R -- Editor/Writer

Project: The Corporation for National and Community Service, is a wholly owned Government Corporation, intends to award a contract. The Corporation is seeking a contractor to assist the Corporation in editing, reorganizing and streamlining its existing regulations, currently in chapters XII and XXV of title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and assist in drafting proposed amendments to the Corporation's AmeriCorps (including VISTA) and Learn and Serve program regulations. Background: Created in 1993, the Corporation for National Service and Community Service (Corporation) is a government corporation that oversees three national service initiatives'AmeriCorps, which includes AmeriCorps* VISTA, AmeriCorps* National Civilian Community Corps and hundreds of local and national non-profits; Learn and Serve America, which provides models and assistance to help teachers integrate service and learning from kindergarten through college; and the National Senior Service Corps, which includes the Foster Grandparent Program, the Senior Companions Program, and the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP). Currently, much of the Corporation's guidance to and requirements of its grantees appears annually in our application guidelines and grant provisions. (For examples of these documents, please refer to http://www.americorps.org/resources/guidelines2004.html and http://www.americorps.org/resources/manuals.html respectively). The Code of Federal Regulations contains some guidance in common with the guidelines and the provisions, as well as substantial restatements of the Corporation's authorizing legislation. Our goal is to collect in one place - the Code of Federal Regulations - all of the requirements that apply to our grantees, as well as to develop new regulations to implement some important changes to our programs. The regulations must be in clear, unambiguous prose that a general audience can understand. This project will be full-time, intensive, and on an extremely short time-frame, with a goal of sharing a draft of the proposed rule with OMB by March 1st, 2004. Applicable Authorities Authorities applicable to this requirement include, but are not limited to the following: A. The National and Community Service Act of 1990, as amended B The Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 C. 45 C.F.R. chapter 12 D. 45 C.F.R. chapter 25 Statement of Work A. Contractor Responsibilities The Contractor shall: 1. Review current regulations format and content. 2. Meet with representative(s) of the Office of General Counsel to discuss the project. 3. Reorganize and put in plain language, as necessary, current regulations. 4. Draft proposed rule to include Corporation's AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve, grant provisions. 5. Assist in drafting proposed rule to implement new grantee requirements. 6. Complete all assignments within 60 days of the award, or as the Corporation determines, whichever is later. 7. Coordinate all activities with Office of General Counsel representative. B. Agency Responsibilities The Agency will: 1. Provide a primary contact person at the Corporation with whom the Contractor shall coordinate and consult on all activities. 2. Provide drafts of proposed language already completed to date. 3. Review all drafts from the Contractor. 4. Meet regularly with the Contractor for the duration of the project. C. Computation of Time All time periods specified in this Statement of Work are stated in terms of calendar days. D. Delivery 1.The Contractor shall meet with the Corporation's contact person within seven (7) days of the award to exchange information and flesh out the project. 2.The Contractor shall meet at least weekly with the Corporation's contact person during the course of the project. 3.The Contractor shall submit a complete draft within 60 days of the award. E.Option to Extend Services The Corporation may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract. The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor. Quotation Requirements: The contractor must submit the following: 1.Demonstrated experience in writing and organizing agency regulations. 2.Demonstrated ability to write regulations in plain language. 3.Knowledge and understanding of federal grant-making processes. Evaluation Criteria: The Corporation will review and evaluate all technical proposals according to the following criteria: 1.Related experience and capabilities, including the resume of the individual(s) proposed to carry out this assignment. 2.The quality of other regulations you have drafted (please submit samples). 3.The timeline you propose to follow to accomplish the tasks outlined in this statement of work. 4.The cost of completing the project (please estimate how many hours the project will take together with an hourly rate). The Corporation reserves the right to require oral presentations and may take those presentations into account in further evaluating the proposals. All interested parties must request a copy of the RFQ. Requests for the RFQ will be accepted by email and by fax only. Please include your complete mailing address and the Reference number in your request. No telephonic requests will be honored. The estimated release date of the RFQ is December 27, 2003.