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EXHIBIT C
PROPOSAL FORM
Proposal: TRANSLATION & INTERPRETATION SERVICES – RFP #PC784
Vendor Name: ______________________________________________________________
To: The Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino
715 E. Brier Drive
San Bernardino, CA 92408
1. The undersigned, having familiarized themselves with the local conditions affecting the cost of the work, and with
the Specifications, if any thereto, hereby proposes to furnish all labor, materials, equipment and services required to
provide such service(s) described in the Scope of Work (Exhibit A) in accordance therewith, for the sum of:
Primary Services:
Bid For this
Service
(Yes/No):
Price Per
Minute/Hour or Per
Word (specify)
Word
Minimum
(if applicable)
2014-15
Total:
2015-16
Total:
Telephone
Interpretation: Spanish,
Chinese, Japanese,
Korean, Cambodian,
Thai, Vietnamese,
Tagalog, Arabic
$ $
On-Site Interpretation:
Spanish, Chinese,
Japanese, Korean,
Cambodian, Thai,
Vietnamese, Tagalog,
Arabic
$ $
Sign Language $ $
Secondary Services:
Bid For this
Service
(Yes/No):
Price Per Page or
Per Word (specify)
Word
Minimum
(if applicable)
2014-15
Total:
2015-16
Total:
Written Translation: of
the 37 languages listed
in Exhibit “A”, section
B
$ $
Editing/Proofreading:
of the 37 languages
listed in Exhibit “A”,
section B
$ $
Desktop Publishing: of
the 37 languages listed
in Exhibit “A”, section
B
$ $
Comparison/Evaluation:
of the 37 languages
listed in Exhibit “A”,
section B
$ $
Rush Charges: Please
note: approximately 5%
are rush requests.
% %
92
PC903 Translation and Interpretation Services Questions/Answers
1. Would you consider utilizing Video Interpretation to facilitate a more efficient and cost effective
language solution when applicable? We would consider it, but do not have the equipment
necessary in all offices for this to be a reliable source of service for our clients.
2. Do you have an estimated monthly minute volume or anything that would allow the vendor to
estimate your usage needs? Volume varies based on activity. When we set a large number of
appointments, volume can increase.
3. In Exhibit-A, Section C. “Range of Services” -- it states the following:
“All the primary and secondary services specified in this RFP are mandatory and must be
included for a proposal to be deemed complete and responsive. The offeror must provide an
affirmative statement that they can provide services in all the primary and secondary languages.”
Does this mean that in order to bid then the offeror MUST bid on ALL services (primary
and secondary)? The confusion is where it says that the offeror must an affirmative
statement that they can provide services in all the primary and secondary languages.
Yes, vendors must be able to provide all services. Please confirm in your proposal that
you can provide all requested services.
Is it possible to bid on the over-the-phone translation, and the written translation and NOT
the on-site translation? Please see answer above.
4. Can responders propose to offer services for written services (Translation, Editing/Proofreading,
Desktop Publishing, Comparison/Evaluation and Rush Charges) only? Please see answer to
number 3.
5. Is it possible to send any information about the previous bid? Information such as who is the
current vendor, and specifically what their prices were. Current vendors: Linguistica International,
Inc. and Interpreters Unlimited. Pricing attached.
6. What is the reason for this ITB? I.e. poor provider performance, contract expiration, etc. The
current contracts are scheduled to expire in September.
7. What is the current rate of services - for face-to-face, telephonic interpretation and translation (i.e.
what are currently paying for these services)? Pricing attached.
8. What is the current volume of telephonic minutes per month, face-to-face and translation requests
per month? Please see answer to Number 2.
9. Who is the current vendor/provider? Linguistica International and Interpreters Unlimited
10. Why did the HACSB opt to issue this solicitation instead of piggy-back off of the existing County-
wide contract for these services? The HACSB is not a County department, and at this time has
determined it is in the best interest of HACSB to release our own RFP.
11. Please clarify if it is necessary to bid for all services or if it is acceptable to bid for only selected
services under this RFP. Different parts of the RFP offer conflicting information. Please see
response to number 3.
PC903 Translation and Interpretation Services Questions/Answers
12. Please clarify if it is necessary to bid for all languages or if it is acceptable to bid for only selected
languages under this RFP. Different parts of the RFP offer conflicting information. Vendors must
be able to provide services in at least the languages listed.
