SOW_Resource_Platforms_SBAHQ-15-Q-0039.pdf

RESEARCH ON:

Resources and Programs that Support High Growth Women Entrepreneurs

Statement of Work

Solicitation SBAHQ-15-Q-0039

Location of Work: To be completed at the contractor’s own facilities, off-site (not at SBA headquarters)

Clearance Required: None

1. Introduction The National Women’s Business Council (the Council) is a non-partisan federal advisory council created to serve as an independent source of advice and counsel to the President, Congress, and the U.S. Small Business Administration on economic issues of importance to women business owners. The Council’s mission is to promote bold initiatives, policies and programs designed to support women’s business enterprises at all stages of development in the public and private sector marketplaces- from start-up to success to significance. Members of the Council are prominent women business owners and leaders of women’s business organizations. For more information on the Council, see www.nwbc.gov.

2. Background

The historic growth of women-owned businesses in the United States has generated increased demand for the creation of innovative programs and policies to foster their growth. Women continue to exert enormous influence in today’s U.S. business environment. Growth in the number and economic impact of new women-owned businesses outpaces growth among all businesses. Privately held businesses in which women are majority owners—7.8 million firms— are growing in number at nearly twice the rate as other privately held firms (43.8% vs. 23.2% growth between 1997 and 2007). As of 2007, women-owned businesses employ 7.5 million workers in addition to the owners themselves. Further, between 1997 and 2007, there was a net increase of almost 2.4 million women-owned firms in the United States, accounting for two-fifths of the net increase in privately-held firms during this time period.

We know from research, including the Council’s FY2014 research into women entrepreneurs’ social networks, that women business owners are more likely than their male counterparts to seek out multiple sources of advice and assistance. It is critical, then, to ensure that available resources are shared with all women business owners at each stage of development.

Additionally, information-sharing is encouraged among the organizations actually providing advice and assistance in order to advance the broad effectiveness of the support organizations in their work of assisting the launch and growth of women-owned and women-led businesses.

http://www.nwbc.gov/

The Council first conducted research to undertake an inventory of support organizations and programs serving women entrepreneurs in 2004, in a report entitled “Best Practices in Supporting Women’s Entrepreneurship in the United States: A Compendium of Public and Private Sector Organizations and Initiatives” (see https://www.nwbc.gov/sites/default/files/best-practices-final-repo.pdf). Given the dramatic changes in the field over the past decade, it makes sense to conduct another inventory of organizations, and also explore their programs and resources, for an updated and more comprehensive analysis. This is an effort to highlight the resources and supports that exist, particularly those that are new, so women entrepreneurs get the support they need to achieve their businesses’ growth potential. This research is not a set of profiles of organizations; rather it is a curated clearinghouse of content that will help women business owners pursue opportunities, leverage resources, and take advantage of programs to effectively and efficiently achieve their growth aspirations. Many resources, programs, and initiatives exist, but the Council has heard repeatedly from women business owners that it is difficult to navigate the plethora of options available and to select the appropriate one for their businesses and current growth stages. The purpose of this requirement is to collect and disseminate information and resources tailored to the stage of growth of the business. The purpose of this requirement is the following:

1) Data Collection -to create an inventory of programs, activities, resources and tools available to women organized by growth stage;

2) Data Access – to enable women to make connections via an active website that will enable visitors to the site to obtain the appropriate actionable information, program, activity, resource and tools appropriate to their growth stage.

3. Scope

In addition to the complete Statement of Work (SOW) and other documents incorporated into the contract, the contractor’s complete research proposal will be incorporated by reference into the research contract.

This is a non-personal services contract to provide services as detailed herein and in the contractor’s complete research proposal. The Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and non-personal services necessary to perform this service as defined in this SOW. The Contractor shall perform to the standards identified in this contract.

Type of Contract: The Government anticipates awarding a firm-fixed price type award.

