California Air Resources Board

I. Objective

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is responsible for developing quantification methodologies (QMs) for estimating greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions and other benefits from projects funded by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF). The purpose of this contract is to convene consultants to acquire technical review and community feedback from subject-matter experts and facilitate public outreach and engagement of CARB’s QMs and associated calculator tools. The Contractor will serve as the Consultant and Engagement Administrator. The overarching objective of the project is to increase the scientific rigor of CARB’s QMs through a peer review process, enhance the usability and applicability of CARB’s QM tools, and improve public engagement in CARB’s QM development process.

II. Background

Under California’s Cap-and-Trade program, the State’s portion of proceeds from Cap-and-Trade auctions are deposited into the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF). Through the State budget process, the Legislature appropriates funding from the GGRF to State agencies to invest in projects that help achieve the State’s climate goals. These investments are collectively called California Climate Investments.

Senate Bill 862 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 36, Statutes of 2014) requires CARB to develop guidance on reporting and quantification methods for all State agencies that receive appropriations from the GGRF. Guidance includes developing QMs for estimating GHG emission reductions and other social, economic, and environmental benefits of projects, referred to as “co-benefits.” To date, CARB has developed over 40 QMs used by California Climate Investments programs to estimate benefits from a diverse assortment of projects that support transportation and sustainable communities, clean energy and efficiency, natural resources conservation and waste diversion, and more. QM development entails producing a new QM or updating an existing QM. CARB develops QMs to provide project-level GHG emission or co-benefit estimates that are supported by empirical literature and to incorporate calculations of project benefits into a user-friendly calculator tool.

QM and calculator tool development relies on a review of the available science, coordination with other State agencies, outside experts, and academic partners to obtain technical assistance and expertise, as needed. However, engagement with outside experts and academic partners has been relatively limited for a number of programs, due to limited outreach capacity and timelines that do not work with traditional methods of soliciting academic or public involvement. QMs generally need to be developed within 6-12 months after funds are appropriated to a program, and individual CARB contracts with outside experts or academics to develop or improve each QM and/or calculator tool typically require 1 year to execute and 1-2 years to yield results.

The purpose of this contract is to improve the peer review process and public engagement during QM development by having the Contractor collaborate with CARB staff to assemble, organize, and compensate consultant groups of subject-matter experts; conduct public outreach and engagement; and provide reports on how CARB can improve these processes in the future to further our equity and environmental justice goals. The consultant groups will comprise technical review committees who will provide technical peer review during the QM development process and community consultants who will give guidance and feedback on CARB QMs. CARB staff expect to develop approximately four to eight QMs over the course of the two-year contract period that will need technical review and public engagement as part of this contract. The QMs could cover project areas such as zero-emission vehicle infrastructure, active transportation, trip reduction ordinances, energy efficiency and building decarbonization, microgrids, forest restoration and management, agricultural lands conservation, dairy digesters, alternative manure management, and healthy soils (the project areas will be determined by CARB staff at the start of the contract and subject to change).

III. Scope of Work

Task 1 - Technical Review Committee

Task 1.1 - Identify CARB Needs and Develop Work Plan

CARB staff will identify and develop the QMs that will require a technical review committee (TRC). Each QM will have its own TRC, but each TRC may have overlapping members. The goal of TRCs is to ensure the validity, quality, and scientific integrity of the QM and related materials. CARB staff will select the project areas that require QM technical review for estimating GHG emission reductions and co-benefits (e.g., nitrogen oxides, reactive organic gases, and particulate matter emission reductions; energy and fuel savings).

For each QM, CARB staff will convene a meeting(s) with the Contractor, and relevant state agency staff identified by CARB to discuss the QM, associated California Climate Investments program(s), timeline for completing the QM, expectations of the TRC, and the subject matter expertise and interested party representation needed. With CARB staff’s guidance and direction, and consistent with all applicable laws, the Contractor will develop a work plan and timeline for the TRCs, which will include a recruitment plan that ensures diverse representation, a compensation plan, and a plan to convene meetings and coordinate the TRC review process.

Task 1.2 - Identify and Select Technical Review Committee Members

In collaboration with CARB staff, the Contractor will oversee solicitations to recruit and identify TRC members for each QM. All aspects of the solicitation must be approved by CARB staff prior to publication and dissemination. TRCs should have diverse representation and affiliations and can include but are not limited to universities, research institutions, non-governmental organizations, Native American Tribes, private industry, community groups, and others. TRC members will be subject matter experts with the technical expertise necessary to provide guidance and review on the metrics, data, equations, scientific literature, other aspects of the methodology, and calculator tools for the associated QM. Upon CARB staff’s review and approval, the Contractor will select three to six members for each TRC. The Contractor will fairly compensate TRC members for their work and time.

