Questions from Potential Respondents, with CPB Answers
As of August 31, 2012
Note: Questions that are similar to each other are only listed and answered once.
Question 1: I am having trouble registering for the 8/13/12 webinar for interested applicants. How can I ensure that I am registered to participate?
Response 1: The link to register for/join the August 13th webinar is https://cpbnet.webex.com/cpbnet/j.php?ED=156768272&UID=490675527&PW=NOThiZGQ5N2Vm&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%3D. Depending on your computer setup (browser, registration with WebEx, etc.), you may not be able to register in advance for the webinar through this link. If this is the case, please email Devon Steven (dsteven@cpb.org) and she will add you to the registration list manually.
The above-mentioned link will also be *live* approximately 10 minutes prior to the webinar at 1:00pm Eastern on Monday, August 13th. At that time, you should be able to use the link to directly access the webinar.
Question 2: What is the minimum and maximum budget level for each station?
Response 2: CPB’s procurement policy does not allow for budget levels to be included in RFPs. One of the criteria for judging proposals is “Reasonableness of proposed budget costs,” so stations should develop plans and corresponding budgets that cost-effectively encompass the scope of work described in the RFP.
Question 3: Are stations who applied to the Station Seminar: Leveraging Math & Literacy Resources for Community Impact in September 2012 eligible to apply to this RFP?
Response 3: Yes, stations who applied to the September 13th and 14th Station Seminar: Leveraging Math & Literacy Resources for Community Impact are eligible to apply to this RFP. The only public media stations who are ineligible to apply for this RFP are the eleven Demonstration Stations – Cohort #1 who are currently contracted with CPB through September 29, 2012.
Question 4. How should stations selected for the Station Seminar: Leveraging Math & Literacy Resources for Community Impact incorporate those project plans for that event into their proposal for this RFP?
Response 4: Stations who participate in the Station Seminar will develop and execute an implementation plan, for which they will receive equipment and other PBS KIDS/Ready To Learn materials. These activities will be managed directly by PBS (under Ready To Learn). More information on the Station Seminar can be found in the Educate| Outreach - Grants section of PBS Connect.
Because there is no guarantee that stations who attend the Station Seminar will be funded under this RFP, applicants to this proposal should write proposals that go above and beyond whatever activities they are planning in response to the Station Seminar. Ultimately, Station Seminar activities should stand alone and should be able to occur without Demonstration Station – Cohort #2 funding.
Applicants responding to this RFP may want to highlight plans to participate in the Station Seminar and related partnerships to demonstrate the applicant’s commitment to and experience with Ready To Learn. Applicants may also want to use their Station Seminar activities as a jumping off point for proposed Demonstration Station activities (using the same partners, community, etc.).
Question 5: What is the best ratio of equipment to students?
Response 5: RTL has no formal recommendation on technology to student ratios, but we do suggest is that you not include that level of detail in your equipment line of your budget proposal. Early on in the project, selected stations will be required to conduct a technology assessment with all their partner sites. Only after the assessment will they have enough information to purchase equipment (laptops, tablets, etc.).
During the proposal writing process, we recommend that applicants talk with local partners to get a general idea of what technology is available and ask the educators/families/etc. what THEY think is a good estimate of how much technology is needed in their spaces.
Question 6: If partner sites have iPads, will they need iPhones, too?
Response 6: Currently, Ready To Learn does not offer any apps that are optimized for both the Apple iPad and the Apple iPod Touch/iPhone. If you are interested in accessing the full gamut of RTL ios games, both iPads and iPod touches would be required. iPhones may also be purchased, but these tend to be more expensive than the iPod Touch and usually require the purchase of a phone/data plan, too.
Question 7: What is the most efficacious dose (e.g. daily, every other day) of the transmedia resources?
Response 7: RTL does not prescribe a specific amount of transmedia per day or week. We prefer that stations work with local partners to determine how they see transmedia blending into their existing curriculum and activities. Our emphasis is on the quality of implementation, not quantity.
