Addendum_2_RFP NHES 2024-04.pdf

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT SECURITY

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

RFP# NHES 2024-04

Telephone Interpreter Services

ADDENDUM #2

RESPONSES TO RFP# 2024-04, SECTION 4B, VENDOR INQUIRIES. This Addendum #2 to RFP NHES 2024-04 includes timely responses to proposer inquiries received by the required date of April 19, 2024, as follows (please note, inquiries are copied directly as they were received by the Department):

1. Who is the incumbent and what is the current pricing?

NHES Response #1: Propio LS, LLC is the incumbent vendor. Pricing is as follows:

Rate per Minute

Language Monday – Friday 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM EST

Plus Nights, Weekends, and Holidays

Spanish $ 0.63

All Others $ 0.80

ASL via VRI $ 2.49

Spanish via VRI $ 0.99

All Others via VRI $ 1.29

Rates are all inclusive

2. May we have a list of most frequently requested languages?

NHES Response #2:

3. May we have past year call volume per language?

NHES Response #3:

4. Will we be notified via email of any released addendum or anything that will be posted on your website regarding this RFP?

NHES Response #4: Any addendum will be posted to both the New Hampshire Employment

Security and New Hampshire Department of Administrative Services websites.

5. Section 8 - Proposal Content and Requirements: Can you please clarify where the

Technical Proposal needs to be placed? Is it right after the Cover Letter?

NHES Response #5: Yes, the Technical Proposal should follow the Cover Letter.

6. Under Section 2- Requirements and Scope of Work e) Provide trained and experienced personnel including court certified interpreters qualified to interpret legal proceedings.

Court certified interpreters are billed at a very different rate than legally qualified interpreters that are not certified by the court but have the understanding and knowledge to provide telephone interpreting services. The pricing proposal does not reflect the option to provide a bid for court certified interpreters that would be utilized via zoom, teams, or any other platform to provide simultaneous interpreting services. Can bidders provide a cost breakdown for court certified interpreters under the additional costs section of the pricing proposal?

NHES Response #6: The vast majority of services utilized by NHES do not require court-certified interpreters. When one is required, it will be pre-scheduled. Proposers may submit separate pricing for court-certified interpreters in the additional costs section of Exhibit B.

7. Court certified interpreting services are typically scheduled in advance and not on demand. Will NHES preschedule court certified interpreting services requests?

NHES Response #7: Yes. Please see NHES Response #6.

8. Can court certified interpreting services be priced on a per hour basis?

NHES Response #8: Yes. Please see NHES Response #6. Separate pricing for court-certified interpreters must be provided in the additional costs section of Exhibit B.

9. Can you provide historical data of monthly service requests for court certified interpreting services?

NHES Response #9: Please see NHES response #3.

10. Is this a single vendor award or multiple vendor award?

NHES Response#10: NHES anticipates making a single, non-exclusive award.

11. If multiple vendors are awarded a contract, how will the volume of work be distributed?

NHES Response #11: Please see NHES Response #10.

12. Who is your incumbent for telephone interpreting services? Who is your incumbent for video remote interpreting services?

NHES Response #12: Please see NHES Response #1.

13. Can you please share your current incumbents per minute rates for telephone

NHES Response #13: Please see NHES Response #1.

14. Can you please share your current incumbents per minute rates for video remote

NHES Response #14: Please see NHES Response #1.

15. What is the total number of minutes billed per month for telephone interpreting services?

NHES Response #15: 1,575 is the average number of minutes per month. See NHES response to #3 for additional details.

16. What is the total number of minutes billed per month for video remote interpreting

NHES Response #16: NHES has not utilized video remote interpreting services.

17. Do you have recent historical data of monthly volume of telephone interpretation calls broken down by languages?

NHES Response #17: Please see NHES Response #3.

18. Can you provide a list of your top languages requested?

NHES Response #18: Please see NHES Response #2.

19. Would it be acceptable to only email our proposal rather than send it by regular mail?

NHES Response #19: No, both electronic and physical proposals are required.

20. What is the “Not to Exceed” limit on this contract?

NHES Response #20: The Not to Exceed Contract Price will be determined by selected vendor’s cost proposal.

21. How will our proposal be stored and who will have access to the proprietary information contained therein?

NHES Response #21: Proposals received will be kept on file at the NHES office in Concord, NH. Per Section 5.H of the RFP, Proposals are subject to public disclosure pursuant to RSA 91-

A. Proposers should ensure proposals are appropriately marked to identify information considered proprietary if they believe certain information is exempt from disclosure. The proposer and not NHES may take steps to protect proprietary information.

