SAMDaily.us | PRESOL | R | Translation Services

SAMDAILY.US - ISSUE OF APRIL 17, 2022 SAM #7443
SOLICITATION NOTICE

R -- Translation Services

Notice Date: 4/15/2022 7:16:50 AM
Notice Type: Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
NAICS: 541930 — Translation and Interpretation Services
Contracting Office: FA3300 42 CONS CC MAXWELL AFB AL 36112-6334 USA
ZIP Code: 36112-6334
Solicitation Number: FA330022RA001
Response Due: 5/3/2022 2:30:00 PM
Archive Date: 05/18/2022
Point of Contact: Khadijah Jones, Phone: 3349533879, Kimberly A. Knott, Phone: 3349538552
E-Mail Address: khadijah.jones.1@us.af.mil, kimberly.knott.1@us.af.mil
(khadijah.jones.1@us.af.mil, kimberly.knott.1@us.af.mil)
Small Business Set-Aside: SBA Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)
Description: GENERAL INFORMATION The 42nd Contracting Squadron, 50 LeMay Plaza, Bldg. 804, Maxwell AFB, AL has a requirement for a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) to purchase services as described in this document and the Statement of Work (SOW), (Attachment 1). This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect the Federal Acquisition Circular 2022-04, effective 30 Jan 2022 and DFARS DPN change notice 20220228, effective 28 Feb 2022. A Firm Fixed Priced (FFP) Blanket Purchase Agreement will be made in accordance with the following: This acquisition is being solicited as a 100% small business set-aside. The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 541930, Translation and Interpretation Services, with a size standard of $8,000,000.00. If there are any questions, please email or call SSgt Khadijah Jones at (334) 953-3879 or Ms. Kimberly Knott at (334) 953-8552. All questions must be received 19 Apr 2022 4:30pm, CST. Price lists/quotes must be received no later than 03 May 2022, 4:30pm, CST. Email proposals are required. Email proposals to both SSgt Khadijah Jones at khadijah.jones.1@us.af.mil and Ms. Kimberly Knott at kimberly.knott.1@us.af.mil. Fax proposals will not be accepted. Late proposals will be processed in accordance with FAR 52.212-1(f) �Late submission, modifications, revisions, and withdrawals of offers.� Period of Performance: Date of award for a period of 5 total years. It is the offeror�s responsibility to ensure the proposal has been received by the contracting office by email confirmation. Receipt of your electronic submittal will be acknowledged via return email; if you do not receive an acknowledgement, you are advised to call for confirmation as firewall protections may block emails and/or strip attachments. Contact information is as follows:� SSgt Khadijah Jones, Contract Specialist (CS), phone: 334-953-3879 email: khadijah.jones.1@us.af.mil Ms. Kimberly Knott, Contracting Officer (CO) phone: 334-953-8552, email: kimberly.knott.1@us.af.mil. Provide one (1) electronic proposal copy. The submission shall be logically assembled. Each section shall be clearly identified. All proposal documents shall be in English e-mailed to the POC�s. (Note: periodically the Government e-mail system experiences delays, therefore, offerors are highly encouraged to contact the individuals identified in this combined synopsis/solicitation to confirm delivery and receipt). The Government will not be responsible for any failure of transmission or receipt of the offer, or any failure of the offeror to verify receipt of the emailed offer. LOCATION: At contractor location. THE GOVERNMENT IS SOLICITING FOR �OPEN MARKET� QUOTES ONLY. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (GSA) QUOTES WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. The Contracting Officer has determined there is a high probability of adequate price competition for this acquisition. Upon examination of the initial offers, the Contracting Officer will review this determination and if, in the Contracting Officer�s opinion, adequate price competition exists no additional cost information will be requested. However, if at any time during this competition the Contracting Officer determines that adequate price competition no longer exists offerors may be required to submit other than cost or pricing data to support a determination of price reasonableness. DESCRIPTION:� The Air Force Research Institute at Maxwell AFB, AL has a requirement to purchase the services mentioned below. This procurement will be awarded as a BPA to at least 3 capable vendors.� The Government is obligated only to the extent of authorized purchases actually made under the BPA.� The dollar limit for each call shall be $150,000.00 for contracting officers.� For contracting officer representatives, the dollar limit for each call shall be $2,500.00. �SCHEDULE OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES: All services are to be performed in accordance with (IAW) the attached Statement of Work (SOW). The contractor shall provide the service listed below. Period of Performance (PoP) Base Year: 01 Jul 22- 30 Jun 27 CLIN 0001�� Translation Services from English to Spanish. Unit Price per word: $__________________ CLIN 0002�� Translation Services from Spanish to English. Unit Price per word: $__________________ CLIN 0001�� Translation Services from English to Portuguese-Brazilian. Unit Price per word: $__________________ CLIN 0001�� Translation Services from Portuguese-Brazilian to English. Unit Price per word: $__________________ *All work is to be performed in accordance with (IAW) the Statement of Work (SOW) below. The following FAR/DFARS provisions and clauses are applicable to this solicitation:� (For full text references, go to https://www.acquisition.gov/ IV.