Presolicitation_DRAFT_PWS.docx

DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT

EDUCATION DATA TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SUPPORT SERVICES (EDTAP)

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

I. Introduction

A. Purpose

The United States (U.S.) Department of Education (the Department), Institution of Education Sciences (IES), National Center for Education Sciences (NCES) requires technical assistance (TA) services and resources provided to states and districts in support of the design, implementation, and use of education data systems, including an Information Technology (IT) platform for the purpose of delivering TA services.

Background

State education agencies (SEAs) have historically collected only aggregated administrative and performance data from school districts about their students for State and Federal reporting purposes. Following passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, most SEAs began building student-level longitudinal data systems in order to track individual and subgroup student performance. The Department began awarding grants to supplement the development, building, and use of these statewide longitudinal data systems through the State Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) grant program in 2006, and has awarded 99 SLDS grants to the SEAs in 47 states, Washington, DC, American Samoa, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. It is possible that additional grants may be awarded in future years.

The initial rounds of the SLDS grant program in FY 2006 and FY 2007 focused on supporting states’ efforts to build true Kindergarten (K) through 12 (K12) student-level longitudinal data systems. In many states, this meant converting siloed administrative data systems to more useful longitudinal records and creating user interfaces to present aggregated data to stakeholders and also enable restricted use to appropriate users (for example, enabling a school registrar to register individual students and to enable teachers to easily obtain student state assessment scores). Beginning in 2009 and continuing through the 2012 grant rounds, SLDS grant funds were made available to states to support the integration of additional data sectors, such as PreK, Postsecondary, and Workforce data, into the K12 system.

While this expanded connection of student-level data across education sectors and workforce data can provide educators, researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders with actionable data required to identify educational best practices and areas in need of improvement, many states lacked capacity (human, technical, and organizational) to make effective use of these data. Recognizing this need, the FY15 SLDS grant round focused explicitly on data use. The FY15 round enabled states to apply for funding in up to two of six priority areas: College and Career, Early Learning, Evaluation and Research, Instructional Support, Fiscal Equity/Return on Investment, and Educator Talent Management. In each of these areas, states submitted proposals detailing how they would use their data and what impact they expected the data use to have on education and workforce processes and outcomes.

NCES currently identifies lessons learned and best practices, and shares these lessons across states through technical assistance provided under delivery order ED-IES-11-O-0017. The Education Data Technical Assistance Program (EDTAP) technical assistance services include an annual conference, workgroup meetings, state-to-state visits, site visits, technical assistance calls and on-site visits. Technical assistance also involves crafting technical assistance tools and documents to enable states to access materials that they need when they need them, and also to facilitate states’ efforts to lead their own conversations about data systems, collection, storage, and uses.

As states grow more ambitious in their plans to use data to inform policy and practice, however, the SLDS program needs additional resources to enhance its ability to harness the growing number of lessons learned and actively share them between the broader community involved in the design, implementation and use of longitudinal data systems. Notably, there may be cases where best practices currently do not exist; in these instances, the SLDS program will need to develop resources to help states maximize the impact of investments in these longitudinal data systems.

B. EDTAP Objectives

Given the increased number of SLDS grantees and the growing complexities of state data systems, the EDTAP contractor shall provide a comprehensive set of services and products to help foster, feed, and facilitate the fast-growing body of knowledge around developing a longitudinal data system. The TA will be aligned to the areas where the greatest needs exist. This includes formalizing how topic areas, lessons learned and best practices are identified and shared among SEAs and others involved in the design, implementation, and use of data systems. The contactor shall actively identify, develop, and disseminate best practices and facilitate the sharing of lessons learned to help grantees avoid complications experienced by their peers. For areas where best practices do not exist and for new SLDS requirements that states are struggling with, the contractor shall develop publications, white papers, case studies, issue technical briefs, and conduct training to assist in the formulation of solutions to meet these challenges.

Additionally, the contractor shall focus on helping grantees make effective use of the wealth of information contained within the newly-developed SLDSs while still ensuring the protection of individual privacy. This shall be achieved through a partnership with the leading technical experts and willing states, to create best practice guides and resources to educate stakeholders on how to disseminate, share, and use data collected to improve student outcomes and educational practices.

