Questions and Answers Spreadsheet_v3.xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 24 KB Posted
- Attached to
- CAP American Sign Language (ASL) Federal contract opportunity
- Solicitation number
- H9821025QE010
- Issued by
- Defense Human Resources Activity
About this file
This file is a Questions and Answers Spreadsheet for a federal contract opportunity to provide American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting services for the Defense Human Resources Activity (DHRA). The requirement involves providing certified ASL interpreters for both onsite and remote assignments, with an estimated 445 total interpreter hours in the base year, comprising 70% onsite (35 hours/month) and 30% remote (15 hours/month) services. Key details include a two-hour minimum for onsite assignments and one-hour minimum for remote assignments, 15-minute billing increments, and a 48-hour cancellation policy.
The solicitation is a Lowest Price Technically Acceptable (LPTA) procurement with quotes due by 10:00 AM EST on August 29, 2025, and all questions due by 11:00 AM EST on August 26, 2025. Interpreters must meet specific requirements, including obtaining a Tier 1 background investigation, completing mandatory training, and arriving 30 minutes early for onsite assignments. The contract covers interpreter services for Deaf or Hard of Hearing Federal employees, with assignments primarily at the Mark Center and Pentagon, and will require interpreters to uphold the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) Code of Professional Conduct.
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Other files for this federal contract opportunity
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| Amend H9821025QE010 0001.pdf | ||
| American Sign Language PWS Final.docx | DOCX document | |
| Solicitation - H9821025QE010.pdf |
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Text version
Sheet1
| # | Document | Section | Page | Question | Answer |
| 1 | Is there any incumbent/recompete or this is a brand-new project? If yes, could you please provide us with their award number or even if the customer bought similar services in the past. | This is a brand new requirement. No incumbent. | |||
| 2 |
We would like to know if this is a brand new contract OR if there is (was) an incumbent performing these services.
| If not brand new, could you please provide the current / previous contract number? | This is a brand new requirement. No incumbent. | ||
| 3 | Historical Data: Any available details about past service utilization related to this contract, including frequency and volume of the service. Projected Needs: The anticipated number of service hours per year. | This is a brand new requirement. No incumbent. | |
| 4 | What is the estimated total number of interpreter hours anticipated annually for the base year and option years? | 445 | |
| 5 | What is the average frequency of interpreter requests per week or month? | Average of 50 hours per month for interpreting services. The number of hours accounts for 2 interprets for an assignment that is an hour or more. As an example, if all of the monthly assignments were an hour, there are 25 assignments requiring 2 interpreters to total 50 hours. | |
| 6 | What is the typical duration of assignments? Understanding whether most assignments are under or over 60 minutes will help determine interpreter staffing requirements. | Onsite assignments are typically 4-8 hours. Remote assignments are typically 30 - 60 minutes in duration. | |
| 7 | Is there a guaranteed minimum number of hours per month or quarter, or are all services strictly on an "as needed" basis? | There is no guaranteed number of hours. | |
| 8 | Are there anticipated peak periods (certain months, days of week, or times of day) when interpreter services are more frequently requested? | No | |
| 9 | What is the typical advance notice provided for interpreter requests beyond the five business days mentioned in the PWS? | Onsite-assignments: 10 business days, Remote assignments: 5-10 business days. | |
| 10 | Does the Government accept standard industry billing practices, including a two-hour minimum charge per assignment? This is standard practice in the ASL interpreting industry to account for interpreter preparation, travel coordination, and schedule commitment, regardless of actual assignment duration. | Onsite requirements is a 2 hour minimum, Remote is a 1 hour minimum. This includes the 30 minute early arrival for onsite and 15 minute log in prior to remote assignments. For example, if an assignment is for a 1 hour event, the total billable amount is 2 hours. | |
| 11 | What are the Government's preferred billing increments - hourly, half-hourly, or other time segments? | 15 minute time increments | |
| 12 | How should brief assignments (under 60 minutes) be billed? | Onsite requirements are a 2 hour minimum, Remote assignments are 1 hour minimum. This includes the 30 minute early arrival for onsite and 15 minute log in prior to remote assignments. For example, if an assignment is for a 1 hour event, the total billable amount is 2 hours. | |
