April 3, 2023 — The Following was released by New England Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council is seeking proposals from independent contractors with significant expertise in facilitation to develop and lead two online workshops and one in-person plenary meeting between August and mid-September 2023. The workshops and plenary meeting will focus on Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management (EBFM) strategies based on the Council’s example Fishery Ecosystem Plan for Georges Bank. The application deadline is May 1, 2023.
The goals of the workshops are to: (1) engage with and educate fishery stakeholders about the concepts of Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management; (2) identify potential opportunities and concerns that different stakeholders see in EBFM; and (3) promote stakeholder participation in the further development of EBFM.
The contractor will collaborate with Council staff and the Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management Committee to develop a comprehensive agenda for each workshop. The contractor will identify and recruit knowledgeable speakers and panelists, drawn from the EBFM Plan Development Team, EBFM Committee members, Council and National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) staff, fishermen, additional stakeholders, and other sources. The contractor also will develop outreach strategies to ensure effective stakeholder participation. These outreach strategies may include developing outreach materials for the Council website for general distribution.
The workshops conducted under this contract constitute the second phase of public outreach, delving deeper into the management issues, topics, and options in the example Fishery Ecosystem Plan (eFEP). Workshops will not cover the same topics, but the plenary meeting will include and discuss issues voiced during the first two online workshops.
Proposal respondents are encouraged to review the Phase 1 initial workshop news release and summary report, the eFEP document, and the outreach materials that the Council previously developed.
The request for proposals (RFP) related to Phase 2 of the public outreach workshops contains details about:
- The statement of work and deliverables;
- Desired experience and demonstrated skills from applicants; and
- Application submission information.
This is a short-term, temporary contractor role, commencing on or about June 1, 2023 and ending no later than October 31, 2023 with submission of a final summary report. The application deadline is the close of business on May 1, 2023.