Free statement of work template examples for CIOs

Writing a statement of work, also known as the scope statement or the terms of reference, is a crucial aspect of project planning. Without crafting this document at the outset, especially one that is clear and specific, communication lines could easily get crossed, and a project could end up requiring more resources or taking longer to complete.

A statement of work, which is developed by stakeholders, involves documenting the specific requirements of a particular project or service contract. This documentation, which is commonly found within a request for proposal (RFP), functions as guideposts for project teams. It outlines the business need for the project, costs, deliverables, goals, tasks and responsibilities, timelines, and how completed products will be assessed. The document also provides guidance to the project lead on how to handle change requests during the course of a project.

In this roundup, we've compiled a selection of downloadable statement of work template examples to help you get a start on project planning. These free documents, which are offered by organizations ranging from military groups, state governments and federal agencies, are meant to help project teams stay on track throughout a project's lifecycle, whether it's an initiative that's simple and short-term or one that's long-term and more complex.

SOURCE: Texas Council on Competitive Government (CCG)
OFFERING: This statement of work template, designed by CCG, is meant to function as a guide for other participating state agencies creating their own statement of work documents. It offers best practices on documenting the scope of digital imaging service projects.

SOURCE: RFP Solutions Inc.
OFFERING: RFP Solutions, which provides RFP consulting and development services to Canadian public sector companies, created this guide to writing a statement of work template. The consultancy developed the guide to help public sector employees involved in procurement to handle the demands of project scoping.

SOURCE: Naval Education and Training Command (NETC)
OFFERING: This statement of work was written up by NETC, an arm of the U.S. Navy responsible for training and educating naval forces. The document is intended to help learning centers obtain contractors to aid with developing course content.

SOURCE: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
OFFERING: This statement of work template, crafted by the EPA, can be modified by agencies that want to define the scope of projects for consultants who would help the agencies develop emission and removal estimates for the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory. It also includes an example of a plan and timeline for developing inventory.