Attachment_A_-_SOW__Translation_Exam_version_2.pdf

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FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

FINANCE DIVISION | PROCUREMENT SECTION

Translation Exam Development

Language Testing and Assessment Unit (LTAU)

Directorate of Intelligence (DI)

Statement of Work

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FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

STATEMENT OF WORK

Translation Exam Development

1 Introduction

1.1 Background

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) administers foreign language tests as part of the applicant qualification process for language-related positions. One of the tests is the Translation

Exam (TE) which assesses the ability of the examinee to translate foreign language written texts into English. The tests are rated by FBI personnel according to the Interagency Language

Roundtable Skill Level Descriptions (ILR-SLDs) for Translation Performance. In rating the tests, FBI raters—who do not know the tested language—refer to English translations of the test passages in order to judge the accuracy of the examinee’s translation. The ILR-SLD score is based on a holistic rating of the examinee’s performance on all passages.

1.2 Scope

This requirement is for "Translation Exam Development" services for the Language Testing and

Assessment Unit (LTAU), Directorate of Intelligence (DI).

During the base year, the Contractor shall complete tests that conform to the Government’s requirement/specifications as indicated in Section 2 - Requirements/Specifications of the

Statement of Work (SOW) and cover multiple Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) levels in ten (10) languages. The languages are Chinese (both traditional and simplified), Arabic, Dutch, Farsi, Greek, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Urdu. In the option years, the Contractor shall complete tests that conform to the Government’s requirement/specifications as indicated in

Section 2 of the SOW and cover multiple Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) levels in estimated fifteen (15) languages. The specific languages in the option years will be determined based upon the needs of the FBI.

1.3 Objective

The TEs delivered to the FBI will become part of the test battery used to accurately assess the language abilities of applicants for language-related positions.

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2 Requirements/Specifications

2.1 Task Descriptions:

The Contractor shall identify written passages and provide both literal and idiomatic translations for each tasked language utilizing Contractor-provided subject matter experts (SMEs) who are well-educated native speakers of the source language. The SMEs shall be well informed on current issues related to the source language, particularly current language usage of the standard form of the language. While translation experience is not specifically required, SMEs must have the requisite level of English to produce idiomatic and literal translations.

For each TE, the SME(s) shall identify authentic passages to complete two (2) forms of the TE.

Each TE form shall consist of four passages. Each form shall contain one passage at level 2, one passage at level 2+, one passage at level 3, and one passage at level 4 of translation difficulty according to the ILR SLD for Translation Performance. Level 2 and 2+ passages shall generally not exceed 100 words and Level 3 and 4 passages 120 in length. In general, the four passages should fit on one page, single-spaced. In preparing the TEs, SMEs shall indicate the translation difficulty level for each passage, explaining the level assigned and providing the source of the authentic passage, e.g. internet link or bibliographic citation.

An important fact for the SMEs to keep in mind is that difficulty for translation is not the same as difficulty for reading. Texts that are difficult to comprehend due to obscure or technical vocabulary might be fairly straightforward to translate with the help of dictionaries, which are available to the examinees during the TE. The most important consideration in determining the level of difficulty of the passage is the degree to which congruity judgments need to be made.

Congruity judgment refers to the ability to transfer meaning into the target language that both fully conveys and best matches the meaning intended in the source text. Difficulty is determined by the extent to which congruity judgments must be made when decoding complexities of expression, such as semantic variations, syntactic structures, conventions, or differing word orders that demand deconstruction and rearrangement of the text.

The developed passages shall be authentic, that is, originally written in the source language and intended for native language readers. The following examples are typical of, but not limited to what the FBI encounters in foreign language texts: official letters, police reports, policy statements or financial documents. Each exam shall contain a variety of subject matter so that no two (2) passages on one (1) TE form address the same topic.

