FACILITATION:

The Contractor shall act as the office manager, assistant and meeting coordinator to the HAB, its committees and issue managers. The Contractor shall:

• Establish and distribute all HAB meeting schedules, agendas, and work plans in consultation with the DOE HAB Coordinator(s) or their delegate, Washington State Department of Ecology and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency local representatives HAB Chairperson, and HAB Executive Issues Committee. This shall include:

• Work Planning Products and Expectations:
• Annual HAB Fiscal Year Work Plan for entire fiscal year
• Committee Three-Month Look-Ahead for next quarter updated prior to each committee meeting
• Topics Tables for next committee meeting – topics ripe for discussion, subject matter experts/presenters, framing questions, time needed to discuss. Updated prior to each committee meeting and or call, and updated in real time during committee business discussions, subject to agency agreement
  • During the call, Board leadership reviews committee meeting requests and recommends when meetings will be held.
  • TPA agency representatives can also bring up issues pertinent to the HAB for discussion.

• Agendas: Working with the DOE Hanford Site Deputy Designated Federal Officer, DOE Federal Coordinator, Ecology and EPA agency representatives, and the HAB to ensure committee and Board agenda topics are included in the agenda in a timely manner and are acceptable to the three agencies prior to distribution. Details:

• A rough outline of activities for a meeting should be completed one month prior to committee meetings to support DOE compliance with Federal Register requirements for public meetings.
• Drafting and editing board and committee meetings agendas shall be completed in alignment with the approved Work Plan and in conjunction with TPA agency representatives prior to HAB leadership review.
• Working with DOE Federal Coordinator(s) to obtain Deputy Designated Federal Officer approval of the Board agenda prior to distribution.

• Final, detailed agendas should be provided 10 days prior to HAB committee and full Board meetings.

o If the TPA Agencies provide any other pre-meeting information, the Contractor shall provide as soon as possible before the meetings or calls, such as draft advice, presentations, handouts, etc.

o Schedules: Setting meeting schedules (with approval of agency representatives) and ensuring all Board members/participants are notified in a timely manner.

o Coordinating with the DOE Federal Coordinator(s) to have the appropriate DOE and Hanford Site contractor personnel available to support Board and committee meetings.

o Having a minimum of one facilitator, and necessary support staff to adequately support at all HAB meetings and committee meetings to facilitate the events and agenda as well as assist in achieving objectives, including:

o Meeting Minutes: Recording meeting minutes during each of the full Board and committee meetings and committee calls. Minutes will capture key points of discussion with attribution to individual speakers. Presentations, pictures or scans of flipcharts or other hand-written sticky notes, and handouts will be included as attachments to minutes. Minutes shall also capture next steps and any actions for TPA Agencies and HAB members. The meeting minutes must include:

o The time, date, and place of the advisory committee meeting

o A list of the persons who were present at the meeting, including advisory committee members and staff, agency employees (to include the person’s name, agency and title), and members of the public who presented oral or written statements

o An accurate description of each matter discussed and the resolution, if any, made by the advisory committee regarding such matters

o Copies of each report or other documents received, issued, or approved by the advisory committee at the meeting

o Preparing and distributing, within 14 days, Board meeting minutes and committee meeting minutes.

o Coordinating with TPA agency representatives and other as necessary on planning for HAB, committees, issue managers, committee of the whole, educational forums, and other meetings as requested by HAB leadership and approved by DOE.

o Meeting weekly with the DOE Federal Coordinator(s) (and/or delegate) and DDFO to discuss continual opportunities for improvement and any corrective actions necessary to better fulfill the relationship between the Contractor and the DOE.

• Maintain open, ongoing and effective communications with agency representatives, including the DOE Federal Coordinator(s), HAB leadership, members and issue managers. This shall include:

o Ensuring appropriate and current distribution lists (for the HAB full Board, each of the HAB committees, TPA Agencies, and interested parties) are used for disseminating Board information.

o Using effective tools/innovative meeting technologies with virtual platform capabilities such as video, screen sharing, and chat (compatible with DOE security protocols) during Board and committee meetings to provide presentations in real time and to allow off-site attendees the ability to interact during Board and committee meetings and calls.

o The Contractor shall provide a dedicated local and toll-free call in number for all meetings and calls (ADA compliant / accessible).

o Distributing consensus advice and maintaining an electronic and publically accessible record of HAB advice and agency responses.

o Administer HAB public website to include correspondence, presentations, meeting summaries and Hanford Advisory Board work products to DOE and post to the HAB website (hanford.gov).

o Assisting HAB and committee members with information requests relating only to HAB business. Work with TPA agency representatives to facilitate and fulfill information needs for Board members and committees.

o Ensuring distribution of requested information to Board and committee members is approved by DOE prior to distribution. DOE HAB coordinator should be made aware in advance of any and all requests to distribute information between Board and/or committee members prior to distribution of any information.

o Providing information as requested from TPA agency representatives regarding views on policies or current issues or activities under consideration by the HAB. Clearly denote/caveat which TPA Agency is providing this information.

o Employing experienced facilitators (e.g.: senior and professional level) familiar with technical issues related to environmental restoration and waste management at Hanford and nationally. Facilitators exercise professional conflict/problem/dispute resolution techniques in order to help the HAB reach consensus for policy level advice. The contractor shall provide the facilitator certifications to DOE.

