Provision of translation from English to French and French revision services to the Linguistic Servi

Country:

Canada

City/Locality:

Canada Wide

Notice/Contract Number:

can:148631

Publication Date:

Apr 16, 2008

Deadline:

May 20, 2008

Buyer:

Service Canada Contracting and Procurement/Contrats et achats

Original Language:

English

Address:

André Lamothe
140 Promenade du Portage Phase IV, 1st Floor
Gatineau , QC K1A 0J9
Canada

Telephone:

819-953-9117

Fax:

819-997-0442

Email:

Click here

75100000 - Administration services

Provision of translation from English to French and French revision services to the Linguistic Servi

CONTEXT

Linguistic Services is looking for freelancers who are able to provide English to French translation services and French revision services at a rate of about 20,000 words per month. The frequency and volume of the translation and revision requests will vary according to Linguistic Services’ priorities. During the 2006–07 fiscal year, the volume of translation and revision requests from English to French (90%) and from French to English (10%) for Linguistic Services reached some 5 million words. Linguistic Services expects this volume to increase in the coming year. About 75% of requests have tight deadlines.

The freelance services shall be required according to the needs of Linguistic Services for a period of one year, effective the date the contract is awarded. Translation and revision requests must be processed as soon as they are received. These requests will include new texts and modifications to previously translated texts in the following fields: general, financial, paralegal, medical, computer science, human resources, social programs, programs of study and labour market.

This RFP is for freelancers and small translation firms.

Definitions

Freelancer: A person who is self employed.
Small company: A firm that has one to five employees.

To increase the readability of this document, the term freelancer is used to mean the self employed freelancers and small translation firms that will provide services.

In addition, the term bidder is used to mean the self employed freelancer or small translation firm that submits a proposal.


OBJECTIVES

Considering the increase in the volume of work, Linguistic Services wishes to award a maximum of three separate ceiling price contracts for English to French translation and French revision services, as required. The period of each contract shall be one year. Linguistic Services will have the option to extend the contract under the same conditions for a maximum of two additional one-year periods. These contracts shall be awarded through a complete competitive process to guarantee the quality of the services provided to Linguistic Services and provide the best value for the Crown.

SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

Freelancers providing translation and revision services must have an enhanced reliability security clearance that is valid for the entire contract period. Proposals must include proof of security clearance that is valid when the contact is awarded.

GENERAL CONDITIONS

Linguistic Services must award contracts based on the evaluation criteria (sections C and D), financial criteria (section E) and certifications (section F). Linguistic Services will not necessarily award the contract to the lowest bidder. The contracts shall be awarded to the freelancers who obtain the highest overall score for technical merit and price.

To ensure that services provided are distributed fairly among the different contracts, Linguistic Services will allocate the work on a rotational basis to the freelancers, according to their availability. Urgent work shall be assigned to the freelancers best equipped to meet the prescribed deadline while providing quality service.

Place of Work

Freelancers are expected to work from their own place of work and to send the translations or revisions to Linguistic Services. Freelancers will not work out of Linguistic Services’ offices.

DEFINITION OF REQUIREMENTS

Nature of work

The work consists of the English to French translation and French revision of various texts, particularly in the following fields: general, human resources, social programs, programs of study and labour market.

Bidders must comply with all of the statements in this section of the Request for Proposal, which shall form an integral part of any contract resulting from this RFP. All translation and revision requests shall come from Linguistic Services’ project authorities or their replacements, who are the only individuals responsible for sending and receiving translations. Their names will appear on a list that will be drawn up when the contract is awarded and that will be updated regularly thereafter.

Consequently, all freelancers must submit to all of the following conditions:

a) The freelancer must provide translation or revision services upon request and receipt of an authorized request for translation or revision services.

b) The freelancer must translate every new document at a pre established set rate per word. The freelancer must translate every modification made to a previously translated text at a pre-established set hourly rate. Texts must be revised at a pre established set hourly rate.

c) Before contacting the project authority, the freelancer shall conduct all possible research to find the terminology used at HRSDC. The freelancer shall question the project authority on any outstanding terminology, as needed.

d) The freelancer agrees that a normal working day comprises 7.5 hours during a normal week, beginning on Monday and ending on Friday.

e) The freelancer must be able to respond to requests for translation and revision outside office hours (from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday to Friday), on weekends and on statutory holidays.

f) The freelancer must propose four rates, two (one regular and one urgent) for translation services and two (one regular and one urgent) for revision services for the first 12 month period and for each subsequent period of the same length. (Please refer to the tables in section E.)

g) The freelancer must obtain reference documents from the Linguistic Services project authority.



Delivery times and work to be performed

a) The freelancer must be able to regularly translate and revise approximately 20,000 words per month.

b) The freelancer agrees to meet the prescribed deadlines for each service request.

c) The freelancer agrees that the deadlines for urgent or priority requests will be negotiated by the project authority (or his/her replacement) in accordance with the needs of Linguistic Services.

d) The freelancer also agrees that the work performed for each translation or revision request shall be determined by the Linguistic Services project authority (or his/her replacement).

e) The texts to be translated or revised are of different types and include briefing notes, publications, work descriptions, letters and memoranda, reports, questionnaires, financial and administrative documents, minutes of meetings and conferences, decisions, Treasury Board submissions, and other documents pertaining to social development and the labour market.

