Accessibility Services – Video Accessibility Services

The University of Central Florida (UCF) is issuing an Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) for Accessibility Services - Video Accessibility Services. UCF seeks to enter into an agreement with a supplier to provide timely access for deaf and hard of hearing individuals through video accessibility services such as closed captioning, subtitles, transcripts, and audio descriptions. The vendor must have experience working with higher education institutions and familiarity with relevant accessibility laws and guidelines, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and guidelines provided by the World Wide Web (W3C) organization's Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). The vendor will be required to provide files suitable for embedding captions within video players, ensure the accuracy of captions consistent with industry standards, and meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA guidelines for captioning and Level AAA standards for audio descriptions. Proposals are due on March 21, 2024 at 2:00 PM EST, with questions due on March 6, 2024 at 5:00 PM EST. The resulting contract will be for a term of 3 years, with potential renewal options.

The ITN does not specify any set-aside designations or restrictions on the types of organizations that can respond. UCF currently provides captioning and CART services for 125-150 courses each fall and spring semester, with additional needs across the university, and relies on third-party vendors to supplement its in-house captioning staff. The successful vendor(s) will offer the same service rates to all UCF departments and programs requiring video accessibility services. The ITN provides detailed pricing instructions, asking proposers to submit a costing structure that clearly identifies the cost per service type, including various turnaround time options, but does not include any listed incumbent vendors or current contractors, or indicate a possible award value or budget range.