Industry QAs with Responses final.docx

Request for Proposal 15JPSS23R00000040 Language Services Criminal Division

No.

RFQ

Section

Vendor Question

DOJ Response

What is the percentage of Simultaneous and Consecutive Services required?

Mostly consecutive, simultaneous rarely.

How many last-minute appointments do you have?

Unknown

Does material mean translation?

This question is not specific and will not be answered.

All of your estimated quantities have $ values. What does that mean? Are they accurate values but with a $ typo? Or is there a different meaning to this?

Attachment 1, Pricing Table opens up to the Other Direct Costs tab (ODC) those estimates are listed in dollars and represent just an estimated amount for the specific item. Vendors are to propose the multiplier.

What's the location you need equipment for simultaneous interpretation?

This is an IDIQ contract Performance under this contract may be provided anywhere in the United States and its territories.

Regarding the OCD table, are those values hours, minutes? What are they?

The table includes estimated dollars amount for the particular CLIN identify (ie. Headsets)

What does Extra copies mean?

Under the Translation Tab, extra copies mean additional copies of the translated work.

What type of certification and re-certification do you need?

Statement of certification by the translator that the translation is true and accurate to the best of their abilities, and that they have the appropriate skills and qualifications to perform the translation.

Under the current contract, occasionally the contractor was informed of errors but was not provided the opportunity to correct them. Under such circumstances, how would the Government assess the penalties enumerated in F.8.3? If contractor is not afforded an opportunity to correct errors identified by the Government, we request that the penalty be capped at 1 (one) day late. We also request that the amount of any imposed penalty not exceed the value of the original work order. Will the Government approve these changes?

See the updated language in the RFP for Section F.8.3 (e).

Under the current contract, it is sometimes necessary to split long documents between more than two translators to meet extremely tight legal deadlines. Using more than two translators under expedited processing conditions increases the risk of error. Please consider that contractors may increase rates to manage their risk which impacts all projects. In addition, contractors may evaluate the risk of incurring penalties and decline work orders. To incentivize the contractor to accept work orders that are at higher risk of incurring penalties, and not significantly increase its per word rates to manage its risk, would the Government reduce its penalties and caps as follows?

Routine or Complex - 7% and $1,500 cap Premium - 12% and $1,500 cap Priority/Urgent - 25% and $1,500 cap *The amount of any imposed penalty shall not exceed the value of the original work order.

See the updated language in the RFP for Section F.8.3.

May the contractor identify languages it considers low density, and which are rarely requested by the Government, and propose minimum fees so that there is sufficient compensation to incentivize translators to accept work?

No. This could be proposed to the Government when negotiating whether or not to accept an assignment.

Item 4 asks contractors to indicate whether quality inspections are billed directly or indirectly. Section B.3.1(b) indicates all services described in Section C.4.1 including quality control should be considered PMO costs and must be part of the fully loaded labor rates. Can the Government clarify if it will accept quality inspections as a direct bill labor category? If yes, please provide an updated Attachment 1 Pricing Tables template.

No. Quality Inspections will not be a direct bill labor category and need to be incorporated into the fully burdened rates.

Section C.4.1.a. states that the PMO should be located in the Washington DC metropolitan region, including management, technical and financial resources. Could the DOJ clarify if this requirement means that the proposed Program Manager must be physically located in the DC metropolitan region? Moreover, Section F.5 states that services may be provided throughout the USA at the contractor's location or various USG or non-USG sites? Could the DOJ specify the types and volume of work that may be required at USG or non-USG sites and at which primary locations these services have historically occurred?

C.4.1.a -The proposed Program Manager ideally should be physically located in the DC metropolitan region.

F.5 Interpretation services are often required in locations outside the DC metropolitan area, to include anywhere in the continental U.S. Overseas travel is rare but it does occur. Facilities could include courthouses, prisons, jails, and other office buildings.

In the last year, we've received approximately 63,000 pages to translate, 1,600 hours billed for transcription requests and approximately 800 hours billed for interpretation requests. Approximately 40% of requests are for Spanish.

Same day requests are rare but could occur for any of those modalities. Phone interpretation is rather rare, and as we are now post-pandemic, we are slowly resuming on-site interpretation. We might be evenly split between VRI and OSI.

Historically there are two task orders that are issued for each contract holder: One for Criminal Division work and one for other components using the contract. The work orders are competed among the contract vendors in accordance with Section H.2.2.

Normally, payment deductions are not applied to a first occurrence. If complaints are received about an interpreter's performance, the contractor PM is informed and asked to intervene with contractor's approved quality control measures. In the event that multiple complaints are received about a particular interpreter, contractor may be asked to remove the interpreter from their DOJ roster. Additionally, a DOJ language specialist may be asked to observe and assess interpreter performance.

There is occasional need for conference interpretation. Overall, it is infrequent.

SMRS is occasionally performed at DOJ facilities, but more typically it consists of material that is supplied to the contractor PM for linguists to work on off-site.