The only exceptions are The Electric Company’s Extended Learning and Summer Programs, which, while flexible, offer specific timelines of implementation. These materials can be found on pbskids.org/lab.
Question 8: Does Ready To Learn have a maximum allowance for indirect rates?
Response 8: CPB/Ready To Learn will cover indirect rates so long as they are current with some federal office as demonstrated by a copy of the most recent NICRA. In the past, some applicants have voluntarily reduced their indirect rate so that more money could go to direct expenses. However, Ready To Learn does not have a threshold for indirect rates.
Question 9: Can applicants reach out to the current cohort of Demonstration Station to gain advice and perspective on the project?
Response 9: Applicants are welcome to reach out to their colleagues at the current cohort of Demonstration Stations to ask questions about workscopes, partner management, project reporting, budgets, technology purchases, etc. It is the prerogative of the current cohort of Demonstration Stations of whether or not or how to respond to these questions.
The current cohort of Demonstration Stations and their lead contacts are as follows:
- Detroit Public Television: Annemarie Harris
- eight, Arizona PBS: Kimberly Flack
- Iowa Public Television: Trista Peitzman
- KBTC: Susan Barbeau
- Maryland Public Television: Karla Thompson
- Montana PBS: Chris Seifert
- Vegas PBS: Jessica Carroll and Lee Solonche
- WFSU: Kim Kelling-Engstrom
- WGBY: Heather Lavigne
- WNET: Lin Lan and Kim Mullaney
- WVIZ/ideastream: Jennifer Schwelik and Linda Williams
Question 10: Is it okay to focus specifically on purchasing a few pieces of equipment to support our local community partners?
Response 10: Your partners will be the best judge of what equipment (and supporting technology and infrastructure) they will need to implement our content definitely let them lead that conversation. You can focus on specific pieces of equipment that will get you the most bang for your buck instead of trying to buy every device on every platform. Most Demonstration Stations from Cohort #1 ordered a combination of SMART boards, laptops, and tablets (iPads, Androids, or both). These supplemented existing equipment that partners already had on their sites. That being said, keep in mind that the RTL content is optimal on certain platforms. Make sure that you ask your partners what they need to run Ready To Learn content, not just to boost their tech setup generally (e.g. a partner may say that they need SMART tables, but that wouldn’t be suitable for RTL content).
Question 11: When should we schedule our KIDS Panels?
Response 11: You can schedule the KIDS Panels during any time of the year, but the RTL team recommends dividing the two required panels between the after-school period and the summer period. CPB and PBS will be providing the questions for the panels (which you are free to build on), and we estimate that the first batch of questions will be available in February.
Question 12: Are you looking for stations to do any other sort of in-depth assessment work?
Response 12: CPB is not requiring stations to conduct an assessment of their project as not every station has the capacity to take on this work. However, if you see the opportunity for an assessment at any level, we would certainly welcome that insight. Stations that have partnerships or connections with universities may be especially suited to take on this type of supplemental project work.
Question 13: How should we account for the Ready To Learn Station Boot Camp in our plans and budget?
Response 13: The exact timing of the Boot Camp is dependent on the completion of contracting with the selected Demonstration Stations, but our goal is to meet in November or December of 2012. The meeting will be held at the PBS office in Arlington, VA and will last approximately 2 days. Stations should account for roundtrip travel to Washington, DC (DCA is the closest airport), one night hotel stay (usually $200 - $230 per room), and ground transportation in their budgets. Ready To Learn will provide meals (dinner, breakfast, lunch, and snacks) during the meeting. Typically two to three staff members from each station attend the Boot Camp; community partners are not required to attend.
Question 14: How detailed should the KEY PROJECT DELIVERABLES section of the Application Supplement be?
Response 14: The purpose of the KEY PROJECT DELIVERABLES section is to demonstrate how your project year will unfold and where major deliverables will fall in your calendar. It is expected that you will have many smaller internal deadlines over the course of your project, but in this case only major deliverables (events, resources, reports) should be included, e.g.:
- Technology Assessment
- Professional Development of School-Year Partners
- Professional Development of Summer Partners
- Implementation with School-Year Partners
- Implementation with Summer Partners
- STEM Challenge Event
- Summer Learning Day Event
- Back To School Event
- KIDS Panels (2)
- Promotional Strategy Plan
- Sustainability Plan
There is no need to include deliverables for bi-monthly financial/narrative reports or final reports as those are on a fixed schedule.