• Develop and distribute the HAB Annual Report as requested by DOE Federal Coordinator. The Facilitation Contractor shall provide DOE with a digital copy of the HAB Annual Report.
• Assist with Ecology’s Annual HAB/Public Involvement Survey by conducting the survey and provide survey results to the Federal Coordinator.
• Maintain a HAB library per FACA guidelines. The HAB Library is a repository of HAB-related information maintained by the Contractor. It is not a public information repository. The Contractor will organize and maintain the official required Federal Advisory Committee Act information repository. This library is subject to DOE inspection/oversight and records requirements
• Monitor and assist in carrying out administrative procedures as developed by the Board to include attendance and conflict of interest policies, formulation and dissemination of policy advice and recommendations, and ground and operating rules. Seek clarification with the DOE HAB Coordinator(s) and HAB leadership on administrative and management procedures as necessary to avoid duplication with DOE staff. This shall include, but is not limited to:

o Prompt HAB members and or Issue Manager teams to align issues appropriately that meet agency priority and focus discussions on high-level policy issues.

o Ensure facilitation support for the development and effective utilization of issue managers to accomplish HAB work.

o Provide guidance to ensure Issue Managers actively share issue-related work and information gathered from agencies and other sources with the committee.

o Ensure verbal and written communication is clear and organized so agencies and HAB members understand in which committee a particular issue belongs (i.e., an issue should be owned by one committee).

o Facilitate open and ongoing communication with appropriate agency, chairs, and committee members on cross-cutting issues to avoid duplicative efforts.

o Facilitate a balance of viewpoints in composition of HAB leadership and committee participation is maintained. Example, recommendation that different representatives participate on Issue Manager teams.

o Provide guidance to committees to promote issues and discussions that are impartial and consensus driven.

o Provide support to the HAB Full Board meetings and HAB committee meetings by making the necessary arrangements. This includes locating and scheduling a hotel that will accommodate the scheduled HAB Full Board meetings (including a meeting facility to hold approximately 100 people; approximately 3,000 square feet) and also meet the lodging room-block requirements (up to 20 rooms) for the out-of- area/traveling HAB meeting members. HAB committee meetings includes a meeting facility to hold approximately 40 people. The Richland Library has been the primary location for HAB committee meetings.

o Ensure meeting locations have adequate access for organizers and public transportation to accommodate public participation, and

o Complete the necessary paperwork for payment of meeting locations and other services.

o Provide audio/visual support to all in-person and virtual HAB Full board meetings, and on an as-needed basis for ‘committee of the whole’ and leadership work plan meetings,

o Audio support for the HAB Full Board meetings includes 42 functioning microphones for TPA Agency representatives (6), HAB Chair (1), each HAB primary member (33), the public (1), and the facilitator (1). All HAB Full Board meetings and HAB committee meetings shall be audio recorded and have call-in capabilities.

o Visual support for the HAB Full Board meetings include projection equipment, computers capable of managing multiple presentations and videos and taking meeting minutes/notes, and two large projector screens. Upon request, the HAB Full Board meetings may include a video recording of the session.

o Ensure internet services are available for HAB Full Board meetings and Committee meetings,

o Ensure copy services are available at HAB Full Board meetings,

o Arrange for physical set-up and take-down of meeting locations for all Board meetings,

o Functionality of these systems needs to be tested in order to ensure there are no loss of services during the meeting.

FACILITATOR QUALIFICATIONS

• Four years of relevant experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in a related field of study.
• Experience dealing with diverse interests and contentious issues.
• Experience facilitating groups of diverse stakeholders to reach consensus decisions.
• Certified Professional Facilitator (preferred).
• Experience facilitating tribal, state, and federal stakeholders (preferred).
• Knowledge of environmental law, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) (preferred).
• Knowledge of tri party agreement and applicable treaties including the Treaties of 1855, and the rights and recognition of Tribal trustees as sovereign nations with traditional cultural interests in the landscapes and resources at the Hanford Site (preffered).
• Identification of any conflicts, potential conflicts, or perceived conflicts of interest with any Hanford Site contractors.
• U.S. Citizenship