This scope of work contains three major elements:

I. An inventory of organizations and their programs, resources, tools and initiatives that serve women entrepreneurs with high growth aspirations at each stage of the business lifecycle.

II. Strategic decision-making content which will provide the ability to navigate content and identify factors that will allow the entrepreneur to identify where they are in the stage of business and to find relevant, applicable information tied to that stage of growth. The content shall also be organized to serve as a guide for the entrepreneur in preparing for their progress in the current and future growth stages of the business.

https://www.nwbc.gov/sites/default/files/best-practices-final-repo.pdf https://www.nwbc.gov/sites/default/files/best-practices-final-repo.pdf

III. An online resource database –or “portal”—connecting compiled research data on resources, programs and tools to allow for practical business decision making and planning. The integration and organization of content shall be user-friendly, easily navigable, and searchable. The website will be organized by features such as business lifecycle stage, geography, relevant programs and other useful categories as determined by the offeror in collaboration with the Council.

I. Resource/Program Inventory The Council looks at women’s business ownership through an entrepreneurship ecosystem framework. (See the 2014 Annual Report for more detail:

https://www.nwbc.gov/sites/default/files/Building%20Bridges.pdf.) That is, there are many factors that together help—or hinder—the environment in which women entrepreneurs launch, grow and scale their women-owned and women-led enterprises. This project focuses on the “supports” component of the ecosystem and how these organizations support women with growth aspirations for their businesses through programs and resources.

To define this segment further, this project focuses on women entrepreneurs with high growth aspirations and/or experience. The Council defines “high growth”, or on a “high growth trajectory”, as any firm with fewer than ten employees that grows by eight or more employees, or has a revenue growth rate of over 20% per year, over a three-year period.1 The inventory shall also include programs, resources, and organizations serving women entrepreneurs with high growth aspirations in business lifecycle stages prior to those described by the high growth definition. Organizations, resources and programs that exclusively serve other segments of women entrepreneurs, such as “lifestyle” or “normal” growth, shall not be collected in this inventory; see Section III on the website for more information.

The Council is particularly interested in programs, resources and organizations that enhance access to capital, networks, and knowledge that will allow and encourage women to grow their businesses. This includes entities that provide direct service to women business owners.

• Examples include but are not limited to: curricula and courses; technical assistance;

executive education and leadership development; guidance on how to enter a particular market; pitch training; methods of staying up-to-date with policies that affect a business climate; accelerators and incubators; network development activities; co-working spaces with business programming; financing programs, including debt (SBA loans, CDFI loans, peer-to-peer lending etc.), equity (angel networks, venture capital etc.), and other (business plan competitions, rewards-based crowdfunding, etc.); and corporate programs including supplier diversity, matchmaking, and corporate venture funds.

1 The National Women's Business Council defines “high growth” as all enterprises with average annualized growth greater than 20% per annum, over a three year period. Growth can be measured by the number of employees or by revenue. This includes any firm with fewer than 10 employees that grows by 8 or more employees over a 3-year period. This definition is consistent with the Business Employment Dynamic’s definition (see at:

http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2013/article/clayton.htm).

https://www.nwbc.gov/sites/default/files/Building%20Bridges.pdf http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2013/article/clayton.htm

The objective of this research is to create a dataset of best-in-class (as specified in item 1 below) programs, resources, and organizations upon which the Council may create a website resource that will enable women business owners to find the specific information, tools and assistance that they need to meet their business growth objectives.

1. The inventory shall consist of best-in-class programs, resources, and organizations. The Council will consult with the researchers to determine the relevant benchmark and/or criteria. Proposals shall include some proposed benchmarks and criteria to determine best-in-class. Promising new programs, resources, and organizations may be included in this inventory when they do not yet have the track record to be identified as “best-in-class”.

2. This project must include programs, resources, and organizations that are women-focused as well as programs, resources, and organizations that serve men and women alike.

