Request for Proposals: Cannabis in Our Communities: A Focus on Inuit Youth and Maternal Health and Well-being.

-Awareness and Harm Reduction Campaign: Creation of Knowledge Translation materials-

Statement of Work

Title: Cannabis in Our Communities: A Focus on Inuit Youth and Maternal Health and Well-being

Background 

Incorporated in 1984, Pauktuutit is the national representative organization of Inuit women in Canada. Its mandate is to foster a greater awareness of the needs of Inuit women, and to encourage their participation in community, regional and national concerns in relation to social, cultural and economic development. 

Pauktuutit is active in a wide range of areas including health, gender equality, abuse prevention, protection of cultural and traditional knowledge and economic development. Pauktuutit’s input is regularly solicited on issues including the environment and climate change, children and youth, and a range of international processes and forums. We are very happy to announce that Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada (Pauktuutit) has secured funding to start a new project titled Cannabis in Our Communities: A Focus on Inuit Youth and Maternal Health and Well-being. The overall objective of this project is to assess knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours in Inuit communities regarding cannabis, raise awareness of the effects, and potential impacts of cannabis using a trauma-informed, culturally relevant, and gender-informed harm reduction approach. Pauktuutit will be conducting focus groups across Inuit Nunangat and in three urban centres and will also launch a national online survey to inform future programming and policies to reduce the harms associated with cannabis use. 

The proposed project is innovative and will reach and target a largely underserved population: Inuit. Pauktuutit is responding to the need for public education, awareness, harm reduction and prevention initiatives that align with the social context of Inuit knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours around cannabis consumption, and in the context of a shifting Northern health, social and economic environment. Relatable data on knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours around cannabis use among Inuit youth are not available, and there is a lack of data on cannabis use during pregnancy. The proposed project will respond to this lack of information on Inuit-specific cannabis use data by holding focus groups to collect the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours towards cannabis of Inuit youth, girls and women of child-bearing age, and their partners. Once this information is collected, Pauktuutit will develop a public education campaign to raise awareness and education around cannabis use using a harm reduction approach. The public awareness campaigns will be developed in collaboration with Inuit youth leaders and will include messages from young opinion-leaders. The results of Pauktuutit’s engagement with Inuit youth will help bolster the health promotion and prevention field. It will also be of interest to professionals working in youth drug prevention initiatives, policy makers, program developers, researchers, educators and parents.

Project goals and target audience

Target Audience: Inuit women and their partners, Inuit youth and young adults.

Target Population Groups: Nunavik Inuit (Northern Quebec), Inuvialuit Inuit (Northwest Territories), and Nunavut Inuit (Nunavut Regions-North and South Baffin, Kivalliq, and the Kitikmeot Regions), and urban Inuit in Edmonton, Montreal and Ottawa and St. John’s. 

Immediate Goals

1. To gain knowledge from Inuit communities, specifically youth, pregnant women and their partners, about access to evidence-informed information on cannabis use.
2. To equip Inuit youth, pregnant women and their partners with the capacity (knowledge, skills, and supports) to inform their decisions and actions related to cannabis use.

Intermediate Goals

1. To ensure that Inuit youth, pregnant women and their partners use evidence-informed information on cannabis use to change policies, programs, and practices in their communities, both urban and regional. 
2. To ensure that Inuit youth, pregnant women and their partners take positive actions with respect to cannabis use.

Long-term Goals

1. To ensure that Inuit have access to quality, evidence informed and culturally specific health promotion, prevention, treatment and harm reduction programs and services.
2. To ensure that Inuit have better health outcomes.

Project Objectives

• Objective 1: To enhance Inuit-specific data regarding cannabis to inform project resources development, through conducting 16 focus groups (8 groups with youth and 8 groups with pregnant women and their partners) and a national survey to inform future programming and policies to reduce the harms associated with cannabis use among non-pregnant women of child-bearing age; pregnant women and their partners, youth and young adults, and related service providers and policy makers. 
• Objective 2: To disseminate and share information on where services and resources are available for Inuit to access evidence-informed information around cannabis and its use, by conducting a literature review and environmental scan of current policies, programs, practises and resources available to Inuit communities.
• Objective 3: To increase capacity (culturally specific knowledge, information) to raise awareness of the potential risks of cannabis use during pregnancy and during youth development for Inuit communities.

Scope of Work

This is an open call to individuals, firms, or organizations to provide a comprehensive proposal to assist in the creation of a knowledge translation campaign and resource toolkit, including key messaging and awareness and harm reduction resources in partnership with Pauktuutit. We encourage the submission of proposals from Inuit or Indigenous organizations.

Applicants must demonstrate an understanding of Inuit culture, experience in knowledge translation, behaviour change, harm reduction strategies, and the ability to produce culturally appropriate resources and media. The knowledge translation campaign and resource toolkit will build off the research and engagement completed in Phase I. Phase I of the project focused upon assessing current knowledge, attitudes and behaviors around cannabis in Inuit communities and gaining a clear understanding of the needs and priorities regarding cannabis use.  