The passages shall not contain content that is related to current events or current leaders in order to prevent the test from becoming quickly dated. The passages shall not be found via web search: If the text is from an online source, the text shall be edited, maintaining the same content and level of difficulty, but preventing online searches of the text and thus ensuring the security of the test.

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For each TE, the SME shall provide two (2) translations into English, one of which is an idiomatic translation using accurate English expression. The SME shall also provide a word-for-word, literal translation (gloss) in English. Because the FBI raters usually do not know the source language, the idiomatic and literal translations are used by the FBI raters to judge the translation performance of the examinee. The reason for having both translations available for reference is that when the examinee produces text that varies from the idiomatic translation, the

FBI rater can refer to the literal translation as an aid to identify what is in the source. Having both translations also provides evidence of the degree of difficulty: The closer the literal rendition is to the idiomatic, usually the lower the level of translation text level difficulty.

Here is an example of a literal rendering and an idiomatic translation of a Korean sentence:

Source: 이 지역의 습도는 서울과 맞먹는다.

Literal: this area humidity Seoul is equal to

Idiomatic: The humidity in this area matches that in Seoul.

The underlined part is not expressed in the source in Korean, but in English it must be included in order to produce a clear idiomatic translation.

After each submission of passages with accompanying translations, the Government will have thirty (30) days for review of deliverables. Passages and translations that do not meet the

Government’s requirements/specifications will be rejected. In case of rejection, the Government will provide written feedback to explain the reasons for rejection. The Contractor will submit new or revised passages and translations as a replacement for those that were rejected by the

Government.

Two test forms will be constructed by the Government from the approved passages. These two forms will be provided to the Contractor to use as pilot tests. The Contractor shall administer both forms of the test to three (3) Contractor-provided pilot test examinees within ten (10) days.

These examinees, who were not involved in the development of the test, shall be administered the tests under normal testing conditions in order to provide samples of test performance. The pilot test examinees shall be representative of typical FBI applicants, for whom the foreign language is the native language. The Contractor shall debrief each pilot test examinee individually following after completing both forms, using the “Debriefing Questions for TE Pilot

Examinees” template. Both the pilot test examinees’ completed pilot tests and their completed debriefing forms shall be delivered to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for review within 7 days of test administration. If the pilot testing reveals problems that require revisions to the test, the COR will inform the Contractor within thirty (30) days of receipt of the materials.

The Contractor shall make COR-identified corrections within seven (7) calendar days of receiving written notification from the COR.

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2.2 Deliverables

All materials developed under this SOW will not be considered final until the COR has inspected and accepted the materials.

2.3 Sample Translation Exam Passage Requirements

The contractor shall provide a sample Translation Exam passage at ILR-SLD Level 3 in Korean with two English translations, the literal rendition and the idiomatic translation. The contractor shall also provide written justification for why the selected Korean passage is at ILR-SLD Level

3 for translation difficulty. The contractor may refer to the Russian Translation Exam attached as a sample to illustrate the ILR levels and the literal and idiomatic translations.

2.4 Position Qualifications

The Contractor shall provide the following qualified personnel.

A Project Manager (PM) to serve as the official point of contact with Government representatives.

The Project Manager shall:

Have experience directly managing a large Government - sponsored contract / Task

Order.

Have experience in translation, and preferably in the testing of translation ability.

Have substantial experience working with a Government client in the development of tests that are scored according to the ILR SLDs.

Direct and oversee the planning, execution and performance of all SME activities.

Serve as the primary Contractor representative in interfacing with the COR regarding the status of all program and technical activities, problems, issues, and / or conflicts.

Provide weekly emails to the COR briefly summarizing project activities.

Provide monthly reports of cost, schedule and performance.

Provide resumes for all proposed Contractor SME for COR review.

Ensure that replacement personnel meet the required qualifications.

The Language SMEs shall have:

Translation experience (strongly preferred).

Reading comprehension of the source language at ILR level 4 or higher.

Writing proficiency in English at ILR level 3 or higher.