3. Additionally, a single organization may provide multiple resources or programs to address the needs of women business owners at different stages of business growth. As such, each of those individual programs or resources must be tabulated separately and mapped onto a business lifecycle model, which includes growth stage (ideation/launch, expansion, growth, maturity and exit).2 Contractors must present a preliminary model in their proposal; the Council and researchers will finalize the model collaboratively, with the Council having final determination.

o Growth aspirations are also a key component of the business lifecycle model. The Council segments businesses into three groups: lifestyle, normal and high growth.

This resource inventory is focused on resources, programs, and organizations serving high growth women entrepreneurs only. This will be addressed further in Section III.

4. This inventory covers any programs, resources, and organizations in the United States but is not limited to any geography; that is, any outstanding women-focused or other best-in-class programs, resources, and organizations shall be included.

Through this research the contractor will create an inventory of resources, programs and organizations to address the following questions:

• Who helps women-owned businesses as they start up or as they move past the launch phase to the growth and scale phase?

• Where can women entrepreneurs obtain the assistance that they need?

• How can women-owned businesses obtain access to mentoring, education, capital, markets, and the other things they require to be truly successful?

• What types of support are available from which kinds of organizations?

This inventory will collect the following data, including but not limited to:

2 See Hanks, S.H., Watson, C.J., Jansen, E. & Chandler, G.N. 1993, ‘Tightening the life-cycle construct: a taxonomic study of growth stage configurations in high-technology organizations’, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 5-29; Churchill and Lewis (http://hbr.org/1983/05/the-five-stages-of-small-business-growth/); Bianchi and Winch, 2008 (http://www1.kmu.unisg.ch/rencontres/Renc2008/Topics_2008/A/Rencontres_2008_Bianchi_Winch.pdf).

http://hbr.org/1983/05/the-five-stages-of-small-business-growth/ http://hbr.org/1983/05/the-five-stages-of-small-business-growth/

• principal contact/s at the organization

• the organization’s address (or addresses if at multiple locations)

• audiences served o demographics, including gender, race/ethnicity, age, veteran status, LGBT o geography, including urban/rural

• industry focus, if any

• stage/s of business served

• scope: local, regional, national or international focus

• affiliations with other programs and organizations, if any

• market of business served: government, business, consumer, international

• type of organization: public sector entity; entrepreneurial support organization or non-profit;

membership association; corporation or for-profit organization; educational organization, college or university; accelerator or incubator; other

• relationships with other support organizations

• whether specifically women-focused

• accessibility: via the internet, local partner organizations or other

The Council seeks a list of programs, resources, and organizations that serve women entrepreneurs in the following subject matters:

• Influencing Public Policy and Opinion

• Capital

• Markets

• Education, Mentoring, or Technical Assistance

• Research

• Networks/Networking

• Board Membership

• Certification

• Honors/Visibility The contractor shall include: a functional matrix that shows graphically how the organizations compare with each other in terms of what kind of support they offer to women entrepreneurs.

II. Strategic Decision Making Content The Council has heard feedback from women entrepreneurs that it is challenging to navigate the wealth of information available, as well as understanding readiness for program use, determining program fit, and getting the most out of these programs. Consequently, the project also includes information and decision-making guides helping users of this resource platform to optimize their time investment.

Topics covered must include, but are not limited to: Human capital and job creation;

financing, including debt and equity; markets, including international, corporate/business-to-business, and government procurement; leadership/management.

Other decision making content:

A. Assessing the readiness of the woman entrepreneur and her firm for a particular program B. Assessing fit for a particular program by business stage and cultural criteria C. Tips for optimizing program participation – what needs to happen for the woman entrepreneur (and her firm) to be set up for success

These guides shall consist of stories from women who have made these decisions, frameworks and heuristics for an entrepreneur to think through her capabilities, capacity, growth aspirations and personal/business values so that she understands how those map onto different programs and resources; this will help the business owner ensure that the time she uses on these programs and resources is a valuable investment.

