RFQ - Language Interpreter Services

BACKGROUND

FHI 360, a large non-profit human development organization, is seeking Language Interpretation Service Providers for the USAID-funded Lebanon Civic Action Accelerator Program (LEB-CAAP).

PURPOSE

FHI 360 is soliciting bids from qualified providers for interpretation services from English to Arabic (Lebanese dialect and Standard Modern Arabic) and vice versa for LEB-CAAP project. Bidders can be either qualified licensed professionals (individuals) who provide professional translation services or qualified licensed companies that offer both translation and simultaneous interpretation services from/to English and Arabic.

Qualified service providers will be required to provide the following services:

• Perform simultaneous interpretation from English to Arabic & vice versa during LEB-CAAP’s events & workshops.
• Ensure accuracy of specific terminology used in LEB-CAAP’s project while providing translation or interpretation services.
• Provide necessary equipment upon request (Interpretation booth, interpretation system, headphones).

Contracting Mechanism

FHI 360 seeks to find cost-effective, reliable, and consistent interpreters (companies or/and individuals) to meet the project’s needs.  The successful bidder must be capable of supporting FHI 360’s requirements in a timely, satisfactory, and efficient manner.

The contracting mechanism will be a Master Service Agreement with qualified language interpretation service providers. The Master Service Agreement will be executed through issuance of specific work orders detailing the scope of work with the relevant requirements, deliverables, duration, and costs.

DURATION

The duration of the Master Agreement will be 1 year, with an option to extend for additional terms based on evaluation of performance, service availability, and project needs.

REQUEST FOR QUOTATION FIRM GUARANTEE

All information submitted in connection with this RFQ will be valid for sixty (60) days from the RFQ due date. This includes, but is not limited to, cost, pricing, terms and conditions, service levels, and all other information. If you or your firm is awarded the contract, all information in the RFQ and negotiation process is contractually binding.

 VENDOR SELECTION

The final selection will be based on a combination of favorable costs and services, as well as other factors such as experience and familiarity with the technical topics pertaining to the project, demonstrated experience working with development organizations and performing language interpretation from Arabic to English and vice versa during events and workshops. The following criteria will be evaluated:

Evaluation criteria for Interpretation services

Criteria

Scoring

Relevant experience and proficiency on simultaneous interpretation in the subject matter from English to Standard Modern Arabic and vice-versa in high visibility events, workshops, and meetings.

20%

Quality of interpretation in English and Arabic (accuracy, accent and grammar)

30%

Capability to provide simultaneous interpretation equipment and tools.

20%

Price reasonableness.

15%

Business Reference check.

15%

Right to select/reject

FHI 360 reserves the right to select and negotiate with those firms it determines, it its sole discretion, to be qualified for competitive bids and to terminate negotiations without incurring any liability.

RESERVED RIGHTS

All RFQ responses become the property of FHI 360, who reserves the right in its sole discretion to:

• To disqualify any offer based on offeror failure to follow solicitation instructions.
• Extend the time for submission of all RFQ responses after notification to all offerors.
• Terminate or modify the RFQ process at any time and re-issue the RFQ to whomever FHI 360 deems appropriate.
• Reserves the right to issue an award based on the initial evaluation of offers without discussion.
• Award only part of the activities in the solicitation or issue multiple awards based on solicitation activities.

• FHI 360 will not compensate vendors for preparation of their response to this RFQ.
• Issuing this RFQ is not a guarantee that FHI 360 will award a Master Agreement
• FHI 360 shall not be obligated to order any minimum or maximum quantities of services or products and assumes no commitment, financial or otherwise.