SOW_Alumni_Engagement_Program_3-25-19_v2.pdf

DRAFT

Statement of Work

Alumni Engagement Program

GENERAL INFORMATION

Statement of Need, Purpose, and/or Objective:

AmeriCorps NCCC is seeking to determine how to achieve the greatest benefit from its large alumni base. At present only a few of the program graduates participate in any AmeriCorps alumni activities. The program needs to determine the best activities for alumni to perform that will encourage their continued community involvement and provide the greatest support to the program. We need to learn the best way to encourage participation in alumni activities, how to get alumni to work together on projects that support the program, and how to motivate them to be advocates of the program with other organizations, partners and stakeholders. A fully engaged alumni will help the program to grow in resources and membership.

Background Information:

This will be a new award to provide a guide on establishing and implementing a program to receive significant sustained support from the NCCC alumni community that will help AmeriCorps NCCC achieve its mission.

AmeriCorps NCCC has over 30,000 alumni who have graduated since the program’s inception in 1993. Each year the program graduates approximately 1,300 members. NCCC service is seen as part of lifetime commitment to community service. Alumni are encouraged to register for AmeriCorps Alums, where they have access to the NCCC group pages. In AmeriCorps Alums graduates can access other member’s contact information, chat with other alums and post messages. Alumni also have access to information about employment, volunteer opportunities, how to write resumes and job fairs. AmeriCorps NCCC has an email platform with a list of all NCCC alumni which is used to send messages about events occurring in the agency.

Unfortunately, neither the website nor the messages to the alumni have generated significant interest in participating in alumni activities that support the program, or performing as program advocates to other individuals or organizations.

The specific mission of AmeriCorps NCCC is to strengthen communities and develop leaders through direct team-based national and community service. To achieve this mission requires high caliber members, relevant projects and the commitment of local, state and national organizations to provide support. The program alumni can help AmeriCorps NCCC to achieve these goals. Alumni can work individually and together on service projects that promote participation in AmeriCorps NCCC. They can act as program champions in their communities and states to encourage coordination with AmeriCorps NCCC in addressing local and regional needs.

Period of Performance:

The period of performance is twelve months after contract award.

Place of Performance:

The majority of the work associated with this contract will be performed at the Contractor’s office, or location of their choosing.

Hours of Operation:

Contractor employees shall generally perform all work between the hours of 7:00 am and 6:00

pm. Monday through Friday (except Federal holidays). However, there may be occasions when Contractor employees shall be required to work other than normal business hours, including weekends, to fulfill the requirements under this SOW.

Federal Holidays:

Federal law (5 U.S.C. 6103) establishes the following public holidays for Federal employees.

Please note that most Federal employees work on a Monday through Friday schedule. For these employees, when a holiday falls on a non-workday –Saturday or Sunday – the holiday usually is observed on Monday (if the holiday falls on Sunday) or Friday (if the holiday falls on Saturday).

Contractors shall follow these same guidelines. Direct billing/invoicing shall not be allowed for any Federal Government Holidays (e.g. New Year’s Day; Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.;

Birthday of George Washington; Memorial Day; Independence Day; Labor Day; Columbus Day;

Veterans Day; Thanksgiving Day; Christmas Day)

SCOPE OF WORK

General Requirements:

Independently and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish all the necessary services, qualified personnel, material, equipment, and facilities, not otherwise provided by the Government as needed to perform the Statement of Work below.

Specific Requirements:

The Contractor shall:

• Research the literature of alumni engagement and the experience of other service organizations in engaging their alumni in program participation.

• Examine alumni activities in AmeriCorps NCCC to assess what actions have been successful in encouraging alumni participation.

• Use the information gained from the literature review, other organizations’ experiences, and current and past AmeriCorps NCCC alumni engagement efforts to develop an alumni engagement strategy and implementation plan for the program.

• Review the literature on building long-term relationships with alumni.

• Discover how service and educational organizations successfully build relationships with graduates where the alumni continue to participate in program activities and actively promote the program to other organizations and potential program members.

• Successfully identify alumni who are willing to work on projects that promote a service program and are willing to collaborate with other alumni in the execution of different roles and responsibilities.

• Explore the motivators of human behavior to determine the best ways to positively impact individual’s decisions on participating in alumni activities and present ways of neutralizing negative perceptions associated with alumni participation.

• Review strategies that match alumni interests to service program needs.

• Review strategies to promote relationships between program alumni, advocates, stakeholders and partners that encourage participation in a service program.

• Review communications strategies to determine the best ways to raise awareness of service program issues to alumni. This will include the tactics, messaging and frequency related to keeping them informed of service program developments and the use of individuals, institutions, partners and decision makers to lend credence to the communications.

• Interview representatives of service and educational organizations to discover their experience in establishing and maintaining alumni outreach programs.