� QUOTE PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS: To assure timely and equitable evaluation of quotes, offerors must comply with the instructions contained herein.� Noncompliance may raise doubt regarding an offeror�s performance capabilities and may be grounds to eliminate the quote from consideration for contract award.� Quotes must be complete, self-sufficient, and respond directly to the requirements of the Request for Quote (RFQ).� Failure to meet a requirement may result in an offer being ineligible for award.� Offerors must clearly identify any exception to the solicitation terms and conditions and provide complete accompanying rationale.� The Government intends to evaluate offers and award this FFP BPA without discussions.� Therefore, the offeror�s initial quote should contain the offeror�s best terms from a price standpoint.� The offeror�s quote response shall consist of two (2) separate parts; Part I � Price List/Quote (valid for one year) and Part II � Technical Quote. PART I � PRICE LIST/QUOTE (a) Complete Section III � Schedule Of Supplies/Services above.� In doing so, the offeror accedes to the BPA terms and conditions as written in the solicitation, including the Statement of Work (SOW). (b) Pricing shall be firm-fixed price for each Contract Line Item Number (CLIN).� Submit price list/quote for both CLINs on a company letterhead.� The price list/quote must be submitted valid for one year, to be renewed on an annual basis. PART II � TECHNICAL QUOTE�� An offeror will be determined technically acceptable based on the following criteria:� TRANSLATOR QUALIFICATIONS. All translators must be credible, certified in Spanish and/or Portuguese. For both languages, the minimum certification must be from one of several certification agencies: �Proficient at the Department of Defense (DoD) 3/3/3 Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale level. The ILR scale is the way in which the US Federal Government defines and refers to language ability. It was developed by the Federal Government�s Inter-Agency Language Roundtable from basic descriptions used by the Foreign Service Institute. With 6 levels, ranging from 0 (No Practical Proficiency) through 5 (Native or Bilingual Proficiency), with �plus� levels at each stage, the scale covers a wide range of abilities) ...or... �Proficient at the fluent level if certified by a recognized civilian institute (i.e. ACTFL or American Translators Association (ATA) certification exam). American Translators Association (ATA) certification meets this requirement. ...Additionally... C.� Educated native speakers are required. It is our experience that non-native speakers are not generally sufficient to ensure proper context and nuance and register in the target languages. D. �Certification may be waived for translators who have previously completed satisfactory work with AU Press. �Translate the following paragraph for proof of knowledge and accuracy: In 2012 Air Force ISR finds itself at a culminating point�a place where the demand, disposition, and development of current capabilities, arrayed against future requirements, force some critical decision making. After a decade of war, the service is well postured to operate in permissive environments, deploying sufficient airborne ISR with up to 65 combat air patrols (CAP) and enough processing, exploitation, and PED capacity to meet war-fighter and national-level needs. However, in the absence of objectively determined joint requirements, continuing demands for additional CAPs are unsustainable. Additionally, a variety of the Department of Defense�s (DOD) independent ISR projects driven by joint urgent operational needs to satisfy a considered shortfall for today�s fight calls for review. In recognition of the changing security environment and the need to understand and present the Air Force�s ISR enterprise as a holistic set of capabilities�not a narrowly prescribed set of remotely piloted aircraft system CAPs�in June 2011 the secretary of the Air Force (SECAF) authorized a comprehensive review of that enterprise. ��The offeror submits a dated price list/quote on company letterhead with unit prices in response to this solicitation; and takes no exception to the requirements of this synopsis/solicitation and solicitation and in doing so and without taking any exception to the requirements of this synopsis/solicitation, including specification, ""Schedule of Supplies/Services"" and terms and conditions, the offeror accedes to all solicitation requirements. Offerors may submit quotes by email as responses to this solicitation. E-mail quotes are subject to the same rules as paper quotes. Typing shall be double spaced, in Times New Roman, and not be less than 12 pitch. Offerors must clearly identify any exception to the solicitation terms and conditions and provide complete accompanying rationale. ��If offerors ORCA Representations and Certifications are not current, then they must include a completed copy of the provisions at FAR 52.212-3, and Alternate I, Offeror Representations and Certifications � Commercial Items. Incomplete or expired Representations and Certifications will render a quote as non-responsive and it will not be considered. . �Interested parties capable of providing the requirement must submit a written price list/quote to include discount terms, tax identification number, cage code, and DUNS. ��To be eligible to receive an award resulting from this RFQ, contractors must be registered in the DoD Systems for Award Management database, no exceptions. To register, please visit http://www.sam.gov or by calling 1-866-606-8220. V. �BASIS FOR AWARD We will be issuing at least three BPAs to capable vendors, based on lowest price and technical acceptability.