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Part 22. Taxpayer Education and Assistance

Chapter 30. Wage and Investment Outreach Procedures

Section 1. Stakeholder Partnerships, Education and Communication (Cont. 6)

22.30.1  Stakeholder Partnerships, Education and Communication (Cont. 6)

22.30.1.9 
Earned Income Tax Credit/Advanced Earned Income Tax Credit Outreach Overview

22.30.1.9.5  (10-01-2007)
EITC/AEITC Outreach Program Initiatives

  1. The EITC/AEITC program provides free tax education to eligible EITC/AEITC W&I taxpayers, practitioners and partners. Education of the law and eligibility are provided through seminars, presentations, attendance at conventions, distribution & mail out of educational materials and through media sources. SPEC employees, volunteers, and partners conduct EITC/AEITC Outreach.

  2. Emphasis should be placed on the tax education of:

    • Employed individuals who may not realize they are entitled to the credit.

    • Non-English speaking taxpayers who may qualify for the credit.

    • Partners who will distribute the EITC/AEITC message to low-income workers.

    • Practitioners who prepare EITC tax returns for W&I taxpayers.

    • Employers that distribute AEITC payments.

22.30.1.9.5.1  (10-01-2007)
Tax Education Seminars

  1. Tax Education seminars educate groups of individuals about their tax rights and responsibilities by discussing new tax law, highlighting specific aspects of EITC/AEITC, and providing answers to questions.

  2. Individual taxpayers who fall within the income limits of EITC/AEITC are targeted for seminars.

  3. Partners who serve a similar customer base, such as social service agencies, are targeted for seminars. They take the EITC/AEITC information back to their clients to provide awareness of the credit and understanding of the eligibility rules.

  4. Practitioners who service the EITC/AEITC eligible taxpayer are also targeted for education seminars. Seminars should contain education information on EITC/AEITC tax law, due diligence requirements, and common errors in filing returns with EITC.

  5. Employers of low-income workers who are willing to partner with the IRS are targeted for educational seminars. They then can distribute the EITC/AEITC message to their employees and clients.

  6. Seminars can include but are not limited to question and answer sessions, videos, presentations, and focus groups.

22.30.1.9.5.2  (10-01-2007)
Media Outreach

  1. EITC/AEITC educational information can be provided through a partnering effort with a television station, newspaper or radio station. Establishing a partnership with a media outlet can provide a means to educate thousands of targeted individuals at one session.

  2. Types of Media outreach include; Interview sessions where technical EITC/AEITC law is provided and/or questions are answered, input for newspaper articles where EITC/AEITC education information is provided and radio interviews or free radio spots where EITC/AEITC education information is provided.

  3. All media related EITC/AEITC program outreach activity must be coordinated with the local media relations contact.

22.30.1.9.5.3  (10-01-2007)
EITC/AEITC Mailings

  1. EITC/AEITC outreach can also be conducted through educational mail-out initiatives. Partners can include EITC related education material in the form of an insert with their monthly billings, with the employees W-2, pay-stub or other type of mass mailing that will reach the targeted audience of EITC eligible taxpayers.

  2. Leveraging partners to include EITC information in their local newsletters, school systems including EITC educational information with student report cards or other parent mailings are other forms of EITC outreach initiatives.

  3. Initiatives should also include outreach to inform eligible taxpayers without children, on the qualifications for EITC.

22.30.1.9.6  (10-01-2007)
Resources for Planning EITC/AEITC Outreach

  1. The IRS intranet offers a wide range of web sites that may be used in preparing for an outreach event. Enter "EITC" in the Search box and a complete list of other sites to visit will be displayed.

  2. When planning an EITC presentation, use the EITC PowerPoint presentation developed by E&PD. This can be found on the SPEC intranet web page under Communication Tools. This presentation provides a general overview of EITC to an audience of partners or other stakeholders.

  3. Publication 596 and 3107 are valuable sources of pre-preparation information for an EITC presentation. These publications can be found on the IRS website at IRS.gov under Forms and Publications, or the intranet site under Forms/Pubs/Docs.

  4. Use of the eleven-minute video (Publication 3158A) is recommended for opening and closing an EITC presentation.

  5. The EITC Program Office website can be accessed through the IRS intranet. This site provides information on EITC research, EITC statistics, Talking Points, EITC TV and Radio spots, drop in ads and print material, as well as other useful information.

