Network of contractors

IARC is working with a network of contractors to fill increasing science communications needs.

We currently have five contractors who have previously worked with UAF and or scientists. They can take on work that includes: 

• graphic design

• writing (press releases, feature stories)

• editing

• illustration 

At this time the IARC communications team and network of contractors cannot accommodate science communications work that is not in the above list.

Projects assigned to contractors should have a defined goal, audience, output and timeline. Open ended, ongoing, or idea-stage projects are not a good fit for contractors. 

How do I find a contractor?  

Kristin Timm, kmtimm@alaska.edu, will act as “match maker” to connect scientists and project requests with an appropriate contractor. To get the process going, please complete this short form. If you'd like help identifying the scope of the work, ask Kristin! She holds office hours every Tuesday at 3 pm. 

Once a contractor has been identified, you will work one-on-one with the contractor to create the outreach product you envisioned. Once the product is completed, Kristin will review to ensure it meets the high standards set in place by the IARC communications teams.  

What lead time is needed for working with a contractor? 

Requests for contractor help must have adequate lead time. Usually this is 1-3 months, though it can depend on the size of the project. Please note that if all contractors are already assigned projects, they may not be able to meet your needs. Please plan ahead, send requests early and be flexible.

How do contractors get paid? 

Each contractor has a blanket purchase order already set up with IARC. You will simply need to submit a purchase request and provide a fund/org for them to charge to. Communicate with the contractor to ensure that you have funds in place to cover the estimated hours required by the contractor. IARC Fund 1 cannot cover the expenses of the contractors working on your project.

Submit a purchase request

After discussing the estimated time needed to complete the project, submit a purchase request to IARC Purchasing for work you expect each contractor to do. This must be on file BEFORE the work begins. Include all funding sources for the work. Copy Kristin Timm, kmtimm@alaska.edu, to ensure they are aware of the purchase request being submitted. Invoices submitted by contractors will be sent to IARC Purchasing for processing. 

The purchase request form should include:

• Fund/org(s) the work should be charged to

• Name of the science communication project (so it can be easily tracked, something like “AAOKH summer 2023 newsletter”)

• Name of the contractor you’re working with

• Estimated number of hours/cost for the service

Can my request include printing or other services?

Our arrangement with the contractors includes only their time, so if you need printing or other services, you will need to pay for that separately. That doesn’t mean you cannot ask a contractor to coordinate with the printer and help set things up, but you will need to pay the printer separately on a different purchase request.