Guide to Producing Successful Communications Products: Supplement to the Federal Highway Administration Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center R&D Communication Reference Guide

APPENDIX H. AVERAGE TIMEFRAME FOR THE OFFICE OF OPERATIONS PRODUCT REVIEW AND the OFFICE OF the CHIEF COUNSEL AND the OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS APPROVAL PROCESSES

Question: How much time is needed for the Office of Operations internal product review and the Office of the Chief Counsel (HCC) and Office of Public Affairs (HPA) approval processes and the printing and Web posting of final products?

Answer: You should plan to build in three–five months for the approval processes. We recommend building six months into your Performance Work Statement (PWS) or Statement of Work (SOW) deliverables schedule just to be on the safe side.

Below is an average detailed schedule breakdown, including contingencies. Please note that the Form FHWA-1113 submission (as detailed in Chapter 2 and Appendix A) takes place before a project begins and therefore is not included in this timeframe. Additionally, task order language will take precedence over any timeframes noted below.

**Table 9. Average Timeframe for Office of Operations Product Reviews.**
Step	Timeframe (Timeframes in parentheses indicate contingency actions.)	Activity
1	10 Federal business days	Office of Operations (HOP) Project Manager (PM) reviews product to ensure it meets Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and HOP guidelines.
1.a	10 Federal business days	The Marketing and Outreach Coordinator (Coordinator) submits Form FHWA-1113 to HPA for review and approval.
2	10 Federal business days	HOP Information Specialist (Specialist) and Coordinator evaluate the product.
2.1	5 Federal business days	If mistakes are found, Specialist and Coordinator transmit comments to HOP PM, who returns product to Contractor with instructions. Contractor makes corrections and returns to HOP PM.
2.2	5 Federal business days	HOP PM to review product to ensure Contractor has made proper corrections.
2.3	5 Federal business days	Specialist and Coordinator double-check that Contractor has indeed rectified mistakes.
2.4	5 Federal business days	If Contractor has not solved problems, the product is again returned to HOP PM for resolution. (Return to Step 2.1).
3	10 Federal business days	Coordinator forwards product to Office of Chief Counsel HCC) for "Good Guidance" review.
3.1	10 Federal business days	If HCC issues corrections, Coordinator transmits comments to HOP PM, who returns product to Contractor with instructions. Contractor makes corrections and returns to HOP PM.
3.2	5 Federal business days	HOP PM to review product to ensure Contractor has made proper HCC corrections.
4	5 Federal business days	HOP PM fills out Form FHWA-1528, applies own digital signature, procures Office Director digital signature, and forwards form to Coordinator, who submits 1) final product and 2) filled-out form to Office of Public Affairs (HPA) for approval.
5	10 Federal business days	HPA conducts review of product.
5.1	5 Federal business days	HPA turns down product or requests revision. Coordinator shares feedback with HOP PM and discusses options. (Possible return to Step 2.1).
6	5 Federal business days	Once HPA has approved Form FHWA-1528 and applied digital signature, HOP PM gives approval to Contractor to supply print and Section 508-HTML versions (as applicable) of product on a CD or DVD, which HOP PM should give to Specialist.
7	10 Federal business days	Specialist reviews print and Section 508-HTML versions of product.
7.1	5 Federal business days	If mistakes are found, Specialist transmits comments to HOP PM, who returns product to Contractor with instructions. Contractor makes corrections and returns to HOP PM. (Return to Step 5).
7.2	5 Federal business days)	HOP PM to review product to ensure Contractor has made proper corrections.
7.3	5 Federal business days	Specialist affirms that Contractor has indeed rectified mistakes.
7.4	5 Federal business days	If Contractor has not solved problems, the product is again returned to HOP PM for resolution. (Return to Step 5).
8	5 Federal business days	Specialist uploads Section 508-HTML. Specialist sends print version to Government Publishing Office (GPO) (if applicable).
9	10 Federal business days	Coordinator works with HOP PM on FHWA Social Media promotion, if desired.
TOTAL TIME	65 Federal Business Days up to 130 Federal Business Days (3-6 months)	If a product comes in good shape, it may take up to 3 months to process. If not, the product may take twice as long to process.

U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
Office of Operations
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
Office of Operations Web Site
https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov
April 2017
FHWA-HOP-17-009