Task 1.3 - Convene Technical Review Committee Meetings

The Contractor will work with CARB staff to convene regularly scheduled virtual meetings with each TRC and relevant CARB and state staff at least monthly for the duration of the QM development process (6-12 months). The goal of each meeting will be to facilitate TRC review of methodologies and gather recommendations regarding data sources, metrics, methodology, usability of calculator tools, and ongoing research that can be leveraged. The agenda for each meeting will be developed in collaboration with CARB staff. The contractor will provide a summary of the takeaways from each meeting, which will include any recommendations to CARB staff from discussions and next steps.

Task 1.4 - Gather Technical Review Committee Feedback

At the end of each QM technical review process, based on the work from Task 1.3, the Contractor will provide a summary of all TRC recommendations and comments on the QM to CARB staff. The TRC summaries may be posted publicly or referenced in public CARB documents. The Contractor will also gather feedback from TRC members on their experience with the QM review process overall and how it can be improved.

Task 2 - Committee Consultants

Task 2.1 - Identify CARB Needs and Develop Work Plan

The community consultants will be made up of members of the public who will have lived, professional, and/or leadership experience outside of government, academia, and for-profit private industry to provide diverse, community-based perspectives and priorities during the QM development process. Community consultants will be subject matter experts within their community, Tribe, region, community-based group, or organization on QM project areas and/or associated California Climate Investment programs. The community consultants will be one group who will give guidance on all QMs being developed over the contract period separate from the TRC process and potentially other California Climate Investments policy work.

For each year of the contract, CARB staff will convene a meeting with the Contractor, and relevant State agency staff identified by CARB to identify the QM work ahead for the year, the expectations for the community consultants, and the expertise and representation needed for the group. With CARB staff’s guidance and direction, and consistent with all applicable laws, the Contractor will develop a work plan and timeline for the community consultants, which will include a recruitment plan that ensures diverse representation, a compensation plan, and a plan to convene meetings and coordinate the community consultant review and feedback process.

Task 2.2 - Identify and Select Community Consultants

In collaboration with CARB staff, the Contractor will identify and recruit community consultant members. All aspects of the solicitation or recruitment must be approved by CARB staff prior to publication and dissemination. Community consultants should have diverse representation and affiliations that can include but are not limited to community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations, Native American Tribes, and former, current, or prospective California Climate Investments program applicants or recipients/beneficiaries of California Climate Investments programs. The community consultants must be residents of California and/or California Tribal Governments. The community consultants must also include people from or people that represent those from priority populations as defined by California Climate Investments. Upon CARB staff’s review and approval, the Contractor will select approximately 10 or more participants to be community consultants. The Contractor will fairly compensate the community consultants for their work and time.

Task 2.3 - Convene Community Consultant Meetings

The Contractor will work with CARB staff to convene regularly scheduled virtual meetings with the community consultants and relevant CARB and State staff at least four times each year. The goal of each meeting will be to facilitate the review of and collect feedback on the QMs and calculator tools being developed for the year. Meeting activities should include: discussion of the scope of QMs, applicable California Climate Investments program(s), resources and constraints for developing the QM, identification of the quantitative and qualitative metrics and co-benefits that will be measured and testing the usability and user experience of calculator tools. Some community consultant meetings will also be leveraged to solicit feedback and guidance on other California Climate Investment policy work as needed.

The agenda for each meeting will be developed in collaboration with CARB staff. The contractor will provide summaries of the takeaways from each meeting, which will include any recommendations to CARB staff from discussions and next steps.

Task 2.4 - Gather Feedback from Community Consultants

At the end of the community consultant feedback process for each QM, based on the work from Task 2.3, the Contractor will provide a summary of all community consultant recommendations and comments on the QM to CARB staff. The community consultant summaries may be posted publicly or referenced in public CARB documents. The Contractor will also gather feedback from community consultants on their experience with the QM review process overall and how the process can be improved.

Task 3 - Outreach and Engagement

Upon completion of CARB’s development process for CARB-selected QMs, CARB staff will post the draft QM documentation and QM tool for a public comment period. During the public comment period for each of the select QMs, the Contractor will work with CARB staff to determine the feasibility of hosting a virtual public meeting. If a public meeting is determined to be feasible, it will include, at minimum, an overview of the QM development process (including the TRC and community consultant review processes), introduce the draft QM and the calculator tool, solicit public input, and call for public comment submissions. The Contractor will develop an outreach plan for the public meeting. Based on the outreach plan, the Contractor will help CARB staff develop outreach and engagement materials, share and distribute the call for public comment and public meeting notices to relevant interested parties across the state, particularly to those who live in or represent California Climate Investments priority populations. Furthermore, the Contractor will collaborate with CARB staff to create presentation and engagement materials for the public meeting, help facilitate the meeting, and collect public input related to improving future outreach and engagement opportunities.

