RFP 2026-0200-0064 Statewide Transcription Services Amendment One.pdf

STATE OF ALASKA

Department of Administration Office of Procurement and Property Management

STATEWIDE TRANSCRIPTION SERVICES

RFP 2026-0200-0064

Amendment #1 August 17, 2026

Important Note to Offerors: You must sign and return this page of the amendment document with your proposal. Failure to do so may result in the rejection of your proposal. Only the RFP terms and conditions referenced in this amendment are being changed. All other terms and conditions of the RFP remain the same.

Joshua Hartman Contracting Officer 3 COMPANY SUBMITTING PROPOSAL Phone: 907-465-5758 Email: joshua.hartman@alaska.gov

AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE

DATE

mailto:joshua.hartman@alaska.gov

The purpose of this amendment is to address the following changes/additions:

A. The due date for responses to this solicitation is extended to 3:30 p.m. Alaska Time, August 28, 2026.

B. Provide answers to questions from potential offerors:

Question 1:

In Section 3.01 (A) (13) it states:

The Contractor shall provide a method for recording dictation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

i. Dictation method may include a toll-free telephone number dedicated to each agency, hand-held dictation device, PC microphone, or other approved method. The Contractor must provide a mechanism to give priority to records that are needed immediately (i.e., a dedicated line).

ii. Must have capability of single speaker dictation and multiple speaker recordings.

Is this a new requirement? Historically, what is the volume of usage? How many users? How often? How many recordings were needed immediately last year?

Answer: This has been a requirement in prior solicitations. Historical volume and information of usage is not available at this level of detail in our records. After communication with various departments, it appears this is a requirement that does not see any use, and is consequently removed as a general requirement. Section 3.01(A)(13) is hereby removed from the scope of services.

Question 2:

In relation to the following:

Page 21:

In accordance with Sec. 1.04 (PRIOR EXPERIENCE) Offerors must also submit sufficient documentation to support the mandatory minimum experience requirements.

And page 42:

SEC. 7.02 ADDITIONAL MANDATORY RETURN ITEMS

Offers must return the following items in addition to items 1-2 above

1. Resumes for all management personnel that will have responsibilities related to this contract (Reference Sec. 4.04 & Sec. 5.04)

2. Supporting documentation for PRIOR EXPERIENCE (Reference Sec. 1.04)

What is considered “Supporting Documentation for Prior Experience”? Is there a reference sheet or format you would like us to use?

Answer: Please refer to Section 1.04. There is not a specific reference sheet or format regarding this requirement, this has been left at the discretion of the offeror to provide what they believe is adequate and appropriate to meet the requirements as stated.

Question 3:

Is the use of Automated Speech Recognition (ASR) as a productivity tool within a human transcription workflow, not as a replacement for human transcriptionists, allowable?

Answer: After consultation with the Alaska Court System and internal review, yes, automated speech recognition (ASR) can be used based on the following or similar workflow:

• The agency/court provides the audio recording.

• Speech recognition technology converts the spoken audio into an initial draft transcript.

• A qualified human transcriptionist reviews the draft against the original audio, corrects any errors, applies the required formatting and performs the necessary quality-control process.

• The completed transcript is then delivered back to the Court in the required format.

If the offeror is going to use ASR, this must be communicated accordingly, and the finished product must be subsequently reviewed, corrected, proofread, formatted, and certified by a U.S.-based human transcriptionist.

Question 4:

What is the current unit price being paid for these services?

Answer: The information that is publicly available can be found at https://oppm.doa.alaska.gov/media/1809/11-transcription-services.pdf

Question 5:

Section 3.11 states that subcontractors will not be allowed. Would individual U.S.-based independent-contractor transcriptionists who work directly under the prime contractor’s management, security, confidentiality, and quality-control program be considered prohibited https://oppm.doa.alaska.gov/media/1809/11-transcription-services.pdf subcontractors, or does this restriction apply to subcontracting work to another company or organization?

Answer: US-based independent contractors are acceptable as described above, however the awarded vendor (prime contractor) is still responsible for ensuring all criteria and requirements of the solicitation and ensuing contract are met, and assumes all liability associated with their independent contract and their work product related to the contract.

Question 6:

Section 4.04 requires a personnel roster identifying each person who will actually work on the contract. Is the State requesting identification of all production transcriptionists who may perform work during the contract term, or only key management, supervisory, quality assurance, and other critical personnel?

Answer: Yes, anyone who works on the contract must be identified, including locations where work will be performed, and the additional information requested including lines of authority. This is used to verify that the people working on the contract are U.S. based and helps identify who needs the necessary background checks. In order to bring to the forefront the confidentiality and security requirements needed by many agencies and included in the ACS Manual of Transcription Procedures, Section 3.15 of the RFP is amended to include the following language:

a. All the contractor’s staff, including managing personnel, that will work on this contract must pass a nationwide seven-year criminal history background check. The contractor will be responsible for any costs associated with obtaining criminal history reports. A copy of each employee’s report must be provided to OPPM within 30 days of award of contract and prior to performing work on the contract.

b. Vendor shall provide copies to OPPM of all criminal history record checks for review and acceptance of the records.

c. In the event records reveal evidence of a crime which is unacceptable as determined by OPPM, the Contractor agrees to remove the employee from contract related work and remove access to confidential information related to the contract.

d. OPPM, at its sole discretion, may require up-to-date criminal history record check(s) during the course of the contract.

e. Any change of the contract team members named in the proposal must be approved, in advance and in writing, by the OPPM contracting officer assigned to the contract. Changes that are not approved by the state may be grounds for the state to terminate the contract.

f. Confidentiality of all information is required. The Contractor shall maintain confidentiality in accordance with best industry practices in compliance with federal and state laws. The Contractor's personnel designated to work on the contract shall be required to sign a statement of confidentiality guaranteeing non-disclosure of information prior to performing any work described in this contract. The confidentiality statement shall be designed, implemented and maintained by the Contractor. If requested, the statement of confidentiality shall be made available for viewing by OPPM. In addition, the Contractor shall not otherwise disclose, release or communicate any information, including materials or documents to any third person, individual, organization or entity not employed or approved by OPPM. Should any violation or breach of this provision occur, such shall constitute cause for immediate termination of the contract upon receipt of written notice of the violation or breach by the Contractor.

Question 7:

The Cost Proposal includes separate charges for Speaker Tracking and Multiple Speakers, while the Scope of Work also requires accurate speaker identification and the capability to handle multiple-speaker recordings. May offerors include these services in their base transcription rates and enter $0.00 for the corresponding additional-service line items?

Answer: Yes, offerors who do not charge separately and include this in the base transcription rates can reflect this accordingly and enter $0.00 in the additional service line items.

Question 8:

For Meeting Minutes, is the contractor expected to bill separately for both the underlying transcript and the completed meeting minutes, or is the Meeting Minutes rate intended to include both deliverables and does the selected turnaround tier apply to completion of both the transcript and final minutes?

Answer: This should be provided in the cost proposal as an all-inclusive price (the underlying transcript and the completed meeting minutes). Whereas the cost includes the underlying transcript, the transcript should be made available in addition to the minutes. The turn-around tier applies to completion of both the transcript and underlying minutes.

Question 9:

If available, can the State provide approximate historical usage by service category (General, Medical, Court/Legal, and Meeting Minutes) and typical turnaround requirements?

Answer: This information is not currently available.

All other terms and conditions remain unchanged.