This sample is a guide to help you prepare your Competitive Service Center proposal. In this example, NHLBI is the Provider and NIDA and FIC are the Users of the Service Center. In some instances, blanks are left to indicate where information needs to be filled in on a real proposal. In other places, sample information is filled in to make clear what the review committee is looking for in a final proposal.

Purpose of Proposal

To propose establishment of a Service Center in the _______ service area. This particular proposal involves NHLBI providing services to NIDA and FIC.

Benefits of Proposal

The participating ICDs expect these arrangements to provide substantial enhancements to the efficient/effective provision of services in this area.

Projected Improvements from Implementing the Service Center Include:

  • A reduction in FTEs used in this service area
  • Providing a vehicle to facilitate a long-term reduction in ICD FTEs
  • An increase in FTEs for the Provider, but fewer overall than would be needed if each institute needed to maintain/develop/expand their own separate programs in this area
  • Generated savings from shared contract support
  • ICD access to a greater range of expertise
  • An observable reduction in managerial/support staff needed, etc.

Service Center Staffing

It is anticipated that these arrangements will require ____ (#) additional staff to be hired by the Service Center.

For the purposes of this Service Center we propose the following:

  • ____ (#) additional staff will come from User Institutes
  • ____ (#) will be hired through regular hiring procedures

In addition, ____ (#) Incentive FTEs for NHLBI are being requested from the Reserve Pool.

Proposed Services

NHLBI will be providing the following services to NIDA and to FIC:

[indicate services only in sufficient detail to allow reviewers of the proposal to understand the basis for the number of FTEs requested]

  • NHLBI currently has _____ (#) FTEs working in this area and will be using those staff in the Service Center to form the core expertise and the managerial and support structure. This includes _____ (#) specialists and _____ (#) support staff. On this basis the NHLBI is requesting _____ (#) [25% to 50%] FTEs from the Pool as Incentive FTEs.

  • To provide these services to NIDA and FIC, the NHLBI calculates that it will require _____ (#) additional FTEs in the Service Center to support this additional work. This calculation is based on ........

    [provide an explanation for how this number was derived, taking into account workload indices, current levels of productivity to be maintained, expected economies of scale, shared expertise, use of contractor staff, etc.]

  • NIDA wishes to reduce its staff in this area, and will be providing _____ (#) of the _____ (#) staff required by the NHLBI Center.

  • FIC will not be providing any staff to the Service Center.

  • However, NIDDK (which is serviced by NICHD) also wishes to reduce its staff in this area and will be providing _____ (#) staff to NHLBI.

The staffing arrangement described above will meet the needs of the NHLBI Service Center, and therefore no additional FTEs are being requested directly from the Reserve Pool for the Center [OR _____(#) additional FTEs are being requested directly from the Reserve Pool for the Service Center, and staff will be hired for these positions through regular hiring procedures].

Projected Savings

The number of FTEs that will be used by the NHLBI Center is _____ (#) fewer than the number now being utilized in the ICDs being serviced [OR This number is _____ (#) fewer than would be needed if the Institutes were to develop their own separate individual programs].

In the _______ service area, savings are also expected in contract costs because of sharing of contracts among the ICDs. It is anticipated that a contract to support NHLBI, NIDA, and FIC will save $_______ annually from the cost of separately maintained contracts.

Start-up and phase-in time lines for the provision of services to the User ICDs are projected as follows:

  • ____ (#) FTEs will be needed by the NHLBI Service Center in October 1995

  • An additional ____ (#) FTEs will be needed in February 1996.

    [Continue time line as needed.]

User ICDs

Under this proposal, NIDA and FIC will be providing _____ (#) staff to the Service Centers in this service area and are requesting ____ (#) Incentive FTEs.

NIDA

  • NIDA now uses ____ (#) staff to provide these services internally.
  • NIDA will be providing ____ (#) staff to NHLBI (and/or to NICHD or NIMH which also have Service Centers in this area). On this basis, NIDA is requesting a 50% rebate, or [____ (#) multiplied by 50%] Incentive FTEs from the Reserve Pool.

FIC

  • FIC now has no staff in this area.
    OR
  • FIC now uses ____# staff in this area and will be retaining them; and using the Center to expand its program.
    OR
  • FIC will not provide staff to the Service Center and is therefore not requesting any Incentive FTEs from the Reserve Pool.

Personnel Implications for Staffing the Service Centers

  1. Discussions have been/will be held with all staff in the service area involved in the affected ICDs, both those providing services and those receiving services.

  2. All staff have been informed that their grade levels and career status are not at risk because of these changes.

  3. The interests of staff have been considered in decisions by the Institutes regarding the reassignments of staff.

  4. Reassignment decisions were based on....[or followed these procedures....]

  5. Opportunities for advancing the goals of affirmative action have been considered in the following way...

Periodic Assessments

Periodic assessments will be conducted on an annual basis. These assessments will address accountability for the use of FTEs given to the Service Centers, and the satisfaction levels of both Users and Providers.

The following factors will be reviewed on an annual basis:
[Indicate qualitative and/or quantitative indices of efficiency and effectiveness]

A review group will be established during the first month of operation (October/November 19XX), which will include representatives from the Provider ICDs and the User ICDs, as well as people not involved in these arrangements but who are knowledgeable in the service area. This group will also serve as a forum for sharing of ideas between ICDs to identify procedures and other arrangements that do and do not work well. This group will meet quarterly during the first year to address any problems that may come up between the Users and Providers.

Financial Arrangements

Interagency agreements will be used to allow the User ICDs to reimburse the Service Centers for the additional expenses incurred in the provision of services to them. NHLBI will also use the mechanism of a Memorandum of Understanding with direct citation of NIDA and FIC Common Account Numbers (CANs) to charge contract costs directly to those ICDs.


In determining costs, ICs should consider Personnel (including salaries, benefits, and associated awards), Training of personnel associated with services being provided, Travel, Equipment and other major one-time costs, Space (cost of space occupied by personnel and other functions associated with the provision of services), and General Supplies.

Introduction | Service Center Overview | Sample Proposal |
Proposal Review Process | Current Participants


Questions? Comments? Feel free to contact the Competitive Service Centers Committee.

Last updated 1/30/98