Task 4 - Develop Report on QM Procedures

The Contractor will write a report that compiles the lessons learned during the contract and provides recommendations on how CARB can continue to improve its QM development and public review process. Based on the work from Tasks 1 and 2, the report will provide suggestions such as how CARB can enhance the usability of its calculator tools, standardize or improve how QM materials are presented, recommend other strategies to improve QMs, and incorporate community-based participatory research and other forms knowledge production outside of academia/western science. Based on the work from Tasks 2 and 3, the report will include recommendations on how CARB may enhance its public outreach and engagement process for evaluating QM materials, improve its public comment period and solicitation process to further engage relevant interested parties, and better collect feedback after the QM posting about usability and user experience.

IV. Deliverables

The project pre-proposal must include but is not limited to the following deliverables:

During Active Contract Period

• Work with CARB staff at the beginning of the project to create a 1-page plain-language outreach deliverable for the public describing the project’s goals, process, and planned deliverables (available in multiple languages, template will be provided). 
• Work plans for technical review committees and community consultants that will include a recruitment plan that ensures diverse representation, a compensation plan, and a plan to convene meetings and coordinate the review and feedback process.
• Technical review committees and community consultant meetings; agenda materials and summary notes for each meeting
• Summary documents of technical review committee and community consultant comments and recommendations for each QM
• Outreach plan for QM public meetings
• QM public meetings; outreach and engagement materials and collection of public input
• Quarterly Progress Reports
• Quarterly Progress Meetings
• Informal consultation meetings with CARB contract manager as needed

Prior to Contract Close

• Draft Report on Recommendations to Enhance QM Development and Engagement
• Final Report on Recommendations to Enhance QM Development and Engagement
• Presentation to CARB staff on Report Recommendations

NOTE: Contractor(s) will be responsible for ensuring their documents comply with the accessibility standards in Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 or subsequent version.

Additional deliverables to be determined in consultation with CARB staff.

V. Timeline

It is anticipated this project will be completed in 24 months from the start date (start date is estimated to be in Jan 2025). The estimated budget for this project is up to $450,000.

Scoring Criteria

1. RESPONSIVENESS TO THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OUTLINED IN THE PROPOSAL SOLICITATION (20 POINTS)

The proposal should explain—in adequate detail and clear, understandable language—how the proposed project satisfies the project objectives and tasks. This contract should: include a plan and process to recruit and convene TRCs and Community Consultants; include a plan and process to oversee QM review and collection of TRC and Community Consultant feedback; describe a plan to fairly compensate TRC and Community Consultants; facilitate and organize public outreach and workshops; and produce a final report with recommendations on how to improve QM development and public engagement.

2. WORK EXPERIENCE AND SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE (20 POINTS)

The proposal should demonstrate that the applicant has the work experience or subject matter expertise required to successfully carry out the proposed project as described. The applicant should have experience identifying and convening technical/subject matter experts; overseeing peer review or public review processes for complex or technical work; and/or publishing reports with recommended actions or priorities for government bodies. Knowledge or experience in any of the listed QM project areas is ideal but not required. The applicant should also have experience in organizing and consulting with communities, community-based organizations, or Tribes; environmental and/or climate justice organizing; and/or engaging with disadvantaged or low-income communities.

3. EXPANDING EXPERTISE (20 POINTS)

The proposal should explain how the contractor team expands expertise such as by incorporating multidisciplinary expertise or perspectives; including members from various public universities, non-academic institutions, or community-based organizations; or providing opportunities to build skills and expertise for individuals from underrepresented groups. Reviewers will consider positively if key personnel contributing significantly to the project (i.e., a principal investigator, co-principal investigator, or co-investigator, contributing 25 percent or more of their time to the project) have not worked with CARB in the past five years.

4. EXPLANATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLAN (20 POINTS)

The proposal should include a clear description and plan for how each task will be completed. The proposal should clearly demonstrate how the proposed contractor will accomplish all tasks under the Scope of Work, detailing the sequence and relationships of major tasks and the roles and responsibilities of the contractor, TRCs, and Community Consultants. The plan must also include a timeline for performing the work.

5. LEVEL AND QUALITY OF EFFORT AND COST EFFECTIVENESS (20 POINTS)

The proposal should describe how time and resources will be allocated and demonstrate how this allocation ensures the project’s success. Proposal reviewers will evaluate, for example: if the objectives of the project can be met given this allocation, if there is adequate supervision and oversight to ensure that the project will remain on schedule, if time and cost are appropriately divvied up across different project tasks and stages.