Veterans Florida Request for Proposals for the Florida VETS Entrepreneurship Program Network Partner Institution 1
1. Objective Veterans Florida seeks responses from qualified post secondary institutions of higher learning in Florida to serve as a partner for a comprehensive veterans entrepreneurship program, that will be implemented across a network of Florida institutions called the Florida VETS Entrepreneurship Program. Selected institution will be known as a Network Partner. The Florida VETS Entrepreneurship Program will be administered by the University of West Florida, the Host Partner. The Host Partner will handle administrative duties for multiple institutions in the network, Network Partners, who will each operate their own instance of the program. The University of North Florida, Florida Atlantic University, and Florida Gulf Coast University have been selected as the first three Network Partners. 2. Background Governor Rick Scott created Florida is for Veterans, Inc. when he signed the Florida GI Bill legislation into law on March 31, 2014. Housed within the Florida State Statutes, Title XX Veterans, Chapter 295 Laws Relating to Veterans: General Provisions, Section 295.21 Florida Is For Veterans, Inc., identifies the purpose of Florida is for Veterans, Inc., as promoting Florida as the most Veteran friendly state in the nation. The Board of Directors has selected Veterans Florida as the operating name of Florida is for Veterans, Inc. Veterans Florida s mission is to: Attract and retain Veterans and their families by connecting them to employment, training, and educational opportunities Strengthen Florida businesses through educating them on the value and skillsets Veterans bring to the workforce and providing training resources for their Veteran hires Enhance the entrepreneurial skills of Veterans Veterans Florida lives by the values of Integrity, Service, Caring, Commitment, and Excellence. The Florida legislature mandated that Veterans Florida establish an Entrepreneurship Program for Veterans. In order to accomplish this mandate, Veterans Florida will contract with one or more entities to administer an entrepreneur initiative program for Veterans which will connect business leaders in the state with Veterans seeking to become entrepreneurs. Veterans Florida intends to select one additional post secondary institution of higher learning to serve as a Network Partner to contract with the institution of West Florida that meets the following requirements: a) Demonstrate the ability to implement the program and the commitment of institution resources, including financial resources, to such programs b) Have a military and Veteran resource center c) Have been nationally recognized for commitment to the military and Veterans d) Ability to work collaboratively with other institutions to create a uniform curriculum for the program 2
Military and Veteran Resource Centers may vary by name, but each institution desiring to compete for an award must have an office dedicated to military and Veteran students. These dedicated offices should at a minimum: a) Provide support to students who are Veterans, family members of Veterans, and active and reserve component Military personnel b) Assist student Veterans, service members and dependents in securing Veterans Affairs educational benefits c) Support and assist with Veteran related initiatives including workshops, research and other activities d) Heighten awareness of Veterans issues among the campus community e) Recruit an increased number of qualified Veterans to the institution 3. Scope of Work The institution selected to be a Network Partner in the Florida VETS Entrepreneurship Program will successfully demonstrate the entrepreneurial, administrative and financial resources and experience to bring the program online rapidly. Duties of the network partner: 1. Participate the joint development of curriculum for the network. Veterans Florida encourages network universities to be creative in their curriculum, but at a minimum, we seek a phased curriculum consisting of an initial introductory phase (online), a resident phase, followed by a post resident phase which includes access to mentoring and other resources. Curriculum may include: Peer to peer learning sessions, mentoring, technical assistance, business round tables, networking opportunities, support of student organizations, speaker series, or other tools within a virtual environment. Programs should connect business leaders in the state with Veterans seeking to become entrepreneurs. Partnerships with local, private incubators Partnerships with local, state, and national Veterans organizations and transition assistance programs in the state Curriculum plans do not need to be submitted with the response to this RFP. The institution selected through this RFP will have limited input to curriculum for the first year of the Florida VETS Entrepreneur Program, but will have input on the changes for the second year of the program. (subject to appropriations) The final curriculum design will be approved by the Veterans Florida Board of Directors. 3