Finally, the contractor shall utilize an IT platform to support the delivery of technical assistance services, to facilitate the sharing of documents and products through an online repository of best practices, and to enable grants monitoring services among the SLDS community.

The EDTAP contractor shall focus on statewide development and use of data systems first, but shall also focus on the collection of best practices and lessons learned such that all organizations (including, for example, districts and schools) could benefit from the program’s efforts. This EDTAP contract shall:

1. Provide technical assistance (TA) to state grantees and nongrantees, including SEAs, local education agencies (LEAs), postsecondary institutions and other education stakeholders, around the design, development, implementation, and use of statewide longitudinal data systems;

2. Work with the Department’s Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) in NCES to develop materials and communicate guidance about data system development and data use best practices;

3. Create a repository of best practices through collection of existing documents and resources as well as the development of new materials and publications;

4. Create a shared community among the data system stakeholders in early childhood, K-12, postsecondary, and workforce data systems through the use of webinars (which shall be hosted by the contractor and recorded for access by the Department and grantee and nongrantee state teams), conferences, and regional gatherings.

C. Program Authority

The SLDS Grant program’s authority is authorized under 20 U.S.C. 9607 et seq., the “Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002,” Title II of Public Law 107-279, November 5, 2002. This program is not subject to the intergovernmental review requirements of Executive Order 12372.

II. Performance Work Statement

This Performance Work Statement outlines ED’s desired outcomes for EDTAP and provides the information needed for the contractor to develop the best strategy to achieve them so that EDTAP meets ED’s objectives as discussed in Section I. The overall goal is for the contractor to operate a comprehensive technical assistance (TA) program for SEAs, local education agencies (LEAs), postsecondary institutions and other education stakeholders. Assistance shall focus on issues related to data system development, data governance, data use, stakeholder engagement, and connections to research. Performance objectives for the contract period are provided under each of these areas. Long-term goals are mentioned in some of these areas, but it is not expected that all these long-term goals will be completed during the contract period. Optional Tasks are included in Section XII.

The work of this contract shall build off of current TA efforts and products available through the SLDS program (www.nces.ed.gov/programs/SLDS/resources.asp) and the National Forum on Education Statistics (NFES) (https://nces.ed.gov/forum/). The Contract is comprised of 8 tasks and 7 optional tasks described below.

III. Personnel

The work of this contract requires key personnel positions and qualifications of the contractor team.

· - Project Director. The Project Director shall be responsible for coordinating project activities for the vendor. The Project Director shall have experience leading a contract team that provides technical assistance, including the development and coordination of in-person technical assistance and the IT systems and business processes that support the delivery of technical assistance. The Project Director also shall have experience coordinating across federal technical assistance centers, and shall have experience working with state and local education agencies. Technical Assistance Team Lead. The Technical Assistance Team Lead shall coordinate the technical assistance activities of the technical assistance team. The TA Team Lead shall have experiencing coordinating a technical assistance team to ensure that technical assistance activities are delivered efficiently and meet program needs. The TA Team Lead also shall have experience providing technical assistance to state teams, and shall have experience working with state and local education agencies.

IV. Task 1 -- Management and Project Plan

Throughout the life of the contract, the contractor shall manage this Task in an efficient manner that fosters communications with contract and subcontract staff, the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), Contract Specialist (CS) and Contracting Officer (CO) and potential users of the TA services. The contractor shall have sound project management processes and personnel who can manage multiple tasks and subtasks simultaneously. Subtask 1.1: Post Award Kick-off Meeting and Project Plan. Within the seven calendar days after Contract award, the contractor shall meet with CO, CS, the COR, and other appropriate Department staff to review the overall tasks, to identify potential problems and possible solutions, and to discuss areas of concern related to the proposed project staffing plan and other management requirements. The primary purpose of this meeting is to refine the management, staffing, and scheduling plans. These refinements are not to alter the specifications of the contract, but to provide management information for use by both the contractor and the government in monitoring the work to be performed. This meeting is also to help the contractor to make use of the experience and materials that Department staff has gained over the years.

