directly benefit from the collaborative
process. Following the potential identification of a collaborator on this project the NPS hopes to
immediately develop a scope of work governing the collaboration with the selected CESU
partner and Principal Investigator and then begin the noted technical consultations. The funding
for the consultation portion of this project is available now. The project is foreseen to be broken
down into two general modules under Risk Management, specifically SAIT and BOR as follows:

Serious Accident Investigation Team (SAIT)
o Design template for SAIT refresher blended learning with m-learning components
(where applicable)
o Develop the content in cooperation with the NPS risk management and the learning
and development offices
o Test the curriculum with public health students and NPS professionals
o Evaluate the test results for effectiveness
o Make appropriate changes for implementation to NPS audiences and university
learners
o Board of Review (BOR)
 Design template for BOR blended learning with m-learning components (where
applicable)
 Develop the content in cooperation with the NPS risk management and the learning
and development offices
 Test the curriculum with public health students and NPS professionals
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
Evaluate the test results for effectiveness
Make appropriate changes for implementation to NPS audiences and university
learners
Background, Overview, and Issues:
The NPS under the Department of the Interior has requirements for processing employee and
visitor fatalities. However, the training requirements and refreshers are sporadic and challenging
to maintain for the highest quality of effectiveness. Attached are summary statements
describing the current situation in both SAIT refresher training and BOR training. The issues
relate to the umbrella of risk management, public health, team leadership principles and require a
quick learn or quick refresher response mobilization when an incident presents itself.
We anticipate developing several modules of blended learning that may include mobile learning
components associated with applicable modules. We desire a collaborative academic design and
development partnership to accomplish both the strategy for testing & evaluating, as well as
implementation to learners.
The training needs for SAIT include:
 SAIT Lessons Learned from case studies and examples demonstrating challenges,
barriers, best practices, documentation for future lessons learned education.
 Refresher training on procedural steps, protocols, and regulation requirements (example:
Timelines, documentation, team member roles and responsibilities, and final expectations
required of the team).
The training needs for BOR include:
 Goals and expectation of process
 Purpose of laws and policy related to BOR
 Differences and similarities between visitor and employee fatality
 Roles and responsibilities by park, region and national staff
 Steps, protocols and regulatory requirements for conducting a BOR
 And other ancillary benefits associated with a BOR
Currently, the Washington D.C. Office of Risk Management under the directorship of Visitor
and Resource Protection oversees the training and compliance of training and employee
development through Instructor Lead Training (ILT).
This request for statement of interest (RSI) is seeking an overarching proposal for this e-course
design and development but will consider the sub-theme proposals as pieces of the whole project
(in other words, individual proposals to the subthemes mentioned above).
There is no funding available for proposal preparation, but the intent is to have those
assisting in the proposal development serve as the Principle Investigator(s) for the project. The
requested project proposal should include:
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
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development of the proposal introduction and background sections, including a project
abstract and statement of project need;
development of specific tasks and associated methodologies to be used in each of the
project phases;
development of timeframes for implementation of activities identified for each of the
project phases;
development of a detailed project budget that provides information on requested funds
and any in-kind/matching contributions with the following six categories (a) Personnel
Services Costs (Salary and Benefits), (b) Travel and Transportation Costs, (c) Supplies
Costs (d) Equipment Costs, (e) Contractor/Cooperators Costs, and (f) Other Costs
(including CESU overhead).
Electronic Statement of Interest can be e-mailed to Sara_Newman@nps.gov and mailings or
electronic media should be sent by Fed-ex to: National Park Service, Attention Office of Risk
Management, Sara Newman 1201 Eye Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20005. Please submit
electronic Statement of Interest by April 30, 2014.
The effective date of the proposal will be September 1, 2014 to be completed by September
31, 2017. Personnel from the NPS Risk Management program will be available to answer
questions or to provide guidance as needed. Primary point of contact is Sara B. Newman; phone
202-513-7225, Sara_Newman@nps.gov and secondary point of contact is Demmy Vigil, 304535-4023, Demica_Vigil@nps.gov .
Materials Requested for Statement of Interest/Qualifications
Please prepare a not to exceed 3 page summary of how you would envision such a collaborative
project. Include your name, organization, and contact information, as well as information about
any relevant experience, past projects, and staff, faculty, or students who would be available to
work on the project. You may also include CV’s in your submission package and these are not
included in the three page limit. Graduate students are welcome to work on this project under
the supervision of the project Principle Investigator (s). Proposals that involve students from
under-represented demographic groups will be well received. An initial budget not to exceed our
total financing is $50,000 for this fiscal year ending September 31, 2014 and up to $150,000 for
approximately three years total for the completion of the proposal. Each year we anticipate
adding funding to this project. This funding includes the pre-determined 17.5% overhead.
Please submit electronic statements of interest to Sara_Newman@nps.gov by close of
business on April 30, 2014.