� The offeror, by submission of the required information in Part II. Technical Quote, and acceding to all of the requirements of this synopsis/solicitation (see Quote Preparation Instructions) will be evaluated for technical acceptability.� All technically acceptable offers will then be evaluated for pricing.� A.� TECHNICAL EVALUATION. Each offeror�s technical quotes will be rated for acceptability on an Acceptable/Unacceptable basis. All technical criteria must be rated �Acceptable� to be considered technically acceptable. Simply restating the technical criteria within a quote may result in an unacceptable rating and preclude the offeror from award. Table A-1 Technical Acceptable/Unacceptable Ratings Rating Description Acceptable Quote clearly meets the minimum requirements of the solicitation. Unacceptable Quote does not clearly meet the minimum requirements of the solicitation. B.� PRICE EVALUATION. The Government will evaluate the price information submitted in each offeror�s price list/quote for reasonableness.� Price will always be an important factor; therefore, offerors should make diligent efforts to control costs and submit fairly priced price lists/quotes.� C.� AWARD WITHOUT DISCUSSIONS:� The Government intends to award a FFP BPA without discussions with offerors. The Government, however, reserves the right to conduct discussions if deemed in its best interest. VI.� CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS: This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available, IAW FAR 52.107 or view in the sites mentioned in provision 52.252.-1 and Clause 52.252.2. The following provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition and can be viewed through internet access at the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Site, https://www.acquisition.gov/ in accordance with 52.252-1 and 52.252-2. REFERENCE: 52.204-7, System for Award Management 52.204-10, Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards 52.204-13, System for Award Management Maintenance 52.204-19, Incorporation by Reference of Representations and Certifications 52.209-6, Protecting the Governments Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment. 52.209-10, Prohibition on Contracting With Inverted Domestic Corporations 52.212-1, Instructions to offerors � Commercial Items 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions -- Commercial Items 52.219-6, Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside 52.219-13, Notice of Set-Aside of Orders 52.219-28, Post-Award Small Business Program Rerepresentation 52.222-3, Convict Labor 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity. 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities 52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons 52.223-18, Contractor Policy to Ban Text Messaging While Driving 52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer� System for Award Management 52.233-3, Protest After Award 52.233-4, Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim 52.253-1, Computer Generated Forms 252.203-7000, Requirements Relating to Compensation of Former DoD Officials 252.203-7002, Requirement to Inform Employees of Whistleblower Rights 252.203-7005, Requirements Relating to Compensation of Former DoD Officials 252.204-7003, Control of Government Personnel Work Product 252.204-7004, Antiterrorism Awareness Training for Contractors 252.204-7006, Billing Instructions 252.204-7008, Compliance with Safeguarding Covered Defense Information Controls 252.204-7012, Safeguarding of Unclassified Controlled Technical Information 252.204-7019, Notice of NIST SP 800-171 DoD Assessment Reports 252.204-7020, NIST SP 800-171 DoD Assessment Requirements 252.225-7048, Export-Controlled Items 252.232-7003, Electronic Submission of Payment Requests and Receiving Reports 252.232-7010, Levies on Contract Payments 252.237-7010, Prohibition on Interrogation of Detainees by Contractor Personnel 252.243-7001, Pricing of Contract Modifications Full Text: 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders � Commercial Items 52.212-3 Alt I, Offeror Representations and Certifications � Commercial Items 252.232-7006, Wide Area Work Flow Payment Instructions 5352.201-9101�� OMBUDSMAN (OCT 2019) (a) An ombudsman has been appointed to hear and facilitate the resolution of concerns from offerors, potential offerors, and others for this acquisition. When requested, the ombudsman will maintain strict confidentiality as to the source of the concern. The existence of the ombudsman does not affect the authority of the program manager, contracting officer, or source selection official. Further, the ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals, the source selection process, or the adjudication of protests or formal contract disputes. The ombudsman may refer the interested party to another official who can resolve the concern. (b) Before consulting with an ombudsman, interested parties must first address their concerns, issues, disagreements, and/or recommendations to the contracting officer for resolution. Consulting an ombudsman does not alter or postpone the timelines for any other processes (e.g., agency level bid protests, GAO bid protests, requests for debriefings, employee-employer actions, contests of OMB Circular A-76 competition performance decisions). (c) If resolution cannot be made by the contracting officer, the interested party may contact the ombudsman, Primary: Mr. David E. Jones, Deputy Chief, Contracting Division, HQ AFICA/KT; Alternate: Mr. Stephen G. Smith, Chief, Acquisition Support Branch, HQ AFICA/KTC; Address: 2035 First Street West, Ste 1, JBSA Randolph AFB TX 78150-4324; Telephone Numbers: (210) 652-7907 or (210) 652-7075; and E-mail Addresses: david.jones.3@us.af.mil or stephen.smith@randolph.af.mil.