As a minimum, the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree.

Sufficient technical competence to conduct research in order to identify appropriate testing materials.

The Pilot Test Examinees shall have:

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Reading comprehension of the source language at ILR Level 2+ or higher.

Writing proficiency in English at ILR Level 2 or higher.

3 Place of Performance

All work shall be conducted at the Contractor’s facilities.

4 Period of Performance

The period of performance for this effort will be as follows:

PERIOD BEGIN END

Base Year September 24, 2018 September 23, 2019

Option Year 1 September 24, 2019 September 23, 2020

Option Year 2 September 24, 2020 September 23, 2021

Option Year 3 September 24, 2021 September 23, 2022

Option Year 4 September 24, 2022 September 23, 2023

5 Hours of Operation

Hours of operation are at the Contractor’s discretion. However, the PM shall be available for phone conferences with the Language Testing and Assessment Unit in Washington DC during normal business hours (i.e. 8 am – 5 pm ET Monday through Friday excluding federal holidays).

6 Deliverables

6.1 Deliverables Requirement

The Contractor shall provide brief weekly emails summarizing that week’s activities. The

Contractor will also provide monthly emails containing the following, at a minimum: Staffing

Summary, Current Management and Administrative problems, and Action Item Status.

See Section 2, Requirements/Specifications for details on test passage and other required deliverables.

6.2 Monthly Status Reports

The monthly status reports shall include:

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6.2.1 Required items on company letterhead:

Date

General Service Administration (GSA) Contract Number (if applicable)

Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) Number, BPA Call/Work Order Number

6.2.2. Overall funding summary:

Dollar amount invoiced to date (to include the current invoice) for the following categories:

Type of Effort

Requirement Number

Purchase Order

Contract Line Item Number (CLIN)

Task

Job

Assignment

Subject Matter Expert Name

Language

Subtotal (funding provided to the Contractor minus amount invoiced to date)

Estimated work in progress

Estimated available funding

6.2.3. Status of work in progress:

Project tracking number

Source and target language

Total projected cost by project tracking number

Projected completion date by project tracking number

Type of service

6.2.4 Status of pending work requests:

Project tracking number

Language

Project description (i.e. type of source material)

Type of service

Date received

Anticipated start date

Due date

6.3 Schedule

The Contractor shall be responsible for providing the following deliverables:

DELIVERABLE TITLE DELIVERABLE DATE METHOD OF

DELIVERY

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Monthly Status Reports Last Wednesday of Every

Month

Email

Weekly Status Updates Every Friday by 4 pm

Eastern Time (ET)

Email

Foreign language passages and translations in each language

Within thirty (30) calendar days of written COR notification of language requirement

Email

6.4 Invoicing

Invoices shall be submitted monthly to the COR designated in the agreement or contract. The invoice shall contain a list of activities conducted during the billing period. Proper payment documentation is required to support payment of invoices. Incomplete / improper invoices will be returned to the Contractor for correction. The COR will not make any corrections.

A proper invoice shall include the following:

Name and address of the Contractor

Invoice date and invoice number

BPA number, BPA Call/ Work Order number

Description, quantity, unit of measure, unit price, and extended price of items delivered

Terms of any discount for prompt payment offered

Name and address of official to whom payment is to be sent

Name, title, and phone number of person to notify in event of a defective invoice

Each Contractor employees’ first / last name, number of hours, labor category, and cumulative hours to date

Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and

Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number

7 Service Delay

If the Contractor encounters difficulty meeting individual assignment deadlines set by the COR or Contracting Officer (CO), or whenever the Contractor has knowledge that an actual or potential situation is delaying or threatens to delay the timely performance of an assignment, the

Contractor shall immediately notify the COR in writing of the pertinent details. The simple submission of the notification shall not be construed as automatic approval by the Government for any adjustment to the due date.