Subtask 1.2: Transition-In. In the first 60 days of the Base Year only, the contractor shall work with the current EDTAP contractor to ensure that required documentation, processes and data currently in use are consistently available to grantee and nongrantee states both during and after the contract transition period. Reducing impact upon states and other external stakeholders through the transition shall be a priority throughout the transition.

Subtask 1.3: Monthly Progress Reporting. The contractor shall finalize a Monthly Report template to be approved by the COR following the kickoff meeting, and then use this template throughout the Contract period (Base Year plus any option years that may be exercised). The contractor shall also submit Monthly Reports on the 15th of each month that contains the status of, issues with, recommendations for, and documentation of accomplishments of EDTAP activities by task.

Subtask 1.4: Monthly Calls. Following the submission of Monthly Report, the contractor shall conduct a Monthly Call with the COR to discuss the Monthly Report and the contractor’s overall progress. These calls should last no longer than one hour, and the COR can decrease the frequency of the calls as needed. These monthly calls will take place throughout the Contract period (Base Year plus any option years that may be exercised).

Subtask 1.5: Annual in-person meeting. The contractor also shall attend four annual in-person meetings at the Department in Washington DC to review the work of the task associated with the EDTAP contract, one at the start of each option period and to discuss priorities for the contract period. These meetings shall last between one and two hours, and shall occur each year of the Contract period (Base Year plus any option years that may be exercised)

V. Task 2 -- Technical Assistance

The contractor shall provide relevant, high-quality technical assistance (TA) to SLDS grantees and their partners, nongrantee states, and Department staff. TA shall be differentiated and provided with varying levels of intensity based on each state’s needs (regardless of grant status), program’s needs, or Department needs to support a cycle of implementation and continuous improvement. Some TA will be provided to all states when appropriate, some to a subset of states with common needs, and much will be individualized in areas where it will have the greatest impact.

The contractor shall have sound processes for and experience assembling and managing a team of SLDS TA experts to deliver the services outlined below to SLDS grantees and nongrantees. The contractor shall provide the direction and management of such experts and ensure the delivery of high quality services and/or products.

Subtask 2.1: Obtain Highly Qualified TA Experts. In order for states to be successful with their implementation of state educational data systems, they often require support from subject matter experts who can assist with both the technical and strategic challenges of such large-scale efforts. The contractor shall provide TA experts who are able to assist the NCES SLDS program staff with site visits, facilitation of best practices, and other activities that assist grantees and nongrantees with their implementation and use of their data system beginning immediately upon Contract award. The Department estimates that a minimum number of ten FTEs will be necessary to meet varying state, program and Department TA needs in a timely way (acknowledging requests within 48 hours, and developing a response that either resolves the TA need or develops a mutually agreed-upon timeline for resolving the TA need within 10 business days). The contractor shall efficiently manage all reimbursements and travel reimbursements for these experts for these EDTAP-related activities. The contractor shall propose specific TA experts in the proposal, and letters of commitment from the proposed team members will be included in the proposal.

TA experts shall conduct needs assessments, develop TA plans, and provide TA, which may include desk side support, site visits, webinars, identification of promising practices, development of tools including but not limited to checklists, videos, PowerPoints, and guidance documents, and other activities that assist states with their implementation of SLDS requirements. TA experts may also be required to make presentations, conduct analyses, write papers and develop resource products. The TA experts shall be approved by the COR, both through Contract award and as TA experts join the TA team during the contract period.

Within seven calendar days after Contract award, the contractor shall host a TA Expert Kick-Off Webinar to discuss the expectations and scope of work for these EDTAP TA Expert activities.

Subtask 2.2: Develop Needs Assessment Plan. The contractor shall develop a plan for conducting a needs assessment. The needs assessments shall have multiple components, which may include but will not be limited to the following:

· Assessment of grantee and nongrantee capacity;

· Reflection on grant plans, including assessment of implementation, achievements, and challenges to date and upcoming goals, activities, timelines, budgets, key personnel, and performance measures and annual targets;

· Assessment of field as it relates to state SLDS strengths, goals, gaps, and needs;

· A grantee self-assessment component of grantee capacity that encourages participation by grantees and other stakeholders.