� Concerns, issues, disagreements, and recommendations that cannot be resolved at the Center/MAJCOM/ DRU/HQ AFICA/AFISRA/SMC ombudsman level, may be brought by the interested party for further consideration to the Air Force ombudsman, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary (ADAS) (Contracting), SAF/AQC, 1060 Air Force Pentagon, Washington DC 20330-1060, phone number (571) 256-2395. (d) The ombudsman has no authority to render a decision that binds the agency. (e) Do not contact the ombudsman to request copies of the solicitation, verify offer due date, or clarify technical requirements. Such inquiries shall be directed to the Contracting Officer. (End of clause) PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING: Company Name: Company Address, Phone, Fax, Email and Point of Contact: Cage Code: Type of Business: Tax Identification Number: Attachment 1 � SOW Statement of Work For Language Services For Academic Services/Air University Press 600 Chennault Circle Bldg. 1405, Room 143 Maxwell AFB, AL 36112 DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES. 1.1 Background. The Academic Services/Air University Press generates, manages, publishes and distributes the US Air Force Journal of the Americas (JotA) in three languages (English, Spanish, and Portuguese-Brazilian) that are uniquely tailored for constituent readers and regional air forces. Publishing a journal in the main three languages spoken for our allied forces in the Western Hemisphere, is a critical mission requirement for Air University, established by Gen Vandenburg in 1949, and further recognized in 2019 as a USAF core function. JotA regularly requires translation of English language text into Spanish and Portuguese-Brazilian (and vice versa) for its readership. AU Press has traditionally used a translation contract to ensure cost effectiveness, timeliness, quality and compliance with regulatory guidance. This new contract would continue to provide this service. Failure to enact this contract would result in mission failure of this requirement for Air University. 1.2 Scope of Work: The contractor shall, except as specified in this Statement of Work (SOW) as government furnished property or services, provide all personnel, supervision, and any items and services necessary to perform translation services for AU Press as defined by this statement. The contractor shall conform to the professional standards identified in this contract, and shall follow all applicable instructions and directives as identified in this SOW. 1.3 Contractor tasks include the following: translating articles, book reviews, and other documents as required; quality checking translated documents, providing translated documents in specified electronic formats, and development of a style guide--to aid with future translations. The contractor shall submit reports and documentation as identified throughout this SOW. Requests for such reports and documentation and responses shall be coordinated through the government point of contact (POC). 2. PROGRAM OVERVIEW. AU Press requires translation services capable of translating documents, which are both scholarly and technical in nature for the US Air Force Journal of the Americas (JotA). Quality and timeliness of effort are the critical factors for this contract. Effort will be year-round with multiple spikes three times a year, as journal approaches deadline. 2.1 Nominally 35% of the translations will be from English, 45% from Spanish, and 20% from Portuguese-Brazilian to the other two respective target languages. JotA will submit 4-9 articles for translation three times a year. Vendors would be selected for BPA assignment based on their stated capabilities and the results of their submitted translation sample. On average, articles run approximately 6,000 words in length. Additionally, one to three book reviews may be submitted annually. Book reviews generally run about 1,000 words. 2.2 The annual effort shall be approximately 205,000 words. 3. TRANSLATOR QUALIFICATIONS. All translators must be credible, certified in Spanish and/or Portuguese-Brazilian. For both languages, the minimum certification must be from one of several certification agencies: 3.1 Proficient at the Department of Defense (DoD) 3/3/3 Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale level. The ILR scale is the way in which the US Federal Government defines and refers to language ability. It was developed by the Federal Government�s Inter-Agency Language Roundtable from basic descriptions used by the Foreign Service Institute. With 6 levels, ranging from 0 (No Practical Proficiency) through 5 (Native or Bilingual Proficiency), with �plus� levels at each stage, the scale covers a wide range of abilities) ...or... 3.2 Proficient at the fluent level if certified by a recognized civilian institute (i.e. ACTFL or American Translators Association (ATA) certification exam). American Translators Association (ATA) certification and federal court-certified translators meet this requirement. ...Additionally... 3.3 Educated native speakers are required. It is our experience that non-native speakers are not generally sufficient to ensure proper context and nuance and register in the target languages. 3.4 Certification may be waived for translators who have previously completed satisfactory work with AU Press. 4. TRANSLATION DELIVERY TIMELINES. 