Newsletter Standard Operating Procedure

Standard Operating Procedure: Department of Veterans Affairs – National Cemetery Administration Newsletter Production and Distribution

Plan Now. Honor Forever.

The following table outlines the change history for the standard operating procedure (SOP), including the version number, revision date, significant changes, and the previous version numbers. Upon adjustments to the standard operating procedure, National Cemetery Administration (NCA) will update the content of this document, including the change history table. To note, a future version of the NCA Newsletter SOP will incorporate VA Light Electronic Action Framework (LEAF) in the Production Process section.

SOP Maintenance
The NCA Communications Team is designated as the responsible party for maintaining and updating the SOP. The team – working with Dynamic Integrated Services (DIS) will ensure that the SOP remains current and reflective of the organization’s practices regarding the NCA newsletter production and distribution process. Additionally, a regular review and maintenance of the document will be scheduled quarterly, irrespective of any updates, to guarantee its accuracy and relevance over time. This proactive approach ensures that the SOP remains aligned with the evolving needs of the NCA newsletter production and distribution process.

Purpose
This SOP provides a step-by-step, repeatable process for content planning, content development, design and layout, review and approval, and distribution of the NCA newsletter. Proposed NCA newsletter names are: The Advisor, Chronicle, Connection, The Connector, The Constant, Contact, Communicator, Guardian, Herald, Link, Observer, Preserver, Pulse, Sentinel, and Spotlight.

Objectives
This SOP provides detailed instructions for the responsible parties involved in all phases of the NCA newsletter production, from initial content planning to final distribution. These objectives are tailored to a quarterly distribution cadence.

• Serve as a knowledge management resource for NCA Communications staff and contractors.
• Gain consistency in the NCA newsletter production process from one quarter to the next.
• Achieve uniformity in the NCA newsletter content sections and design from one quarter to the next.
• Improve efficiency and streamline the NCA newsletter production process to support the quarterly distribution cadence.
• Enhance reader experience by improving the overall readability of the NCA newsletter content.
• Provide sufficient time for review and editing to improve the quality of the final distributed version of the NCA newsletter.
• Support operations continuity by serving as an onboarding resource for new NCA employees and contractors who will function as responsible parties in the NCA newsletter production process. 

Scope
This SOP covers the entirety of the NCA newsletter production process across the following five phases: Content planning, content development, design and layout, review and approval, distribution. The production process begins with content planning, the period when DIS provides an outline and broad content recommendations to NCA Communications Leadership. Once the outline is finalized, this SOP proceeds to describe the different content development pathways for each section of the NCA Newsletter.

Production Schedule and Distribution Cadence Guidelines
NCA newsletter production begins two months prior to distribution of the newsletter. Cadence for the NCA newsletter distribution is quarterly (first business day of the quarter).

• FY Q1 production begins in January, distribution in March.
• FY Q2 production begins in April, distribution in June.
• FY Q3 production begins in July, distribution September.
• FY Q4 production begins in October, distribution in December.

Content and Length Guidelines
Each edition (10 pages maximum) also may include a timely story or two, at the discretion of NCA. If needed, story topics will be determined during the planning phase of each newsletter. All content development pathways lead to the design, layout, review, and approval phases followed by NCA newsletter guidelines.

• Message from the Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs – 300-400 words
• Benefits Spotlight – 300-400 words
• End-of-Life Planning – 200-300 words
• Feature: VA National Cemetery – 250-300 words
• NCA Newsletter: announcements/updates (e.g., VLM); new cemeteries/planning; local celebrations/honor ceremonies; NCA outreach activities – 400-500 words
• Tool Kit Section(s) Feature – 200-250 words
• Fast Stats Call-out Box – 200-250 words
• Key Contacts

Editing Guidelines
DIS will aim to streamline the editing process, minimizing the number of edits and versions to ensure efficiency and consistency in the NCA newsletter production process. DIS will edit for clarity and coherence, while avoiding significant changes that could alter the substance of the material. Additionally, DIS will ensure the final NCA newsletter meets both VA style guidelines and 508 compliance requirements.

Production Guidelines

The following steps provide detailed instructions for the content planning, content development, design and layout, review and approval, and distribution of the NCA newsletter. The steps in the Content Development phase are unique for each section of the Newsletter. To ensure efficiency and adherence to the quarterly distribution of the NCA newsletter, please note the time bounds for each phase of development. The following visual depicts the five key phases of the NCA newsletter production process covered within this SOP:

Best Practices
DIS is committed to following best practices for the NCA newsletter production and publishing process. DIS and NCA Comms will collaborate to ensure accuracy of the NCA newsletter content outline prior to content development stage. DIS and NCA Comms point of contact (POC) to follow the NCA newsletter production timeline to allow sufficient time for all phases of the process. DIS to save draft NCA newsletter documents as QX NCA NCA [NEWSLETTER NAME] Q#_Month Day_Year VX (e.g., V1, V2) on the DIS-NCA Microsoft Teams page for version control. Both NCA and DIS should only make revisions to the document in the Teams folder. NCA Comms POC to identify appropriate backfills when a contributor or reviewer is unavailable to fulfill their role and responsibilities. DIS to contact the NCA Liaison and the Contracting Officer Representative (COR), ideally 2 business days in advance of deadlines, if they anticipate any significant delays or challenges.