All contractor personnel--to include freelance linguists--are subject to the background investigation requirements. The SPM will determine the appropriate level for contractor personnel, most for the current contract are considered Moderate Risk Positions (see H.7.3.a.B). There is no need for a facility security clearance.

This contract does not include on-demand OPI. Telephone interpreting is scheduled in advance and priced hourly as consecutive interpretation. The only difference is that telephonic or virtual remote interpreting can be ordered at less than the half day minimum, up to 2 hours. For OPI or VRI beyond 2 hours, the half day minimum applies.

Equipment is not frequently requested. Most often equipment is needed for in-person, high-level meetings at Main Justice (not court). For times when we require court interpretation (usually only Grand Jury, or limited circumstances in trial) consecutive mode is used, and equipment is not required. On occasion there may be on or off-site conferences, but more often we now would use WebEx with simultaneous interpretation mode.

Yes. Interpreters have not historically been asked to travel with equipment. International travel assignments are usually proffer/interview situations and consecutive mode is used.

The majority of interpretation assignments on this contract are Spanish language. There are often multiple travel assignments in any given year, to locations requiring air or car travel. All travel expenses under such requests are billable to the government, to include airfare, hotel (at GSA rates), per diem, mileage, taxi/Uber, etc. The half the hourly rate is to compensate the interpreter for the time required for them to reach the destination and is not intended to cover any other travel expenses.

Less than one hour.

Material could be print materials or possibly hardware needed for the assignment (such as external storage units). Given that all materials are transmitted either via email or FTP, this CLIN is very rarely used.

Price is for labor hour. Transcription projects are billed at # of hours to complete the transcription x hourly labor rate PLUS the per word rate of the accompanying translation. There is no English to English transcription in the scope of this contract.

In order to be eligible to work on this contract, do translators need to have an ILR 3 (or higher) score on a test specifically designed to align with the ILR guidelines? For example, ACTFL tests? Or do they only need to meet qualification 1-6? If successful passing a test is required, can the government provide a list of acceptable testing bodies?

Some formal evaluation of language skills is required, whether federal certification (interpreters), state certification, ATA Certification (translators), ALTA, State Department, FBI, private language testing companies with GSA schedules, etc.

If the need for a linguist is pressing, can successfully passing tests from recognized testing groups not specifically endorsed by the federal government be considered to expedite the process?

RFP states “or qualified professional organizations”

How should transcription services be priced? By the labor hour or audio hour? Our standard approach is to price per audio hour.

Transcription services are to be priced per labor hour.

tables, and figures), which may be smaller.

Question: Can the Government clarify whether font sizes for graphics, tables, and figures can be smaller than 11-point font? The RFP language addresses labels and headings, but is not clear on the graphics, tables, and figures themselves.

The font size should not be so small that the Technical Evaluation Team struggles to read the content. Font should not be smaller than 9 to be legible to the reader.

f) The Government will make every attempt to issue work orders for interpreters at least five (5) business days prior to a scheduled hearing. However, work orders may be issued any time prior to a hearing, including the day of a hearing. The Contractor shall fulfill each and every work order accepted under this contract or be subject to the assessment of liquidated damages as specified in Section F.8.

Question:

This requirement applies to accepted orders. If an order is requested after business days prior to a scheduled hearing, can the Contractor reject the order without being assessed LDs?

The question answers itself. The requirement applies to accepted work orders. LDs are not assessed to work orders that have not been accepted by vendor.

This section states that certifications sent late are subject to late penalty specified in F.8.3. F.8.3 refers back to timelines addressed in C.4.

Question: Unfortunately, contractor could not find what specifically constitutes a late delivery. Will the Government please specify the determination for when a transcription is deemed late?

All Due dates are indicated in the work orders. Upon acceptance of a work order, the contractor agrees to the delivery deadline stipulated in the transcription request. 5:00 p.m. on the day indicated in the request is considered the deadline for delivery, unless otherwise stipulated by the requestor. For example, requestor may indicate in the special instructions that a project delivery deadline, by way of example, September 1. However, Gov’t does not intend to work on the received deliverable until September 2, therefore, Gov’t may indicate a delivery deadline of 11:59 p.m. Sept. 1. Contractor should be sure to clarify any special delivery terms upon acceptance of a request.

extensive experience in court or legal environments in the languages specified in Section C.4.2 within three (3) hours of request of the Government”.

Question: C.4.1.1.1 c) conflicts with F.6 d). In C.4.1.1.1.c) did the government intend to state: “The Contractor shall confirm its acceptance of a work order and ability to supply interpreters with specialized training in the interpreting field and/or extensive experience in court or legal environments in the languages specified in Section C.4.2 within three (3) hours of written request in the form of a work order from of the Government.”?