4.1 Initial translations shall be delivered within 7 business days after receipt of government furnished materials. Allowing for the extremely difficult technical language and extended length of some submissions, request for extension of due date to 15 business days after receipt of government furnished materials may be accepted for no more than 20% of requested translations. 4.2 Translations returned by government for correction/rework shall be delivered no later than 5 business days after receipt of government furnished materials. 5. TRANSLATION QUALITY. Translation submissions must follow the language register of the document submitted for translation. JotA, in all versions, is a scholarly journal; translated articles must be written in styles and grammar appropriate to current journal's standards. JotA editors will reject articles, regardless of error rate, if the company submits an article to AU Press which does not meet the language register-quality requirement. 5.1 There must be fewer than three material errors in each completed work. Material errors include grammar, transposition of facts, and loss of meaning or coherency in translation. 5.2 Translations shall be accurate, clear and sensitive to the cultural, political and social environment of the target audience. 5.3 Translators shall be familiar with the normal phraseology of military forces, specifically air forces, in the target language. 5.4 A style guide shall be initiated within 60 days of award and submitted to JotA's editor, for consolidation and shared distribution to minimize repetitive errors when confronted with specific military jargon (e.g., proper translation and use of acronyms) or terms which may have multiple possibilities for translations. Updates will be due quarterly. 6. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS. 6.1 Work efforts will be accountable (paid for) by the piece by word count. 6.2 Submissions from the company to AU Press should be in the current version of Microsoft Word-docx and submitted electronically (via email or SharePoint upload). 6.3 There is no typesetting or specific format requirement. Contractors will follow the general format of the submitted paper. 6.4 All files for submission must be screened and cleaned by the author using an up-to-date virus/spyware scanning program before sending to AU Press. 7. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT. 7.1 Quality Control: The contractor shall develop and maintain a quality control program to ensure services are performed in accordance with commonly accepted commercial practices. The contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective translation services. As a minimum, the contractor shall develop quality control procedures addressing all areas previously identified in this SOW 7.2 Quality Assurance: The government will evaluate the contractor's performance by appointing technical representatives to monitor performance to ensure services are received. The technical representatives will evaluate the contractor's performance through analysis of technical representative reports on the technical and cultural accuracy of translations for the target audience and region. The government will investigate complaints from AU Press about the contractor's management of the translation efforts (i.e. schedule compliance, product delivery, cost control, etc...). Technical representatives shall be responsible for initially validating and documenting substandard customer complaints and disagreements. If the contractor challenges the validity of any complaint, and the technical representatives and contractor cannot come to agreement, the complaint in question shall be forwarded to the Contracting Officer for resolution. The contracting officer shall make final determination of the validity of customer complaint(s) in cases of disagreement with the contractor. 8. CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL. 8.1 Contract Manager: The contractor shall provide a contract manager who shall be responsible for the overall performance required to satisfy this SOW. The name of contract manager shall be designated in writing to the contracting officer not later than the pre-performance conference. Any change in the name or home phone number of either party shall be communicated in writing to the contracting officer twenty-four (24) hours in advance of the change if planned and within eight (8) hours of the occurrence if unplanned. The contracted translator may also be the contract manager. 8.2 Contracted Translators: The contractor shall be responsible for the overall performance required to satisfy this SOW. 8.3 Security requirements. 8.3.1 The contractor(s) will not be working on a government installation or on a government network. 10.3.2 Reporting Requirements. The contractor shall comply with AFI 71-101, Volume-1, Criminal Investigations, and Volume-2 Protective Service Matters, requirements. Contractor personnel shall report to an appropriate authority any information or circumstances of which they are aware may pose a threat to the security of DOD personnel, contractor personnel, resources, and classified or unclassified defense information. 10.3.3 Place of Performance: The work required will be performed at the location of the contractor. 10.3.4 Media: All Deliverables shall be submitted in electronic format using Microsoft Word.
Web Link: SAM.gov Permalink
(https://sam.gov/opp/cfd35a85d4164ce68f563793d79b4030/view)
Place of Performance: Address: Montgomery, AL 36112, USA; Zip Code: 36112; Country: USA
Record: SN06299461-F 20220417/220415230107 (samdaily.us)
Source: SAM.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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R -- Translation Services