22.30.1.9.7  (10-01-2007)
EITC/AEITC Outreach Staffing

  1. SPEC employees, volunteers and partners conduct EITC/AEITC education and outreach. Qualified volunteers should be used to expand the EITC/AEITC education program, particularly in situations where their skills meet the needs of the requesting group.

22.30.1.9.8  (10-01-2007)
EITC/AEITC Outreach Training

  1. Employees and volunteers conducting EITC/AEITC outreach sessions should be current on recent changes in the tax law. Territories may schedule a workshop for employees and volunteers who will conduct EITC/AEITC outreach sessions, if it is feasible. These workshops should provide attendees with an overview of the EITC/AEITC program, tax law, and program reporting requirements.

22.30.1.9.9  (10-01-2007)
Planning and Publicizing Activities for EITC/AEITC Outreach

  1. EITC/AEITC Tax Education outreach sessions should be planned, scheduled and announced with as much advance notice as possible to promote current year program emphasis. Outreach sessions should be targeted to EITC eligible taxpayers using available research tools and census data. Coordinating outreach with local businesses, state agencies and community organizations that have a similar customer or employee base is recommended. The Outreach Guide should be used for planning EITC outreach activities and/or events. This guide includes available research tools, products, communication messages, and step-by-step instructions on how to use each available resource for the required outreach initiative.

  2. Publicity should include but not be limited to:

    • News release indicating locations and hours of the session and a telephone number to call for additional information.

    • Displaying posters in IRS offices and placed strategically in the community, showing the availability, location, hours of session, and a telephone number for additional information.

22.30.1.9.10  (10-01-2007)
The EITC Funds

  1. The EITC Program Office provides the following funds to SPEC to assist with conducting EITS

    • EITC Travel

    • EITC Overtime

    • EITC FTEs

    • EITC Labor (salary & benefits)

  2. Employees must use Appropriation 0917D to report EITC Travel and EITC Overtime. Use SETR time codes 00972, 00922 and 00926 to report all EITC hours associated with either EITC travel and overtime.

  3. Once SPEC has used all EITC funds for overtime and travel, SPEC employees will be notified to discontinue the use of these funds and to report any additional expenses under regular program travel and regular program overtime using appropriation (0912D),

  4. SPEC employees will continue to use the appropriate EITC SETR time codes to report EITC related activities even when EITC appropriated funds have been completely used. This will allow SPEC to measure the true time provided on EITC related activities.

22.30.1.9.11  (10-01-2007)
Program Materials for EITC/AEITC Outreach

  1. EITC/AEITC program materials should be ordered from the NDC, via Form 2333TE, SPEC Order Form. The Form is located on IRS.gov, Forms/Pub/Documents page, and instructions for completing the form is on the back.

22.30.1.9.12  (10-01-2007)
Development of Local EITC/AEITC Products

  1. Any products developed at the territory or area level should follow the procedures outlined on the SPEC intranet web page under Products, Product Pro. Locally developed products are submitted for approval by using the Product Idea Sheet. This process is important to ensure the products provide consistent and technically correct messages about EITC/AEITC.

22.30.1.9.13  (10-01-2007)
Convention or Conference Attendance

  1. Attendance and participation in local as well as National Conferences, Trade Shows and Conventions are an important aspect of marketing EITC/AEITC. These events present opportunities to deliver the EITC message to larger audiences, establish partnerships and network with the community and it's leaders.

  2. Requests to attend an EITC related conference should be forwarded to the Territory Manager for approval and review.

22.30.1.10  (10-01-2007)
Research

  1. SPEC utilizes various resources to ensure information and assistance is delivered to intended beneficiaries. To learn more about the various research tools available and the process for requesting research, go to SPEC's home-page at http://win.web.irs.gov/spec.htm. Under the banner "SPEC Resource Pages" , click on "Research" .

