Monthly Newsletter
Dear Community Member, 
Thank you for becoming a monthly newsletter subscriber! The Aliso Canyon Disaster Health Research (ACDHRS) monthly newsletter helps community members stay informed on important updates.

“As we kick off the new year, I want to thank the northwest San Fernando Valley community for their feedback and participation in the Community Opinion survey, Virtual Town Hall, and ongoing feedback that has helped inform the draft Health Study Goals and Priorities. We have important work ahead and we will be broadening our efforts to solicit and include the input of the affected community.” 

- Charlene Contreras
Director, Toxicology and Environmental Assessment Branch
Project Updates
Request for Proposal  
Feedback from the Scientific Oversight Committee (SOC) guided Public Health’s decision to use an open request for proposal (RFP) process, which will be used to solicit research proposals from interested researchers nationwide. The RFP process will maximize the likelihood of establishing contract(s) with researchers who have the necessary experience and expertise to implement a multi-faceted Health Research Study program. The RFP will not be limited to a pre-approved list of vendors - all interested researchers (other than SOC members) can apply. Public Health aims to release the RFP in the Spring of 2021.

Public Health will administer the solicitation and procurement of research proposals, with guidance from the SOC as mandated by the settlement of The People v. Southern California Gas Company. One of the primary responsibilities of the SOC is to define the goals of the Health Study which will be incorporated into the RFP. The SOC will also be intimately involved in developing other key components of the RFP, including the scope of work. Proposals will be selected based on responsiveness to the solicitation, value to the community, and cost. 

Interested researchers will design their proposals based on the requirements outlined in the scope of work and other sections of the RFP. The Health Study will continue to engage the community in various ways and be science driven. Much of the SOC’s work is being informed by feedback from the community, and if you are interested in providing feedback, please learn about the opportunity to comment on the Health Study Goals & Priorities below.
Health Study Goals and Priorities 
Your input is needed! The draft Health Study Goals & Priorities will be made available to the public for review and comment on the Aliso Canyon Disaster Health Research Study (ACDHRS) website for a period of 4 weeks starting this month. Community members will be able to provide feedback via an online survey. The Scientific Oversight Committee (SOC) will finalize the Health Study Goals & Priorities document after reviewing the feedback received from the public and will incorporate them into the Request For Proposal (RFP). Your input is valued and will help inform the SOC about what is most important to the community for the Health Research Study.
Stay Involved!
Email Us 
Information on upcoming opportunities to get involved can be found on the Aliso Canyon Disaster Health Research Study website. If you have any questions, or would like to get in touch, please email us at alisostudy@ph.lacounty.gov. 

Community Feedback Log
If you have any additional feedback, concerns, or ideas that you would like to share, please consider submitting them to our ongoing Community Feedback Log. 
Meetings 

Community Advisory Group (CAG)
Community Advisory Group Meetings are held virtually. Thank you to all the community members who took part in the first meeting on Wednesday February 3. The full CAG meeting schedule will soon be posted on the ACDHRS webpage. Here, you can also find summaries from past CAG meetings. Members of the public are encouraged to attend CAG meetings and provide public comment. Public comments shared during these meetings are documented in the community feedback log and help inform the planning and direction of the Aliso Canyon Disaster Health Research Study.