SOW.pdf

STATEMENT OF WORK

NSF Workshop to Explore Novel Ideas for Future Activities with the

Arecibo Observatory

February 17, 2020

I. Requiring Office:

National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Science Division of Astronomical Sciences 2415 Eisenhower Avenue Alexandria, VA 22314

II. Background:

The Arecibo Observatory is an NSF Major Facility that was completed in 1963 and upgraded in the early 1990s to provide scientific data to a broad user community including programs in astronomy, atmospheric and geospace sciences, space weather and planetary radar. On December 1, 2020, the instrument platform above the 305-meter radio telescope collapsed, resulting in the loss of an important resource for science and the local communities. In order to explore the most useful and productive avenues for future science and educational capabilities at Arecibo moving forward, NSF must involve the broadest possible range of stakeholders in a planning workshop (here referred to as the AO Workshop). The AO Workshop is vital for soliciting input about the needs of the community, both local to Puerto Rico and US astronomy and atmospheric science more broadly, regarding capabilities that can be restored or built at the Arecibo site, as well as the resources available to carry out this work.

III. Applicable Documents

The Contractor shall use the following reference documents for the performance of this task order.

1. Selected sections of NSF Web Development Policy and Procedures Manual, version

7.11.2016 or successor version.

IV. Activity Work List

Activity:

The Contractor shall provide the personnel, services, software, and resources needed for planning, logistical services, and facilitation and management services, for a highly interactive workshop aimed at individuals or teams who have an interest in guiding and developing the future science and education prospects of the Arecibo Observatory. The workshop will be 3-5 days of about 4- 6 hrs./day scheduled over a period of weeks and will require planning of activities to present the situation and allow participants to meet, brainstorm and collaborate with one another. The aims are to engage with a broad range of community members to encourage “outside the box” thinking, form new teams, and also to encourage all parties to be open to working productively with whichever projects are ultimately selected to lead the Arecibo Observatory into the next phase of productivity. The lab is expected to involve as many as 100 participants and will involve participation in small breakout sessions of perhaps 3-6 participants as well as larger group activities.

Elements of content and format associated with the generated documents and graphics are:

• Uniform file and graphic naming convention that meet current NSF web policy requirements, section File and Folder Names

• ADA-accessible Adobe XI Professional PDFs for all final versions of the workshop documents, that meet current NSF web policy requirements, section Creating Accessible Documents

• ADA-accessible 2013 MS Visio sources files for all graphics which are included in the documents must meet current NSF web policy requirements, section Graphic Considerations

If the Contractor finds a need to use additional types of formatting or has specific questions during the execution of this activity, please discuss with the Project Lead for direction.

B. Timing:

The Project is to commence no more than 1 week from notice to proceed. The project timeline of key milestone and deliverables will be refined during the kickoff meeting. Any differences between the information outlined in the quote will also be reconciled.

Key Deliverables and Schedule Milestones

Key Milestone Deliverables Target Date/s Kickoff meeting with NSF and Contractor

• Refined description of AO Workshop scope and goals

• Proposed method of presentation format and customization of the proprietary technology platform used to facilitate the collaborative virtual online experience.

• Project Management tools proposed for tracking status of contracted activities. Minimum tools should include schedule with key milestones aligned with agreed upon activities associated with administering preparations for and executing the project, e.g., project management board, transmittal communications, execution of participant feedback survey.

• Summary notes from Kickoff meeting

• Secure repository to house materials from contractor/NSF meetings for duration of contract period.

• Within one week of contract award or official NSF notice to proceed, hold kick off meeting.

• During kickoff meeting, discuss project management tools, and demonstrate proposed secure repository and identify any gaps.

• No later than three days after kickoff, provide NSF with access/user credentials to the prepopulated secure, agreed upon repository, and access to the agreed upon project management tools to be used in this project.

NSF/Contractor Planning Meetings

• Final version of the description of AO Workshop scope and goals

• For each meeting, written summary to recap previous discussion, decisions and action items.

• Confirmation of materials and activities to support achieving goals of AO workshop, anticipated to include:

- Informational web pages hosted on the NSF or contractor’s web platform.

- Application form for potential participants

- Support for reviewing applications following agreed upon process

- Design & Preparation Activities

- List of customizations of Virtual Venue

- Description of Workshop Facilitation

- Secure repository for documentation (pdf) and recordings (mp4) produced by all (participants and contractors) at the workshop.

• Feedback survey and a report with the collated results which summarize the participants’ input, level of engagement and level of satisfaction with the idea gathering process.

• Start no later than one week after kickoff meeting

• Hold meetings no less than weekly and finishing all planning meetings no later than March 30, 2021

Preparation and Execution of AO Workshop

• Execute preparatory activities in accordance with agreed upon schedule. This could include registering participants and/or transmitting communications with participants, including troubleshooting the platform technology.

• Status reports to NSF Project Lead on deviations from agreed upon schedule.

• Execution of AO Workshop

• Preparatory and Execution deliverable should be executed per agreed upon schedule.

• Reports on any anticipated deviations from the schedule should be reported to NSF Project Lead as they are known.

Post AO Workshop Activities

• Review of participant survey for final adjustments prior to distribution

• Report summarizing respondent input from approved participant survey.

• Transmittal of all electronic files in secure repository and collaboration platform.

• Review of survey to be conducted no later than one day prior to planned transmittal.

• Draft version as per agreed upon schedule.

• Final version as per agreed upon schedule.

• Repository files transmittal no later than five days after transmittal of final version of participant report.

V. Deliverables:

The Contractor shall deliver working documents and files onto a Contractor-hosted site according to the schedule in Section B above, provided no delays are caused by the government.

The guidelines set forth requirements for the deliverables as applicable:

• Notes and images captured as MS Word and/or .jpg, as appropriate, for all stakeholder interviews.

• Draft versions with mark-up and comments for all MS Word files and graphic images

• Individual ADA-accessible MS Word files with name, using uniform schema

• Individual ADA-accessible Adobe XI Professional PDFs, using uniform schema

• Adobe Accessibility Reports indicating checks have passed

• Visio source files, for images, using uniform naming schema

VI. Government Furnished Information (GFI):

The Contractor shall execute this activity using the following GFI delivered on the Contractor -hosted SP site:

• Select sections of the NSF Web Development Policy and Procedures, including File and Folder Names, PDF Document Property Settings; Graphic Considerations; Creating Accessible Documents

VIII. Projected Time to Complete

120 business working days starting on or about February 23, 2021.

IX. Place of Performance

Remote participation by methods such as video conference calls using Zoom, BlueJeans, and Webex for Business is acceptable for weekly NSF/contractor meetings. AO Workshop will be conducted virtually using the contractor provided platform.

X. Travel Requirements: None Anticipated.

XI. Conflicts of Interest: Not applicable.