22.30.1.11  (10-01-2007)
Filing Season Readiness

  1. SPEC is a working member of the Filing Season Readiness Executive Committee. Each year, the committee plans specific, detailed action items to ensure preparations are made to excel in the coming filing season. The purpose of the Filing Season Readiness Executive Steering Committee is to provide additional assurance to the Division Commissioners of Wage and Investment, Small Business/Self-Employed, Large/Mid-Sized Business and Tax Exempt and Government Entities that the IRS operational functions are in a state of readiness for the upcoming filing season. In addition, the Committee surfaces and elevates barriers to operational readiness or barriers to a successful filing season that are not being properly addressed, when appropriate.

  2. The Director, Field Operations and assigned program analyst represent SPEC on this committee by working with SPEC employees and cross-functional units to:

    1. Secure stakeholder issues and concerns

    2. Develop and complete action items related to filing season

    3. Update the SPEC Action Plan on Service-wide Action Plan (SWAP) system with the status of action items

    4. Provide required briefings to the committee

    5. Prepare appropriate briefing documents for the committee when required

    6. Coordinate responses for ad-hoc or follow-up information requests to the committee

    7. Conduct periodic meetings with internal stakeholders to identify and discuss potential filing season issues

    8. Certify SPEC preparedness for the upcoming filing season.

  3. Generally, planning and preparations begin in March for the subsequent filing season. Once the SPEC Executive and analyst are identified, current and potential filing season concerns are formulated and thoroughly addressed through a series of discussions with SPEC Executives and employees. Each SPEC unit is engaged in filing season preparation and certification. Reporting requirements are fulfilled when all action items are closed on the SWAP system and all responses are made to the Executive Steering Committee.

  4. Information on the Filing Season Readiness Executive Steering Committee can be found on the IRS’ Filing Season Readiness website at: http://hottopics.web.irs.gov/fs2006/.This website provides information on the documents, reports and action plans associated with Filing Season Readiness, as well as Filing Season Readiness meeting information, committee directories and the overall charter of the Committee. SPEC’s filing season action items (identified under 2.8.4) are included within the Executive Steering Committee Report on Filing Season Readiness, which can also be accessed from this website as well.

22.30.1.12  (10-01-2007)
Satisfaction Surveys

  1. The following sub-sections will give an overview of the Customer Satisfaction Survey and the Partner Satisfaction Survey.

22.30.1.12.1  (10-01-2007)
Customer Survey

  1. Purpose - The overall goal of the customer survey is to obtain meaningful feedback from SPEC customers and provide it to managers and staff in the SPEC territory offices.
    The goal of the comment card survey is threefold:

    1. To obtain customer satisfaction ratings on various aspects of the services delivered by SPEC and by SPEC stakeholder partners;

    2. To obtain specific suggestions from the customers on how SPEC can improve its services; and

    3. To identify systemic operational improvements across all SPEC offices.

  2. Methods - To capture customer survey data, the SPEC organization uses a comment card type of feedback mechanism

22.30.1.12.1.1  (10-01-2007)
SPEC Headquarters Responsibilities

  1. Statement of Work (SOW) - SPEC HQ prepares a Statement of Work in conjunction with the W&I Research Survey Administration (SA) group. The purpose of the SOW is to secure a contractor and funding for the survey. Standard procedures for preparing and submitting SOW’s should be followed. For guidance on preparing a SOW refer to the following AWSS website: http://awss.procurement.irs.gov/howto/sow.htm.

  2. SPEC HQ convenes a team of SPEC area analysts to work through survey issues during the filing season. All communications between SPEC HQ and SPEC Territories are conducted through a designated area analyst.

  3. SPEC HQ works with W&I Research SA group to ensure an adequate number of survey cards in both English and Spanish are printed.

  4. SPEC HQ submits to the contractor on a date specified in the SOW, the initial order for Customer Survey Cards for all SPEC Territories.

  5. SPEC HQ reviews the draft comment card and provides comments to the contractor within 20 business days of receipt.

  6. Once the contractor returns a camera-ready card for printing, SPEC HQ works with W&I Research SA group to ensure cards are printed and are timely mailed to the contractor for distribution.

  7. SPEC HQ provides sufficient envelopes to each territory office to allow for weekly submission of the survey cards from each site directly to the contractor. The envelopes are addressed with the contractor’s information and are franked.