The Contractor shall confirm acceptance of a work order and ability to supply interpreters with specialized training in the interpreting field and/or extensive experience in court or legal environments in the languages specified in Section C.4.2 within three (3) hours of written request from the Government.” . See the updated language in the RFP for C.4.1.1.1. (c).

by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR).’

Question: Does “any document” include Terminology or Translation Memories?

Yes.

a minimum of two (2) years of experience in translation. Qualifying scores (defined as Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale 3 minimum or equivalent) on language/translation tests administered by the FBI, other Government agencies, or qualified professional organizations will be considered in assessing qualifications. (c) The Contractor shall supply interpreters with specialized training in the interpreting field and/or extensive experience in court or legal environments in the languages specified in Section C.4.2 within three (3) hours of request of the Government. It is critical that the interpreters be competent and qualified. To meet the minimum standard, interpreters must possess at least four (4) years of experience in language interpretation in the mode required by the assignment. Qualifying scores (defined as ILR scale 3 minimum or equivalent) on language/interpreting tests administered by the FBI, Department of State, other Government agencies, or qualified professional organizations will be considered in assessing qualifications.

Question: Will the translator be required to score ILR 3 in reading and writing only (not listening, or speaking)? Will the interpreter be required to score ILR 3 in speaking and listening only (not reading or writing)?

ILR 3 scores should ideally be required for interpreters in speaking, listening, and reading, at minimum. Interpreters may be called upon during assignments to sight translate, therefore reading is fundamental.

ILR 3 scores should ideally be required for translators in reading, writing. However, if a translator is going to work on transcription projects, ILR for listening should also be required.

Department of Justice reserves the right to add the language to the required list. The vendor shall have three (3) months to recruit for the language skill set and submit an approval package to the COR.”

Question: Does three months include the DOJ security process?

As it states, the vendor shall have three (3) months to recruit for the language skill set and submit an approval package to the COR.

Government for the half-day minimum. Interpreters must ensure that they are in a quiet environment, and that no one who does not have security approval can see or overhear the telephone or virtual session.”

Question: Specifically, what is the “security approval”? What is the “requisite NSI clearance” type?

Security approval as used in C.4.5.d refers to CRM Security Approval. NSI clearance is not required for purposes of C.4.5.d H.7.1.a. Alt 1 indicates that the contract may involve access to classified information, or National Security Information (NSI). H.7.1.b.Alt 2 states clearly that contractor employees requiring access to classified information will be processed by Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency in accordance with the National Industrial Security Program, this processing would result in the “requisite NSI clearance.”

See the answer to question 42 for additional guidance.

(e.g., a 6-hour assignment will be ordered as a full-day and 3-hour assignment will be ordered as a half-day). Should the Government require assignments above a standard full day, the Contractor must bill for a full day, and only the additional hours beyond the full day (not a full day plus a half day). The billing structure shall, therefore, remain hour-for hour, with the understanding that “half day” is 4 hours, “full day” is 8 hours, and beyond full day is 8 hours, plus the hours beyond 8.”

Question: Will the full hours beyond 8 hours round up?

Within reason. If an assignment should exceed the half day or full day by only 5-10 minutes, rounding up to a full hour is less than reasonable. For assignments exceeding the ordered hours by more than 15 minutes, rounding up to the hour is not unreasonable. Contractor also has the option to bill at 30-minute increments.

Yes

.xlsx format.

Yes

Proposal?

Yes, the SF 33 should be in the Volume I Business proposals

Will the Government confirm that this is in-fact required and, if so, how it will be used in the price evaluation process?

“…the Government requires that the Offeror provide, in a format(s) of its own design, supporting data for all proposed unit prices Supporting data must clearly show how each unit price was calculated. This shall include any direct labor, equipment, indirect costs, profit, escalation in each of the option periods of the contract, and/or other factors used to determine the fixed unit prices for each CLIN.”

This will be used to determine price reasonableness/realism.

included within the Word file of Volume I.

Yes.

If not, will the Government please provide the specific sections that must also be addressed as technical requirements in Vol II Technical Proposal?

Vol II responds to the technical requirements contained in C.4 SOW.

If so, are there any special requirements or instructions for delivery?

Hand delivery by courier is offered as an option: For this reason, only courier or overnight mail is acceptable.

Additionally, the Pricing Tables do not include calculated totals nor a Total Evaluated Price. Will the government please define the total evaluated price? Will the Government please either (a) provide updated price tables with the calculation of totals or (b) advise the offerors how to add totals to the Pricing Tables?

The pricing tables contains the estimated amounts for each CLIN included in the column under estimated quantity. The total evaluated price will be calculated once your pricing is inserted for each CLIN. There are formulas already in the table. Column S of the excel spreadsheet will be added together for each of the service deliveries plus the Other Direct Cost to come up with the total evaluated price.

Yes, the subcontracting goals apply to other than small businesses. They are exempt from meeting, and being evaluated on, the socio-economic subcontracting goals.

Vendor Questions Page 1