QnAs 1-29-26.odt

Q&As 1/29/26

1. Submission Instructions Should proposals be submitted exclusively through SAM.gov, or via email to the Contracting Officer? Proposals should be submitted directly to angelica.baca@ibwc.gov

2. Are there page limits or formatting requirements for the technical and price volumes? Yes. Formatting should be consistent with the document submitted for machine translation. Translation unlikely to exceed 2000 pages per year.

3. FedRAMP Documentation Will a FedRAMP authorization letter suffice at proposal time, or is the full SSP required with submission? The vendor must have FedRAMP authorization prior to award. The current System Security Plan (SSP) must be available upon request.

4. Pricing Structure Are usage-based or per-word pricing models acceptable if clearly defined and capped? Yes. For example, past charges have been Price Y for up to X words per month.

And a higher price for a larger range of numbers of words per month.

5. Should option year pricing remain fixed or include escalation? Contract will be awarded as a fix firmed price. Please consider the inflation for the option years.

6. Technical Scope Clarification Are offerors permitted to propose additional value-added MT features beyond the stated minimum requirements, provided all base requirements are met? It’s fine with my client.

7. Is the “stand-alone gist translation” method expected to be authenticated, or may it be open-access within the agency network? I don’t understand the question. The idea is an agency employee could use it to get a gist translation.

8. Past Performance Is prior federal experience required, or will relevant commercial experience be considered acceptable? No prior federal experience is required by the Foreign Affairs Office.

9. Please let us know if there is a preferred point of contact for technical questions versus contractual questions. All questions, both technical and contractual should be routed to the contracting officer.

10. When the SOW refers to “bidirectional Spanish <> English engine development,” what specific activities does the Government expect the contractor to perform, and what outcomes would the Government consider evidence that this requirement has been successfully met? TO HAVE A MACHINE TRANSLATION THAT CAN BE USED TO TRANSLATE FROM SPANISH TO ENGLISH AND FROM ENGLISH TO SPANISH USING THE EXISTING MEMOQ TRANSLATION MEMORY DATABASES AND TEXTS PROVIDED BY THE IBWC AND PROPOSED BY THE VENDOR.

11. The SOW requires “cleaning of existing data prior to compiling the engines.” What does the Government expect this data cleaning activity to include in practice, and how does the Government define completion or acceptance of this requirement? DATA CLEANING INVOLVES IDENTIFYING AND RECTIFYING ERRORS, DUPLICATES, AND INACCURACIES IN THE DATASET. THIS CAN INCLUDE REMOVING SYMBOLS, EMOJIS, OR CHARACTERS, SPLITTING TEXT

INTO INDIVIDUAL WORDS, CONVERTING TEXT TO LOWERCASE.

12. How does the Government expect existing memoQ Translation Memory (TM) databases to be used as part of the MT solution, and what role do these TMs play in achieving the desired translation outcomes? THE MT SOLUTION MUST BE A PLUGIN THAT IS CURRENTLY SUPPORTED

BY MEMOQ, PER THE SCOPE OF WORK. MEMOQ TRANSLATION MEMORY HAS IBWC-SPECIFIC

DOCUMENTS AND TERMINOLOGY, REFERENCING EXISTING SPANISH AND ENGLISH

DOCUMENTS. THE DESIRED TRANSLATION OUTCOMES ARE TRANSLATIONS THAT PROVIDE

ACCURATE TRANSLATIONS OF IBWC DOCUMENTS USING CONSISTENT TERMINOLOGY.

13. When bilingual or monolingual texts are provided by IBWC or the vendor, how does the Government expect these resources to be incorporated into the MT solution, and for what purposes are they intended to be used? IBWC CAN PROVIDE TREATIES, LETTERS, AND OTHER

DOCUMENTS TO THE VENDOR. THE VENDOR MAY BE ABLE TO SUGGEST ADDITIONAL

RESOURCES THAT THE VENDOR BELIEVES WILL FACILITATE ACCURATE MACHINE TRANSLATION

OF IBWC DOCUMENTS.

14. The SOW references “customization tools for improvements to engines based on subsequent use.” What types of customization does the Government anticipate using these tools for, and what level of ongoing contractor involvement does the Government expect to support such improvements? IT IS EXPECTED THAT THERE MAY BE SOME INITIAL CUSTOMIZATION IN THE EARLY MONTHS OF THE CONTRACT TO ADDRESS ANY INCONSISTENCIES OR ISSUESTHAT MAY OCCUR IN INITIAL TRANSLATIONS. THEREAFTER, IT IS NOT EXPECTED THAT ADDITIONAL CUSTOMIZATION WOULD BE REQUIRED.