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Serious Accident Investigation Team Refresher Training - Brief
VRP Division: Office of Risk Management
Issue: Refresher Training for SAI Teams
Date: June 27, 2013
Background:
Departmental policy (DM485, Chapter 7) requires Bureaus to ensure that adequate
administrative procedures, qualified personnel, and appropriate resources are in place to
conduct serious accident investigations (SAI). The policy requires each bureau’s Designated
Agency Safety and Health Official (DASHO) to authorize or appoint a Serious Accident
Investigation Team (SAIT) or Trained Investigator (TI). The SAIT or TI must be promptly
mobilized and on the ground within 48 hours of the accident. While NPS makes a concerted
effort to meet these requirements, the agency currently uses a simple roster of trained
employees to contact and select SAIT members. As evidenced by recent NPS SAIs, it often
takes several days to identify and mobilize the members of the SAIT, delaying the start of the
investigation process and possibly losing access to frangible physical evidence or witness
testimony, as well as potentially failing to meet NPS and Department timeline requirements for
initiation of the SAI. This also delays communication of critical and accurate information
necessary to brief family members, co-workers, other NPS employees and managers, and the
Office of the Director and the Secretary of the Interior.
Although the roster of trained SAIT members have been through 40 hour training to prepare
them for the requirements of the assignment, because there is commonly a delay between the
initial training and an actual assignment, and the inability to provide shadowing opportunities for
all trained staff, there is a need to provide interim or refresher training for SAIT members to
ensure we have a roster of team members prepared with up to date and current knowledge that
will prepare them to serve as part of a team when needed.
Per DM485 and RM 50B, each SAIT is required to have the following qualified team members:
a) Team Leader: Generally a Superintendent, Regional ARD-O or Chief Ranger or other
NPS senior management official (GS-14 or above) from another region who has
attended the DOI/USDA Interagency Serious Accident Investigation course and is
responsible for all activities required to accomplish the objectives of the investigation.
b) Chief Investigator: A person who by training and experience has the ability to manage a
complex investigation and is responsible for the direct management of all investigative
activities. The Chief Investigator must have completed investigation training and the
DOI/USDA Interagency Serious Accident Investigation course.
c) Safety and Health Advisor: A safety professional in his/her daily job who is responsible
to the team leader for safety and health issues confronting or affecting the team, for
specialized knowledge required for analysis of the causal factors, and a thorough
understanding of the OSH Act and OSHA’s regulatory processes. Must have attended
the DOI/USDA Interagency Serious Accident Investigation course or equivalent.
d) Document Specialist/writer/editor: A person who by occupation or training is able to use
software and hardware to collect, scan, distribute, save and organize evidentiary
documents, develop the body of the report, transcribe notes from SAI team members
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into the report and otherwise facilitate the development of the Factual and Management
Reports.
e) Subject Matter Expert(s): A subject matter expert who is familiar with the duties,
equipment or operation of the individuals involved, or is a SAIT trained investigator as
appropriate.
f) Additional supporting members as needed at different phases in an investigation:
i.
Technical specialists
ii.
Public Affairs Officer
iii.
Root cause analysis facilitator (can be contractor)
Training Needs:
1. Lessons learned from SAITs: Case studies/examples of challenges/barriers
2. Role specific training
3. Refresher on steps to carry out a SAIT
a. What are timelines
b. What documentation is required
c. What are the roles of the various team members
d. What are the products required from the team
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Visitor Board of Review Training Project - Brief
Office of Risk Management, Public Risk Management Program
Background
The implementation of Director’s Order #50C in May 2010 requires all parks to conduct a
Board of Review (BOR) assessment for all visitor fatalities. Since then, however, only 55 BORs
(11%) of 505 visitor fatalities have been submitted. Aside from the basic guidance and template
provided in RM 50C Part III: Board of Review, park regions and staff have not received any
official training on how to properly conduct a visitor Board of Review, why it’s important, and
how it can help prevent future incidents. Furthermore, park staff may not realized that the visitor
BOR process is much shorter and less demanding than the extensive process that is required of
them when handling employee fatalities. Considering the burden of visitor fatalities is far greater
than that of employee fatalities, it is unsurprising that park staff feel overwhelmed by this
requirement.
Based on an series of interviews conducted with park and regional chief rangers and
regional safety officers to address concerns about low and inconsistent reporting, staff
expressed a general lack of education, training, appropriate resources, and communication
about the visitor BOR process. Delegation of responsibilities for initiating and conducting a
visitor BOR is not always clear, and many expressed reservations about liability risks and FOIA
concerns. Regional offices are not clear about their role in the BOR process or how they are to
assist parks. NPS staff is often not aware of the policy, process, and expectations. Due to lack
of training and support, most officials feel ill-equipped to pursue and complete the process.
There is a strong need for a training initiative that can prepare NPS staff with the education,
tools, and resources necessary to effectively complete the BOR process.
Goals
A BOR Training Program would demonstrate to NPS staff:
 The purpose of Director’s Order 50C and the goals and expectations of the BOR
process
 The benefits of conducting a BOR to improve risk management processes in the
park and to strengthen the discretionary function of the superintendent.
 How to differentiate between the processes used to address visitor fatalities and
employee fatalities
 Clarify the regional and park roles in the BOR process
 How to properly and efficiently conduct a BOR
 How to write a BOR report
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