Software and format

a) The freelancer agrees to deliver all translations and revisions in the form, style and format of the original text, unless otherwise indicated by the Linguistic Services project authority. All Linguistic Services sections use Windows 2000 and Microsoft Office XP suite version 5.0, which includes the following programs: Word, Excel and PowerPoint 2002. These are the only acceptable formats for the delivery of translations and revisions.

For processing requests and transferring files, the freelancers shall use the Web Beetext Flow application (project management software) and a courier company to return urgent documents. Linguistic Services shall send a tutorial to the freelancers who are awarded a contract. The freelancers will also have access to a training session for a fee.

Note: These types of software are those currently used and their use will be confirmed at the time the contract is awarded. In the event of their replacement by other software or other versions, the contractor will be given one month’s notice of the change.

b) The freelancer must, without any additional costs to the Crown, be able to use the above-mentioned software effectively. Linguistic Services is not responsible for the loss of files during translation and revision and will not compensate time spent redoing such files.

c) The freelancer must use virus detection and elimination software to ensure the delivery of virus-free texts, and must refrain from using unauthorized codes for word processing, tables, etc. The supplier must take the necessary measures to ensure that its electronic texts are delivered virus free.

d) The freelancer must have Internet access to find sites containing reference documents when needed, as well as access to electronic mail to receive and send correspondence and translation and revision requests.

Word Count

a) The freelancer agrees that the Linguistic Services project authority will count, by automatic means, the number of words in each text for which a translation is requested, and that only the number of words counted by the Linguistic Services project authority shall be used to determine the number of words for the translation request. Similarly, only the number of words counted by the Linguistic Services project authority shall be used to determine the amount billed for work performed and accepted. A word is defined as an uninterrupted series of characters. Numbers or figures appearing in the text are counted as words.

b) Should the freelancer disagree with the number of words stated on the translation request, the freelancer shall inform the Linguistic Services project authority, who will check the calculation and determine a definitive count. The final decision on the word count shall be made by the Linguistic Services project authority.

SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT

The freelancer must provide all of the equipment, supplies, services, software and tools required for receiving, performing and delivering the work.

RECEIVING AND SENDING TEXTS

The freelancer agrees that it must have all of the equipment required for working at a distance and for receiving and sending documents, including access to the Web Beetext Flow application (provided by Linguistic Services) and access to email, facsimile or courier services. The freelancer shall use a courier company to return urgent documents when necessary.

The freelancer agrees that it shall assume all costs for receiving and delivering texts by Beetext Flow, electronic mail, facsimile and courier service.

The freelancer agrees that, as needed, the Linguistic Services project authority and the freelancer shall use Beetext Flow, electronic mail, facsimile or courier service to receive and send documents.

The freelancer shall acknowledge receipt of urgent translation or revision requests and reply within a few minutes of receipt. If the project authority (or his/her replacement) considers that the response time is too long in view of the urgency of the request, it may cancel the request and send it to another freelancer. The first freelancer shall be notified by electronic mail of the cancellation of a request.

EVALUATION OF TRANSLATED TEXTS

The freelancer shall verify the quality of translated texts prior to their delivery. The essential steps of this verification are the following:

• Compare the target text to the source text;
• Ensure that the text has been translated according to the project authority’s explanations;
• Check the terminology using the documents mentioned in point 10;
• Ascertain that the layout of the target text matches that of the source text; and
• Check that the software version used for the target text is the same as for the source text.

The freelancer agrees that any changes it makes must be discussed with the Linguistic Services project authority (or his/her replacement).

The freelancer agrees that the translations shall contain no more than six (6) minor errors (spelling, punctuation, hyphen, format, etc.) per sample of 800 words and no major error (meaningless term, incorrect meaning, mistranslation, barbarism, incoherence, gibberish, error in figures, omission, non-use of a term appearing in the lexicons provided by HRSDC’s Linguistic Services, etc.). The work must be delivered in the required format and software; the style and terminology must be consistent and accurate, so that the texts will be usable without requiring costly or time-consuming changes.

The freelancer agrees that unsatisfactory translations (containing one or more major errors and/or more than six (6) minor errors per sample of 800 words) may result in one or more of the following penalties imposed by HRSDC’s Linguistic Services:

a) Return of the work to the freelancer for revision or redoing. The work shall be revised or redone without any additional cost to the Crown within the time prescribed by the Linguistic Services project authority, even if this requires the freelancer to work in the evening and/or during the weekend.

b) Revision or redoing of the work by another bidder or by Linguistic Services. The initial freelancer shall be notified that the translation delivered was unacceptable and that he/she is not authorized to produce an invoice for this work. The initial freelancer will not be paid for the unsatisfactory translation.

c) Automatic termination of the contract after the fifth revision or redoing of the work pursuant to the general conditions set out in point 9 of section B of this Request for Proposal and the terms set out in Appendix E (http://www1.servicecanada.gc.ca/fr/sm/sfa/sa/contrats/appendice-e.shtml), which will form an integral part of any contract resulting from this RFP).

