FA330022RA001 question and answers.docx

1. What is the name of the incumbent(s)? This is a renewal of BPA's FA330017A0010: Doris Cabezas and FA330017A0004: Luis Pradera.

2. In order for the incumbents not to have an advantage over other bidders, what are the incumbents' rates? The previous pricing was $0.17 per word.

3. Considering awards will be made, how will the work be apportioned? On an article by article basis, 4,000 to 8,000 words each, through BPAs

4. Did the incumbents cover every single assignment successfully? Yes

5. Are you expecting any files in InDesign format? No.

6. Do files contain images with text to be translated? Yes

7. What challenges have you faced with similar scope of work from vendors you worked with? Native language fluency and familiarity with DoD, Air Force, and technical aviation terms

8. How much weight is given to pricing? This is a lowest price technically acceptable requirement.

9. Are bidders permitted to submit pricing for other translation-related services such as formatting and Desktop Publishing review? No, this requirement is Word-docx only.

10. Are translators and other engaged personnel required to be located CONUS? No

11. Are ATA-certified translators who are located offshore, for example, allowed to render their services for this contract? Yes

12. Are bidders to include test results and/or qualifications of the translator(s) that translate the specific paragraph stated in D.2? Yes

13. Do offerors translate the paragraph in paragraph D.2. to both Spanish and Portuguese (Brazilian)? If you are submitting a proposal for one translate that one if you are submitting a proposal for both translate both.

14. Can the Government confirm that the technical evaluation only consists of evaluation of the translations, Reps and Certs, and confirmation of registration as indicated in SAM.Gov? You will also need to provide your certifications as stated in Part II Technical Quote para 1.

Section II Descriptions states that "this procurement will be awarded as a BPA to at least 3 capable vendors." If there are three awardees, we are curious how BPA Calls will be issued and awarded to BPA holders:

15. Will each of the 3 capable vendors be able to compete and bid for individual BPA Calls or Task Orders? No, they will be rotated as needed.

16. If the BPA Calls or Task Orders will be competed, how will the Government evaluate responses? The calls will not be competed but rotated as needed.

17. If the BPA Calls or Task Orders will be competed, will the vendors be required to provide the same Unit Price per word quoted at the BPA level? If not, what will be the parameters for vendors to provide pricing at the BPA Call/Task Order Level? Calls will not be competed.

18. If individual BPA Calls or Task Orders will NOT be competed, how will the Government distribute BPA Calls or Task Orders among the three BPA recipients? The calls will be rotated as needed.

Attachment 1 – SOW, Paragraph 2.1 states that "Nominally 35% of the translations will be from English, 45% from Spanish, and 20% from Portuguese-Brazilian to the other two respective target languages." Specific to the phrase, "to the other two respective target languages," we interpret this to mean that the following combinations of services may be needed:

Translation Services from English to Spanish Translation Services from English to Portuguese-Brazilian Translation Services from Spanish to English Translation Services from Spanish to Portuguese-Brazilian Translation Services from Portuguese-Brazilian to English Translation Services from Portuguese-Brazilian to Spanish Will the Government confirm if this represents the total services that may be required? There will not be translations from Spanish to Portuguese-Brazilian or Portuguese-Brazilian to Spanish.

If the Government confirms the question above, should vendors provide pricing for each of the possible combinations, or only as requested in Section III. SCHEDULE OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES?

19. Section III. SCHEDULE OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES lists the following:

CLIN 0001 Translation Services from English to Spanish CLIN 0002 Translation Services from Spanish to English CLIN 0001 Translation Services from English to Portuguese-Brazilian CLIN 0001 Translation Services from Portuguese-Brazilian to English Should "Translation Services from English to Portuguese-Brazilian" and "Translation Services from Portuguese-Brazilian to English" be CLINs 0003 and 0004, respectively? Yes.

20. PART I – PRICE LIST/QUOTE states: "The price list/quote must be submitted valid for one year, to be renewed on an annual basis." Will vendors have an opportunity to update prices offered when contracts are renewed? Yes, the price list can be updated annually.

21. Will all questions and answers be made available to all proposers and, if so, how will we access this information? Yes, they are available in the same place the Combo/Solicitation is posted in SAM.gov.

