Request for Proposals for Translation Services

Transcription

1 Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs 111 Market Place - Suite 310 Baltimore, Maryland USA Telephone (410) /Fax (410) Website: October 31, 2013 Request for Proposals for Translation Services The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs (JHU CCP) invites translation firms and qualified individuals (heretofore firms ) to submit proposals to provide translation services in support of JHU CCP programs. Multiple contracts may be awarded under this RFP. Upon review of the attached RFP, please send any and all questions via to Moremi Oladeinde (moladein@jhuccp.org) no later than :00 pm, EDT, on Tuesday, November 12, We will not accept any calls related to this RFP. Responses to all RFP questions received will be sent electronically to the address you provide no later than Thursday, November 14, An electronic version of your proposal must be received no later than :00 pm EDT on Wednesday, November 20, If your proposal is not received by the deadline, it will be disqualified. If the vendor selection team at JHU CCP has any questions, we will send them via and expect your response within 24 hours. We anticipate that the firm with the winning proposal will be selected on Wednesday, November 27, JHU CCP will notify all vendors who respond to our RFP. If JHU CCP does not receive a proposal that meets our needs adequately and cost-effectively, we reserve the right to make no award at this time. As part of this proposal, we ask firms to provide capability statements related to similar translation service in support of global health projects as well as a list of clients for which the work was performed. Only proposals that adhere to the requirements outlined in the RFP will be considered.

2 Translation Service RFP Background The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs (JHU CCP) was established over 20 years ago in recognition of the pivotal role communication plays in the way people think and behave about health and development issues. As a Center within the Department of Health, Behavior and Society at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, JHU CCP now has a staff of over 600 in the field and in its Baltimore headquarters. JHU CCP has active programs in more than 30 countries worldwide as well as in the U.S. Since 1988, our programs have reached more than 1 billion people. JHU CCP is a recognized leader in the field of health communication, with extensive technical expertise and program experience in: Social and Behavior Change Training and Capacity Building Communication (SBCC) Strategic Advocacy Knowledge Management Research and Evaluation Our work spans a broad spectrum of health issues and related areas including: Reproductive Health/Family Planning Avian and Pandemic Influenza HIV/AIDS Tobacco Control Malaria Gender Water and Sanitation Nutrition Maternal and Child Health Most importantly, JHU CCP makes a difference in people s lives, bringing a unique set of skills, approaches and experience that produce results. We partner with organizations worldwide to: Design and implement strategic communication programs that influence political dialogue, collective action, and individual behavior; Enhance access to information and the exchange of knowledge that improves health and health care; and Conduct research to guide program design, evaluate impact, test theories and advance knowledge in health communication. Overview of Translation Services Sought (Terms of Reference) JHU CCP is soliciting bids from service providers for translation services regularly required by the center. Material will primarily need to be translated between English and French, Spanish and Portugeuese (targeted languages), however requests for translation into languages such as Arabic, French Creole, Bengali, Nepali and Swahili may arise. Selected firms should have experience translating material for global health practitioners, particularly in the areas of family planning, reproductive health, malaria, HIV/AIDS and maternal/child health for developing country environments. The expected duration for services will be 12 months (with an option to renew for one year), and the selected firm will provide translation services in support of JHU CCP programs, including but not limited to (in order of priority): Final written translation of technical training material, research and program reports, briefing reports, presentations, web text for online toolkits (including all necessary steps for accurate and appropriate translation proofreading, revising under the guidance of JHU CCP project team members, terminology research)