Subtask 2.3: Conduct Grantee and Program Needs Assessment and Prepare Needs Assessment Report. The contractor shall conduct a needs assessment and create a report on each state’s progress developing and using longitudinal data systems as well as common needs across subsets of grantees and all grantees and nongrantees. This will include states with active grants (grantee states) and states without active grants (nongrantee states). The needs assessment will first be created in the Base Year of the contract, and will be updated in any option years that may be exercised.

s Subtask 2.4: Develop Grantee and Program Technical Assistance Plans. The contractor shall develop individualized TA plans for each grantee and nongrantee state, along with a program plan to guide delivery of technical assistance to nongrantees. The individualized TA plans will describe the recommended TA to be delivered, target audiences, the intended outcome of the TA, how quality will be evaluated, the intensity level, timeframe for delivery, and who will be providing the TA. The initial TA Plans will first be created in the Base Year of the contract, and will be updated in any option years that may be exercised.

Subtask 2.5: Provide Technical Assistance and Prepare Technical Assistance Monthly Report. The contractor shall provide TA in accordance with the approved TA plans. TA shall consist of a predefined number of TA activities such as onsite visits, hosting webinars providing written recommendations, creating videos, PowerPoints, templates, and tip sheets, and providing desk side support. These supports will vary based on the TA plans and the various SLDS grant cohort requirements. For planning purposes and to ensure adequate resources are budgeted, the TA experts shall attend a total of 32 site visits per year. Approximately 16 of these site visits will be in conjunction with a federal monitoring visit. On average site visits shall last two days and typically include up to two experts (although three may be requested, depending on program needs and the particular TA needs of the site visit participants, as determined by the Department, in consultation with the TA provider, and the site visit participants). The TA experts shall plan, prepare for, and conduct the TA site visits. The TA experts shall plan, prepare for, and participate in the monitoring portion of TA site visits held in conjunction with federal monitoring visits. Within ten calendar days following a site visit the contractor shall provide the Department with a TA Summary Report. Additionally, the contractor shall be responsible for reaching out to and providing support to nongrantee states. TA experts will also propose webinar topics for Contractor-supported webinars, with the expectation of 14 webinars being planned per year. Contractors will supply webinar software and conference lines for virtual TA. TA shall be delivered and the Technical Assistance Monthly Report shall be prepared in the Base Year and in any option years that may be exercised.

In conjunction with the Monthly Update Report (Task 1.0) the contractor shall submit the status of, issues with, recommendations for, and documentation of accomplishments of EDTAP activities by TA experts. The contractor shall develop a TA Expert Monthly Update Report template to be approved by the COR, and then use this template throughout the Contract period when submitting the Monthly Update Report under Subtask 1.0. Following the submission of Monthly Update Reports, the contractor shall host a Monthly Call with the COR and all TA Experts to discuss the Monthly Update Report and the overall progress on TA. These reports shall be delivered electronically and calls hosted throughout the contract period, including the Base Year of the contract, and any option years that may be exercised.

Subtask 2.6: Monthly TA calls. TA experts will each lead calls updating the Department Project Team on TA efforts states carried out by the expert, and brainstorm potential future TA outreach efforts by state and TA topic. Monthly TA calls shall occur throughout the contract period, including the Base Year of the contract, and any option years that may be exercised.

2.5 --TA Summary Report

10 calendar days after site visit, submit a report on the TA activities included in the visit.

VI. Task 3 -- Technical Assistance and Monitoring Support The Contractor shall provide staff support to program officers, grantees, and TA experts. Support provided will cut across all project tasks and subtasks and include coordinating and conducting grant monitoring activities. Support staff must be knowledgeable of the Department’s discretionary grant requirements, the SLDS program, and have experience working with SEAs and technical assistance staff to design, develop, implement and use longitudinal data systems. The Department estimates that four FTEs will be necessary to meet state, program and Department TA and support needs in a timely way.