22. How soon prior to the submission deadline will answers to questions be made available and how will we access them? As soon as the questions are answered they will be available in SAM.gov hopefully no later than one week out from proposal due dates.

23. What is the anticipated date for announcement of award? Hopefully prior to June 1st 2022.

24. Will there be any preference given to any of the following: minority-owned vendors, woman-owned vendors, veteran-owned vendors, or any other disadvantaged groups, or GSA award schedule holders? No, this is a small business set aside only.

25. Could we modify the format of the pricing table to include all relevant terms and content, Rush fees or per project minimum, for example? No, price should be per word, with no minimum nor rush fee.

26. How will our proposal be stored and who will have access to the proprietary information contained herein? All proposal information is considered Controlled Unclassified Information and is stored with limited access.

27. In case the proposal becomes publicly available, could we mark portions of our proposal confidential to avoid such disclosure? Alternatively, could we send two copies of the proposal with the second version redacted, again to safeguard our proprietary information? All proposal information is considered Controlled Unclassified Information and is stored with limited access. No proposal information will be released to the public. Proposal information is not releasable under the Freedom of Information Request exemption 4.

28. Is a list of prospective bidders for this RFP available? No. If so, please provide that list or its accessible location online.

29. Under the FOIA, is there an incumbent currently providing these services? If yes, please identify them and how long AU Press has been working with them? There is no actual FOIA request, but please refer to the Q&A document in SAM.gov. These previous contractors have been working with AU Press since 2016

30. Under the FOIA, how much are you currently paying for the services? There is no actual FOIA request but the previous BPA pricing was $0.17 per word.

31. Why are you considering changing vendors? The previous BPAs expired.

32. Since there will be at least 3 awards, what criteria will be used to determine which vendor(s) is/are issued work under the contract, how much work will be issued to each vendor under the contract, and which vendor is issued each assignment of work? Demonstrated experience in the target language will determine which vendor we assign each article.

33. What mechanism or method do you use for invoicing and making payments? Invoices will be submitted to the designated individual and payment will be made via the Government Purchase Card.

34. Would you like the proposer to indicate that we work with certified translators, or do you need any additional verification? You will need to provide the certifications as part of the proposal.

35. Do you have a policy concerning cancellations of already started projects, or should we propose our own? No, but in the past, we only paid for finished translated work, we seldom have canceled an assigned project.

36. Please provide information on payment terms (i.e. in how many days can the contractor expect the payment following the submission of an invoice?) Awaiting customer’s answer.

37. Do you anticipate that the documents to be translated will contain graphics, figures, drawings, or other design elements that are not editable in Word, thereby creating a need for desktop publishing? No.

38. Will the translated paragraph sample be required for both languages requested? Yes

39. The RFQ states in Contractor Tasks that translated documents should be provided in “specific electronic formats.” What are these specific electronic formats? Word format, delivered as an email attachment, or uploaded into shared folder.

40. In light of the certification requirement, what is the expectation of the budget? We understand that the Maxwell AU Press Is looking for the best value for this opportunity, however, it’s important to stipulate that certified translators’ rates are at least 30-50% higher than those of non-certified. Based on previous BPAs, we averaged $34k per year, at $0.17 per word.

41. Are out of state vendors able to participate? Yes. Is there a local preference clause for business in the State of Alabama? No.

42. Is there an incumbent for this contract? If there is, can you tell us who the incumbent is? Can you share the rates you are currently being charged? Please refer to the Q&A document in SAM.gov. The previous pricing was $0.17 per word.

43. Section 3 (translator ILR scores): Gracor is itself a translation and linguistic testing company. We have provided ILR testing for over two dozen government contractors, municipalities and companies. We test our own translators. Will you accept our own ILR certifications on our own linguists? Yes.

44. Can we participate only for the translation from English to Spanish and viceversa, or shall we participate for all the languages? Please refer to the Q&A’s in SAM.gov.

45. Do we need to send the translators certifications with our proposal? Or upon request? With the proposal.

46. Regarding the translation required for the technical quote, do we need to translate the paragraph into Spanish and Portuguese-Brazilian? Yes

47. Which variety of Spanish is needed? Awaiting customer answer.