3 Translation and production of audio for training modules Back translation of material Translation of graphics and video subtitling Live meeting translation Firms need to provide these services: Qualified translators/linguists experienced in translating documents for global public health audiences particularly in the areas of family planning, reproductive health, malaria, HIV/AIDS and maternal/child health for developing country environments A glossary of technical terms in the targeted languages (French, Spanish and/or Portuguese) with quality control systems in place to monitor the technical glossary. Capability and costs to develop and maintain technical glossaries in additional languages. Maintain and train competent backup translators/linguists to quickly address rush work orders Designate a project manager to interact with JHU CCP project staff Ensure quality and accuracy of all material before final submission, and point out factual inconsistencies or unclear passages and suggest solutions (in track changes) Firms can compete for all or part of these services. Illustrative Tasks UN Life Saving Commodities project Translation of approximately 20 documents (from 2 to 200 pages) and one online toolkit from English to French USAID President s Malaria Initiative project Six "Guidance documents" (<10 page docs) from English To French - o Effective Messaging (including text from a malaria SBCC survey) o Best practices in MIP SBCC (including text from MIP desk review) o Best practices in malaria case management (including text from CM desk review) o Core package of messages/activities (including text from MIP desk review) o Roll Back Malaria Working Group document o Malaria SBCC indicators document Slides for malaria SBCC training modules and production for French slide sound track (English to French) PMI malaria program country overview series (21 two page documents - 14 English to French; 7 French to English) Proposal Requirements Interested firms must submit the following documentation: Technical Proposal (10 pages max.) Proposed strategy. Proposals should include a general description of the vendor s proposed approach to the project, as well as any other relevant descriptions of vendor s processes and ideas that it believes may be relevant to JHU CCP to determine its suitability to complete the work outlined in the terms of reference above. The plan should include the vendor s project management strategy.

4 Proposed schedule. A proposed schedule for completing the scope of work should be included in the proposal. Any assumptions related to schedule including the respondent s commitments to other clients and contingencies on JHU CCP staff participation should be clearly stated. The below is representative of the format of the service level standard to include. Number of pages of source document (20 words per page as standard) Proposed Standard Delivery Time (upon receipt of translation request) Up to pages Within one working day 6 10 pages Within two working days pages Within three working days 21 0 pages Within five working days pages Within ten working days > 100 pages At least 10 pages per day Description of company and references. Proposals should also include a description of the vendor and a minimum of three relevant descriptions of past performances, particularly with similar projects. Profiles and biographies of staff committed to working on the project must also be included. Reference and contact information is required Please alert references that they may be contacted by the proposal team.. Sample Translation. Proposals must include a translation of the sample material (included with this RFP) in French, Spanish or Portguese. Financial Proposal (3 pages max. ) Financial proposals should specify payment terms around specific and measurable deliverables, with payments based on final delivery of services specified in the terms of reference. Translation rates should be expressed on the basis of rate per word. Below is an illustrative format to outline costs. Deliverable Translation rate per 1000 words of source text: (a) MS Word documents (b) Excel/PowerPoint documents (c) Graphics Revision/proof reading rate per hour Editing rate per hour Incremental Charge for urgent/rush cases (expressed as a percentage of the translation fee) Standard Fee (USD) % JHU CCP s preference is for fixed-price proposals although time and materials bids or other pricing models will be considered. Where possible, price estimates should be itemized and associated with specific deliverables. In the case that additional work, beyond the proposed scope of work may be required, respondents should clearly outline how they would expect to charge for additional work. JHU CCP would like to remind vendors that services will be performed for a program operated by a department at a university, designed to benefit the public good through the improvement of international public health research and services. If the vendor is willing to offer any discounts to JHU CCP, such discounts should be included in a response. JHU CCP reserves the right to make a decision without further negotiations, and as such, pricing