8 Proprietary Rights

The Government retains all rights and privileges, including those of patent and copy, to all

Government furnished data. The Contractor shall neither retain nor reproduce for private or

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The Contractor agrees not to assert any rights at common law or in equity or establish any claim to statutory copyright in such data. These rights are not exclusive and are in addition to any other rights and remedies to which the Government is otherwise entitled elsewhere under this effort.

All property rights, including publication rights, in the information and materials produced by the Contractor in connection with this agreement or contract shall vest in the Government. At the conclusion of the agreement or contract, all Contractor produced data and materials shall be delivered to the Government in an electronic file format to be specified by the COR.

9 Program Management Review

At the request of the COR, the Contractor’s PM shall meet on a monthly basis to provide a status check on the execution of the agreement or contract. This meeting may be face-to-face or over the telephone as determined by the COR.

10 Government Furnished Equipment or Information

The Government will not provide furniture or equipment. The Government will provide information regarding the test specifications and may provide sample tests.

11 Non-Disclosure Agreement

All Contractor staff performing services under this effort shall sign a Nondisclosure Agreement

(NDA) prior to performing services. The Contractor’s PM shall also ensure that all staff understand and adhere to the terms of the NDA and protect secure testing materials belonging to the Government.

NDAs shall be signed and submitted to the COR prior to each individual performing under the agreement or contract.

12 Ethics

The Contractor shall ensure that all its staff supporting this effort have read, understand, and will adhere to the attached Ethics Standards Factsheet.

13 Records Data

All information developed as a result of this SOW is for the exclusive use of the Government.

Pursuant to the NDA, all documents (to include but not limited to reports, work papers, internal memoranda, drafts, notes, or any other documents) produced by the Contractor becomes the

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Contractor personnel expressly agree not to publish, disclose, or disseminate, in any form to any person, findings, recommendations, work products, or any other information relating to their services with the Government.

14 Government Representatives

(a) Contracting Officer’s Representative

The COR will be identified via letter of COR delegation authority issued by the CO. The COR is responsible, as applicable, for: receiving all deliverables; inspecting and accepting the supplies or services provided hereunder in accordance with the terms and conditions of the agreement or contract; providing direction to the Contractor which clarifies the agreement or contract effort, filling in details or otherwise furnishing information necessary to accomplish the

SOW; evaluating performance; and certifying all invoices / vouchers for acceptance of the supplies or services furnished for payment.

The COR does not have the authority to alter or modify the Contractor's obligations, agreement or contract terms, conditions, specifications, or cost. If as a result of technical discussions, it is in the Government’s best interest to alter / change contractual obligations or the SOW, the CO will issue such changes.

The delegated Contracting Officer Representative for this contract is:

Driss Aitbelhaj

Management and Program Analyst

Federal Bureau of Investigation

935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

WB602

Washington, DC 20535

Phone: (202) 436-7926

Email: daitbelhaj@fbi.gov

(b) Contracting Officer

The CO is the appointed authority to bind the Government to the extent of the authority delegated. Direction that will modify the scope, schedule, terms and conditions, funding, or any other action that may modify the agreement as originally entered into with the Government must be provided by the CO.

This contract will be administered by:

Shayla S. Cooper

Contracting Officer mailto:daitbelhaj@fbi.gov

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Federal Bureau of Investigation

935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

WB3000

Washington, DC 20535

Phone: (202) 324-7751

Fax: (202) 436-7135

Email: sscooper@fbi.gov

15 Travel No travel will be required under this agreement or contract.

16 Applicable documents

Historical List of Languages

Interagency Language Roundtable Skill Level Descriptions for Translation Performance are provided as an attachment as reference.

Debriefing Questions for TE Pilot Examinees are provided as an attachment as reference.

A sample TE in Russian with translations is provided as an attachment as reference.

Past Performance Questionnaire

Non-Disclosure Agreement

FBI Ethics Standards Factsheet mailto:sscooper@fbi.gov