  8. All communication from field offices flow to SPEC HQ and is then forwarded to the contractor.

22.30.1.12.1.2  (10-01-2007)
Contractor Responsibilities

  1. In general the contractor (the term contractor may refer to W&I Research SA, if they are selected to produce the survey) is responsible for collecting and reporting on the data generated, while the IRS assumes responsibility for promoting the system internally with stakeholder partners and field offices as well as designing an internal process for ensuring follow-up.

    1. Coordinate System Design Meeting - The contractor coordinates a comment card system design meeting with appropriate SPEC and W&I Research SA staff. This meeting should occur no later than 10 business days after contract award. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the comment card concept and outline system parameters, including the information to be collected, any applicable sampling procedures, the data collection system, data analysis procedures, field reports, and national reports.

    2. Develop Comment Card Questionnaire - Within 30 business days after the system design meeting, the contractor prepares a draft comment card questionnaire consisting of both rating questions and space for open-ended comments. The draft is submitted to SPEC HQ for comment and approval. After review and approval by SPEC, the Contractor prepares the approved comment card in camera-ready copy for printing. The contractor designs the final comment card in a scannable format. The IRS assumes responsibility for printing the comment cards.

    3. Prepare Sampling, Distribution, and Monitoring Procedures - The contractor tabulates the rating questions on all comment cards received. Due to the number of sites, there is a possibility of receiving a very large number of comment cards. If this occurs, the task of reviewing and coding all open-ended questions becomes too large. The contractor shall code the open-ended questions on a maximum of 10,000 comment cards. Therefore, to account for the possibility that the total number of cards received may exceed 10,000, the contractor should develop a sampling plan that can be used to sample the open-ended questions (if necessary) while maintaining a representative sample of all responses.

    4. Office of Management and Budget Clearance - The contractor prepares one OMB clearance document for the comment card survey. The contractor coordinates the OMB submissions with the W&I Division and the IRS National Headquarters (HQ) Organizational Performance Division (OPD). The target dates for OMB approval must allow adequate time for survey administration.

    5. Survey Administration - Survey administration must begin on an agreed upon date designated in the SOW. The contractor sets up the survey administration system and database for continuous receipt of comment card data. The contractor enters both rating and comment data into the database on a continuous basis. The contractor assigns specific serial numbers to cards to allow for analysis at the "site" level.

    6. Analysis and Report - By an agreed upon date designated in the SOW, the contractor summarizes the quantitative ratings and produces a national area and 48 territory summary reports indicating customer satisfaction scores on all comment cards.

    7. Presentation - The contractor presents the results of the Customer Satisfaction Survey to SPEC by an agreed upon date contained in the SOW.

22.30.1.12.1.3  (10-01-2007)
SPEC Area and Territory Responsibilities

  1. SPEC field offices are responsible for the administration of the survey including:

    1. Placing survey card orders;

    2. Card reassignment notification;

    3. Ensuring all individuals visiting a site have an opportunity to complete a survey card; and

    4. Mailing completed cards to the contractor

  2. Survey Card Order - SPEC area offices submit a consolidated Excel spreadsheet for each Territory indicating site code, site name, city, state, Zip Code, site type – V= VITA (regular), M = Military VITA, T = TCE, and the number of English and/or Spanish survey cards requested to SPEC HQ. The sufficient number of cards should be ordered initially to cover the filing season. Orders should be placed a minimum of two (2) weeks prior to a site opening to allow for shipping and handling. Sample Order Spreadsheet Headings:

    Site Code Site Name City State Zip Site Type English Language Order Spanish Language Order Starting Serial No. Ending Serial No.

  3. Reassigning Cards Between Sites
    Card reassignments are done according to SPEC HQ instructions. SPEC HQ consults with the contractor to ascertain the validity of the survey sample.

  4. Customer Satisfaction Survey Administration

    1. Site coordinators have the responsibility for ensuring all visiting taxpayers have the opportunity and are encouraged to complete the survey. Cards may be distributed by the assistor or placed in a designated area in the location.

    2. How to collect the cards is left to the discretion of the site coordinator. Suggestions include placing a clearly marked box or tray by the exit.

    3. Site coordinators are responsible for mailing the completed survey cards to the contractor.

22.30.1.12.2  (10-01-2007)
Partner Survey

  1. Purpose - To measure the impact of SPEC’s partner relationships SPEC surveys national and local partners. Separate surveys are conducted for national partners and for local partners.