Question 15: How many Ready To Learn games are playable on the iPad?
Response 15: Moving forward, Ready To Learn will develop more apps for Android and iOS (Apple) devices, but the overwhelming majority of our apps collection from Y1 and Y2 of the grant is mostly (and often only) accessible on iOS devices. However, the apps make up a small fraction of all the Ready To Learn games that are currently available (the majority are playable on any PC or Apple computer).
Stations should note that these web-based games are designed with Flash, which has historically not been playable on iOS devices like the iPad and iPhone. However, there are some iOS apps (e.g. Photon) that enable play of Flash web games, but these must be purchased separately.
Question 16: Are there plans to convert the Flash-based games to html5?
Response 16: At this time, there is no plan to convert any of our Flash-based web games into html5 mobile-friendly games. It’s more likely that Ready To Learn will take existing Flash games and publish them as iOS (Apple) and Android apps, but this is costly/takes some advanced planning and the number of converted games would be limited.
Question 17: Is it acceptable to turn over ownership of the equipment to the sites after the funding period has ended?
Response 17: Ready To Learn encourages stations to develop sustainability plans in which their partners will continue to benefit from the program after the funding period has ended. One way to support the partners after September 29th is by letting them keep equipment on site for continued use by the target audience. The U.S. Department of Education allows for this so long as the equipment continues to be used in the spirit of the original program and for educational purposes. Stations will be required to track all equipment and maintain records of serial numbers and distribution sites for a set period after the project concludes.
Question 18: Is it acceptable to include letters of commitment and support as part of our project narrative?
Response 18: Letters of commitment and support from local partners is encouraged but not required. We recommend that you limit letters to major partners who will be actively engaged and involved in your project (as opposed to including reference letters from past community partners who will not be engaged in the Ready To Learn project).
Question 19: What is the typical turn-around time in providing reimbursement for Station expenses
Response 19: Reimbursement of expenses occurs immediately after a station submits their financial report (and all other deliverables leading up to that date) to CPB. CPB reviews those materials (typically one to two weeks) and then submits for processing (again, typically one to two weeks), so on average, we estimate a four week turnaround, though there have been exceptions to that rule based on things like incomplete deliverables and holidays.
Question 20: How much flexibility is there in the project timeline?
Response 20: The timeline for implementation is based on the Ready To Learn project year, set by the U.S. Department of Education. All activities must occur between the contract start date (estimated November 1, 2012) and the close of the project year (September 29, 2013). You are welcome to design whatever implementation calendar suits your station and partners best in between those dates. A sample calendar was included within the August 2012 webinar simply for the purposes of demonstration.
Question 21: Will stations have to pay for the apps to download to project devices?
Response 21: The Ready To Learn apps must be purchased for any devices used by stations and their partners. While there are many PBS KIDS apps, the ones created with RTL funding (at this time, only Dinosaur Train All Aboard and Dinosaur Train Camera Catch, but more to come this fall) are $1.99 each.
There are two things to keep in mind in regards to these apps:
- Stations do not have to buy each app multiple times for each device if the devices are all registered under one iTunes account. The apps can live on five authorized computers and an unlimited number of iOS devices (e.g. iPads and iPods). In order to ensure this unlimited transfer of apps, when syncing an iOS device, stations should always sync it with the same computer and use the same iTunes account.
- During this project year (2011-12), Ready To Learn was able to partner with Apple to distribute free download codes for the two Dinosaur Train apps. Stations and their partners could request free codes to download both games onto devices owned by the stations, partner sites, or the families that used RTL resources. You can learn more about the program at http://pbskids.org/giftcodes. We are hoping to repeat this program again in Year 3 of our project, but we have not yet received confirmation of its renewal.