Subtask 3.1: Assist in the Development of Monitoring Plans to Inform Technical Assistance Planning. The Department’s policy requires every program office overseeing discretionary grants to prepare a Monitoring Plan for its program. The plans are designed to establish monitoring procedures that advance the grantees’ progress in achieving program goals and objectives; adhere to laws, regulations, and assurances governing the program; and conform to the approved application, performance report, and other relevant documents. The Contractor shall assist Department staff with the development of a Monitoring Plan that can be used to inform TA planning. The Contractor shall develop a plan that will include: procedural steps for conducting monitoring assistance activities (e.g. monthly calls, and virtual and onsite monitoring reviews, etc.); steps for incorporating Annual and Final Performance Reporting completed by state teams; andan online grant monitoring system that ties to the TA planning and implementation process. The contractor shall work with the Department in providing training to Department and grantee team staff on the Monitoring Plan. The Contractor also will demonstrate how the program staff’s monitoring results will inform the development of TA for both contractor and Department staff.

Subtask 3.2: Assist in the Coordination of and Implementation of Monitoring and Technical Assistance Activities. The contractor shall coordinate the monitoring for grantees in support of SLDS Program Officers. The contractor shall, in conjunction with Department program staff, conduct monthly communications in support of program staff monitoring with each grantee. All monitoring activities are to be documented electronically by the contractor and stored in the IT system also provided by the Contractor in this contract.

The contractor may travel with Department staff on on-site monitoring visits, which will be conducted following the procedures outlined in the Monitoring Plan. For planning purposes, the contractor shall budget for 16 two-day monitoring site visits per contract year, with 8 of the visits involving one TA expert, and 8 of the visits involving two TA experts. The contractor will document the site visit conversations held with the grantee project team and project stakeholders to identify challenges facing the project as well as identify successes towards reaching project goals, collect additional reference materials provided by the local program teams, and assist in the interpretation of the data collected on the visit for the purposes of adjusting the state TA plan. The contractor shall also, in coordination with Department Program Staff, write monitoring reports, delivered electronically, for each visit that they attend, which include recommendations for action items, including TA that might result from the visit.

Grantees are required to submit annual program reports (APR). In conjunction with Department staff, the contractor shall provide TA as needed to grantees in completing their reports, and conduct an analysis of the data through the APRs as part of monitoring and TA development.

The contractor will assist in the coordination of TA activities, including, but not limited to: collecting and synthesizing information about State TA needs (during webinars and conferences, for example), participating in state workgroup discussions, and supporting the development of best practices publications.

Subtask 3.3: Support Staff Monthly Update Reports. In conjunction with the Monthly Update Report (Task 1.0) the contractor shall submit the status of, issues with, recommendations for, and documentation of accomplishments of EDTAP activities by the contractor. The contractor shall develop a Monthly Update Report template to be approved by the COR, and then use this template throughout the contract period when submitting the Monthly Update Report under Task 1.0.

Following the submission of Monthly Update Reports, the contractor shall host a Monthly Call with the COR and all TA Experts to discuss the Monthly Update Report and the overall progress on TA.

Activities in Task 3, will occur throughout the contract period, including the Base Year of the contract, and any option years that may be exercised.

VII. Task 4 -- Online Technical Assistance, Grant Monitoring and Data Collection System

The SLDS program has a wealth of data regarding the performance of individual grantees. These data include, but are not limited to, grant applications, project plans, budgets, monitoring notes and reports, risk analyses, annual performance reports (APR), and technical assistance requests. The contractor shall use all data sources, not limited to grant monitoring data, to provide grant monitoring support and to identify technical assistance needs. Grant applications are available on the SLDS program website (nces.ed.gov\programs\slds). The remaining data will be made available to the contractor upon award.