  2. The purpose of the surveys is to:

    1. Determine the partners’ overall satisfaction and dissatisfaction with SPEC products and services.

    2. Determine the rating of overall quality of products and services, including, education, training, and marketing materials.

    3. Determine the partner’s satisfaction with the support received from SPEC, including communications, timeliness of materials, training, products, and relationship management.

    4. Identify opportunities for expanding the relationship with SPEC in efforts to communicate with and educate the W&I taxpayers.

    5. Identify partner needs.

    6. Solicit ideas for improving service to the SPEC national partner.

22.30.1.12.2.1  (10-01-2007)
SPEC Strategic Planning & Development in Headquarters Responsibilities

  1. SPEC Strategic Planning & Development (SPD) in HQ prepares a Statement of Work (SOW)in conjunction with Strategy & Finance (S&F). The purpose of the SOW is to secure a contractor and funding for the survey. Standard procedures for preparing and submitting SOW’s shall be followed. For guidance on preparing a SOW refer to the AWSS website.

  2. SPEC SPD in HQ convenes a team of SPEC area analysts to work through local partner survey issues during the survey administration period. All communications between SPEC HQ and SPEC territories pertaining to the local partner survey are conducted through a designated area analyst.

  3. SPEC SPD in HQ convenes a team of SPEC P&PD analysts to work through national partner survey issues, including providing input pertaining to survey content.

  4. SPEC SPD in headquarters submits to the contractor on a date specified in the SOW a list of SPEC local and national partners. The list includes organization name, address, telephone number, and primary contact.

  5. SPEC SPD reviews the draft survey and pre-notification letters by a date specified in the SOW.

  6. All Input from field offices is referred to SPEC SPD, who reviews the input for inclusion in the survey and forwards to the contractor.

  7. SPEC SPD is responsible for coordinating the contractor’s results presentation to SPEC management and subsequent planning session as indicated in the SOW.

  8. SPEC SPD is responsible for reviewing the draft reports for both the national and local partner surveys and approving the document before the contractor distributes to recipients designated by SPEC SPD.

22.30.1.12.2.2  (10-01-2007)
Contractor Responsibilities

  1. In general the contractor (the term contractor may reference WI Research, if they are selected to produce the survey) is responsible for developing an action plan and key deliverables, preparing the survey instruments, survey administration, data collection and report findings.

    1. Conduct Contractor/IRS Conference Call - The contractor coordinates a conference call with appropriate WI Strategy & Finance, SPEC and other appropriate IRS staff within 10 workdays of awarding the contract. The purpose of this meeting is to delineate IRS and contractor responsibilities and to discuss any refinements to the survey, based on internal and external feedback.

    2. Coordinate System Design Meeting (Local and National Partner Surveys) - The contractor coordinates a survey design meeting with appropriate SPEC and W&I Research SA staff. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the information to be collected, any applicable sampling procedures, the data collection system, data analysis procedures, and desired field reports and national reports.

    3. Action Plan - The contractor develops an action plan for the project. Activities included in the plan:

      Action Plan Activities
      Design the national partner interview guide/questionnaire.
      Design the local partner survey procedures and instrument.
      Design and conduct in-depth interviews with a limited number of local partners to explore in detail issues that cannot be addressed in the survey, such as partners’ views on the relationships among their national affiliate and the IRS, and their experience, if any, as a member of a community coalition

    4. OMB Clearance Documents - The contractor prepares documents containing the information needed to obtain approvals for the interviews and surveys from OMB. The contractor coordinates the OMB submissions with W&I Planning and Analysis and the Organizational Performance Division.

    5. Questionnaire and Survey Administration - The contractor conducts personal interviews with the national partners according to the Administration Plan. For the local partners, the contractor administers the survey using either mail, e-mail, internet or telephone survey approach.

    6. Analysis and Reports - The contractor compiles, analyzes and presents the interview and survey results in a manner prescribed in the contract.