III. Programs, Resources and Organizations Website Finally the resource inventory and the strategic decision-making content shall be integrated into a user-friendly website, built using sites.usa.gov (see http://sites.usa.gov/faqs/ for more information guidance). This can include links and videos. The goal of this website is that an entrepreneur can easily find information about the potential supports available to support her high growth path.

The website shall have at least two ways to access resources. One is a simple list, sortable by type of program, resource or organization, subject matter, business stage, geography and other criteria determined to be useful by the offeror in conjunction with the Council. The second navigation path takes a “quiz” format, asking the user to identify the categories she or her businesses belong to. This navigation path will feature the strategic decision making content that will provide factors of consideration relating to different inflection points and choices the user faces.

These layers include:

o Growth aspirations (lifestyle, normal growth. and high growth; users who select

“lifestyle” or “normal” will be redirected to a new page of existing resources and programs supplied by the Council) o Business stage (ideation/launch, expansion, growth, maturity, exit) o Key business assets, including but not limited to: human capital, financing, customers/markets, leadership/management, physical assets, product/service quality

Design:

• The site shall be clean, easy to use and simple to navigate to the consensus of the designated COR. It will have many paths and it is important that users have an easy and successful experience when searching for resources.

Functionality:

• The ability to pull data sets using a variety of search functionality including stage of business, asset category/subject, geography, women-focused status, online accessibility

• Every resource shall include links, contact person, address, etc. as detailed in Section I (Resource/Program Inventory) above. Functionality (dropdown vs secondary link) can be determined as the site is developed, but it must also be mobile friendly.

• Integration of stories, supplied by the Council, related to the stages and key business assets to provide role models and peer affirmation about potential business outcomes.

• A contact us page providing a webform that generates an email.

http://sites.usa.gov/faqs/

IV. Performance Requirements

The methodology put forth in the proposal will clearly show how the research shall be conducted, are binding upon award, and are expected to be reflected in the final report. All research team members listed in the proposal, including but not limited to subject matter and technical experts, will actively contribute through the performance of this services. The resulting final submission will be comprehensive and inclusive of relevant high-performing organizations.

Draft products will reflect reasonable progress toward the final product and shall be submitted according to final product formatting requirements. For other details on the final product, see the “Deliverables” and “Performance Requirement Summary” sections that follow.

V. Deliverables All deliverables shall be transmitted to the COR via email.

Timeline for Dataset Creation and Decision Making Content

Deliverable Due Date Format For Written Submissions

Monthly progress reports

3rd business day of the month following initial award and each month thereafter

Microsoft Word document

Data Collection Strategy Development/Finalizati on

Week 2-3 of contract term Microsoft Word document

Data development Months 1-4 of contract term Microsoft Excel documents (no Adobe Acrobat PDF files or locked files)

Rough Draft of Dataset Months 3-4 of contract term

Microsoft Excel documents and formatted in accordance with specifications (no Adobe Acrobat PDF files or locked files)

First Draft; Peer Review Initiated Months 4-6 of contract term

Microsoft Excel documents and formatted in accordance with specifications (no Adobe Acrobat PDF files or locked files)

Final Dataset Submission Month 5 of contract term

Written, submitted in a Microsoft Excel documents and formatted in accordance with specifications (no Adobe Acrobat PDF files or locked files)

Timeline of Website Development

Project management

Periodic updates on a schedule agreed to between the contractor and the contracting officer’s representative (COR)

Telephone/e-mail conversations;

kick-off meeting, weekly updates or more as needed and timely deliverables including planning, design and UX recommendations, development, testing, delivery, training and maintenance (this can be negotiated separately).

Design Mock-ups

Periodic updates on a schedule agreed to between the contractor and the contracting officer’s representative (COR)

E-mailed electronic versions of comps in PDF form.

Beta/test site Due 16 weeks from date of the contract award Send link and login for review.

Final site Due five months from date of the contract award

Final link to uploaded, functional website and all user account credentials.