For Phase 2, the focus of this RFP, you will use the outcomes from the needs assessment in Phase 1 to identify and define supports and resources that would best address the prevention and awareness needs and priorities of Inuit communities with guidance from the National Inuit Cannabis Advisory Committee and other key stakeholders or community champions. You will then use this to develop the prevention and awareness knowledge products in form of a resource toolkit. These knowledge translation products should address youths’ and young parents’ cannabis use, specifically around education and awareness in a culturally relevant, gender-specific, trauma-informed, harm reduction approach. The goal of the resource toolkit is ensuring that pregnant women, their partners, and youth have the information they need to make safe decisions around cannabis use to reduce the potential harms associated with it. Once the knowledge translation campaign is created it will be implemented and resource toolkits will be disseminated in and outside Inuit Nunangat. 

Key Activities and Deliverables

Working directly with Pauktuutit Staff and Advisory Committee members

1. Using the findings outlined in the draft summary report from Phase 1 of the project, identify and define the needs and priorities of Inuit communities with respect to encouraging safe cannabis use.
2. Develop a communications strategy and plan with the target audience of youth and expecting parents and with the goal of awareness and harm reduction regarding safe cannabis use.
3. Develop key messaging around dispelling myths and reducing the potential harms of cannabis use during adolescence, pregnancy, and post-partum.
4. Create a knowledge translation toolkit to share across Inuit Nunangat using a strength-based approach guided by IQ principles which may include, but are not limited to: 
   1. print material such as posters and brochures, 
   2. radio/video public service announcements, 
   3. social media campaigns, 
   4. video messaging, and, 
   5. promotional items.
5. Implement and disseminate the communication strategy, knowledge translation plan and resources in and outside Inuit Nunangat. 
6. Work with evaluators to ensure we are reaching key targets and engaging with communities and stakeholders. 

Additionally, the successful candidate will be required to:

• Participate in project meetings and teleconferences as appropriate,
• Support project related work and evaluation where necessary,
• Provide progress updates as requested; and,
• Submit all final project documents upon completion.

Timelines

The duration of the contract will be December 11, 2020—June 30, 2021*.

• Bids accepted until December 4, 2020,
• Contract begins December 11, 2020; (2 contracts will be required to span over two fiscal years),
• Delivery of knowledge translation toolkit and communication/ dissemination plan by March 31, 2021; and assist in delivery of said plan until end of contract,
• Contract ends—June 30, 2021.

*Depending on the COVID-19 pandemic—timelines are subject to change with approval by both parties. 

Pauktuutit’s Roles and Responsibilities

The primary contact for this project is Chelsea Giesel, Project Coordinator (cgiesel@pauktuutit.ca) Pauktuutit commits to provide the information and materials necessary to complete the work and will respond to requests for information in a timely fashion.

Pauktuutit will provide a decision on the awarded proposal within seven business days following the close of this Request for Proposal.

Confidentiality, Privacy and Copyright

The successful applicant shall not disclose to any party any confidential information gained or resulting from activities undertaken under this project, nor shall the applicant disclose any information concerning Pauktuutit or their affairs where such information is obtained through this contract.

It is understood that Pauktuutit retains ownership of any and all materials and intellectual property created, designed, or produced as a result of activities undertaken by the successful applicant when awarded this project.

It is understood that the successful applicant will generate original designs and work for this project.

Proposal Instructions

• Applicants must submit their company name, and confirm their incorporation, references, and/or portfolio,
• Submit by email to cgiesel@pauktuutit.ca,
• Word format or PDF,
• No payment will be made for costs incurred in the preparation and submission of a proposal in response to this RFP, 
• No costs incurred before receipt of a signed contract can be charged to the proposed contract,
• Travel (expenses AND transport) that may be required will be separate from this scope of work budget and will be paid for by Pauktuutit; and, 
• Pauktuutit reserves the right not to award a contract as a result of this RFP.

Budget

The proposal must:

• Include a detailed budget not to exceed $76,000 including HST and demonstrates the objectives and deliverables for the project can be met,
• Indicate the billing rate,
• List any other expenses that might be applicable; and
• Total bid of $76,000 MUST include 13% HST tax.

Rights of the Organization

Pauktuutit reserves the right to:

• Enter into negotiations with one or more bidders on any or all aspects of this proposal,
• Accept any proposal in whole or in part,
• Cancel and/or re-issue this requirement at any time,
• Award one or more contracts,
• Verify any or all information provided by the bidder with respect to this requirement.

Contact Information

Please direct the application to:

Chelsea Giesel, Project Coordinator
Pauktuutit Inuit Women of Canada
520-1 Nicholas St. Ottawa, ON K1N 7B7
cgiesel@pauktuutit.ca
613-238-3977 ext. 262