15. With respect to the “ability to establish sub-domain engines,” how does the Government define a sub-domain engine, and how does the Government expect these to be created, managed, and evaluated over time? THE SUB-DOMAIN ENGINE WOULD HELP HANDLE TRANSLATIONS ON A SPECIALIZED SUBJECT, SUCH AS SAFETY OF DAMS, GEOLOGY, SURVEYING, OR WATER ACCOUNTING.

16. Platforms such as Custom.MT support configurable translation workflows and templates, including optional pre-processing and post-editing steps. How does the Government expect such workflow templates to be used under this contract, and what level of contractor effort is anticipated to create, modify, or maintain them during the performance period? I AM NOT

FAMILIAR WITH THE CUSTOM.MT PLATFORM. MANY OF OUR DOCUMENTS USE A SPECIFIC

RECURRING TEMPLATE THAT SHOULD BE INCORPORATED FOR CONSITENT

FORMATTING/LAYOUT PURPOSES.

17. Does the Government expect the contractor to configure or manage automatic post-editing workflows as part of normal operations, and if so, how does the Government define a successful and acceptable implementation of such workflows? NOT SURE I UNDERSTAND THE

QUESTION. ONCE A TEXT IS PROCESSED THROUGH MEMOQ/MACHINE TRANSLATION PLUG-IN,

THE USIBWC’s HUMAN TRANSLATOR WILL REVIEW AND REFINE IT. THE MACHINE

TRANSLATION SHOULD BE ABLE TO FOLLOW THE FORMATTING OF THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT.

18. When translation workflows, templates, or configurations require changes (for example, due to new subject matter, revised terminology, or updated usage patterns), how does the Government expect these changes to be requested, implemented, and supported? THROUGH ONGOING COMMUNICATION WITH THE CONTRACTOR.

19. How does the Government distinguish between initial MT system setup and configuration versus ongoing operational activities, and which of these activities are expected to be included as part of the base service? INITIAL MT SYSTEM SETUP AND CONFIGURATION ARE THE BASE

SERVICE. ONGOING OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES ARE EXPECTED TO BE MINIMUAL ONCE THE

SYSTEM IS OPERATING SUCCESSFULLY WITH USIBWC PERSONNEL TRAINED BY THE

CONTRACTOR.

20. For the required stand-alone method (URL, email, or other) for providing “gist” translations, what functionality and level of user interaction does the Government expect, and what does the Government consider a successful “gist” translation capability? WE WANT A MONOLINGUAL AGENCY USER TO BE ABLE TO QUICKLY RUN TEXT , SUCH AS AN EMAIL, THROUGH THE MACHINE TRANSLATION PRODUCT, TO OBTAIN AN INITIAL “GIST” TRANSLATION THAT WOULD NOT UNDERGO REVIEW BY THE AGENCY’S QUALIFIED TRANSLATOR.

21. How does the Government expect the MT capability used within memoQ to relate to the standalone “gist” translation capability, and are these expected to rely on the same underlying MT service or be treated as separate capabilities? WE HAVE A LIMITED NUMBER OF MEMOQ

LICENSES SO THERE WOULD BE STAFF WHO ONLY HAVE THE MACHINE TRANSLATION LICENSE

BUT NOT THE MEMOQ LICENSE. THEY WOULD GET THE GIST TRANSLATIONS.

22. With respect to contractor-provided training, what topics, depth, and outcomes does the Government expect, particularly regarding the use or modification of MT workflows, templates, or configurations? THE GOVERNMENT EXPECTS THE CONTRACTOR TO PROVIDE TRAINING SO

THAT THE 7 LICENSE HOLDERS (IF THE CONTRACTOR’S PRODUCT REQUIRES INDIVIDUAL USER

LICENSES) CAN COMPETENTLY AND INDEPENDENTLY USE THE MACHINE TRANSLATION

SYSTEM FOR BOTH GIST TRANSLATIONS WITHOUT MEMOQ AND TRANSLATIONS WITH

MEMOQ. DURING THE INITIAL START-UP PERIOD, THE CONTRACTOR SHOULD BE AVAILABLE

TO TROUBLESHOOT FOR USERS.