Subtask 4.1: Plan to Implement an Online Technical Assistance and Grant Monitoring System. The contractor shall propose a secure, online data repository to identify, organize, and make available all TA and grant monitoring data that includes a strategy for the ongoing collection of grant performance and TA data. This includes how TA and grant monitoring data will be identified, organized and made available to SLDS program staff, TA provider, and grantee and nongrantee state teams from a secure online data repository. The proposal will include a plan for how the contractor will work with the SLDS program officers to assemble existing grantee data and include a strategy for the ongoing collection of grant performance and technical assistance data, as well as how previously existing monitoring data would be incorporated into the new system. System functionality will include, at a minimum:

· Online management of grant project plans and budgets,

· Submission of Annual Performance Reports,

· Creation, editing and organization of grant monitoring notes used for phone calls and other communications,

· Controlled storage of grant documentation, including site visit findings and technical assistance requests,

· Tracking of issues and associated resolutions,

· Presentation and editing of a calendar of program and technical assistance events, and

· Access to online dashboards and reports for both grantees and grant officers.

The proposal shall provide an overview of the functionality, screenshots, detailed requirements, and technical specifications of a system that is compliant with Department standards. Following award, the Contractor shall work with the COR to make changes to the system, which shall result in a Requirements and Systems Design Improvement Plan, which be completed and submitted to the COR within 28 calendar days from contract award.

Subtask 4.2 Implement Grant Monitoring and Data Collection System. The contractor shall ensure access to a grant monitoring and data collection system that adheres to the mature systems development life-cycle (SDLC) methodology that is founded upon industry best practices,. As appropriate, the contractor shall ensure a secure system adhering to Department OCIO IT standards and SDLC best practices. The contractor shall work with the COR and the Department’s Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) to receive an Authorization to Operate (ATO) and maintain the systems certification and accreditation over the life of the contract. The system shall be implemented and operational within 60 calendar days from award. This system shall be maintained throughout the contract period, including the Base Year of the contract, and any option years that may be exercised.

Subtask 4.3: Assemble and Maintain Technical Assistance and Grant Monitoring Data System. Within 60 calendar days from contract award, the contractor shall collect, assemble, and load existing grantee data including, for example, project plans, budget information, and monitoring call notes, as well as state project staff contact information (name, title, email address, mailing address, and phone number) into the system. Historical data will be provided to the contractor by the Department for input into the system. The system shall be updated daily in accordance with the approved strategy for the ongoing collection of TA and grantee performance data. The contractor shall host, operate, maintain, and enhance the system throughout the period of performance. In conjunction with the Monthly Report (Subtask 1.2) the contractor shall submit to the COR a report that summarizes the information that has been updated and includes statistics on system usage and availability. This system shall be operated and reported on throughout the contract period, including the Base Year of the contract, and any option years that may be exercised.

Within 60 calendar days upon contract award. Annual update to C&A documentation

Monthly beginning 120 days from contract award

VIII. Task 5 -- Promising Practice Products and Publications

Lessons learned and promising practices are often shared at conferences, site visits, or engagements with TA experts. In order to be successful for disseminating these promising practices, the contractor shall support EDTAP in both collecting as well as creating documents as well as other media. These documents and media would be created from trends noted in the field, conferences, or engagements of the TA expert team. Products shall include but are not limited to publications (including checklists, to-do lists, and white papers, for example) that best support the audience and intended message. It is anticipated that approximately 30 publications will be created per contract year (including the Base Year and any option years that may be exercised). These 30 publications include written summaries of webinars;; issue briefs; spotlight documents, including state spotlights; practice guides and templates, and working group publications. For planning purposes, on average, the breakdown of publications by type is, in a typical year: webinar summaries (15); spotlight documents (2); workgroup publications (2); practice and process guides and templates (5%); issue briefs (6). (See http://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds .)

The material developed shall incorporate work conducted by TA experts through their work on other tasks. The Product and Publication Specialists will also be expected to participate in TA opportunities that include, for example, webinars, regional conferences, the Best Practices Conference, and Personnel Exchange Networks (see Task 8) in order to incorporate lessons learned from those activities in the publications.

Subtask 5.1: Develop Product and Publication Plan. The contractor shall develop a plan annually and schedule for developing new or editing existing high quality products and publications to meet the unique needs of the SLDS grant program as well as grantees. The contractor shall propose Product and Publication Specialists knowledgeable of the SLDS program who will be responsible for developing products and publications that meet evolving program needs.

