MOD | R | Sign Language Interpreter Services

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF JULY 28, 2005 FBO #1340
MODIFICATION

R -- Sign Language Interpreter Services

Notice Date: 7/26/2005
Notice Type: Modification
NAICS: 541930 — Translation and Interpretation Services
Contracting Office: DHS - Direct Reports, Office of the Chief Procurement Officer, Office of Procurement Operations, Office of the Chief Procurement Officer, Washington, DC, 20528
ZIP Code: 20528
Solicitation Number: Reference-Number-ROCR-05-00054
Response Due: 7/29/2005
Archive Date: 8/13/2005
Point of Contact: Patricia Wolfe, Contracting Officer, Phone 202-205-9226, Fax 202-772-9730, - Kristian Jovanovic, Contract Specialist, Phone 202-7778457, Fax 202-772-9729,
E-Mail Address: patricia.wolfe@dhs.gov, kristian.jovanovic@dhs.gov
Small Business Set-Aside: Total Small Business
Description: RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS SUBMITTED REGARDING REFERENCE ROCR-05-0054. 1. I take it that this is an on call assignment; Will there be any set hours or is it on a day to day basis? A: There is a schedule established, and the contractor’s will be a part of this schedule 2. Will pagers or cell phones be provided? No. Contractors are expected to have their own cell phones. 3. Would an interim secret clearance work initially? Yes. We can work with you to process the paperwork, but an interim secret is necessary. 4. How many interpreters resumes do you intend to receive in the RFQ? Please send the most qualified and those who are available. Any resume we receive, we will assume the person is considered “key” and therefore available. 5. Is this a new requirement or is there an incumbent? There is an incumbent. 6. American Sign Language is the requirement that you have; will there be any need for someone who is fluent in both ASL and ESL? This has not been identified as an immediate need. 7. How much will company past performance weigh in the decision of the win? It is one of the criteria. Personnel resumes/background and company past performance are of utmost importance to the Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. 8. Will personal past performance weigh as much as company past performance? Yes. The personnel are of highest priority. 9 Is there a maximum page amount for our response? Maximum page amount is 10. Is there a minimum? No. 10. Would resumes be included in the page count? No. (refers to the above question) 11. The solicitation is written in such a manner that it appears DHS is only interested in receiving quotes from individual interpreters and not from companies providing these services. Is this accurate or is DHS interested in working with companies to fill service needs as well? COMPANIES OR INDIVIDUALS 12. If we are eligible to submit, are we subject to the same 20 hour per week limitation? YES 13. Will DHS want to run each interpreter through the SECRET clearance process? YES 14. Under the duties for the sign language interpreter: "Coordinate scheduling for the employee as needed;" Can you please elaborate on what this entails? Is the interpreter expected to help schedule additional interpreting services or other scheduling responsibilities? IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, SUCH HELP MAY NEED TO BE PROVIDED. 15. Under the duties for the sign language interpreter: "Other duties as assigned." What other duties would be assigned? Would this type of direct supervision by DHS staff then cause employment status conflict? Can you please describe the purpose for this requirement and give examples of how it has been/will be utilized? SUCH 'OTHER DUTIES' WOULD BE CONSISTENT WITH THE OTHER DUTIES LISTED IN THE SOLICITATION AND WOULD NOT BE OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF THE AGREEMENT. 16. When overnight travel, and/or travel is required outside the immediate Washington, DC area, how does DHS anticipate compensating for travel time, expenses, etc? Will Federal Travel rules be applied? ALL TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS WILL BE MUTUALLY AGREED TO/APPROVED PRIOR TO TRAVEL. 17. Will sign language be interpreted in English or is there a need for someone to interpret in different languages. ENGLISH ONLY. 18. Is there a form that I am supposed to follow in order to submit a quote for services? NO SPECIFIC QUOTATION FORM IS REQUIRED. REFER TO SUBMISSION INFORMATION IN RFQ. NO OTHER QUESTIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. Solicitation # ROCR-05-00054 is being advertised as a Request for Quotes. This solicitation and consequent contract award incorporates provisions and clauses in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular FAC 2005-04. This acquisition is 100% set-aside for small business. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 541930 and the Small Business Size for this NAICS code is $6M. QUOTES ARE DUE NO LATER THAN 12:00 P.M. (EST) MONDAY, JULY 25, 2005 and should be sent electronically to patricia.wolfe@dhs.gov with copy to paula.nusbaum@dhs.gov. Fax submissions are acceptable and may be sent to (202) 772-9729. Questions should be sent via e-mail to: patricia.wolfe@dhs.gov with copy to paula.nusbaum@dhs.gov The deadline for questions is Wednesday, July 20, 2005. STATEMENT OF WORK -Sign Language Interpreters 1. Background.The Department of Homeland Security has a requirement for sign language interpreters as described below and intends to award one or more blanket purchase agreements to fulfill this requirement. 