Conference Interpretation Services - Request for Information

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  
1.	INTRODUCTION	
2.	INSTRUCTIONS FOR RESPONDING TO RFI	
3.	OVERVIEW OF POTENTIAL SOLICITATION STRATEGY	
4.	STATEMENT OF REQUIREMENT	
5. 	QUESTIONS FOR RESPONDENTS	


1	INTRODUCTION

1.1	Background
The Translation Bureau (TB) would like to gauge industry interest in providing conference interpretation services in both official languages (English and French), as and when requested in the Ottawa professional domicile zone.  The Ottawa professional domicile zone is defined as the area within a 60 km radius of Ottawa City Hall. 
In addition, the TB would like to introduce suppliers to a new Invitation to Tender template that may be used for future conference interpretation requirements as well as announce potential future plans for the Translation Bureau’s procurement of conference interpretation services and parliamentary interpretation services. 

1.2 	Purpose of Request for Information

In order to deliver future services as mentioned above and described in the section entitled “Statement of Requirement,” Canada is seeking information from current suppliers of conference interpretation services. 
 
The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to:

a)	Provide industry with an early opportunity to assess and comment on the TB requirement in order to ensure best value for money for Canada if an Invitation to Tender is issued;

b)	Determine the capability and interest of suppliers in providing the services described in the Invitation to Tender;

c)	Solicit feedback and recommendations on any issues that would affect a supplier’s ability to fulfill the TB requirement; and

d)	Solicit industry knowledge and expertise with regard to best practices that would increase the likelihood of a successful outcome for this project and/or similar projects.

1.3	 Nature of Request for Information

This is not a bid solicitation. This RFI will not result in the award of a contract, nor will it result in the creation of a source list. Therefore, not responding to this RFI will not preclude a given supplier from participating in any future procurement. Moreover, this RFI may not be followed by a procurement process of any kind.  It is simply intended to solicit feedback from industry with respect to its contents.

Nothing in this RFI may be construed as a commitment from Canada to prepare an Invitation to Tender, or any other form of solicitation, for this project. Canada may use any non-proprietary information obtained as part of this review or while preparing a future official Invitation to Tender or other procurement tools.

Canada will not be bound by any statement contained in this RFI, and reserves the right to change, at any time, any or all parts of the requirement, as it deems necessary. Canada also reserves the right to revise its procurement approach, as it considers appropriate, either on the basis of information submitted in response to this RFI, or for any other reason it deems appropriate.
 

2	INSTRUCTIONS FOR RESPONDING TO RFI 

2.1 	Terminology

Respondent: Supplier responding to the RFI. 

Client: Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) – Translation Bureau.

Interpreter: A conference interpreter who is accredited by the Translation Bureau and meets the mandatory criteria for one of the three (3) work streams, as set out in the attached Invitation to Tender.
	 
Project Authority: The Project Authority, or designated representative(s), is the representative of the department or agency for whom the Work is being carried out under the Contract and is responsible for all matters concerning the technical content of the Work under the Contract. Technical matters may be discussed with the Project Authority; however, the Project Authority has no authority to authorize changes to the scope of the Work. Changes to the scope of the Work can be made only through a contract amendment issued by the Contracting Authority.

Contracting Authority: The Contracting Authority is responsible for the management of the Contract, and any changes to the Contract must be authorized in writing by the Contracting Authority. The Contractor must not perform Work in excess of or outside the scope of the Contract based on verbal or written requests or instructions from anyone, other than the Contracting Authority. 


2.2  	Nature and Format of Responses Requested

Section 4 of this RFI outlines the Translation Bureau’s (TB) perspective on:

•	The interpretation service requirements it would like to fulfill; and
•	The process whereby TB will fulfill that requirement.

Section 3.3 contains an estimated schedule.

Section 5 provides specific questions covering input TB is seeking on the attached Invitation to Tender and possible future Invitations to Tender. 
 
Attached is a proposed Invitation to Tender to give respondents an opportunity to review it and provide comments. It contains general information, instructions to bidders, evaluation procedures and basis for selection, certifications, resulting contract clauses, and annexes such as the Statement of Work and Basis of Payment. 

Respondents are invited to comment on the “Statement of Requirement” section, which includes mandatory criteria for selecting suppliers. They are also invited to explain any assumptions they make in interpreting the requirements. 

2.3  Response Costs

Canada will not reimburse any respondent for expenses incurred in responding to this RFI.

