Sources Sought Notice_OWH Spanish Translation_FIN.pdf

Sources Sought Notice: Office on Women’s Health Spanish Translation Services

INTRODUCTION

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the Secretary (OS), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), Office on Women’s Health wants to identify viable small businesses that are capable of fulfilling the objectives of this requirement.

This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and

(3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice.

BACKGROUND

HHS is the United States government’s principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. HHS manages, updates, and maintains the content found on the official agency website www.HHS.gov as well as all websites associated with HHS staff and operating divisions. The HHS family of websites is the primary communication mechanism for the agency. These websites collectively serve as a key internet gateway for dissemination of consumer and professional health and human services information from the federal government and its partners.

OWH was established in 1991 within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at HHS.

As the focal point for women’s health within HHS, OWH coordinates the efforts of all the HHS agencies and offices involved in women’s health. Its vision is to ensure that all women and girls achieve the best possible health. Its mission is to provide national leadership and coordination to improve the health of women and girls through policy, education, and model programs.

Communicating health-related issues and initiatives is critical for OWH and reaching out to the public, including non-native or limited English speakers, is crucial. OWH requires dynamic translation services and technical maintenance of the Spanish Womenshealth.gov site.

RESPONSE INFORMATION

HUB ZONE SMALL BUSINESSES, 8(A) FIRMS AND SMALL BUSINESS FIRMS ARE

STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO SUBMIT CAPABILITY STATEMENTS. THE

CAPABILITLY STATEMENT MUST CLEARLY DEMONSTRATE THE FIRM’S

CAPABILITY AND EXPERIENCE IN PROVIDING THE SERVICES DESCRIBED

ABOVE.

http://www.hhs.gov/

In order to respond to this notice, interested firms should address the depth and breadth of professional and technical capabilities, past performance and must be able to clearly convey its experience and/or ability to perform the following:

• Translate websites (Womenshealth.gov), social media, and ad hoc content into Spanish.

“Content” includes, but is not limited to, blogs, public health campaign materials, fact sheets, images, charts, graphs, flash maps, ALT tags, metadata, video, Mp3, other multimedia files, documents, and text in standard alternate formats, such as, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Adobe Portable Document Format. Womenshealth.gov includes all current and future URLs that fall under the Womenshealth.gov format.

• Monitor the Spanish version of Womenshealth.gov for new content that has not been translated and translate new content to Spanish as well as monitor the site to update previously translated content as needed and all associated external links, searching for applicable revisions to previously translated content. When an update to previously translated content is identified, the contractor shall immediately schedule the content for re-translation. Translation of new content and changes to the existing content shall occur within 24 hours. Note: The contractor shall not directly interface with HHS systems, but will instead redline changes in a word document or other suitable format for the COR to then transmit to another HHS contractor to update on the website.

• Work with the appropriate Government personnel to identify and provide approved method of transmitting translated content.

INSTRUCTIONS TO INDUSTRY

INTERESTED SOURCES POSSESSING THE CAPABILITIES TO MEET THE ABOVE

REQUIREMENTS SHOULD SUBMIT A COVER LETTER ALONG WITH A

CAPABILITY STATEMENT FONT SIZE TIMES NEW ROMAN 11 OR LARGER)

DEMONSTRATING ABILITY TO PERFORM, AND SHOULD INCLUDE AN OUTLINE

OF PREVIOUS OR SIMILAR PROJECTS SO THAT THE GOVERNMENT CAN

PERFORM A PROPER EVALUATION OF THE COMPANY’S CAPABILITY. THE

STATEMENT SHOULD ALSO INCLUDE AN INDICATION OF CERTIFIED SMALL

BUSINESS STATUS; THIS INDICATION SHOULD BE CLEARLY MARKED ON THE

FIRST PAGE OF THE CAPABILIITY STATEMENT.

This notice is for planning only. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. Respondents will not be notified of the results of this evaluation. Capability statements will not be returned and will not be accepted after the due date. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).

Interested small business firms are highly encouraged to respond to this notice.

However, firms should understand that generic capability statements are not sufficient for effective evaluation of their capacity and capability to perform the work required.

Responses must directly demonstrate the company’s capability, experience, and ability to marshal resources to effectively and efficiently perform the objectives described above.

The written response to this notice should consist of the following items:

a. Company Name.

b. Company DUNS number.

c. Company point of contact, mailing address, telephone and fax numbers, and website address

d. Name, telephone number, and e-mail address of a company point of contact who has the authority and knowledge to clarify responses with government representatives

e. Date submitted.

f. Applicable company GSA Schedule number or other available procurement vehicle.

g. Do you have a Government approved accounting system? If so, please identify the agency that approved the system.

h. Type of Company (i.e., small business, 8(a), woman owned, veteran owned, etc.) as validated via the System for Award Management (SAM). All respondents must register on the SAM located at https://www.sam.gov

Responses must be submitted not later than April 29, 2024.Capability statements will not be returned and will not be accepted after the due date. The maximum number of pages for submission is 5 pages.

As previously stated, the Government will not entertain questions regarding this Market Research; however, general questions may be forwarded to the following:

Contract Specialist: Cynthia Gray Email Address: Cynthia.gray@psc.hhs.gov