22.30.1.12.2.3  (10-01-2007)
Verifying SPEC Partner Contact Information

  1. Each area is responsible for verifying that partner contact information in the STARS database is correct. When requested by SPEC SPD and in order to meet the survey schedule, each area (in coordination with the Territories) should correct and verify the list of all of their current national and local partners, including the name, address, phone number, and e-mail address (when available) of each partner contact point. To the extent possible, the list should identify the category and potential number of taxpayers reached for each partner.

22.30.1.12.2.4  (10-01-2007)
SPEC P&PD Responsibilities

  1. SPEC P&PD is responsible for verifying that national partner contact information in the STARS database is correct . When requested by SPEC SPD in order to meet the survey schedule, SPEC P&PD should correct and verify the list of all of their current national partners, including the name, address, phone number, and e-mail address (when available) of each partner contact point.

22.30.1.13  (10-01-2007)
Communications Guidelines for SPEC Employees

  1. These communications guidelines are intended to ensure that all the proper parties are included in decisions involving media interviews and contacts.

    • No SPEC employee should ever contact a media outlet without contacting Field Media Relations (FMR) first.

    • No SPEC employee should ever respond to a media inquiry without first talking to your FMR contact. If a SPEC employee is contacted by any media outlet, the employee must first confer with FMR prior to communicating with the media source.

    • If a SPEC employee becomes aware of media coverage or media activity that is a result of a partner (partner news release or news conference), then he/she should notify Field Media Relations immediately.

  2. If a SPEC employee has an IRS news release that is outside the normal announcement or publicity of VITA/TCE sites, he or she must collaborate with the Communication staff for approval. Releases announcing sites can be written locally and distributed without additional clearance. The single point of contact for news release distribution and for all media activity is the local FMR contact.

    Note:

    SPEC employees must obtain permission from Field Media Relations before contacting the local media

    If Then    
    Situation Field Media Relations W&I Communications SPEC Communications & Marketing
    1. You wish to do a news release publicizing a VITA event. You have first checked the SPEC intranet and do not find a template for your situation. Helps place the release with national or major media. Handles all incoming media calls as a result. Serves as the point of contact on the news release If there is no template on the SPEC intranet, Helps you write a news release for this event. Works to place the release with smaller, specialized, niche media. Posts templates that have space to add local information on the SPEC intranet site.
    2. You and your Stakeholder Liaison (formerly TEC) counterpart plan to prepare an e-file news release to promote individual and business e-file through the media locally. Prepares the news release since it crosses divisional boundaries, i.e. W&I and SBSE. Also helps market the release to national and major media as appropriate. Handles all incoming media calls as a result. Serves as the point of contact on the news release. Helps pitch the story to local, specialized (niche) media outlets. Assist FMR with media inquiries. Consults with SBSE Communications and FMR Posts information related to Individual E-file marketing materials on the SPEC intranet for you to use locally.
    3. You get a call from a Wall Street Journal reporter asking for an interview regarding your partner coalition. Will take the information from you regarding the inquiry and forward the request to National Media Relations Will take the information from you and refer the inquiry to National Media Relations Will take the information from you and forward the request to National Media Relations

22.30.1.14  (10-01-2007)
SPEC Awards Program

  1. The SPEC Awards Program is designed to recognize exemplary SPEC employees who have made significant contributions to the SPEC organization. Any employee or manager in SPEC can nominate any other employee or manager in SPEC. Task teams can only be nominated for an Achievement Award.

    Note:

    Entire work groups cannot be nominated for the achievement award as a task team. Also, no self-nominations are accepted.

22.30.1.14.1  (10-01-2007)
Nomination & Selection Process

  1. All nomination forms should be submitted by e-mail to the Communications and Marketing Office Program Analyst responsible for the SPEC Awards Program. Each nomination write-up must be no more than two pages and must include the following:

    • Name of person making the nomination

    • Name of individual/task team being nominated (if a team, each member must be named and the Chair person must be identified)

    • Narrative which specifically addresses the criteria for the award and why the nominee deserves to be recognized with that particular award.

  2. Once all nominations are in, the SPEC Awards Selection Committee will make recommendations to the Director of SPEC for final decision on award winners. Awards will be presented during the l Managers meeting, held in the fall. Winners will be featured on our SPEC intranet.