22. Under the FOIA, is there an incumbent currently providing these services? If yes, please identify them and how long have you been working with them.

NHES Response #22: Please see NHES Response #1.

23. Under the FOIA, how much are you currently paying for the services?

NHES Response #23: Please see NHES Response #1.

24. We work with thousands of translators and interpreters and listing all of them will be burdensome. Would it be acceptable if we submitted only a sample of our pool of linguists with their initials to safeguard their personal information?

NHES Response #24: Please review the submission requirements found at pages 16-18 of the

RFP.

25. Based on historical data from past years and future projections:

a. What is the approximate volume of encounters per language for VRI services?

b. What is the approximate volume of calls/minutes per language for telephonic interpreting services?

NHES Response #25: Please see NHES Response #3; 15.

26. Please advise if the insurance requirements s.a. 14.1.2 are negotiable.

NHES Response #26: These insurance requirements are not negotiable.

27. Please confirm that you are expecting ASL interpreting to be delivered via VRI modality only, as it’s not a language that could be provided via telephonic interpreting.

NHES Response #27: Yes, ASL is expected to be provided solely via VRI.

28. With regards to the following requirement in the SOW: e. Provide trained and experienced personnel including court certified interpreters qualified to interpret legal proceedings, please note that court interpreting is typically done on a prescheduled basis as not all interpreters have skills to provide court and legal interpreting.

Furthermore, based on the industry standards, legal interpreting is set at different rates due to its complexity and as a prescheduled modality is billed based on hourly rates with a minimum. Would you be amenable to amend the RFP to meet these industry standards? Alternatively, it will result in negative outcomes if interpreters untrained in court interpreting receive such calls on-demand.

NHES Response #28: Please see NHES Response #6.

29. The RFP requires that interpreters are court certified and qualified to interpret legal proceedings. However, court certification does not exist in all the languages requested, or there are very few. Would it be possible to provide thoroughly vetted interpreters, if we detail that process in our proposal?

NHES Response #29: The vast majority of NHES requests for service telephone interpreter services will not require a court-certified interpreter. When a court-certified interpreter is required, only a court-certified interpreter will be sufficient.

30. Will this be multiple or single award?

NHES Response #30: Please see NHES Response #10.

31. Please can you provide the name and rates of the current incumbent

NHES Response #31: Please see NHES Response #1.

32. Please can you provide past volumes of telephonic interpretation per month per language i.e. 5,000 minutes Spanish, 300 minutes Vietnamese etc

NHES Response #32: Please see NHES Response #3; 15.

33. Please can you provide past volumes of VRI per month per language i.e. 5,000 minutes

Spanish, 300 minutes Vietnamese etc

NHES Response #33: Please see NHES Response #3; 15.

34. Can a vendor bid on telephonic interpretation only and not the VRI portion?

NHES Response #34: No, proposers must submit bids for both telephone interpreter and VRI services.

35. On Page 3, the RFP mentioned that “Telephone interpreter services, including VRI shall be provided at NHES facilities in up to twelve (12) full service and 3 itinerant locations statewide and off-site as needed.” Since all interpretation will be remote please can you confirm on site services are not needed.

NHES Response #35: Yes, only remote services are contemplated by this RFP.

36. Please provide the most requested languages by volume required by the State

NHES Response #36: Please see NHES Response #2.

37. Can we use linguists outside of the US?

NHES Response #37: Yes, as long as connections are strong, clear and not interrupted.

38. Is there a budget allocated to this contract? If yes, how much?

NHES Response #38: Please see NHES Response #20.

39. Is there an incumbent currently providing these services? If so, please share the name and the rates.

NHES Response #39: Please see NHES Response #1.

40. What challenges have you faced with similar scope of work from vendors you worked with?

NHES Response #40: NHES has not faced any particular challenges with its current service provider and has been generally satisfied with the services provided.

41. What improvements, if any, do you expect from new vendors compared to current service providers?

NHES Response #41: NHES is not looking for any specific improvements at this time.

42. Based on historical data from past years and projections for 2024: What is the approximate volume of work needed?

NHES Response #42: Please see NHES Response #15.

43. What percentage of your interpreting assignments are rush request, with less than 2 full business days' notice?

NHES Response #43: Nearly all of NHES’s usage is on demand. Only when a court-certified interpreter is required are services pre-scheduled.

