SAMPLE REQUEST

In response to Congressional inquiry, (Determined by Congress – Could be OMB) is writing to ascertain interest in the Distributed Work Center Program. The distributed work center (DW) program is a program in which full time permanent alternative worksites are located in a distributed fashion in interconnected (telecommunications, networks, etc.) locations near the participating employees’ residences. As opposed to all employees of an organization working in a single consolidated location (building), the employees work, full time, in DW worksites.

This geographically distributed work arrangement yields numerous benefits, for both the employer and the employee. A sample of these benefits is listed below.We are seeking agencies that are interested in participating in a DW pilot; we will tailor the DW program and/or locations to the needs of participating agencies. We are seeking participation commitments as well as funding. In terms of commitments, we are seeking four to eight agencies and departments with a combined employee potential of approximately 500 to 1000.

In terms of funding, we are seeking support for 3 phases of engagement: 1) Assessment (est. $400,000), 2) Planning (est. $800,000), and 3) Implementation and Operations (TBD based upon findings in phases 1 & 2 and the scope of participation and number of locations).

If your agency is interested in discussing participation and/or funding, please let us know.

The DW model differs from the typical telework center model in two fundamental ways:

  1. DWs, utilizing a reliable and secure collaborative network, are designed to be full-time, permanent alternative worksites; and
  1. DWs feature multiple related and interconnected locations, each of which contains several clusters of workstations. Each workstation cluster is dedicated for the use of a specific user organization and can contain workstations for 15-50 employees. A single organization may utilize clusters in separate distributed work locations and each of those clusters is interconnected in the same way different offices are interconnected in a typical office building. Thus, a given organization may have employees in a cluster at location A as well as employees in clusters at locations B and C and all of those clusters are interconnected to create a true virtual workplace.

DW Program Information

This DW model will provide benefits in key areas such as:

1) Homeland Security, emergency preparedness and Continuity of Operations Planning

2) Congestion mitigation and air quality improvement and, for Federal agencies, compliance with

applicable teleworklaws.

3) Employee attraction and retention

4) Initiatives for job creation and economic growth

5) Extending broadband technologies and bridging growth to rural communities

6) Solutions for BRAC implementation

7) Improved and more efficient real estate asset management

Program Features:

  1. Sponsor-Based Design – The program will be based on a design tailored to the sponsors needs including needs assessment and pilot locations distributed in one or more major metropolitan areas based on sponsor requirements.
  1. Advanced Remote Work Design – Distributed work centers move us beyond the current approaches of supporting remote workers to provide secure, permanent facilities networked together with more resilient infrastructure and broader use of today’s virtual presence technologies. This approach is more equitable to employees and more secure for management.
  1. Cost Effective – The cost estimate for office space, desktop technologies, connectivity and support is based on current market rates. The ongoing cost per employee in a DW will be no more than current burdened costs; additionally, subsidies will be sought during the pilot phase to offset pilot expenses to each agency and department.
  1. Offerings – The DW program will provide facility build out, furniture and fixtures, desktop technologies, conference facilities, user-compliant dedicated broadband networks connecting DWs and agency locations (includes physical and data security measures and on-site end user and network IT support services.)
  1. Strategic Partners and Timeframes – These will vary according to the lineup of participating organizations and locations.