23. After deployment and training, what level of ongoing contractor engagement does the Government anticipate for system operation, support, and availability, and how does the Government define acceptable responsiveness during normal operations? ONCE THE SYSTEM IS

UP AND RUNNING, WITH USERS TRAINED AND TROUBLESHOOTING COMPLETED, LITTLE

ONGOING SUPPORT IS EXPECTED TO BE NECESSARY. IN THE EVENT OF AN ISSUE, THE

CONTRACTOR SHOULD BE AVAILABLE FOR TROUBLESHOOTING WITHIN 24 HOURS VIA EMAIL,

PHONE, OR WEBINAR. THERE WILL BE ONE PRIMARY AND REGULAR USER OF MACHINE

TRANSLATION IN THE AGENCY, WITH SEVERAL INTERMITTENT USERS, SO THIS ISN’T AN

AGENCY WHERE YOU WILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE REQUIRING SUPPORT.

24. In the Government’s view, what does a successful engagement look like at the end of the base year for this requirement? THE MACHINE TRANSLATION IS PROVIDING RELIABLE SERVICE WITH QUALITY TRANSLATIONS FOR THE AGENCY USERS.

25. Is FedRAMP Moderate authorization sufficient for this engagement, or is FedRAMP High required? PER THE SCOPE OF WORK, MODERATE IS SUFFICIENT.

26. memoQ Plugin Scope Can the proposed MT solution be from the Private memoQ plugin list, provided it is currently supported by memoQ? PER THE SCOPE OF WORK, MUST BE A PLUGIN THAT IS CURRENTLY SUPPORTED BY MEMO Q ON THE LIST OF PUBLIC OR PRIVATE MACHINE TRANSLATION PLUGINS.

LINKS TO THOSE LISTS ARE PROVIDED IN THE SCOPE OF WORK.

27. Training Expectations Do you anticipate live remote training sessions, or would structured documentation and recorded materials be sufficient? LIVE REMOTE TRAINING SESSIONS WOULD BE HELPFUL

ALONG WITH WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS.

28. MT Usage Volume Is there an estimated annual or monthly MT volume to be considered for pricing purposes (approximate figures are acceptable)? VOLUME IS NOT LIKELY TO EXCEED 2000 PAGES PER

YEAR, ROUGHLY DISTRIBUTED EVENLY THROUGHOUT THE YEAR ALTHOUGH THERE MAY BE A

FEW MONTHS WHERE THERE IS AN ATYPICALLY LARGE DOCUMENT REQUIRING TRANSLATION.

29. Data & Engine Development Can you provide an estimate of the total word count for the bilingual/monolingual texts you will provide? VOLUME IS NOT LIKELY TO EXCEED 2000 PAGES PER YEAR. MOST DOCUMENTS ARE 1-3 PAGES IN LENGTH, ABOUT 300 ANNUALLY, PLUS A COUPLE OF LONGER DOCUMENTS EVERY MONTH.

30. Are the memoQ TM databases already cleaned, or should data preprocessing be included in our scope? PER SCOPE OF WORK, MT SOLUTION SHOULD OFFER CLEANING OF EXISTING DATA PRIOR TO COMPILING THE ENGINES.

31. Are there specific domains or sub-domains we should prioritize for MT engine training? NO.

32. Will all provided data be accessible in digital formats suitable for MT training? YES.

33. Usage & Licensing Can you confirm the number of active users who will access the MT solution (6 staff + 1 contractor)? PER THE SCOPE OF WORK, LICENSES FOR 7 INDIVIDUALS IF LICENSES

ARE NEEDED FOR EACH USER TO ACCESS THE MT.

34. Should we plan for potential future expansion? NO.

35. Will the contractor require admin-level access for configuration, or only user-level access? USER-ONLY.

36. Do you anticipate integrating the MT engine into multiple memoQ projects simultaneously? NO.

37. MT Solution & Workflow Do you prefer a hosted web-based solution only, or would you also consider an onpremises setup? AS PER THE SCOPE OF WORK, SOLUTION SHOULD BE WEB-BASED AND HOSTED BY THE VENDOR. THE WEB-BASED APPLICATION MUST BE HOSTED IN A FEDRAMP AUTHORIZED ENVIRONMENT AT THE MODERATE OR HIGH IMPACT LEVEL, ENSURING COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL SECURITY STANDARDS FOR THE PROTECTION OF CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED (CUI) INFORMATION.