44. What is the average length of an interpreting service requested?

NHES Response #44: NHES does not maintain this type of information.

45. Is it acceptable to provide the Certificate of Good Standing from the NH Secretary of

State prior to the contract award not with the bid?

NHES Response #45: A Certificate of Good Standing is required only for execution of a contract by the selected vendor.

46. Are the services to be provided from NHES offices?

NHES Response #46: No, only remote services are contemplated by this RFP. NHES has separate contracts for in-person foreign language and ASL interpretation.

47. Do we need to deploy our linguists at NHES locations?

NHES Response #47: Please see NHES response #46.

48. Can our linguists provide desired services remotely? Usually over the phone and VRI services are cost savings when provided remotely.

NHES Response #48: Please see NHES response #46.

49. What is the number of minutes by language by month for over the phone services?

NHES Response #49: Please see NHES response #3; 15.

50. What is the number of minutes by language by month for remote ASL and Spanish

NHES Response #50: Please see NHES response #3; 15.

51. Could we explore utilizing offshore interpreters to meet all contractual obligations, including security measures, while also achieving significant cost savings through reduced pricing?

NHES Response #51: Yes.

52. Can you use our secured platform for VRI or will you require us to use Zoom, Teams, or your own conferencing platform?

NHES Response #52: NHES will evaluate proposals utilizing either proposer’s platform or a publicly available platform such as Zoom or Teams.

53. Will the contract be awarded to single or multiple vendors? If multiple, how would the work be allocated among them?

NHES Response #53: Please see NHES Response #10.

54. What is the estimated contract value?

NHES Response #54: Please see NHES Response #20.

55. Who is the incumbent vendor(s)?

NHES Response #55: Please see NHES Response #1.

56. What are the rates of incumbent vendor(s)?

NHES Response #56: Please see NHES Response #1.

57. When is the anticipated contract award date?

NHES Response #57: NHES anticipates commencing contract negotiations shortly after the proposal submission deadline of May 10, 2024.

58. When is the anticipated contract start date?

NHES Response #58: Provided that all necessary approvals are secured, the contract will commence on July 1, 2024.

59. Are certifications required in RFP page 6, are expected to be submitted with proposal or after award of contract?

NHES Response #59: Following award of the contract.

60. Can we submit our proposal via email only and not physically since it saves paper as well as time.

NHES Response #60: No, both electronic and physical proposals are required.

61. Can you provide an estimate of past usage in total number of requests and minutes of services in the past year?

NHES Response #61: Please see NHES Response #15.

62. Can you provide languages historically requested and the % percentage breakdown of each language.

NHES Response #62: Please see NHES Response #3.

63. What percentage of requests do you anticipate prescheduling?

NHES Response #63: The vast majority of NHES requests will be on demand.

64. If interpreters meet all requirements listed in the contract, can interpreters live outside the United States?

NHES Response #64: Yes.

65. Legal certifications are not available for most languages, do these requirements allow for flexibility with languages that do not have this certification available?

NHES Response #65: Please see NHES Response #29.

66. Do you anticipate awarding to a single vendor?

NHES Response #66: Please see NHES Response #10.

67. What percentage of requests are legal in nature?

NHES Response #67: NHES is unable to answer this question as it unclear what the inquiry means by “legal in nature.”

68. What is your spend volume for the last two years?

NHES Response #68:

69. What is the volume per language?

NHES Response #69: Please see NHES Response #3.

70. Do you use a specific platform for remote calls?

NHES Response #70: The RFP contemplates the proposer detailing the platform to be used.

71. Who is the current incumbent?

NHES Response #71: Please see NHES Response #1.

72. What are your issues with your current incumbent?

NHES Response #72: Please see NHES Response #40.

73. What is driving this RFP? (price, quality, etc)

NHES Response #73: Please see page 13 of the RFP for a breakdown of the scoring system that will be utilized to evaluate proposals.

74. Can you confirm that we need to submit BOTH hard copies and email copies?

NHES Response #74: Yes, both electronic and physical proposals are required.

75. Is this a new contract or an existing requirement? If existing, who is the incumbent and what are its rates?

NHES Response #75: NHES does currently utilize telephone interpreter services. For further details, please see NHES Response #1. However, this RFP will result in a new contract with the selected vendor.

76. What is the historical usage for on-site, over-the-phone, and video remote interpreting services in terms of minutes and/or hours interpreted and broken down by language?