2. Duties There will be a multiple award to sign language interpreters who will work each week for the duration of performance period. These individuals shall be available up to 20 hours each week, and the contracted individuals shall work out a schedule with the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and the employee needing the services, to ensure that at least one sign language interpreter is always on call for deaf or hearing impaired employees or meetings or conferences requiring interpreting services. The interpreter on call will be responsible for the following: • Serve as a Sign Language Interpreter for an employee up to 20 hours (each individual) per week in various settings including conferences, technical presentations, staff meetings, small groups, large groups, etc.; • Interpret phone calls; • Interpret interaction between the employee and office staff; • Coordinate scheduling for the employee as needed; • Travel with the employee to local meetings, conferences, and training; Availability for occasional overnight travel is highly desirable; and, • Occasionally provide services during large group gatherings when insufficient lead time is available to provide notice to the contractor in accordance with the following paragraph. • Coordinate with other interpreters to cover conferences, meetings, etc. • Other duties as assigned. Skills required: • Qualification as an American Sign Language interpreter and sufficient experience (at least 3-5 years of experience) interpreting to fulfill contractual requirements. Interpreting in legal or classified environments is highly desirable. • Ability to sign in many different situations including but not limited to meetings, Platforms, conferences, small groups, and large groups. • Knowledge of the laws, regulations, concepts, principles, practices, and procedures applicable to the federal government, specifically the Department of Homeland Security. Maintain confidentiality. • Must have/get SECRET security clearance. 3. Place of Performance The place of performance is on the Government Site at 7th & D, Washington DC, or other Washington, DC locations depending on possible future relocation of the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, or assignment within the Department. 4. Period of Performance Base Period – August 1, 2005 to July 31, 2006 Option Period 1 – August 1, 2006 to July 31, 2007 Option Period 2 – August 1, 2007 to July 31, 2008 5. Contract Type Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) with calls made by authorized individuals. List of authorized individuals to be furnished at time of award. 6. Pricing Contractor shall provide pricing list for most favored customers with hourly rates for base year and all option periods. The government anticipates awarding one or more blanket purchase agreements resulting from this combined synopsis/solicitation to the responsible offeror(s) who will offer the best value to the Government, price and other factors considered. The provision at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial, and any addenda to the provision, applies to this acquisition. The provision at 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items applies to this solicitation. The solicitation will be evaluated using the following criteria, in descending order of importance: (1) Ability to Meet Required Specifications as demonstrated by submission of resume(s) for proposed key personnel (2) Ability to comply with the requirements outlined in this solicitation; and (3) Price. The provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications, applies to this solicitation. If the offeror has completed the annual representations and certifications electronically at the http://orca/bpn.gov website, the offeror shall complete (and submit) only paragraph (j) of 52.212-3. The contractor must have a current profile in the Online Representations and Certifications (http://orca/bpn.gov) prior to award. Per FAR 52.204-7, Central Contractor Registration, the contractor must be registered in Central Contractor Registration (www.ccr.gov) prior to award. The following additional FAR clauses apply to this acquisition: FAR 52.215-5, Facsimile Proposals (Oct 1997), (a) Definition. "Facsimile proposal," as used in this provision, means a proposal, revision or modification of a proposal, or withdrawal of a proposal that is transmitted to and received by the Government via facsimile machine. (b) Offerors may submit facsimile quotes/responses (in addition to e-mail) to this solicitation, at 202-772-9729. (d) If any portion of a facsimile proposal received is unreadable to the degree that conformance to the essential requirements of the solicitation cannot be ascertained from the document- (1) The Contract Specialist immediately shall notify the Offeror and permit the Offeror to resubmit the proposal; (2) The method and time for resubmission shall be prescribed by the Contract Specialist after consultation with the Offeror; and (3) The resubmission shall be considered as if it were received at the date and time of the original unreadable submission for the purpose of determining timeliness, provided the Offeror complies with the time and format requirements for resubmission prescribed by the Contract Specialist. (e) The Government reserves the right to make award solely on the facsimile proposal. FAR 52.222-3 Convict Labor (June 2003); FAR 52.223-6, Drug-Free Workplace (May 2001); FAR 52.247-34, F.o.b. Destination (Nov 1991); FAR 52.252-2, Clauses Incorporated By Reference (Feb 1998); F.O.B. Destination; FAR 52.252-1. Solicitation Provisions incorporated by Reference may be accessed in full text at http://www.arnet.gov/far In addition, the following Homeland Security Acquisition Regulation (HSAR) clauses and provisions are incorporated into this solicitation: HSAR 3052.209-70, Prohibition on contracts with corporate expatriates, as prescribed at (HSAR) 48 CFR 3009.104-75 HSAR 3052.209-70, Insurance, as prescribed at (HSAR), as prescribed in (HSAR) 48 CFR 3028.310-70 and 3028.311-1; and 3052.247-72, F.o.b. destination only, as prescribed in (HSAR) 48 CFR 3047.305-70(c). NOTE: THIS NOTICE WAS NOT POSTED TO WWW.FEDBIZOPPS.GOV ON THE DATE INDICATED IN THE NOTICE ITSELF (26-JUL-2005); HOWEVER, IT DID APPEAR IN THE FEDBIZOPPS FTP FEED ON THIS DATE. PLEASE CONTACT fbo.support@gsa.gov REGARDING THIS ISSUE.
Web Link: Link to FedBizOpps document.
(http://www.eps.gov/spg/DHS-DR/OCPO/DHS-OCPO/Reference-Number-ROCR-05-00054/listing.html)
Place of Performance: Address: Department of Homeland Security Washington, DC; Zip Code: 20528
Record: SN00855479-F 20050728/050726213651 (fbodaily.com)
Source: FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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R -- Sign Language Interpreter Services