38. Are there preferred APIs or hosting platforms (e.g., cloud provider) we need to comply with? THE WEB-BASED APPLICATION MUST BE HOSTED IN A FEDRAMP AUTHORIZED ENVIRONMENT AT THE MODERATE OR HIGH IMPACT LEVEL, ENSURING COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL SECURITY STANDARDS FOR THE PROTECTION OF CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED (CUI) INFORMATION.

39. For the “gist” translation service, how many documents/requests per month do you expect? Two to six is a rough estimate.

40. Security & Compliance Can you confirm the required FedRAMP impact level (Moderate vs High)? THE

PROPOSED WEB-BASED APPLICATION MUST BE HOSTED IN A FEDRAMP AUTHORIZED

ENVIRONMENT AT THE MODERATE OR HIGH IMPACT LEVEL, ENSURING COMPLIANCE

WITH FEDERAL SECURITY STANDARDS FOR THE PROTECTION OF CONTROLLED

UNCLASSIFIED (CUI) INFORMATION. THE SOLUTION MUST MAINTAIN THIS

AUTHORIZATION FOR THE DURATION OF THE CONTRACT, INCLUDING ADHERENCE TO

ALL ASSOCIATED SECURITY CONTROLS AND REPORTING QUIREMENTS. DOCUMENTATION SUCH AS THE FEDRAMP AUTHORIZATION PACKAGE AND CURRENT SYSTEM SECURITY PLAN (SSP) MUST BE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.

41. Are there specific CUI handling or reporting requirements we should account for? MOST OF THE DOCUMENTS ARE SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, NOT FOR

DISTRIBUTION OUTSIDE OF THE AGENCY. THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS OFFICE DOES NOT

HAVE ANY SEPARATE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. THE PROPOSED WEB-BASED

APPLICATION MUST BE HOSTED IN A FEDRAMP AUTHORIZED ENVIRONMENT AT THE

MODERATE OR HIGH IMPACT LEVEL, ENSURING COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL

SECURITY STANDARDS FOR THE PROTECTION OF CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED (CUI)

INFORMATION. THE SOLUTION MUST MAINTAIN THIS AUTHORIZATION FOR THE

DURATION OF THE CONTRACT, INCLUDING ADHERENCE TO ALL ASSOCIATED

SECURITY CONTROLS AND REPORTING RQUIREMENTS.

42. Do you need documentation for FedRAMP compliance included in our quote? DOCUMENTATIONI SUCH AS THE FEDRAMP AUTHORIZATION PACKAGE AND

CURRENT SYSTEM SECURITY PLAN (SSP) MUST BE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.

43. Training & Support How much training do you expect for USIBWC staff (number of hours or sessions)? IT

DEPENDS HOW COMPLICATED THE SYSTEM IS TO USE. PERHAPS IT WOULD BE A ONE

OR TWO-HOUR TRAINING SESSION OFFERED A FEW DIFFERENT TIMES.

44. Do you require ongoing support/maintenance, or only initial setup and training? IF

THERE ARE ANY PROBLEMS OR TROUBLESHOOTING THAT IS NEEDED FOLLOWING

INITIAL SET-UP AND TRAINING, WE EXPECT THE CONTRACTOR TO BE AVAILABLE ON A

CASE BY CASE BASIS.

45. Should we include optional MT customization after deployment based on usage feedback? PER SCOPE OF WORK, THE MT SOLUTION SHOULD OFFERE CUSTOMIZATION TOOLS FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO ENGINES BASED ON SUBSEQUENT USE.

46. Pricing & Contract Should our quote cover a 12-month term only, or would you like options for multiyear pricing? Provide quote as per CLIN structure attached on solicitation.

47. Do you prefer a flat subscription, per-word MT processing, or a hybrid pricing model? WE HAVE USED A TIER-BASED SYSTEM IN THE PAST. UP TO X WORDS PER

MONTH IS ONE PRICE, THEN A SUBSEQUENT HIGHER RANGE OF WORDS PER MONTH

IS A HIGHER PRICE, ETC. WE WOULD LIKELY BE IN THE SAME TIER EVERY MONTH IF

THIS TYPE OF PRICING IS USED.