  3. The SPEC Awards Selection Committee is composed of:

    • Director, Field Operations

    • Director, Product & Partnership Development

    • One area director*

    • Two territory managers (from an area other than that represented by the area director)

    • One Product & Partnership Development chief*

    • Chief, Communications and Marketing

    • Chief, Program Management

    Note:

    All rotational members serve a two-year term, after the first complete rotation process. The Selection Committee chairperson will rotate on a yearly basis between the SPEC headquarters directors.

22.30.1.14.1.1  (10-01-2007)
Writing an Effective Award Nomination

  1. Your task in writing an award nomination is to let others see why the person you are nominating is so great! You have the opportunity to brag about someone you know, but the catch is that you may use only written words to introduce this person. Your nominee will be visible only through the words you write describing him or her.

  2. Therefore, make every word count. Put yourself in your reader’s shoes. Assume your reader has no knowledge of your nominee’s contribution. Then tell them why your nominee clearly deserves this award.

    • First, identify the criteria — Every time you write something, you have a purpose… whether you’re composing a letter to a friend or writing a novel. When you are writing an award nomination, you will generally have specific criteria to address. These criteria will form the basis of your nomination narrative.

      Example:

      The criteria for a SPEC Achievement Award are:
      1. Exceptional individual or team effort in support of SPEC’s program goals and objectives, and
      2. Creation or development of a major program enhancement or improvement of high value to SPEC.

    • Use strong verbs to address the criteria and to explain accurately how your nominee reflects the criteria. As a rule, prefer words that convey action rather than passive verbs that include derivations of the infinitive "to be" , such as: is, are, were, etc.

      Example:

      Weak: Janet was a pioneer in bringing the SPEC partnership model to life in her community. There were a great number of people who came to her presentation.
      Better: Janet pioneered the partnership model in her community. People flocked to her presentation.

    • Show, don’t tell. As much as possible, give examples that illustrate the characteristics you are trying to portray. Let your words evoke a picture. Use sentences that describe situations where your nominee displayed the criteria solicited. Be specific and write down the details that matter.

      Example:

      Weak: Mary was instrumental in the development of several volunteer management tools last year.
      Better: Mary recognized that partners needed to recruit volunteers for several jobs. She designed, developed, and created nine individual job descriptions for volunteer opportunities.

    • The narrative should stand alone. Prepare the narrative so that it tells your story, with no other documents attached or necessary.

    • Prepare the e-mail. Present a good impression with a finished product that adheres to the requirements set forth by the award guidelines; i.e., use the format, page limit, criteria, etc. specified by the award guidelines.

22.30.1.14.2  (10-01-2007)
SPEC Awards

  1. The SPEC Awards are:

    • SPEC Leadership Award

    • SPEC Partnership Award

    • SPEC Achievement Award for Individual

    • SPEC Achievement Award for Task Team

    • SPEC Territory of the Year Award

22.30.1.14.2.1  (10-01-2007)
SPEC Leadership Award

  1. SPEC's premier award, the Leadership Award, is given to an individual whose leadership attributes are worthy of emulation throughout SPEC. Leadership is not defined by position, but by action. Therefore this award is open to all SPEC employees.

  2. The SPEC Leadership Award is intended to recognize exceptional leadership and is not automatically presented every year.

  3. The SPEC Leadership Award recognizes:

    • Individual action that shapes and leads SPEC into the future;

    • Leadership displayed in administration or performance of duty, which distinguished the employee as exceptional in every sense;

    • Attributes of a leader that SPEC employees should emulate;

    • Ability to recognize an opportunity and lead the organization's response;

    • Success in garnering internal support and participation.

22.30.1.14.2.2  (10-01-2007)
SPEC Partnership Award

  1. The SPEC Partnership Award is given to recognize an individual or small group of employees working to develop a single coalition or initiative and innovation in support of partnership. This award is not intended to recognize initiatives, but rather to recognize innovation, creativity, and effort regardless of the success or failure of the initiative. This award is open to all SPEC employees.

  2. The SPEC Partnership Award is presented annually.

  3. The SPEC Partnership Award recognizes:

    • Individual innovation and creativity in support of partnership

    • Personal initiative, commitment and effort

    • Individual initiatives that yielded lessons learned for SPEC

    • Ability to garner support for a partnership.