Within 30 days after contract award, the contractor shall meet with the COR and other SLDS program staff to identify the types of products to be developed and designed. Products shall include but are not limited to whitepaper publications, technical briefs, checklists, to-do lists, and other materials that best support the audience and intended message. The products and information must be engaging and easily consumed by its audience in order to maximize the potential for use.

Subtask 5.2: Develop and Edit Products and Publications. The material developed or edited shall comply with IES publishing and accessibility standards and incorporate promising practices identified in the field, address significant challenges faced by all states, or summarize key findings, and represent work being conducted by TA experts. Materials will be reviewed by Department staff.

Subtask 5.3: Products and Publications Monthly Report. In conjunction with the Monthly Report (Task 1.0) the contractor shall submit the status of, issues with, recommendations for, and documentation of accomplishments of EDTAP activities by the Product and Publication Specialists. The contractor shall develop a Product and Publication MonthlyReport template to be approved by the COR, and then use this template throughout the contract period when submitting the Monthly Update Report under Task 1.0. Products and Publications, in addition to reporting on the status of products and publicans, shall occur throughout the contract period, including the Base Year of the contract, and any option years that may be exercised.

IX. Task 6 -- Establish Online Communities of Practice The exchange and sharing of resources, lessons learned, and promising practices are critical for grantees to succeed with implementing the outcomes of a grant. Contractor shall propose a portal that facilitates ongoing sharing of information through creating Online Communities of Practice for topic areas specified in individual grants. These are typically would be associated with SLDS grant priority areas; TA crosscutting topics, such as stakeholder engagement, for example; or emerging topics, such as reporting requirements emerging in the field. The contractor shall have experience developing and maintaining websites that comply with Department’s OCIO standards and foster improved communications in support of large scale grant programs and/or provide an innovative mechanism for providing audience appropriate technical assistance to state education agencies and SLDS stakeholders. The contractor shall demonstrate a mature systems development life-cycle (SDLC) methodology that is founded upon industry best practices, such as Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Level 3. As appropriate, the contractor shall ensure a secure system adhering to Department OCIO IT standards and SDLC best practices. The contractor shall work with the Department’s OCIO as needed to receive an Authorization to Operate (ATO) and maintain the systems certification and accreditation over the life of the contract.

Subtask 6.1: Refine Portal Design. The contractor shall work with COR to craft a list of refinements to the proposed portal, that includes functionality, screenshots, and detailed requirements for the Online Communities of Practice.

Subtask 6.2: Complete Portal Design. Within 28 days of award, the Contractor shall complete the refinements to online Communities of Practice. The contractor shall implement a secure system adhering to Department OCIO IT standards and SDLC best practices. The contractor shall host, operate, maintain, and enhance the system throughout the period of performance, including the Base Year of the contract, and any option years that may be exercised.

Subtask 6.3: Implement, Maintain, and Enhance Online Communities of Practice, and Provide System Status Report. Contractor shall implement, maintain, and enhance the Online Communities of Practice and provide monthly system status reports that summarize system operations and maintenance and hosting activities and hosting activities, and includes statistics on system usage and availability. This subtask continues throughout the period of performance including the Base Year of the contract and any option years that may be exercised.

On the 15th of each month, in conjunction with the Monthly Report from Task 1.0

X. Task 7 -- Collaboration and Coordination with Other Technical Assistance Providers and External Organizations

Overlap often exists between Department grant programs and TA centers as it relates to grant recipients, expected outcomes and objectives. Collaboration is required with current providers to ensure the most efficient and effective use of TA resources as it pertains to the design, development, and use of longitudinal data systems. Work under this Task shall continue throughout the contract period, including the Base Year of the contract, and any option years that may be exercised.

Subtask 7.1: Identify Existing Grant Programs and TA Available. The contractor shall work with the COR to identify existing grants programs that require the use of longitudinal data systems and technical assistance support (e.g. Comprehensive Centers, Regional Education Labs, and other Department-funded and non-Department-funded efforts).

Subtask 7.2: Devise a Plan for Collaborating with Existing Grant Programs and Technical Assistance Providers. The contractor shall devise a plan that identifies how the contractor will ensure ongoing communication and collaboration with other grant programs and existing technical assistance providers.