2. Provide information on performance of the program participants to the University of West Florida. The University of West Florida will collect and analyze participant performance to include program completion rates, business opening rates (post graduation), and jobs created by each new business. Demographic information on each veteran will also be collected and analyzed for statistical purposes. Proof of honorable veteran status or military service in the National Guard or Reserves shall be submitted for each participant. The University of West Florida will lead development of performance metrics for the program and for each participating institution in the network. The performance measures must be approved by the Veterans Florida Board of Directors. Performance measures that include measures of business creation, program participation, as well as business sustainability and growth measures of success. 4. Project Tasks and Deliverables Veterans Florida expects each response to include detailed plans on: a) Program implementation schedule b) Staffing plans c) Participant recruitment d) Matching funds (if any) 5. Submittal Content Requirements 1. Cover Letter a. The cover letter shall also contain the name of the institution, contact person, title, address, email address, and telephone number 2. Table of Contents a. The Table of Contents should identify locations of all sections in the submittal 3. Submittal Information: a. institution s qualifications based on legislative requirements specified in the background of this request for proposal b. Current entrepreneurship program being offered by the institution, if any c. Any partnerships proposed with public/private entities 4. Program implementation schedule 5. Program staff 6. Participant recruitment plan 7. Matching funds (if any) 6. Program Schedule This section will include details on the suggested program development timeline, proposed implementation dates, as well as the program schedule to be provided to the Host and other 4
Network partners for consideration. Schedules may include descriptions on recruitment phase, introductory phase, resident phase and the follow on phase. 7. Staffing Plan This section shall contain the institution s staffing plan, which shall identify the Project Manager and other key staff who would be assigned to the Veteran entrepreneurship program. The staffing plan shall list the direct qualifications and experience of each key individual. At a minimum, this section should include a short biography and experience of each key employee proposed by the institution and a summary of relevant experience pertaining to entrepreneurship programs and veterans. 8. Approach and Work Plan: A description of the project approach should be provided. In this project approach, an understanding of entrepreneurship programs required under the Scope of Services in this RFP should be demonstrated. The response to this section should also contain a description of the level of familiarity with the veteran population especially with regard to issues veterans face in transitioning from service to civilian life. 9. Cost Schedules: Each Network Partner will receive $135,000 in funding from the University of West Florida. This funding will be dispersed by the University of West Florida for expenses directly related to instruction, travel, room and board or other program related expenses on behalf of the veteran participants. There will be no cost to military veterans participating in this program. 10. Timeline December 7th, 2015: December 21st, 2015: December 28th, 2015: Partner January, 2016: March April, 2016: May 2016: June Dec, 2016: June 30th, 2016: RFP publication Responses due to Veterans Florida Veterans Florida Board of Directors Selects Network Anticipated start of participant recruitment Phase 1: Online Introductory Education occurs Phase 2: In residence phase occurs Phase 3: Mentoring and Consulting Phase occurs All program activities must be complete and funding obligated 5
July 1st, 2016: July 1st, 2017: Initial report due to Veterans Florida on program completion rates and participant demographics Final report due to Veterans Florida on business/job creation and economic impact Scoring Matrix Network Partner institution VETS Entrepreneur Program Requirements Yes Did they provide all the required submittal documentation by the deadline? Cover Letter? (including the name of the institution, contact person, title, address, email address, and telephone number) Have a military and Veteran resource center Have a regional small business development center in the Florida Small Business Development Center Network Current entrepreneurship program being offered by the institution Proposal for curriculum development Any partnerships proposed with public/private entities Program implementation schedule Program staffing plan Participant recruitment plan Topic Score Curriculum Development Plan Are they willing to participate in the curriculum development with the Network Institutions? 100 6
Will they commit to an agreement to implement the same curriculum of the VETS Entrepreneur Program in their institution? Do they have any current curriculum that might support the development of the program's curriculum? Implementation Schedule Timeline on how they would implement the shared curriculum How long it would take to collect data and report to the University of West Florida 100 Military and Veteran resource center Number of veterans served Services provided Nationally recognized for commitment to the military and Veterans 100 Program Cost Breakdown Indicates the anticipated costs for direct overhead costs, curriculum development, materials, room and board for Veterans, meals for Veterans, etc. 100 Participant Recruitment Plan Realistic, goal oriented Demonstrate ability and willingness to use existing institution networks/online resources 75 Matching Funds Amount (cash/in kind) that institution proposes to support the program 25 Max Total Points Available 500 7
Instructions for submission: All proposals are due no later than Monday, December 21st 2015 and must be sent via email to Veterans Florida s Chief Operating Officer, Joe Marino. If you have any questions, you may contact him by email at marino@veteransflorida.org.you will be contacted by staff after receiving your proposal to schedule your presentation via teleconference to the Veterans Florida Board of Directors on December 28th, 2015. 8