• Identify the elements of each program that have resulted in the greatest participation rate.

• Determine which of these elements can be applied to the AmeriCorps NCCC alumni program.

• Review current and past AmeriCorps NCCC alumni outreach efforts with program staff.

• Assess the value of each effort and determine what elements would contribute to a successful engagement program.

• Produce a report with the results of the literature review of how to build long-term relationships with alumni; the identification of the motivators of human behavior, as they relate to alumni participation; the best strategies to use in promoting interest in alumni activities; the best ways to match alumni interests to service program needs; the best ways to promote relationships between program alumni, program advocates, stakeholders and partners to promote participation in a service program; the best alumni communications strategies; the experiences of other similar organizations in establishing and maintaining alumni programs; and the success of AmeriCorps NCCC alumni outreach efforts.

• Develop an alumni engagement program that will encourage increased participation, collaboration and independence. This will include a communication strategic plan to inform and engage alumni.

• Only be on-site for staff interviews and to review program materials and data. These meeting are anticipated to be at AmeriCorps NCCC headquarters. The cost of this travel will be reimbursed by the Government.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

The Federal Government will not be furnishing any equipment to the Contractor.

The Federal Government will provide conference rooms or offices for the Contractor to meet with staff on an as needed basis. The Contractor will be provided work space when needed to review AmeriCorps NCCC information, forms and processes. The Contractor will contact the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) at least 48 hours in advance to schedule rooms for meetings.

The Federal Government will review the draft deliverables and provide requested changes to the Contractor for inclusion in the final products.

DELIVERABLES

CNCS expects work to begin immediately following notice to proceed.

The Contractor shall:

• Provide a detailed schedule of the tasks associated with creating the deliverables and present this to the COR within two weeks of notice to proceed. The deliverables will be submitted electronically.

• Within six months from the date of contract award provide the COR with a draft report of the findings of their research. The Government will have 30 days to review the document and send their questions and requested changes that must be addressed in the final report, to the Contractor. The Contractor shall have 30 days to address the questions and comments, finalize the report, and deliver it to the Government electronically in Microsoft Word.

• Within ten months from the date of contract award provide the COR with a draft AmeriCorps NCCC alumni engagement program. The Government will have 30 days to review the documents and send their questions and requested changes that must be addressed in the final program, to the Contractor. The Contractor will have 30 days to address the questions, make the requested changes, and provide the COR with the final program in Microsoft Office or other electronic format as agreed to by the COR.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall provide bi-weekly electronic contract status reports to the COR detailing the activities that have been performed and the identification of any problems or issues that may impact the delivery schedule of the contract deliverables, and hours worked by each individual.

The Contractor shall provide project status reports to senior AmeriCorps NCCC staff as needed, either in-person or via telecommunications. The timing of these meetings will be scheduled by the COR in conjunction with the Contractor.

PAYMENT PROVISIONS:

Payment to the Contractor shall be payed as equal monthly payments as firmed fixed price.

Invoice frequency will be NET 30. Payment requests must be submitted electronically through the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Internet Payment Platform System (IPP).

Travel:

The Contractor shall participate in a project planning meeting with AmeriCorps NCCC staff in person at AmeriCorps NCCC Headquarters or via teleconference. Subsequent meetings may be required at HQ to conduct interviews with staff and review information, forms and processes.

The travel will be authorized and approved by the COR. This cost of this travel will be reimbursed by the federal Government in accordance with Federal travel regulations.

Non-Compliance Penalties:

Not-Applicable.

Information System Security Requirements:

The Contractor will be required to maintain security provisions for all personnel and data entry required by the contract. These provisions include security for computer data, systems, databases and data files, electronic data transfers and sensitive paper documents. Contractor employees and subcontractor employees will be required to comply with all security standards set forth in the applicable CNCS department directives, CNCS cybersecurity and privacy policies, public laws, OMB circulars and bulletins, Federal Information Processing Standard Publications, Office of Personnel Management Federal Personnel Regulations and any other applicable Federal Regulations.

Data Rights:

Any data developed or collected by the Contractor in producing the deliverables will be the property of the Government.

Section 508—Electronic and Information Technology Standards:

The materials produced by the Contractor must be compliant with Section 508 standards to ensure access by federal employees, program members or team leaders with disabilities.

Publications and Publicity:

Not Applicable.

Confidentiality of Information:

The Contractor will be required to maintain security provisions for all data and information received from the Government. These provisions include security for computer data, systems, databases and data files, electronic data transfers and sensitive paper documents. Contractor employees and subcontractor employees will be required to comply with all security standards set forth in the applicable CNCS department directives, CNCS cybersecurity and privacy policies, public laws, OMB circulars and bulletins, Federal Information Processing Standard Publications, Office of Personnel Management Federal Personnel Regulations and any other applicable Federal Regulations.