Attachment_I_-_RFQ-QuestionsandAnswers.pdf

Request for Quotation - 15F06718Q0000100/A00001

Questions and Answers

Answers will be in red font.

Date: August 15, 2018

1. I wanted to know if there were companies doing these works and if so, could you provide me with the following:

- Contractor Name

- Contract/Task Order Number

- Expiration Date

- Approximate Value

This solicitation is for a new requirement.

2. [Interested Vendor] would like to respectfully request a one-week extension for the above referenced RFP. This will allow us to respond to the answers to our submitted questions and also give our past performance references a bit more time to fill out the PPQs.

The solicitation is now amended to extend the deadline for responses to August 30, 2018, at

12:00pm Eastern Standard Time. Please see the attached amendment number A00001 for more details.

3. Ref: RFQ 4.0 Terms and Conditions: 4.5.1. - Do Reps and Certs need to be submitted with our response or is a current record in sam.gov sufficient?

Interested parties that have a current, active record in sam.gov shall check the appropriate box under Section 4.5.1 Annual Representations and Certifications (Jan 2018) of the RFQ, indicating that what is stated under paragraph (d) applies to their response. Interested parties that do not have a current, active record shall provide representations and certifications and shall check the appropriate box indicating that paragraph (d) does not apply to their response.

4. Ref: SOW 6 Deliverables 6.2.1. – Is this contract under the GSA contract or is it standalone contract?

The solicitation shall only be restricted to small businesses. The solicitation is open-market.

5. Ref: SOW 2.1. Task Description: “The Contractor shall submit new or revised passages and translations as a replacement for those that were rejected by the Government.” Please provide the information on expected delivery dates for resubmission of passages that require revisions.

A 30-day time period shall be appropriate for the resubmission of passages that require revision.

6. Ref: SOW 2.1 Task Description: “Two test forms will be constructed by the Government from the approved passages. These two forms will be provided by the Contractor to use as pilot tests.” For the purpose of time and cost efficiency, would the Government consider the following test development workflow: submission of form one, review by

Government and then submission of form two?

To be clear, the Government shall develop the two test forms from the passages submitted by the

Contractor which will be the pilot test. The Contractor shall provide at least two passages at each of the ILR levels indicated to enable the Government to build two forms of the pilot test. As the

Government is assembling the two test forms, the Government requires that all eight passages shall be submitted together.

7. Ref: SOW 2.1 Task Description: “The pilot test examinees shall be representative of typical FBI applicants for whom the foreign language is the native language” (page 4).

Later, on page 6 it is stated that pilot test examinees shall have “reading comprehension of the source language at ILR level 2+ or higher.” In our experience native speakers of foreign languages when taking an FSI reading comprehension exam usually score higher than 2+. Would it be acceptable for FBI that the Contractor use its language students who score higher than 2+ on a reading comprehension test, and who are not necessarily native speakers of the foreign language?

No, the FBI requires that the pilot test examinees shall be native speakers only.

8. Ref: SOW 2.1 “if the text is from an online source, the text shall be edited, maintaining the same content and the level of difficulty, but preventing online searches of the test, thus ensuring the security of the test.” Would it be sufficient to change references to names, locations and some factual information in the original source text? Also, will FBI require submission of the original unedited passage, including the information on what was edited out for what reasons?

For the first part of the question, yes, it is sufficient to change references as described. For the second part of the question, yes, the FBI shall expect to see the unedited passage and the information on what was edited out.

9. Ref: SOW 2.1 Should the 120 word-word count for the Korean sample passage be based on MS Word count of words or characters (without spaces) or Asian characters/Korean words in the source text? Also, which word count range would be acceptable?

The word count is based on the MS Word count of the translated text. An acceptable range for

ILR levels 2 and 2+ would be between 80 and 105 and for ILR levels 3 and four between 110 and 130 words. A text that exceeds the notional 100 or 120 as set forth in the SOW, shall not automatically be disqualified for a small excess in word count.

10. Does the Combined Synopsis/Solicitation posted as solicitation number

15F06718Q0000100 on FBO contain requirements similar to an existing contract or will this be a new requirement?

This solicitation is for a new requirement.

11. Is NAICS # 541720 the only one acceptable for this RFQ or can 541930 also be acceptable?

NAICS code 541720 shall be the only acceptable NAICS code for interested parties responding to this solicitation.

12. I hereby request the due date to be extended for submission of the RFQ to September 4, 2018.

The solicitation is now amended to extend the deadline for responses to August 30, 2018, at

12:00pm Eastern Standard Time. Please see the attached amendment number A00001 for more details.

13. Page 45, last paragraph or Page 4-5 of the SOW

Do I need to submit a Korean passage, I submitted a Spanish passage with the RFI? How do I know what I submitted was to the FBI’s satisfaction?

Interested parties shall submit a Korean sample Translation Exam passage in accordance with the instructions provided in the solicitation. Attachment E: Russian Sample Translation Exam is provided to serve as a model for the Korean sample Translation Exam passage.

14. Please confirm that I am correct in interpreting 2.3 "Sample Translation Exam

Requirements of the SOW, page 4-5, "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. Is the below Attachment A how it should be submitted?

Attachment E: Russian Sample Translation Exam shall serve as the model for the Korean sample passage to be submitted with the contractor’s response. Attachment A: Statement of Work provides instructions for the sample passage submission that are reiterated in the written Request for Quotation.

15. Do I need to submit all resumes for SME?

Yes, resumes shall be required in order to enable the FBI to validate the bona fides of the SME against the articulated criteria.

16. Do I need to submit all resumes for pilot testees?

Resumes for the pilot testees shall be submitted at the BPA call level.

17. Do I need to submit resume for project manager?

Yes, resumes shall be required in order to enable the FBI to validate the bona fides of the project manager against the articulated criteria.

18. Can the past performance be from one of the PM’s or does it have to come from the company itself?

Past performance shall only be submitted by the company.

19. Ref: Attachment_A_-_SOW__Translation_Exam_version_2.pdf

Section 2: Requirements/Specifications

2.1 Task Descriptions

Do the passages identified by the contractor need to have copyright permissions secured by the Contractor?

Yes, the passages identified by the contractor shall have copyright permissions secured by the contractor, since the changes made from an original text make the proposed passage a derivative work of the original.