2.4  Treatment of Responses

a)	Use of Responses

Responses will not be formally evaluated. However, the responses received may be used by Canada to develop or modify procurement strategies. Canada will review all responses received by the RFI closing date. Canada may, at its discretion, review responses received after the RFI closing date.

b)	Review Team

A review team consisting of TB representatives will review the responses. Canada reserves the right to hire an independent consultant or use any Government resources that it considers necessary to review a response. All members of the review team will not necessarily review all responses. 

c)	Confidentiality

Respondents should clearly mark any portions of their response that they consider proprietary or confidential. Canada will handle such portions of the response in accordance with the Access to Information Act. 

d)	Follow-up Activity

Canada may, at its discretion, contact respondents to follow up with additional questions or for clarification of any aspect of a response. 

2.5 	Contents of the RFI

This RFI contains a draft Statement of Requirement, which remains a work in progress.  Therefore, new clauses or requirements may be added to any Invitations to Tender that might ultimately be published by Canada. Moreover, some clauses or requirements may be deleted or revised. Comments regarding any aspect of this RFI, Statement of Requirement and supplier requirements are welcome. This RFI also contains specific questions addressed to the industry. 

2.6  	Enquiries

Because this is not a bid solicitation, Canada will not necessarily respond to enquiries in writing or by circulating answers to all potential suppliers. However, respondents with questions regarding this RFI may direct their enquiries to:

Contact person: Éric Labelle, Supply Specialist
Linguistic Services Division ZF | PWGSC
Address:	Richelieu Building, 975 St-Joseph Blvd, Second Floor, Rm 19, 
Gatineau (Quebec)  K1A 0S5
Email: Eric.Labelle@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca


2.7 	Submission of Responses

a)	Time and Place for Submission of Responses

Suppliers interested in providing a response should deliver it to the Contracting Authority identified above, by midnight, March 10th 2014.

b)	Responsibility for Submitting Timely Responses

Each respondent is solely responsible for ensuring that its response is delivered on time to the correct location.

c)	Identification of Responses

Each respondent should ensure that its name and return address, as well as the closing date, appear legibly on the outside of the response. 

2.8	Security Requirements

There is no security requirement associated with responding to this RFI. 

Any future procurement actions undertaken in support of this requirement may require suppliers to hold the following security clearance:

Work Stream 1

The Contractor/Offeror must, at all times during the performance of the Contract/Standing Offer, hold a valid Facility Security Clearance at the level of TOP SECRET or SECRET, issued by the Canadian Industrial Security Directorate (CISD), Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC).

The Contractor/Offeror personnel requiring access to CLASSIFIED information, assets or sensitive work site(s) must EACH hold a valid personnel security screening at the level of TOP SECRET or SECRET, granted or approved by CISD/PWGSC.


Work Streams 2 and 3

The Contractor/Offeror must, at all times during the performance of the Contract/Standing Offer, hold a valid Designated Organization Screening (DOS), issued by the Canadian Industrial Security Directorate (CISD), Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC). 

The Contractor/Offeror personnel requiring access to PROTECTED information, assets or sensitive work site(s) must EACH hold a valid RELIABILITY STATUS, granted or approved by CISD/PWGSC.

The above security clearances are provided for information purposes only.
For more information about security requirements governing contracts, visit the CISD website at http://ssi-iss.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/.

2.9	Official Languages

Responses to this RFI may be submitted in either of Canada’s official languages.
 
2.10	Intellectual Property Rights

Any future procurement action related to Canada’s supplier requirements will contain provisions awarding the ownership of the intellectual property rights to foreground information and a licence to intellectual property rights to background information to the Government of Canada. 
 
3.	OVERVIEW OF POTENTIAL SOLICITATION STRATEGY

This section outlines the solicitation strategy that Canada is considering in order to fulfill its interpretation service requirements.

3.1	Invitation to Tender

Once the industry feedback on the RFI has been considered, one or more Invitations to Tender may be used to solicit bids using the Translation Bureau’s list of accredited conference interpreters. The bidding period will be in accordance with Government of Canada policies on procurement and subject to applicable trade agreements. 