22.30.1.14.2.3  (10-01-2007)
SPEC Achievement Award

  1. The SPEC Achievement Award is given to an individual or Task Team for distinguished acts in support of SPEC's goals and objectives. This award is open to all SPEC employees and task force teams.

  2. The SPEC Achievement Award is presented annually.

  3. The SPEC Achievement Award recognizes:

    • Exceptional individual or team effort in support of SPEC’s program goals and objectives

    • Creation or development of a major program enhancement or improvement of high value to SPEC.

22.30.1.14.2.4  (10-01-2007)
SPEC Territory of the Year Award

  1. The SPEC Territory of the Year Award is given to an individual territory in recognition of their full support of SPEC's concept of operations, achievement of SPEC strategic business plan objectives and success in implementing the partnership approach. This award is open to all SPEC territories and is selected by the Director of SPEC Field Operations. No nominations are solicited or accepted for this award.

  2. The SPEC Territory of the Year Award is presented annually.

  3. The SPEC Territory of the Year Award recognizes:

    • Exceptional team effort in support of SPEC's program goals and objectives;

    • Strong evidence of effective partnerships reaching and assisting our customers; and

    • Leadership as a group in support of SPEC.

22.30.1.15  (10-01-2007)
W&I SPEC Internet Content Publishing Procedures (IRS.gov updates and/or changes)

  1. IRS.gov is a resource of information that is available to educate and assist taxpayers, tax professionals and partners in complying with tax laws, and filing tax returns. The ICP process is expected to ensure that when content is published it is:

    • Technically accurate

    • Not duplicated elsewhere on IRS.gov

    • Reviewed and approved by all impacted functions

    • Reviewed and approved by appropriate levels of management

    • Annual validations/certifications

    • Removed or updated when no longer current

  2. Please refer to the IRM 11.55.1 W&I Internet Content Publishing (ICP) Process Management Document, that provides an overview for requesting changes to W&I content on IRS.gov.

  3. SPEC Communications & Marketing (C&M) is responsible for maintaining the pages on IRS.gov. While there is only one SPEC function (i.e. E&PD, Oversight and Analysis, etc.) that owns each page; several organizations may share content responsibility for some pages. For example, the e-file landing page ownership responsibility falls on National Headquarters Communications & Liaison however; SB/SE and W&I both share content responsibility.

  4. Any SPEC employee who wishes to request changes, additions or deletions of information on IRS.gov must complete the Form 12956, Staff Summary Sheet, and the Content Publishing Request (CPR). Similarly, if an employee detects an inoperable link on IRS.gov, or discovers outdated or incorrect information on the web site, they should immediately complete the CPR, and forward it through the appropriate channels for approval. Both forms can be obtained by accessing the following intranet site: http://win.web.irs.gov/icp/wi_icp.htm.
    ALL NEW CONTENT MUST ALWAYS BE APPROVED AT THE EXECUTIVE LEVEL.

  5. As part of the annual W&I Filing Season Readiness exercise, the Communication & Marketing office will conduct a certification of all SPEC IRS.gov pages to verify content ownership, accuracy and whether or not the posted content information is still applicable

  6. The SPEC Director will certify as to the accuracy of SPEC-owned pages no later than December of each year. SPEC content owners and page stewards are responsible for certifying to their Director that all the pages on which they own content are up to date.

22.30.1.15.1  (10-01-2007)
External Inquiries - Vendor/Contractor

  1. The IRS.gov Help Desk frequently receives inquiries from IRS.gov users. These requests will be forwarded to the content owner via the vendor’s Escalation Form, and will be assigned a tracking identification number (id). SPEC C&M will send the request via e-mail to the appropriate SPEC content owner.

  2. The content owners will:

    1. Prepare a response via e-mail within three business days.

    2. Include the tracking identification number on all e-mail responses and forward to the SPEC Communications Analyst for response to the vendor.

22.30.1.15.2  (10-01-2007)
Reports

  1. The SPEC C&M office is responsible for maintaining all SPEC-owned articles, links, assembly pages, and static files on the SPEC-owned IRS.gov pages and for reconciling all IRS.gov reports related to these items, such as Expired Content and Orphaned Content Reports. C&M will forward these reports as appropriate to the SPEC page content owners with instructions for validating them and responding by deadline to C&M.