5 proposals will be considered a respondent s best and final offer. JHU CCP is a tax-exempt organization in the United States. Evaluation Criteria Technical Specifications Points Available 1. Quality of services Management plan, organizational capability, quality assurance procedures, variety of services and languages 2. Delivery terms Proposed work plan and approach 3. Capacity Resource plan/personnel, experience and expertise of team members outlined in proposal, accountabilities clearly stated, professional experience/certifications, familiarity with public health 4. Compatibility Specialized expertise demonstrated in proposal, familiarity with technical areas outlined in ToR, past performance information/references. Translation Sample Evaluation Quality of translation, range of relevant expertise demonstrated 6. Previous experience with JHU CCP 2 TOTAL SCORES 27 Financial proposals and costs will be rated for overall consistency with minimum requirements outlined in the terms of reference and relative value for money in proposed technical approach. Proposal Dates Thursday, October 31, 2013 Tuesday, November 12, 2013 Thursday, November 14, 2013 Wednesday, November 20, 2013 Wednesday, November 27, 2013 Proposal is issued Questions due from firms by :00 pm EDT Responses to questions sent out Proposals due by :00 pm EDT Winning firm notified of selection

6 SAMPLE TRANSLATION Background on the UN Commission on Life Saving Commodities for Women and Children In 2010, the United Nations (UN) Secretary- General s Global Strategy for Women s and Children s Health highlighted the impact that a lack of access to life- saving commodities has on the health of women and children around the world. This Strategy called on the global community to save 6 million lives by 201 and achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 & to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health. The UN Commission on Life- Saving Commodities for Women and Children (UNCoLSC) part of the Every Woman, Every Child (EWEC) movement was formed to increase access to life- saving medicines and health supplies for the world s most vulnerable people. The Commission is chaired by the Prime Minister of Norway, Jens Stoltenberg, and President of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathon. The Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (RMNCH) Trust Fund was established to oversee the work of the Commission, with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) serving in the Secretariat role. Eight countries in sub- Saharan Africa were the first to join the Commission s initiative as pathfinder countries: Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda. The Commission identified 13 overlooked life- saving commodities across the reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health (RMNCH) Continuum of Care that, if more widely accessed and properly used, could save the lives of more than 6 million 1 women and children (see Figure 1). Figure 1: 13 overlooked life- saving commodities 1 For assumptions used to estimate lives saved see UNCoLSC Commissioner s Report Annex (

7 The Commission also developed 10 recommendations (see Figure 2) to increase access to, and use of, these commodities in three main areas by improving markets, national delivery and integration of private sector and consumer needs Figure 2: 10 recommendations UNCoLSC Rapid Landscape Assessment All countries submitting proposals to the RMNCH Trust undergo a Rapid Landscape Assessment Process carried out by the RMNCH Trust Strategy and Coordination Team (SCT). The aim of the process is to generate a profile of national systems for improving access and utilization of the 13 commodities, drawing information from existing country- level data on RMNCH programs and through semi- structured interviews with key stakeholders, including RMNCH program staff within the Ministry of Health, procurement agencies, regulatory agencies and other experts such as private sector wholesalers, manufacturers and academic institutions. The Rapid Landscape Assessment process gathers information on the state of manufacturing, import, procurement, regulation, quality control, supply and utilization of the 13 life- saving commodities. Most of this information already exists in the form of national strategic plans, essential medicine/medical device lists, training materials, sector reports, and related documents. The primary purpose of the NLA is to collate and synthesize this information and identify potential gaps where further in- depth work may be required. About this Guide The UNCoLSC Rapid Landscape Assessment process included some collection and synthesis of evidence related to demand generation. However, synthesizing the full landscape related to demand generation was beyond the scope of the assessment. Therefore, Recommendation 7 is carrying out demand generation assessments in select pathfinder countries to provide an in- depth examination of the demand generation landscape related to country- identified priority commodities. This Guide was developed to provide guidance to country- based partners carrying out the demand assessment. Aim The aim of the demand generation assessment is to review existing national evidence on demand generation for priority commodities, identify major evidence gaps and areas for additional analysis and propose recommendations for the development of programs to increase demand and utilization of the life- saving commodities. The assessment is not intended to facilitate primary collection of research data. Where gaps in current understanding of the drivers of demand are identified, formative research should be conducted with end- users and their influencing audiences to ensure that program design addresses the barriers to demand for each specific commodity.