QUALITY AND TERMINOLOGY STANDARDIZATION

The freelancer shall use the lexicons provided by HRSDC’s Linguistic Services and the Translation Bureau’s Guide du rédacteur and The Canadian Style as primary reference sources.

The freelancer shall use Termium Plus, the Government of Canada’s online terminology bank, and other sources as secondary reference sources.

The freelancer agrees that all work shall be subject to an evaluation, in keeping with the requirements and the rules and policies in effect, which are recognized and generally accepted in the translation industry. Any unsatisfactory evaluation may result in suspension of the freelancer pursuant to point 9 of section B of this RFP and the terms set out in sections GC9 and GC10 of Appendix E, found at the following address: http://www1.servicecanada.gc.ca/en/cs/fas/as/contracting/appendix-e.shtml.

SUBCONTRACTING

The freelancer agrees that it may not subcontract any work.

REQUESTS FROM A CLIENT

The freelancer agrees not to accept any request for translation or revision coming from an HRSDC employee without first obtaining written consent from the Linguistic Services project authority (or his/her replacement).

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Reference and terminology documents

The Linguistic Services project authority agrees to provide, without cost, the names of resource persons and documentation and terminology sources, when available.

The project authority shall provide the lexicons used by Linguistic Services and any other HRSDC lexicons.

Work volume and service request methods

a) The frequency and volume of requests will vary depending on the Department’s priorities.

b) Service requests shall be authorized using Beetext Flow. If Beetext is down, service requests will be authorized by email. The freelancer must indicate the request number when he/she requests documentation, asks questions, sends a translation or revision, or produces an invoice.

Period of the contract and options

a) The period of the initial contract shall be one year as of the date the contract is awarded.

b) Linguistic Services reserves the right to exercise a first option to extend the contract for one year, as required, so long as the freelancer has provided service of acceptable quality during the initial contract period, and to exercise a second option to extend the contract for one year, as required, so long as the freelancer has provided service of acceptable quality during the first option.

c) A request to exercise an option as described in 13.3b) shall be presented by means of an official notice to the freelancer at least 30 days before the expiry of the contract period. Any extension of the contract shall be authorized only by the contracting authority by means of an official contract amendment.

BASIS OF PAYMENT

Refer to Section E, Financial Proposal.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

The intellectual property rights are owned by the Crown. Refer to Section G of this RFP.


SECTION C

EVALUATION CRITERIA – MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS


The mandatory criteria listed below shall be rated simply as compliant or non-compliant. Any proposal that does not satisfy the following mandatory requirements shall be eliminated at this stage, shall not be subject to any further consideration, and shall be deemed non-responsive.

To be taken into consideration, the proposals must comply with all the following specifications and requirements and must contain the relevant documentation demonstrating their compliance.

SELECTION METHOD

To be considered satisfactory, all bids must meet the following two conditions:

• meet all mandatory criteria; and
• obtain the minimum points required (60%) for the weighted evaluation criteria.

Proposals must clearly indicate and include the following elements:

Certification of compliance
Requirement Number    Description    Page/Paragraph    Compliant/ Non-compliant

M-1 The bidder must include the first page of this Request for Proposal, duly completed and signed. Signature of the RFP indicates that the bidder has accepted the conditions set out in this document. The bidder shall ensure that the signatory has the authority to commit the bidder in regard to this contractual offer.
M-2 The bidder must submit a sufficiently detailed curriculum vitae for each translator that clearly shows the translator’s education and experience and the years in which they were obtained, as well as the translator’s areas of expertise.

M-3 The bidder must provide one or more letters from client(s) that show that the bidder has had a minimum of five years of experience in the delivery of translation and revision services since 2000. (The years of experience of various employees are not cumulative. Each translator must have five years of experience.) Each letter must be signed and provide the name of the client, including the name and telephone number of a contact person.

M-4 The bidder must provide one (1) sample of a 500 word translation from English to French in one (1) of the following fields: general, human resources, social programs, programs of study or labour market. (A 500-word translation is approximately a page and a half of single spaced text in 12-point font. Translations of tables and forms will not be accepted.) The sample provided must have been done for one of the clients given as a reference and revised prior to submission. (Note: Clearly indicate the name of the client and the field.) The quality of the text shall be evaluated in Part 4 (Evaluation – Translation Sample) of section D (Weighted Evaluation Criteria).

M-5 CERTIFICATION
The bidder must satisfy the certification requirements (see section F of this RFP). The certification forms must be duly completed and attached to the technical proposal of the submission.

M-6 The bidder must submit, under separate cover and seal, the duly completed financial proposal. On the envelope, the bidder must state that this is the financial proposal and indicate the firm’s name and address and the Request for Proposal number. The bidder shall follow HRSDC’s submission format (see section E of this RFP).

M-7 The bidder must provide a copy of each translator’s bachelor’s or master’s diploma in translation, French literature or linguistics.


Estimated value: $500,001 - $1,000,000
Original notice

Provision of translation from English to French and French revision services to the Linguistic Servi

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