Public Safety Committee
July 14, 2026
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Elizabeth Lake FROM: Holly Joshi
Acting City Administrator Chief of Violence
Prevention
SUBJECT: Contract with Bright Research Group
for Training and Capacity Building
Services
DATE:June 22, 2026
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Authorizing the City Administrator To Enter Into A Professional Services Agreement With Bright Research Group Inc For Training and Capacity-Building Services For The Department Of Violence Prevention From September 1, 2026, Through December 31, 2028, For a Total Contract Amount Not to Exceed Five Hundred Thirteen Thousand Dollars ($513,000)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The proposed resolution, if adopted, will allow the Department of Violence Prevention to contract with Bright Research Group Inc for training, technical assistance, and capacity building services from September 1, 2026, to December 31, 2028, for a total cost of $513,000.
BACKGROUND / LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
The Department of Violence Prevention (DVP) is charged with reducing gun violence, domestic violence, and commercial sexual exploitation in Oakland. To do this, the DVP invests in immediate crisis response services and near-term interventions that stabilize victims and prevent additional violence, as well as longer-term, intensive support services for individuals caught in cycles of violence. In service of these goals, the DVP performs three primary functions:
1. Supervise and deploy a team of direct service staff who perform intensive life coaching and violence interruption work with individuals at the highest risk of imminent group and gender-based violence.
2. Fund and coordinate community organizations to deliver a range of community violence intervention services to individuals at the center of violence.
Betsy Lake (Jul 2, 2026 10:15:47 PDT)
Jul 2, 2026
Elizabeth Lake, Acting City Administrator
Subject: Contract with Bright Research Group for Training and Capacity Building Services Date: June 22, 2026 Page 2
Public Safety Committee
July 14, 2026
3. Build capacity among community violence intervention workers who form the ecosystem of community violence intervention services in Oakland to enhance our collective capacity to prevent violence and deliver effective and coordinated services
In 2024, DVP received a three-year grant for $3,500,000 from Kaiser Permanente that funded, among other things, a training manager charged with building and maintaining an infrastructure for training Oakland’s ecosystem of community violence intervention workers in best and promising practices (Resolution 90497 C.M.S.). A training manager was hired in September 2026, and the DVP’s new training bureau launched in October 2026 with the goal of serving as a centralized hub for capacity building, professional development and certification through three core components:
1. Oakland Peace Academy, a violence interruption certification fellowship for frontline staff. Of which, development is underway in partnership with technical advisors from Urban Peace Institute.
2. Training and Capacity Building for Oakland’s (Community Violence Intervention) CVI Ecosystem in which DVP will provide at least 10 trainings annually that cover topics relevant to violence prevention and interruption.
3. Executive Coaching and Leadership Development to strengthen the organizational capacity of DVP and Oakland’s CVI ecosystem of community-based organizations.
On February 20, 2026, DVP issued a Request for Qualifications seeking eligible and qualified vendors with knowledge and capacity to aid DVP’s training manager with the implementation of DVP’s yearly training goals, with a March 6, 2026 (RFQ # 404534). The DVP received two responses from the City’s Procurement, Contracts, and Purchasing Bureau for further review.
The DVP undertook a structured review and scoring process that involved scoring application components and narrative responses out of 105 points. Following that review, only one vendor met minimum qualifications stated within the RFQ and was deemed eligible for funding.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
The proposed resolution will award a contract of $513,000 to Bright Research Group Inc (BRG) to provide training, technical assistance, and capacity building services to DVP staff as well as the network of community violence intervention agencies funded by DVP from September 1, 2026, to December 31, 2028. Services delivered by BRG will include grantee network convenings, a life coaching certification fellowship, and organizational coaching. In addition, BRG will curate trainings on topics such as conflict mediation and de-escalation, domestic violence, human trafficking, burn-out prevention, and healing-centered practices for community violence intervention (CVI) workers. BRG has over 10 years of experience providing training and capacity building services to DVP. This includes the organization and implementation of the 2018 Oakland Unite Frontline Summit, a full day convening that brought together CVI frontline staff throughout Oakland with sessions on a variety of technical and soft skills critical to CVI as well as panels featuring both local and national leaders in CVI. Furthermore, past listening sessions led by BRG have directly led to providing life coaches with the opportunity to go through a national certification program, and BRG has facilitated trainings on case management, motivational interviewing, supervision and leadership for managers, harm reduction, and family partnerships.
