Technical Editing and Design Support

1.0 Background

Argonne National Laboratory’s (Argonne) National Preparedness Analytics Center (NPAC) partners with governments, industry, nonprofits, and academia to develop and apply innovative solutions to strengthen national preparedness and resilience. NPAC staff routinely engage in analytic, research, modeling, simulation, planning, exercise, doctrine development, technical assistance, and implementation activities related to emergency management, energy security, and infrastructure resilience as part of a varied sponsored research portfolio. In support of these efforts, NPAC often produces guidance documents, research reports, briefings, and other materials for a variety of sponsors, such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and Department of Energy (DOE). NPAC is seeking a technical editing and design team to provide technical editing and formatting, 508-compliance, and graphic design support for NPAC products.

2.0 Scope

This project includes providing technical editing and formatting, 508-compliance, and graphic design support for NPAC products. Specific tasks are outlined in section 4.0.

3.0 Objectives

Objectives of the project are to:

1. Conduct technical editing and formatting of guidance documents, reports, briefings, spreadsheets, and other materials, in line with specified style guides and standards.
2. Ensure products are compliant with Section 508 requirements.
3. Develop customized graphics for inclusion in guidance, reports, briefings, and other materials that meet all design requirements.

4.0 Tasks & Requirements

Task 1: Conduct Technical Editing and Formatting

Under the direction of the project manager and in collaboration with the NPAC project team, the contractor will:

• Provide consultation on document design and layout including developing document templates and/or style guides for use by center staff.
• Conduct technical editing of guidance documents, reports, briefings, spreadsheets, and other materials, as requested, following the specified style guides and standards for the particular document, such as the United States Government Publishing Office (GPO) Style Manual, Associated Press (AP) Style, the DHS Style Guide, FEMA Style Guide, and DOE standards and guidelines.
• Provide a redline version of the edited document with technical edits in tracked changes and other language suggestions in comment boxes, as well as a clean version of the edited document.
• Ensure consistent and proper formatting of documents, in line with specified style guides.

Task 2: Provide 508-Compliance Reviews and Remediation

Under the direction of the project manager and in collaboration with the NPAC project team, the contractor will:

• Review NPAC products, to include guidance documents, reports, briefings, spreadsheets, graphs, and other materials, to ensure they are consistent with Section 508 requirements.
• Identify and remediate 508-compliance issues for provided products, in line with the specific sponsor agency’s requirements (to include DHS, FEMA, DOE, and others). Products may be in a variety of formats, such as PDF, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Task 3: Provide Graphic Design Support

Under the direction of the project manager and in collaboration with the NPAC project team, the contractor will:

• Develop and revise customized graphics, such as icons, infographics, charts, and others, for inclusion in guidance, reports, briefings, and other materials.
• Ensure all graphics produced meet 508-compliance requirements and style guidelines provided.

5.0 Delivery

The selected contractor will deliver the following, as requested by the project manager and/or NPAC project team:

• Edited documents, including redline and clean versions, that align with all specified requirements and styles guides.
• 508-compliant documents.
• Graphics that align with all specified requirements and styles guides.

6.0 Government-Furnished Property

Argonne will not provide equipment to the contractor.

7.0 Security

All work products developed under this contract will be unclassified.

8.0 Place of Performance

All project work will occur at the contractor’s facilities, or in another location that conforms with the contractor’s policies and procedures.

9.0 Period of Performance

NPAC anticipates the period of performance for this contract to be from three years from the date of award.

10.0 Required Labor Categories

Labor Category/Responsibilities/Minimum experience/education

Technical Editor II

Mid-level position with training and experience in formatting and editing Government documents. Conducts interim reviews and final formatting and technical editing to prepare documents for publication. Reviews and edits text, graphics (tables, illustrations, and figures), and mathematical representations to ensure clarity, conciseness (clear, logical presentation), consistency, parallel construction, correspondence of text with graphics, technical accuracy, and appropriateness of content throughout the document, without altering technical content. Ensures consistency with applicable style guides and 508-compliance requirements. Takes direction from senior Technical Writers/Editors and from senior Program staff.

• 5 years’ experience
• Bachelors

Technical Editor III

Senior-level position with significant expertise in formatting and editing Government documents. Conducts interim reviews and final formatting and technical editing to prepare documents for publication. Reviews and edits text, graphics (tables, illustrations, and figures), and mathematical representations to ensure clarity, conciseness (clear, logical presentation), consistency, parallel construction, correspondence of text with graphics, technical accuracy, and appropriateness of content throughout the document, without altering technical content. Ensures consistency with applicable style guides and 508-compliance requirements. Takes direction from senior Program and writing staff and leads/oversees junior and mid-level editors.

• 10 years’ experience
• Bachelors

Graphic Designer II

Mid-level graphic designer who creates 2D and 3D graphics, diagrams, charts, infographics, and icons. Able to communicate effectively with project staff to comprehend complex processes and concepts to design illustrations. Illustrations can range from in-depth technical to casual.

• 5 years’ experience
• Bachelors in graphic design or related field

Graphic Designer III

Senior graphic designer who creates 2D and 3D graphics, diagrams, charts, infographics, and icons. Able to communicate effectively with project staff to comprehend complex processes and concepts to design illustrations. Illustrations can range from in-depth technical to casual.

• 10 years’ experience
• Bachelors in graphic design or related field