HLC0000132 PRF_88_Questions - Answers 9.24.26.pdf

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

For the below listed Request for Quotes (RFQ)

“For Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Translation Services On Statewide Contract PRF 88: Foreign Language Interpretation and Translation Services”

COMMBUYS RFQ POSTING DATE: 9/9/2026

COMMBUYS BID NUMBER: BD-27-1076-OCDDE-CS002-133114

AGENCY ID NUMBER: HLC0000132

DIVISION: DIVISION OF LIVABLE COMMUNITIES

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) received the following questions with regard to the above listed RFQ:

Question EOHLC Response

1. “Is this RFQ related to BD-27-1076-

OCDDE-HS003-132548? We recently submitted the proposal to EOHLC for the same agency.”

No

2. Do we have to submit forms mentioned on page 2-3 with the bid?

No

3. Could EOHLC please provide the estimated annual source-word count for the approximately 39 LIHEAP documents and social media content to be translated into Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Portuguese? If an exact estimate is not available, could EOHLC provide the FY27 source-word count or a historical annual range so that Bidders can prepare an accurate fixed-cost proposal?

Word count is approximately 20,000 words (13,000 for the vital documents and 7000 words for social media).

4. Please provide the historical annual expenditure for the LIHEAP document translation services

Previous year was $6700 but only included vital documents and no social media post translations

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF HOUSING &

LIVABLE COMMUNITIES

Maura T. Healey, Governor Kimberly Driscoll, Lieutenant Governor Juana B. Matias, Secretary

100 Cambridge Street, Suite 300 www.mass.gov/dhcd Boston, Massachusetts 02114 617.573.1100 covered by this RFQ, including the amount paid during the most recent completed fiscal year. If available, please also identify whether the prior work consisted primarily of updates to existing translations or complete new translations.

5. Is the approximately $9,000 annual contract estimate based on prior actual expenditures, the anticipated available budget, or an independent estimate for the new scope?

Independent estimate for the new scope.

6. How will the translated documents be used-for online display, electronic completion as fillable forms, downloading and printing by applicants, or printing and distribution by EOHLC and its administering agencies? Please also confirm the required file format for the completed translations.

Use is for downloading and printing. In Word.

7. Does the two-week turnaround apply to the entire set of approximately 39 documents in all required languages?

Yes

8. The RFQ identifies eight appeal documents but appears to list seven titles. Can EOHLC confirm the complete list?

7 appeal documents for a total of 8 pages

9. Should bidders price all four languages as one annual package, or provide separate pricing by language, document, word, and desktop-publishing hour?

Separate pricing for each language

10. Must the translated documents preserve the exact design and formatting of the English originals?

Yes, the format should generally be preserved.

11. Are accessible or tagged PDFs required in addition to editable, machine-readable files?

Translated documents should be provided in Word format.

12. Approximately how much social-media content should be included in the annual price?

An estimated 7000 words are part of social-media content.

13. Does "Chinese" mean Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, or both?

Simplified Chinese.

14. Does EOHLC require Brazilian Portuguese, European Portuguese, or another variety?

Brazilian Portuguese.

15. What source-file formats will be provided, such as Word, PDF, InDesign, Excel, or another format?

Translated documents should be provided in Word format.

16. Will EOHLC provide the prior-year translated versions for use as reference or editable source files?

EOHLC will consider providing prior-year versions as a reference.

17. Does the annual work generally involve updating existing translations, or retranslating all approximately 39 documents?

Retranslating the 39 documents.

18. Can EOHLC provide estimated word counts by document and language?

The word count to be translated from English is approximately 20,000 (13,000 for the vital documents and 7000 words for social media).

19. Could EOHLC provide the approximate total word count of the approximately 39 documents and the social media copy, or make the current FY26 English versions available for reference?

Word count is approximately 20,000 words that need translation (13,000 for the vital documents and 7000 words for social media).

20. For Chinese, should the translations be delivered in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, or both?

Simplified Chinese

21. For the FY27 cycle, will all documents require full translation, or do FY26 translated versions exist that require only updates for the new fiscal year?

Full translation

22. Who is the incumbent contractor currently providing these translation services? Additionally, is the incumbent an active participant in the Commonwealth's Small Business Purchasing Program (SBPP)?

Baystate Interpreters, Inc.is the incumbent and also SBPP participant.

23. What are the incumbent per word rates per language?

There was a 10 cent to 12 cent per word rate depending on the language.

24. Will all three components of the evaluation criteria be weighed equally, or will one component be valued more than the others?

Equally.

25. Will EOHLC provide existing glossaries, translation memories, previously translated materials, style guides, preferred terminology, or other language assets to the awarded contractor?

EOHLC will consider providing previously translated materials to the contractor.

26. For purposes of the subcontractor disclosure requirement, does EOHLC consider independently contracted individual linguists to be subcontractors whose names and roles must be identified in the bid response? If so, may bidders provide information about their linguist network and vetting process rather than identifying every potential linguist at the proposal stage?

No. Independently contracted individual linguists that a company works with are considered to be their employees or independent contractors, and not a separate subcontracted entity.

27. The RFQ estimates the contract value at approximately $9,000 per year.

Does this estimate include all translation, editing, proofreading, project management, formatting, accessibility work, and social media translation across all required languages?

Yes.

28. Does the approximately two-week timeframe apply to the complete annual package across all required languages, or will separate deadlines be established for individual documents, language sets, or batches?

It is generally expected to receive the completed documents back at EOHLC within 2 weeks.

29. What source file formats should the awarded contractor expect to receive, and what final file formats must be supported? For example, will requests include Word, PDF, PowerPoint, Excel, Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, or other design files?

Documents to be translated will be provided in Word and the final format for the translated documents will be Word.

30. Does the scope include desktop publishing, typesetting, graphic localization, or formatting of translated documents to mirror the source? If so, should these services be included in the per-word rate, or

The translated documents should generally look like the English version of the documents.

should bidders submit separate pricing in their rate sheet?

31. If existing translations are provided, may the awarded contractor reuse previously approved content when the corresponding English text has not changed, subject to review and quality assurance?

No. Each document has changed in some manner.

32. Does EOHLC require review or validation of translations by its staff, local administering agencies, community reviewers, or other stakeholders before final delivery?

No.

33. Please clarify when the annual approximately two-week completion period is expected to occur and whether the contractor will receive advance notice before the source files are released.

It is expected to receive the translated versions two weeks after the English version of the documents are received by the contractor. It usually occurs in late summer/early fall.

34. Will all requests involve translation from English into another language, or should bidders also anticipate foreign-language-to-English and multilingual translation requests?

All will be translated from English into another language.

35. Approximately how many of the 39 documents are expected to receive revisions each year, as opposed to minor updates such as fiscal-year references, dates, benefit amounts, or contact information?

Minor updates are expected across all 39 documents each year. However, there are revisions to text in some of the documents.

36. For Chinese translation, which written variant does EOHLC require:

Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, or both?

Simplified Chinese.

37. Can EOHLC provide the approximate total source-word count for the 39 documents included in the annual scope, ideally broken down by document and language?

Word count is approximately 13,000 for the documents.

38. Can EOHLC provide the approximate annual volume and source-word count for the social media content referenced in the RFQ?

7000 words for social media.

39. Does EOHLC anticipate that all approximately 39 documents will

Generally, the same documents need to be translated each year. The languages may change each year.

require translation into all four currently listed languages each year, or will the required documents and languages vary by fiscal year?