Asheville, North Carolina (April 6, 2017) — The Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University is looking to expand its NCServes coordinated delivery system into the Western region of North Carolina and is seeking proposals to manage this latest network. The addition of this fourth network in North Carolina will elevate the state as the first in the nation to have statewide network coverage.

Since 2013, the IVMF has brought together service providers and organizations from the public, private and nonprofit sectors in communities around the U.S. through its AmericaServes program. The goal of AmericaServes is to establish community-driven solutions that ensure veterans get the resources they need to sustain a healthy and economically-viable quality of life. The goal of this collaboration is to help facilitate well-coordinated access to benefits and services for veterans and their families locally that result in their successful transition from military to civilian life. This effort kicked off in New York City and has expanded to include multiple networks in New York as well as North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington.

Through a pilot of NCServes – Western, the IVMF and social services providers in that community will strive to create the most effective and efficient access to care for veterans and military families by allowing them to connect to multiple services in one place. For example, a veteran or their family member would access housing services as well as other needs such as employment and education – all within a single managed care network.

Through coverage mapping, planning and analysis of the NCServes – Western veteran and provider community, the IVMF has identified dozens of service providers that cover the spectrum of education, finance, health, housing, legal and other core services that are leading determinants of well-being in the Western North Carolina region.

In order to achieve improvements to service delivery for veterans and military families, the IVMF and key network stakeholders will select a Coordination Center which will serve as the backbone organization that is responsible to ensure the quality, accuracy and timeliness of services and operations within NCServes – Western. Through its offering and capabilities, the Coordination Center will leverage and exemplify the design principles of collective impact to organize and lead an effective coordinated network.

The Coordination Center works in partnership with the public sector (e.g., city, state, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Department of Defense (DoD) consumers (veterans, service members and their families) and providers throughout the Western North Carolina region to continuously improve the quality, efficiency, offering and accountability of piloted veteran programs and services and the experience for the network’s users. The technology platform, Unite US, administers the managed care, services and resources system, incorporating focused and continuous quality improvement, consumer education, services and resources coordination and analysis, technical assistance, data gathering, analysis and reporting, on-site and remote provider trainings, outreach and other activities in support of the NCServes – Western network’s goals.

The IVMF is accepting proposals to design, develop and operate as the NCServes – Western Network Coordination Center. This will be an open and competitive process; the purpose of this RFP is to make a fair evaluation for all candidates and to provide applicants with the evaluation criteria against which their proposals will be assessed.

RFP TIMELINE
Dates and activities listed below cover the key milestones for selecting and piloting NCServes – Western.

Activity:	Date:
RFP Release	April 6, 2017
Information Session Webinar	April 21, 2017 (Time TBD)
Final date to submit questions and requests for additional information	April 17, 2017 5 p.m. EST
Application Due	April 28, 2017 5 p.m. EST
Final award notification	May 15, 2017
Contract administration	May 15, 2017  – June 15, 2017
Contract start date	May 15, 2017

 

RFP MATERIALS
The RFP can be accessed via the attachment below and on IVMF’s website at IVMF.

** PLEASE DOWNLOAD AND SAVE THE DOCUMENT BELOW TO YOUR COMPUTER TO ACCESS THE LINKED DOCUMENTS WITHIN THIS RFP. **
DOWNLOAD NCServes RFP HERE

RFP VENDOR SOLICITATION EVENT
The IVMF will host a vendor solicitation event on April 21, 2017, open to any/all interested and eligible applicants. This event intends to answer any questions about the RFP itself. Unite US, a pre-selected technology platform, will be in attendance to answer technology capability and capacity questions. To register for the vendor solicitation event and obtain details regarding the event, please RSVP here: I’d like to RSVP for NCServes-Western Vendor Solicitation Event

All questions and requests for additional information regarding this RFP must be communicated via email to Ilario Pantano at igpantan@syr.edu by April 17, 2017. Generally, questions will be answered on an ongoing basis and in the order in which they are received.

# # #

Media Contacts:

IVMF Media Contact: Ilario Pantano, IVMF Senior Director of Community Services, 910 .616.9961, igpantan@syr.edu

 About the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University

The Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) is the first interdisciplinary national institute in higher education focused on the social, economic, education and policy issues impacting veterans and their families post-service. The Institute is supported by a world-class advisory board and public and private partners committed to advancing the post-service lives of America’s service members, veterans and their families. The Institute for Veterans and Military Families and its professional staff deliver leading programs in career, vocational and entrepreneurship education and training. The Institute also conducts actionable research, policy analysis and program evaluations, coordinates comprehensive collective impact strategies, and works with communities and non-profits to enhance service delivery for veterans and their families. For more information, visit IVMF and follow the IVMF on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.