Source Sought Notice - NOAA OIATC Language Interpretation and Translation Services.pdf

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

Language Interpretation and Translation Services

Agency / Requiring Activity NOAA / NMFS / Office of International Affairs, Trade, and Commerce (OIATC)

Notice Type Sources Sought / Market Research Only

Anticipated NAICS 541930 – Translation and Interpretation Services

Response Deadline April 13, 2026 17:00 MDT

Disclaimer. This notice is issued for market research purposes only to identify capable sources and determine the availability of small business and socioeconomic small business concerns. This is not a solicitation, request for quote, or request for proposal. The Government will not award a contract from this notice and will not reimburse respondents for any costs incurred in preparing a response.

1. Purpose The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), is conducting market research to identify interested and capable sources for language interpretation and translation services in support of the Office of International Affairs, Trade, and Commerce (OIATC). The principal purpose of this Sources Sought notice is to collect information on the availability, capability, and socioeconomic status of interested firms in order to support set-aside consideration and acquisition planning.

2. Requirement Overview The contemplated requirement is for professional language interpretation and translation support on an ad hoc basis.

Services are expected to support bilateral meetings with foreign nationals, fisheries management coordination, bycatch and protected resources consultations, seafood inspection activities, and facility audit-related communications. Attachment 1 (A-1) to this notice contains the draft Performance Work Statement (PWS) that is being provided for market research reference. Attachment 2 (A-2) to this notice contains the draft CLIN & Pricing Structure that is being provided for market research purposes. The final solicitation, if issued, may differ from Attachment 1 in scope, contract structure, ordering approach, period of performance, or terms and conditions.

• Translation to and from English and multiple foreign languages, including but not limited to Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Russian.

• Interpretation support for bilateral meetings and events, with simultaneous interpretation expected to predominate and consecutive interpretation possible. Most interpretation is expected to be remote/virtual;

a rare in-person interpretation event in Alaska may be required approximately once every other year.

• Two interpreters per interpretation assignment, with contractor-provided project management and quality assurance/quality control.

• Technical subject matter that may include legal, scientific, regulatory, fisheries, international trade, inspection, shipping, harvest, and processing records.

• Electronic delivery of written translations in the format requested in the service request, typically Microsoft Word, Excel, or PDF, with occasional short-turnaround assignments possible.

• Attachment 2 (A-2) includes a draft fixed-unit-price CLIN structure for written translation and interpretation service units, plus a separate draft reimbursable travel CLIN for rare in-person support.

3. Market Research Context (Anticipated Government Requirement – Non-Binding) For market research context only, and based on historical contracted usage plus current planning assumptions, the following operational characteristics are provided to help respondents describe relevant capability, staffing, and small business participation potential. These figures are illustrative planning assumptions only, are not guarantees, and shall not be construed as a commitment for any future solicitation.

Aspect Potential Contract

Period of performance 5-Years (base and four 12-month options)

Estimated interpretation volume Approximately 30 to 40 meetings/events annually

Estimated duration Approximately 1 to 3 hours per meeting/event

Estimated translation volume Approximately 50 documents annually, with an average length of 10 pages per document.

Interpretation mode Predominantly virtual / remote; rare in-person support in Alaska may occur approximately once every other year

Interpretation type Majority simultaneous; some consecutive possible

Scheduling Pre-scheduled; interpretation generally requested at least one week in advance

Source document formats Primarily Word and Excel; some PDFs

Place of Performance Translation at contractor site/remote; interpretation predominantly remote; rare preauthorized travel to Alaska may be required for an in-person event and would be reimbursed under a separate travel CLIN IAW FTR

Commercial platforms / environment Virtual meeting support consistent with common platforms (e.g., Webex, Zoom, Google Meet)

4. Anticipated Acquisition Information The Government anticipates that any future acquisition, if pursued, would be structured as a commercial services acquisition. The final acquisition strategy remains under review. Small business, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, EDWOSB, or unrestricted competition may be considered, depending on market research results.

Item Current Planning Position

NAICS 541930 – Translation and Interpretation Services

Size standard $22.5M

Acquisition status Planning Phase; market research only

Unrestricted or Set-aside strategy To be determined after review of sources sought responses

Contract type / CLIN structure Primarily Firm-Fixed Unit-Price for translation and interpretation service units, plus a separate reimbursable travel CLIN for preauthorized travel costs. See Attachment A-2.

Period of performance Five Year (Base + four 12-month options) beginning June 2026

Place of performance Translation at contractor site/remote; interpretation predominantly remote; rare in-person support in Alaska may be required approximately once every other year. Travel, if authorized, would be reimbursed under a separate travel CLIN IAW FTR.

5. Requested Response Information Interested firms are requested to submit a concise capability statement that addresses the items below. The Government is specifically seeking enough information to assess whether there is adequate small business and socioeconomic small business capability to support a set-aside determination.

# Requested item What to address

1 Company profile Legal business name, address, website, point of contact, telephone number, email address, Unique Entity ID (UEI), and CAGE code, if available.

2 Business size and socioeconomic status

Identify whether your firm is Other Than Small, Small Business, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, EDWOSB, SDB, or another relevant category under NAICS 541930. State whether SAM registration is active.

3 Prime contractor interest State whether your firm is interested in competing as a prime contractor for the contemplated requirement and whether your firm could perform the entire requirement as prime. If not, describe any limitations.

4 Language capability Identify the languages your firm can support for both translation and interpretation. Describe whether your firm can support the representative core language set reflected in Attachment 1 and any additional languages commonly available.