Elizabeth Lake, Acting City Administrator
Subject: Contract with Bright Research Group for Training and Capacity Building Services Date: June 22, 2026 Page 3
Public Safety Committee
July 14, 2026
RELATED PLANNING EFFORTS
This agenda item is a routine item and does not relate to any Oakland strategic planning efforts.
FISCAL IMPACT
A breakdown of the appropriated project funding sources is included in Table 1:
Table 1: Project Funding Sources
Fund
Source
Organization Account Project Program Amount
Social
Services
Grants
#2994
Violence
Prevention
#70411
Services:
Contracts
#54911
FY25 Kaiser
Permanente
Project
#1007638
Fostering
Safe and
Healthy
Communities
Program
#SC22
$13,000
General
Fund #1010
Violence
Prevention
#70411
Services:
Contracts
#54911
Reimaging
Public Safety
Project
#1006367
Fostering
Safe and
Healthy
Communities
Program
#SC22
$500,000.00
Total
Project:
$513,000.00
This is a one-time cost that will span multiple years.
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
The DVP receives feedback on an ongoing basis from its funded grantees regarding their desire for training and capacity building opportunities related to community violence intervention work.
This feedback helped catalyze the launch of DVP’s Training Bureau, and services provided by BRG will be informed by ongoing input form DVP grantees.
COORDINATION
This report and legislation have been reviewed by the Office of the City Attorney and the Budget Bureau.
PAST PERFORMANCE, EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP (If Applicable) Over the last decade, Bright Research Group has partnered with DVP, formerly Oakland Unite, in developing annual learning agendas for DVP grantees, providing culturally relevant CVI trainings and developing a “train-the-trainers” model that incorporates peer-led trainings. BRG designed Oakland’s first Frontline Summit in 2018, bringing together over 200 staff from the CVI ecosystem, hosting an internationally recognized healing-centered life coaching certification fellowship which has resulted in the successful certification of over 50 frontline staff. On an organizational health level, BRG has also provided coaching to strengthen program Elizabeth Lake, Acting City Administrator
Subject: Contract with Bright Research Group for Training and Capacity Building Services Date: June 22, 2026 Page 4
Public Safety Committee
July 14, 2026
implementation, evaluation, supervision, and fiscal management which has aided DVP grantees in strengthening their boards, increasing their revenue, and improving their capacity to measure impact.
RACE AND EQUITY
Services funded and delivered by the DVP are intended for residents of Oakland who are most vulnerable to gun violence, domestic violence, and commercial sexual exploitation. Residents of color are disproportionately impacted by these forms of violence. In 2024, Black residents accounted for 33% of shooting victims and 65% of homicide victims despite representing 21% of the population. Similarly, Hispanic residents accounted for 42% of shooting victims despite representing 29% of the population. Domestic violence incidents reported to the Oakland Police Department in 2024 involved Black residents as victims in 50% of cases and Latinx individuals as victims in 32% of cases.
The provision of ongoing training and capacity building services to frontline staff will increase their ability to build trust, foster healing, and create pathways to safety with individuals disproportionately affected by gun and gender-based violence in Oakland.
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Authorizing The City Administrator To Enter Into A Professional Services Agreement With Bright Research Group Inc For Training And Capacity Building Services to the Department of Violence Prevention From September 1, 2026, Through December 31, 2028 For A Total Contract Amount Not To Exceed Five Hundred Thirteen Thousand Dollars ($513,000)
For questions regarding this report, please contact Holly Joshi, Chief of Violence Prevention, at (510) 920-6272.
Respectfully submitted,
Holly Joshi
Chief of Violence Prevention
Department of Violence Prevention
Reviewed by: Mailee Wang
Deputy Chief of Administration
Prepared by: Vanetta M. Thomas
Training Manager