NISH Centers of Excellence Program
NISH created the Centers of Excellence (COE) Program
for the purposes of improving quality and innovation
in established business lines and to better foster new
business development and implementation of industry
practices in a number of selected business lines.
Centers of Excellence, selected nonprofit agencies
(NPAs) with a history of successfully implementing
quality programs, satisfying customers and meeting
all AbilityOne Program, formerly Javits-Wagner-
O'Day (JWOD) regulatory requirements, will be
designated as "mentors" that will provide training and
technical assistance to selected protégé NPAs. The
program's goal is to improve quality and innovation
of the service provided to the Federal customer by
matching "mentors" with "protégés." The desired end
result of reaching this goal is to create additional job
opportunities for people with disabilities.
There are two primary areas of emphasis. The Quality
and Innovation (Q&I) Track focuses on service and
product areas that represent core business lines
for NISH. The New Business Incubator (NBI) Track
focuses on Service and product areas where NPAs have
demonstrated outstanding performance in an industry
with the potential to create job growth in a new and/or
growing business-line.
COE Mentors
Custodial services—specifically those provided for the
General Services Administration (GSA)—represent a
significant portion of AbilityOne contracts. NISH selected
Fedcap Rehabilitation Services, New York, NY to serve as
Q&I COE mentor for the custodial business line.
The provision of mail center operations services for
the Federal Government represents a significant
number of job opportunities for people with disabilities
in the future. For this business-line, NISH selected
ServiceSource, Alexandria, VA, as the NBI mentor NPA.
The most recent Center of Excellence selected is Pride
Industries, Roseville, CA. They were selected as the
mentor NPA for grounds maintenance services. |
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COE Support and Assistance to be offered
One of the major responsibilities assigned to COEs is to
research and develop processes that can be considered
best in industry and share them with NPAs. Each of the
COEs is tasked with developing a Web site, separate from
company Web site, with links to appropriate training,
Government and commercial sources and tools.
All COE sites have valuable resources and
documentation that may assist NPAs with improving
customer service and pursuing larger opportunities.
Custodial: www.fedcapcoe.org
Mail Center Operations: www.mailcoe.org
Grounds Maintenance: www.pridecoe.com
As the COE mentors design and implement programs
to enhance performance quality and increase customer
satisfaction, training for the protégés will be one of the
outcomes. The mentor's specific area of expertise and
the learning requirements of the protégé will determine
the exact nature of the mentoring relationship.
However, it is expected that mentors will provide
training and assistance in implementing continuous
process improvements and achieving ISO or other
quality certifications needed to perform at the level of
excellence within that industry
Are you interested in making improvements to your
agency such as enhancing the quality of the service
your agency provides, improving your business
practices or positioning your agency for future growth?
Nonprofit agencies that are interested in receiving
assistance and training from one of the COEs are
encouraged to apply to become a protégé in the
COE Program. The protégé application, as well as
instructions on completing the required paperwork, is
available on the NISH Extranet. If interested, please
login to the NISH Extranet and download the protégé
application form at www.nish.org.
The NPA should complete the Centers of Excellence
Protégé Application and return it to the NISH Program
Manager, Sheila Sandford at ssandford@nish.org.
Once received, the protégé application will be reviewed
by NISH staff members and NISH will select the
Protégés. The COE Program Manager will coordinate
with the protégés to begin the COE Program process.
There is no direct cost for AbilityOne Program NPAs to
participate; however it does require a commitment from
management and an investment of time and effort on
your part to be a successful protégé.
For more information about the COE Program, please
contact Sheila Sandford, Centers of Excellence program
manager at 571-226-4574 or ssandford@nish.org |