NHES Response #76: Please see NHES Response #3.

77. What is the budget contemplated for this contract?

NHES Response #77: Please see NHES Response #20.

78. Can out-of-state vendors or contractors submit a response to this RFP?

NHES Response #78: Yes.

79. The RFP clearly indicates that the contractor must offer Over-the-phone (OPI) services. Where do we include our rates for OPI services in the Vendor Price Proposal

(Appendix B)?

NHES Response #79: In the “Spanish” and “All Others” rows in the table found in Appendix B.

80. Can interpreting services for languages of lesser diffusion be pre-scheduled in advance?

NHES Response #80: The vast majority of services utilized by NHES are on demand. In rare instances, when, to insure NHES can provide services to its constituents, it is necessary to secure an interpreter for an uncommon language, those services can be prearranged.

81. Do you anticipate single or multiple awards to be granted at the end of this bidding process?

NHES Response #81: Please see NHES Response #10.

82. If multiple awards are granted, how will they be distributed?

NHES Response #82: Please see NHES Response #10.

83. RFP page four, item e states: “Provide trained and experienced personnel including court certified interpreters qualified to interpret legal proceedings.” If a vendor is unable to meet the court certified interpreter requirement, does it entirely eliminate them from bidding on the RFP?

NHES Response #83: Yes.

84. Other than Spanish and ASL, what other languages are required for this RFP? What is the language mix by percentage, e.g. Spanish 90%, Mandarin 5%, etc.?

NHES Response #84: Please see NHES Response #3.

85. What is the anticipated and/or historical volume per month for phone interpretation and video interpretation? How much was spent on remote interpretation in 2023?

NHES Response #85: Please see NHES Response #15.

86. What is the anticipated contract value?

NHES Response #86: Please see NHES Response #20.

87. Who is the incumbent? If multiple, how many incumbent vendors are there and would you be willing to share their rates?

NHES Response #87: Please see NHES Response #1.

88. Will you allow the service(s) to be performed off-shore?

NHES Response #88: Yes, subject to a review of the feasibility of the provision of services according to contract requirements.

89. Could you share the job titles and/or departments of the personnel who will be reviewing submissions for this RFP?

NHES Response #89: The evaluation team for this RFP has not been determined yet.

90. Please provide the current, or a recent, average minutes per month of telephone interpreter service and the percent of calls that are for Spanish.

NHES Response #90: Please see NHES Response #3.

91. If available, please provide the list of 200+ languages and dialects (including less frequently requested languages) for which NHES may need telephone interpreter services, as per SECTION 2 – Requirements and Scope of Work, A. d.

NHES Response #91: NHES does not maintain such a list.

92. Do you require court certified interpreters on demand, as per SECTION 2 –

Requirements and Scope of Work, A. e? We can provide court certified interpreters for pre-scheduled sessions.

NHES Response #92: Court-certified interpreters will be pre-scheduled.

93. As per APPENDIX B VENDOR PRICE PROPOSAL, Rate per Minute is listed as unit of measurement (UOM) for ASL via VRI, Spanish via VRI, All Others via

VRI:

The industry practice is:

• Video Remote Interpretation (VRI) –

ALL LANGUAGES (including ASL)

• Pre-scheduled Telephone

Interpretation) – ALL LANGUAGES

Minimum 1 hour billable per assignment.

Assignments exceeding 1 hour in length are charged at 15-minute increments. Cancelation within 24 hours is billed at the 1 hour minimum. Assignments scheduled within 24 hours of start date and time are subject to a

30% RUSH fee added to the standard rate.

Scheduled and confirmed assignments outside of normal business hours (Mon-Fri, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm) are subject to a 30% fee added to the standard rate.

How are we to list pricing for ASL via VRI, Spanish via VRI, All Others via VRI given the above?

NHES Response #93: Rate per minute.

94. Are we required to submit and / or fill out any fields in Form Number P-37, namely

1.6 Account Unit and Class, 1.7 Completion Date, and 1.8 Price Limitation?

NHES Response #94: No, NHES will complete the P-37 form with the selected vendor.

Please include a signed copy of this signature page with your proposal.

Vendor________________________ Address__________________________________

By: ________________________ _________________________________________

(This document must be signed) (Title)

________________________ Tel.No.___________________________________

(Please print or type name)

CONTACT: Erik Bal, Counsel

New Hampshire Employment Security

(603) 228-4084