# Requested item What to address

5 Interpretation support approach

Address your ability to provide two qualified interpreters per assignment, support predominantly virtual meetings, perform simultaneous interpretation with occasional consecutive interpretation, and support a rare in-person interpretation event in Alaska approximately once every other year.

6 Translation capability Describe your experience translating legal, scientific, regulatory, technical, inspection, shipping, harvest, processing, or international trade-related materials. Address your ability to support Microsoft Office and PDF-based source documents.

7 Quality assurance and management

Describe your quality assurance/quality control process, project management approach, staffing model, and ability to handle occasional short-turnaround assignments.

8 Relevant experience Provide up to three recent examples of similar work performed within the last five years. Include customer/agency, brief scope, languages supported, period of performance, approximate magnitude, and whether the work was performed as prime or subcontractor.

9 Contract vehicles Identify any relevant GSA MAS/Schedule, BPA, IDIQ, or other contract vehicles through which your firm currently provides similar services.

10 Small business set-aside assessment

If your firm is a small business concern, explain whether you believe this requirement is suitable for a total small business or a specific socioeconomic set-aside and why. Address any capability, staffing, geographic, or subcontracting considerations relevant to that assessment.

11 Teaming / subcontracting If your firm anticipates teaming or subcontracting, identify the anticipated arrangement at a high level and state whether a large business would be involved. If your firm is a small business, address your ability to comply with limitations on subcontracting, if applicable, for a future set-aside.

12 Acquisition considerations

Provide any recommended considerations for the Government regarding contract structure, period of performance, CLIN structure, commercial practices, surge/rush support, treatment of preparation time, cancellation terms, and the rare in-person Alaska event, including whether a separate in-person interpretation pricing line is commercially necessary in addition to a reimbursable travel CLIN.

Direction-Specific Pricing Question

Please advise whether your pricing for written translation and/or oral interpretation varies based on language direction (for example, English to Spanish versus Spanish to English). For each service where direction materially affects price, please identify: (a) the affected language pair(s); (b) whether the difference applies to written translation, simultaneous interpretation, consecutive interpretation, or both; (c) whether pricing differs for one-way interpretation versus bidirectional interpretation within the same meeting; (d) the approximate percentage or dollar impact of the difference; and (e) whether separate CLINs or pricing lines by direction would be necessary for fair evaluation and ordering.

# Requested item What to address

Feedback on Draft CLIN and Pricing Structure (Attachment A-2)

(a) State whether your firm could compete under Attachment A-2 without material revision. Answer Yes or No.

For purposes of this question, a material revision means a change your firm considers necessary in order to compete for this requirement.

(b) If your answer to paragraph (a) is No, identify each specific CLIN, unit of measure, pricing element, or pricing assumption that would require revision, and explain why that revision is necessary for your firm to compete.

(c) For each item below, state whether separate pricing lines are:

(1) commercially necessary, (2) commercially customary but not necessary, or (3) unnecessary:

- Written translation by language pair

- Written translation by direction (for example, English-to-Spanish versus Spanish-to-English)

- Simultaneous versus consecutive interpretation

- Remote versus in-person interpretation

- Separate reimbursable travel CLIN for preauthorized Alaska travel

- One-way versus bidirectional interpretation during the same meeting

- Standard-hours versus rush service

- Standard-hours versus after-hours/weekend/holiday service

- Minimum session unit

- Additional session increments

- Preparation time included in the initial interpretation unit versus separately priced preparation

- Cancellation charges

(d) Identify any CLIN that should be added, deleted, consolidated, split, or redefined. For each recommended change, state whether it is:

(1) required for your firm to compete, or (2) preferred but not required, and provide proposed replacement language or structure.

(e) State whether the draft structure creates any barrier to participation for your business size or socioeconomic category. If yes, identify the specific barrier and the minimum revision needed to remove it.

(f) If your firm recommends an alternate structure, provide either:

(1) an annotated Attachment A-2, or

(2) a replacement pricing matrix, with a brief explanation of why the alternate structure better reflects customary commercial practice and would improve competition, price evaluation, ordering, administration, or invoicing.

(g) Do not submit a quote, proposal, or actual proposed rates/prices in response to this question unless a price example is necessary to explain a structural issue. The Government is seeking feedback on the pricing structure, not pricing levels.

6. Submission Instructions Interested parties shall submit responses electronically to kyle.shaffer@noaa.gov and nicholas.g.brown@noaa.gov.

Responses shall be received no later than April 13, 2026 at 17:00 MDT.

Item Instruction

Response format Capability statements shall be submitted in PDF or Microsoft Word format.

Page limit Capability statements should not exceed 10 pages, excluding a cover page and any short past performance appendices.

Questions Questions regarding this notice may be submitted to kyle.shaffer@noaa.gov and nicholas.g.brown@noaa.gov no later than April 8, 2026 at 17:00 MDT.

Subject line Use the following email subject line: Sources Sought Response: Language Interpretation & Translation Services.

Pricing Do not submit a quote, proposal, or actual proposed rates/prices in response to this notice. Annotated matrices or alternate structures should omit pricing levels unless a price example is necessary to explain a structural issue.

Proprietary information If proprietary information is included, clearly mark it as such. The Government will use responses for market research purposes only.

7. Additional Notice Information

• This Sources Sought notice is for planning purposes only and shall not be interpreted as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or award a contract.

• The Government may use information provided by respondents to refine the acquisition strategy, set-aside approach, contract structure, period of performance, and other planning assumptions.

• The Government reserves the right to contact respondents for clarification or follow-up market research, but is under no obligation to do so.

• Respondents will not be notified of the results of the market research. The Government will retain all responses in the acquisition planning file.

mailto:nicholas.g.brown@noaa.gov