| 13 | What are the billing requirements for assignments cancelled with short notice after interpreters have been scheduled? | We follow the Industry Standard 48-hour cancellation policy – assignments canceled within 48 hours of start date/time are billable. | |
| 14 | Section 6.0.1 states that "Local travel to attend meetings within the NCR vicinity shall be considered a cost of doing business and shall not be separately reimbursed." Please clarify what costs are included in this requirement: Does this include only mileage/transportation costs, or does it also include interpreter travel time? Should travel time to and from assignments be built into our hourly rates, or is travel time non-billable? For assignments requiring significant travel time within the NCR (e.g., 45+ minutes each way), how should this be addressed in our pricing structure? | Travel time, parking, mileage costs are not reimbursable. | |
| 15 | What percentage of assignments are anticipated to be on-site versus remote/virtual? | Onsite: 70%, Remote: 30% | |
| 16 | Are there anticipated assignments at locations other than the Mark Center and Pentagon mentioned in Section 11.0? | Assignment locations will be in the NCR, 95% of these are at the Mark Center and Pentagon. Other assignments will be at locations like Fort Belvoir, Fort Meade, etc. | |
| 17 | Is there an incumbent on this opportunity? | This is a brand new requirement. No incumbent. | |
| 18 | For the deliverables table in Section 5.0, are there specific formats required for the Quality Control Plans and other documentation such as price sheet? | No | |
| 19 | Volume Estimates: Can the Government provide historical usage data or projected estimates of onsite and remote interpreting hours per month to assist with pricing accuracy? | No historical data exist for this requirement. | |
| 20 | Simultaneous Interpretation Equipment: For conferences or large group events requiring simultaneous interpreting, will the Government require equipment (e.g., transmitters, receivers, headsets)? How often are conferences? | There will be no assignments that require simultaneous interpreting. | |
| 21 | Pricing Structure: The solicitation indicates a Firm Fixed Price monthly retainer covering both onsite and remote services. Would the Government consider allowing separate pricing for onsite and remote (VRI) services? | You may propose separate rates for onsite and remote. (similar question line 52) | |
| 22 | Interpreter Pool Requirements: Are there any minimum staffing requirements (e.g., number of interpreters available locally in the NCR) that offerors should plan to meet? | No | |
| 23 | Is there a current contract in place? If so, what is the current agency and hourly rate? | This is a brand new requirement. No incumbent. | |
| 24 | If so, what is the current agency and hourly rate? | This is a brand new requirement. No incumbent. | |
| 25 | How many hours of interpreting services are you projecting a week or month? | 50 hours per month | |
| 26 | How many hours per week of services will be in-person? | Onsite: 35 hours per month | |
| 27 | How many hours of ASL interpreting services will be virtual per week or month? | Remote: 15 hours per month | |
| 28 | How many CAP employees require ASL interpreting services? | Services are provided to DoD employees internal and external to CAP. Please reference CAP's FAQs on CAP.mil for more information on the ASL services provided by CAP: https://cap.mil/Faq/faqs-solutions | |
| 29 | Are you predicting ASL interpreting services will be on a consistent weekly/month basis or intermittently? | Both | |
| 30 | Do you have a total hours per year estimate? | 445 | |
| 31 | The questions are due 8/26/2025 at 11am and the proposal is due 8/29/2025 11am. Given the short turnaround time in which vendors will receive the answers and make a consideration, will DHRA/CAP provide an extension of at least 10 additional business days? | No | |
| 32 | Can DHRA / CAP provide historical data from the past year or projected for the next year (and please indicate which one) on: | This is a brand new requirement. No incumbent. | |
| 33 | Can vendors bid solely for virtual / remote services? | This requirement must include both virtual and onsite services | |
| 34 | Section 4.1.5 states “Interpreters must arrive 30 minutes prior to the scheduled assignment…” |
On-site Interpreters, VRI interpreters, and CART writers have different arrival times due to the differing set up times. Per the industry standard: interpreters will arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of an assignment; will log-in 5 minutes prior to the start of a call to ensure connection is established; on-site CART requires a 30-minute billable arrival time to set-up and ensure equipment is connected and ready to go; remote CART will log-in 10 minutes prior to the start of an assignment to ensure connection is established.