Subtask 7.3: Foster Collaboration with Existing Grant Programs and Technical Assistance Providers. The contractor shall implement the plan with a focus on ensuring duplication of services does not occur.

In conjunction with the Monthly Update Report (Task 1.0) the contractor shall submit the status of, issues with, recommendations for, and documentation of accomplishments of EDTAP TA coordination and collaboration activities.

Update annually.

Monthly beginning 90 calendar days months from contract award

XI. Task 8 -- Conferences and Personnel Exchange Network State SLDS teams often rely on the existing national conferences, regional efforts, and personnel exchange networks for collecting and sharing promising best practices. These conferences and interactions are valuable for facilitating such lessons learned. EDTAP shall support such efforts as well as fill existing voids through hosting of one annual best practices conference, the use of regional conferences and state to state personnel exchange meetings. The intent of this task is to have the EDTAP TA experts participate in existing regional conferences and identify areas where new regional conferences and/or state to state meetings would be of value. For existing conferences the TA experts shall support these efforts by attending events as requested and recommending topics for conversation based on their knowledge of the issues impacting a certain region. Where the TA experts see a gap between existing conferences and information needs they shall propose conferences to include the focal point, location, suggested participants, and schedule. Proposed meetings shall be for topics that are designated by issues impacting a region.

Subtask 8.1: Support the Annual SLDS Best Practice Conference. Contractor shall also propose conference format and content, including identifying potential speakers, and developing activities and information that Contractor would deliver during the Conference, which is typically held in the first quarter of each calendar year in Washington, DC or Arlington, VA, and lasts approximately three full days Contractor shall also provide products and printouts for the conference and electronic products accessible by attendees during and after the conference. TA experts will help facilitate Conference sessions, and will coordinate with other Programs (for example, the Office of Early Learning), and Departments (for example, the Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services), as well as the technical assistance providers for these Programs and Departments. Contractor’s staff shall attend the Conference to take detailed notes and help the TA expert facilitate Conference sessions. Contractor also shall create and utilize an evaluation tool to enable Conference attendees to provide feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of the conference, including location/facilities and content and format of individual sessions. Contractor shall input, compile, and analyze data resulting from this evaluation tool and share the data, results, and findings with the COR.

The contractor will be responsible for all costs associated with TA expert and support staff conference participation. The contractor shall not be responsible for providing logistic support for the conference unless optional task 10 is exercised.

Subtask 8.2: SLDS Best Practices Conference Summary Report. The contractor shall submit a Conference summary report describing the status of, issues with, recommendations for, and documentation of accomplishments of the Annual SLDS Best Practices Conference. The report shall include the final agenda and list of participants who attended the Conference. This report also shall include the data and analysis of Conference evaluation described in Subtask 8.1.

Subtask 8.3: Support and Participation in Regional Conferences. The intent of this activity is to have the EDTAP TA experts participate in existing national and regional conferences and identify areas where new conferences would be of value. Where gaps exist between conferences and information needs the contractor shall propose regional conferences including the focal point, location, suggested participants, and schedule.

Regional conferences shall support the current SLDS activities from states within a given geographic area. The agenda and the outcomes shall be determined by the states with assistance from the TA experts. TA experts who specialize in the identified areas shall help facilitate and attend the conferences in order to ensure the discussion progresses and the identified outcomes are aligned with the grant program. Contractor’s staff shall attend the meeting to take detailed notes and help the TA expert facilitate the session. The contractor shall attend 9 regional conferences per year, throughout the contract period, including the Base Year of the contract, and any option years that may be exercised.

Conferences shall be aligned with work and activities of existing organizations (such as nonprofits or regional education labs) that are involved with regional activity of states that shall be in attendance. The contractor will be responsible for all costs associated with TA expert and support staff conference participation. For planning purposes, Contractor should include three TA experts and one support staff member per Regional Conference.

Within 30 calendar days of the contract award, the contractor shall compile a list of existing regional meetings (related to state data systems) and develop an outreach plan, which includes the existing meetings the TA experts propose to attend.