3.2	Proposed Contract Strategy

The current conference interpretation requirement for the Ottawa professional domicile zone may ultimately be divided into several contracts:
•	Up to five (5) contracts for Work Stream 1 – High Profile Events (secret clearance)
•	Up to five (5) contracts for Work Stream 2 – High Profile Events (enhanced clearance)
•	Up to ten (10) contracts for Work Stream 3 – Medium Profile Events (enhanced clearance)

Other similar Invitations to Tender may be used to solicit bids for other professional domicile zones.
A similar Invitation to Tender template may be used by the Parliamentary Interpretation Service and may contain clauses that differ significantly.  
Also, as part of the Translation Bureau modernization of its linguistic services procurement process, the Translation Bureau plans to prepare a Request for Standing Offer (RFSO) to respond to future conference interpretation services requirements.
 In addition, the Parliamentary Interpretation Service plans to introduce an Invitation to Tender that might lead to contracts of a longer duration. 
The Translation Bureau plans to consult with Industry throughout the preparation of the RFSO for Conference Interpretation Services and the Invitation to Tender for Parliamentary Interpretation Services.

3.3  	Estimated Schedule 

3.3.1	If this RFI leads to a future Invitation to Tender, the Translation Bureau proposes the following schedule for the conference interpretation requirement for the Ottawa professional domicile zone:

• Issue Invitation to Tender 			April 2014				
			
• Complete bid evaluation 			May 2014
		
• Award contract(s) 				May 2014
		
• Commence delivery of services	Upon signature of contract(s) or depending on client requirements.	




 
4.	STATEMENT OF REQUIREMENT

The Translation Bureau (TB) has a requirement for conference interpretation services in both official languages (English and French), as and when requested in the Ottawa professional domicile zone.  The Ottawa professional domicile zone is defined as the area within a 60 km radius of Ottawa City Hall.


4.1	Requirement
See Annex A – Statement of Work found in the attached document entitled “Invitation to Tender for Conference Interpretation Services”.


4.2	Contract Duration 

Services shall be provided for six (6) months as of the contract award date.

The current requirement may ultimately be divided into 20 contracts to address all three work streams: 
•	Up to five (5) contracts for Work Stream 1 – High Profile Events (secret clearance)
•	Up to five (5) contracts for Work Stream 2 – High Profile Events (enhanced clearance)
•	Up to ten (10) contracts for Work Stream 3 – Medium Profile Events (enhanced clearance)
depending on responses from potential suppliers about their capability to provide the aforementioned conference interpretation services.


4.3	Mandatory Criteria for Work Stream 1 – High Profile Events

See the attached document entitled “Invitation to Tender for Conference Interpretation Services” under Part 1 – Invitation to submit, 8.1.1 Mandatory Technical Criteria (MTC) for Work Stream 1 – High Profile Events.


4.4	Mandatory Criteria for Work Stream 2 – High Profile Events

See the attached document entitled “Invitation to Tender for Conference Interpretation Services” under Part 1 – Invitation to submit, 8.1.2 Mandatory Technical Criteria (MTC) for Work Stream 2 – High Profile Events.


4.5	Mandatory Criteria for Work Stream 3 – Medium Profile Events

See the attached document entitled “Invitation to Tender for Conference Interpretation Services” under Part 1 – Invitation to submit, 8.1.3 Mandatory Technical Criteria (MTC) for Work Stream 3 – Medium Profile Events.

4.6	New Invitation to Tender process

The attached document is part of a new invitation to tender process the Translation Bureau is establishing in its review of procedures to award and administer contracts.  Please examine the draft Invitation to Tender and proposed contract template carefully.



 
5 	QUESTIONS FOR RESPONDENTS 

As the purpose of this RFI is to solicit industry feedback with respect to Translation Bureau requirements, respondents are invited to submit answers in response to the questions below. Respondents are encouraged to submit answers to as many questions as possible; however, the draft Statement of Requirement should be taken into consideration when responding to questions.

5.1	Please state any questions or comments you may have about the draft Statement of Requirement.

5.2	What is your opinion of the mandatory criteria for selecting suppliers? Are they too restrictive? If yes how? Do you have any recommendations?

5.3	Do you see anything in the mandatory requirements for a specific work stream that would prevent you from bidding, when you feel you are in fact qualified?

5.4 	Would you be interested in submitting a bid to provide the services described in this RFI?  Would you have any changes to suggest that would enable your company to bid on a future Invitation to Tender?

5.5	Do you have a personnel or organization security clearance? If yes, what level?
 
5.6	Would you be interested in submitting a bid for a six (6) month contract? If not, why not?

5.7	Do you think that having a six (6) month contract would reduce the administrative burden on you as a supplier?

5.8	Are there any other considerations that would encourage you to bid or prevent you from bidding on an Invitation to Tender?

5.9	Do you see anything in the Cancellation/Reassignment clause in Part 2 of the Invitation to Tender that would prevent you from bidding? Do you have any recommendations?

5.10	Please provide any other information that you believe would be useful in preparing a bid in response to an Invitation to Tender for conference interpretation services.