| a. | So that there are no additional charges incurred outside of these standards, will DHRA/CAP change the wording in this section to reflect industry standards? | ||
| b. | Or will DHRA/CAP agree that the 30-minute early arrival time is billable? | Thirty minute arrival prior to onsite assignments and fifteen minute log-in prior to remote assignments are billable. | |
| 36 | Section 8.0 Security, subsection 8.1.2 states “Personnel assigned to this contract are required to obtain and maintain a Tier 1 background investigation (BI) and adjudication or suitability determination for unclassified access.” Section 8.7.4 Reciprocity, states “The DHRA and DLA PERSEC will use reciprocity to the extent possible and if necessary….” |
| Given that this work appears to be ad hoc in nature, and given that many interpreters may already have already gone through the BI with other agencies, will DHRA/CAP offer reciprocity to interpreter(s) with government badges? | Yes | |
| 37 | Section 17.0 Mandatory Training Requirements, states “Contractor employees performing under this contract shall complete the following mandatory trainings within 30 calendar days upon performance start and annually thereafter when applicable.” |
The Department of Labor requires that all resources who are required to perform work, such as this training, are required to be paid. For anyone required to take the training and who will not be on-site, we assume this training time will be paid. Will DHRA/CAP allow the interpreter(s) to take the training while on duty?
| Yes needs to be completed before work is started. | ||
| 38 | How many ASL Interpreters do you require on-site every day? Or is this purely ad-hoc? | There is not a daily onsite requirement. |
| 39 | How many virtual hours do you require per year? | 215 |
| 40 | How often do you have assignments that last over one hour? | onsite - up to one per week, remote - up to two times a week |
| 41 | Section 4.1.5 : In the event that an Interpreter arrives on time for an assignment and the consumer is absent, what are the responsibilities of the vendor and the government to ensure that the business of DOD continues? | It is the government's responsibility. |
| 42 | Section 4.1.6 If testing times are over 15 minutes are they billable? | yes |
| 43 | Do you wish for vendors to also include option year pricing? | Yes |
| 44 | Industry Standard for ASL interpreters is a 2-hour minimum – will this be honored on this contract? | Onsite requirements is a 2 hour minimum, Remote is a 1 hour minimum. This includes the 30 minute early arrival for onsite and 15 minute log in prior to remote assignments. For example, if an assignment is for a 1 hour event, the total billable amount is 2 hours. |
| 45 | Industry Standard for ASL interpreters is 48-hour cancellation policy – anything canceled within 48 hours of the assignment will be paid in full – will this be honored on this contract? | yes |
| 46 | PWS states interpreters must arrive 30 minutes prior to the scheduled assignment, will this time be permitted to be invoiced? | yes |
| 47 | Please clarify the pricing document. ASL is billed by the hour and the document in the Solicitation is requesting rates by the month. | Its by months and we can do each so it will be a flat rate for each service. |
| 48 | Are the interpreters who provide day-to-day support expected to also cover scheduled and unscheduled meetings/events, or are these considered separate assignments requiring different resources? | Separate assignments |
| 49 | Does the Government have an estimated number of interpreters needed to support the requirement across a typical workday? For pricing purposes, should we assume a certain baseline number of interpreters available each day, in addition to the rules outlined for meetings lasting over 60 minutes (requiring two interpreters)? | Assignments lasting over 60 minutes require two interpreters regardless of the length of time. |
| 50 | Could you confirm the Government’s estimated total hours of service for each CLIN (Base Year and Option Years)? Are there anticipated peaks in demand (e.g., annual conferences, training cycles) that may require significantly higher interpreter coverage? | The estimated total hours of service for the base year is 445, option period 1 is 260, and option period 2 is 223. |
| 51 | Is there an anticipated percentage split between on-site and remote interpreting? Should pricing reflect a single blended hourly rate, or may we propose separate rates for on-site versus remote services? | Onsite: 70% Remote: 30%. You may propose separate rates for onsite and remote. |
| 52 | Are interpreters expected to be on standby for the entire duty day (8 AM – 5 PM EST), or only billable for the actual interpreting time used? Will travel time or last-minute (short-notice) requests be treated as billable? | For full day assignments, the entire duty day is billable. Travel time is not billable. Last minute assignments are billable. For instance, if an assignment unexpectedly exceeds the scheduled assignment, this extra time is billable. |
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