Training Due five months from date of the contract award

Relevant staff trained on site management

VI. Performance Requirement Summary

Contractors must adhere to the following when submitting drafts and the final dataset, with the final version completed not more than one year from the date of award:

• All submissions will be presented by the prescribed timelines; presented under the prescribed methodology; in the prescribed format to the contracting officer’s representative (COR). Documents shall be clearly annotated and/or identified as either a draft or a final document.

• Contractors must seek prior written approval from the contracting officer and COR before any changes are implemented among the key personnel and other staff listed in the proposal. Individuals that the contractor proposes to use as replacements for those listed in the proposal shall satisfy the personnel experience requirements contained in the solicitation and the contractor must provide resumes for each proposed replacement as part of its request for prior written approval.

• The documented submissions related to the post award service, including the final dataset and all intervening drafts, must be thoroughly edited and of high professional quality before submission to the COR. These high professional quality drafts and datasets shall include professional language, presentation, and citations commensurate with published research in academic journals in the relevant subject matter field and shall be free of typographical and grammatical errors.

• All research and data projects are subject to the Office of Management and Budget

Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality, Objectivity, Utility, and Integrity of Information Disseminated by Federal Agencies (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/omb/fedreg/reproducible2.pdf) . Per these guidelines, peer review may range from internal Advocacy staff review to that of external reviewers in relevant fields such as academics or technical experts. Feedback from this process will be incorporated into subsequent drafts before the report can be finalized for release.

• The final report must contain an executive summary and table of contents. It must conform to the current version of one of the major style guides, such as the University of Chicago Manual of Style or the American Psychological Association (APA) Style Manual, in terms of grammar, style, and organization. In particular, each table and figure must have a source specified on the page; references, footnotes and bibliographies shall be formatted consistent with a major style guide; and all pages shall have page numbers, including tables and figures.

• All government agency electronic and information technology (EIT) is required to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Section 508 of the ADA’s 1998 amendments requires the electronic documents posted by Federal agencies to be accessible to employees and members of the public with disabilities to the extent that it does not pose an “undue burden.” To comply with this mandate, the final report must be formatted in accordance with Section 508 requirements. The National Women’s Business Council will provide guidance to achieve 508 compatibility at the time of award; however, it is ultimately the contractor’s responsibility to provide all deliverables in accordance with the legal requirements for section 508 compliance. Per the guidelines, http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/omb/fedreg/reproducible2.pdf written descriptions of all figures and charts in the final report must be provided in a separate document.

• The contractor will provide the Council with a final, electronic version of the data within four months from the contract start date. The research is expected to progress along the timeline and benchmarks as noted in the Deliverables section.

• The final report must be double-spaced. The format of the electronic version must be a native spreadsheet software format and/or GIS format, or other database file with written permission from NWBC. An Acrobat (PDF) file is not acceptable. All tables, graphics, and charts must be supplied in an editable software format. The font size used in the document will be no smaller than 12 point for manuscript text; 10 point for tables, graphics and charts; and 9 point for footnotes.

• Once the Council determines the final format of the use of this dataset, that tool will include the following disclaimer, "The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations found in this study are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Women’s Business Council, the United States Small Business Administration, or the United States Government.”

• Following approval and acceptance of the final report, the National Women’s Business

Council will assign a date for public release of the data. Upon release, an electronic final report, along with a National Women’s Business Council-prepared research summary, will be posted on the Council's web site, http://www.nwbc.gov, and the report also will be available for sale at cost through the National Technical Information Service.

• The definition of small businesses shall be the same as used by the U.S. Small Business

Administration’s Office of Size Standards.

• The National Women’s Business Council encourages contractors to publish their findings in professional journals, if possible, but they can do so only after completing the contract.

Additionally, the contractor must obtain written guidance regarding attribution, specifically referencing the contract number and use of the Council’s logo and name upon finalization of the report and prior to any publication.

http://www.nwbc.gov/