13. Can we bid for spoken/written languages only and not ASL? Please see answer to number 3.
14. Is it acceptable to bid for minimum fees for on-site interpretation services, and will the price sheet
be revised as such? It is the bidder’s responsibility to provide minimum fees if they are part of the
bid. We have received this type of pricing in bidding before from other vendors. The price sheet
will not be revised.
15. The RFP refers to “Primary” and “Secondary” languages, can you please provide lists of those
languages broken out as primary and secondary? Section C refers to Primary and Secondary
services. The languages are listed in Section B.
16. What is the anticipated contract value for this RFP? This is on an as needed basis.
17. What is the historical usage broken down by service offering? Services are provided primarily in
Spanish. We have also provided services in Arabic, Korean, Portuguese, Slovak, Tagalog,
Mandarin, and Vietnamese.
18. What is the historical usage for on-site interpretation broken down by language? Please see
number 17.
19. How will the cost sheets be evaluated? Cost, service, responsiveness and references.
20. Who is the incumbent for this contract and what rates were offered in the last contract period?
Please see questions 9 and 7.
21. Written translation services can be provided by a sole translator or by a team of linguists including
a translator, editor and proofreader. Which approach is requested for this bid? Would you like
pricing for both options? It is the bidder’s responsibility to provide appropriate service and
describe the methods that will be used to fulfill the services.
22. The RFP states, “HACSB staff shall be able to contact contractor 24 hours in advance to arrange
an appointed time for on-site meetings, conferences, seminars, and legal proceedings, etc..”
What is the standard or typical amount of notice for on-site interpretation requests? How often will
services be required with as little as 24 hours advance notice? The 24-hour request is in the
event of an emergency or unusual situation. We have requested 24-hour servicing about 3 times
in the past 4 years.
23. For narration services, will narrators work from a script in the target language? For example, will
the script already be translated from English into Spanish when the narrator arrives, or will they
need to work from an English script to provide Spanish narration (or provide the translation
themselves)? They will need to provide narration from an English script into the appropriate
language.
PC903 Translation and Interpretation Services Questions/Answers
24. Typically our voice talents work from their own recording studios, not on-site at client locations. Is
this acceptable under this contract? When a recording is made, HACSB will work with the vendor
to determine the most appropriate method based on the specifics of the project and the
technology available at the time.
25. Historically, how often has narration services been requested and for what languages? Narration
services have been requested about 4 times in the past 2 years for special notices. The
languages for future requests will be based on need at the time.
26. What is the anticipated volume of narration services per language? Unable to determine at this
time. It is based on projects and notices that have to be completed in the ordinary course of
business. Previous projects were completed with the languages detailed in the RFP for written
translation services.
27. How much advance notice is provided for narration service requests? It is based on project need
and urgency. Special projects may require a faster response. Please include preferred notice
time in bid.
28. The expedited written translation requirements lists an estimated 10 pages or less. What is the
approximate word count for a 10 page document needed for expedited translation? The exact
word count will vary based on the document being produced, for example a flyer will have less
words than a legal contract. Please feel free to estimate based on standard 8.5 X 11 page with
11 point font.
29. The HACSB will receive more competitive rates if you allow bidders to price out services
individually by language and by service offering, especially when it comes to the difference
between rare or common languages, and simultaneous or consecutive interpretation. Please
advise if this is acceptable and if the price sheet will be revised as such. Please bid the
appropriate price based on your business model for providing service. We have previously
received bids with different pricing ranges for different types of languages. The pricing sheet will
not be revised.
30. What is the historic volume of hours or appointments for on-site interpretation? Number of words or pages for translation? Please see number 2.
31. Why is this bid being issued? Refer to Question # 6
32. How satisfied has the County been with Teruko Weinberg and Life Signs, Inc. HACSB is not a County department, so these are not our current vendor(s).
33. Whether companies from Outside USA can apply for this? (like,from India or Canada) The vendor evaluation does not have a specific preference for U.S. companies.
34. Whether we need to come over there for meetings? Vendors are expected to provide all services as detailed in the RFP.
35. Can we perform the tasks (related to RFP) outside USA? (like, from India or Canada) Please refer to the RFP for the detailed scope of work.
36. Can we submit the proposals via email????? Refer to RFP.