Presented by Mala Muralidharan Arizona State Library Archives and Public Records & Kendra Morgan WebJunction E-Rate Technology Planning with TechAtlas

Introductions Kendra Morgan TechAtlas Project Coordinator, WebJunction Mala Muralidharan E-rate State Coordinator for Libraries Arizona State Library Archives and Public Records

What are E-Rate requirements? The Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) mandates five elements of a technology plan prepared as part of the E-Rate application process. WebJunction’s TechAtlas tool have been designed with these elements in mind.

A tech plan’s relation to library services  A road map documenting library service strategy requiring use of technology  Integral to, not separate from, Library Strategic Plan.  Approved technology plans must establish  library goals and objectives leading to improved services  the connections between the information technology and the professional development strategies  developments in technology to improve library service for your community.  identify potentially useful new technologies

Why do we need a Tech Plan?  For E-rate reimbursements - anything more than just plain old telephones (POTS)  For LSTA Grants application - Information Technology category requires the applicant to have a tech plan  For developing a library’s strategic plan – Technology is a major part of library services. The library strategic plan should include the Techology Plan as a part of the broader plan.

When is a technology plan required ?  E-rate provides reimbursements to eligible schools and libraries for  Telecommunications Services  Internet Access  Internal Connections and  Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections  Tech plan not required if applying for basic local and long distance (wired and wireless) telephone service. Tech Plan is required if you are seeking services such as  Internet access  Internal Connections  Basic Maintenance of Internal Connections

Tech Plans in the E-rate application process  To get e-rate reimbursements you need to 1.Be Eligible 2.Write the Technology planning (at least a draft) 3.File Competitive bidding / Form Calculate discounts 5.File Funding requests / Form Receive Funding commitments after application review 7.Final Tech plan – approved by Tech Plan Approver 8.File start of services / Form Invoice USAC / Form 472 or Form 474 Your TPA is Mala Muralidharan –

What should a Tech Plan cover ?  Must cover five specific elements:  Goals / Strategies for using technology  Professional development  Needs assessment  Sufficient budget  Evaluation process

How many years should a Tech Plan cover?  Approved technology plans should cover at least the application year and a period of not more than three years.  Long-range planning is important of the effective use of information technology, for very large capital investments, extended commitments.  However be aware/cautious of rapid development of new technologies.  May be cases in which an approved plan is longer than three years to conform to federal, state or local requirements.  It is good practice to review the Tech Plan every year and make addendums as needed.

Can it be changed after approval?  All approved plans should include provisions for evaluating progress toward the plan's goals, and ideally these assessments should occur on an annual basis.  A tech plan should be responsive to new and emerging opportunities, open to review and not a static document.  If technology needs change and you want to order services beyond the scope of your existing plan, you must prepare and timely submit a new plan for approval.  For small changes you can file an addendum with the TPA and a service substitution with USAC.

Should the plan be approved before applying ?  No. A technology plan must be created at the time of 470 filing.  Applicants are required to formally certify on the FCC Form 486 that the technology plans on which they based their purchases were approved before they began to receive service. Note: “Created” means set down on paper and filed. Can be changed till certification by TPA. Can be changed after this with an addendum if service substitution is required. Multi-year Tech Plans must be reviewed annually for course corrections.

How will USAC know that the plan is approved?  In the Block 5 of Form 470 and Block 6 of Form 471, the applicant must indicate the current status of their technology plan. Tech plan must be written at the time of filing of form 470, it does not have to be approved at this stage.  Tech plan must be approved by the time of filing of the Form 486 or within 120 days of receipt of funding commitment, whichever is earlier.  The FCC Form 486 requires the applicant to certify that the plan approval has been obtained. The Tech Plan approver is required to provide the applicant with a Certification of Technology Plan approval or similar document.  Applicants must retain and be prepared to provide USAC with a copy of this approval document.  DO NOT SEND YOUR TECHNOLOGY PLAN TO USAC unless asked.

Goals and strategies - Guiding Questions  Does your Library have a Mission Statement?  Does it have a Strategic Plan?  Are there Goals and Objectives related to technology?  Are there any laws eg CIPA that you need to be aware of?  Good practice to get a focus group of stake-holders together and come up with goals

Professional development strategy- Guiding Questions  Do you have new staff? What training do they need?  Have you or will you be introducing new technologies?  Do the existing staff need training in new technologies?  What are the classes that you are going to teach customers?  Are the staff trained to train?  Are the tech staff up-to- speed with trouble-shooting and problem solving?

Needs Assessment – Guiding Questions  Do you have an inventory of what you have – Hardware/ software/ services  Have you surveyed what improvements are needed?  Have you taken stock of the goals of the stake-holders?  Is it adequate to meet the needs?  What is needed to exceed expectations? (nice to have vs must have)

Budget Needs - Guiding Questions  What do I do if the budget is not approved at the time of filing 470?  As long you have a reasonable understanding of availability of funds you may indicate it during the filing of Form 470  Be sure to always have a contingency clause in the Form 471 for Internal connections.  Budgets required for the non-discounted portion and for fulfilling other elements of the Tech Plan i.e. Professional Development, End-user equipments etc.  Be aware of the 30% rule when filing Form 471 (Not more than 30% of the items requested should be ineligible)

Ongoing Evaluation- Guiding Questions  Does your library collect usage data on an on-going basis?  Who is responsible for the evaluation, for the data collection?  What are the performance measures?  What tech resources do you need to set in place to make that happen?  Do you need before and after surveys? When do you do those?  How is the data collected, how often is it collected and analyzed and used?

Tech Plan Dos and Don’ts  DO write your technology plan before submitting your Form 470.  DO verify that your plan contains all five required elements.  DO make sure your technology plan covers and is approved for the entire period (usually 12 months) that discounted services will be delivered.  DO make sure that your technology plan approver is certified by USAC. For Libraries in AZ - Mala  DO verify that your plan approval is dated before services begin and before your Form 486 is filed.  Do NOT ask the service provider direct advice on technology planning.  Do PRINT A COPY of your certified approval for your records.

For more details…. TechAtlas for Libraries: E-Rate resources from the Arizona State Library: USAC technology planning page:

Technology Planning in TechAtlas for Libraries

Overview WebJunction.org TechAtlas for Libraries –Funded by Bill & Melinda Gates foundation –Free to libraries –Provides technology planning tools, including Inventory technology Event Tracker helpdesk tool Grant management and reporting tools

TechAtlas for Libraries webjunction.techatlas.org

Suggested steps for getting started TechAtlas support

Deselect to deactivate

Add Goals

Create a clear and specific objective. Add Activities after saving the objective

Add Activities

It’s Downloaded – I’m done! Well, not quite…. –Customize, add, remove, edit –Review to match E-rate requirements –Get staff buy-in, share and discuss –Get board buy-in, share and discuss –Submit for E-rate approval (before services begin) –Document throughout the life of the plan

Questions ?

Contact Malavika Muralidharan Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records Kendra Morgan WebJunction