Funding Opportunities

RFP: Translation and Simultaneous Interpretation for Latin American Virtual Workshop Series

Summary:
The United Nations Foundation’s Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA) is accepting proposals from Firms to provide written translation – from English to Spanish – of workshop materials; and for simultaneous interpretation for virtual workshop sessions.

Project Overview:
ISO Technical Committee 285 (with household energy experts from 45 countries) has published laboratory testing protocols for cookstoves and clean cooking technologies to measure and evaluate their emissions, efficiency, safety and durability. ISO/TC 285 also published voluntary performance targets (VPTs) to benchmark performance for the same metrics, based on laboratory testing results. In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) released the first ever normative guidance for household energy use, the WHO Guidelines for indoor air quality: household fuel combustion.

The Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plan to host an English and Spanish-language virtual workshop series in collaboration with the World Health Organization/Pan American Health Organization to disseminate these recommendations and support countries to develop and implement national standards for cookstoves.

Background of Organization:
CCA works with a global network of partners to build an inclusive industry that makes clean cooking accessible to the three billion people who live each day without it. Established in 2010, CCA is driving consumer demand, mobilizing investment to build a pipeline of scalable businesses, and fostering an enabling environment that allows the sector to thrive. Clean cooking transforms lives by improving health, protecting the climate and the environment, empowering women, and helping families save time and money.

Objective:
CCA is issuing this RFP to hire a Firm to provide translation and interpretation for this workshop series.

Activities:
The selected Firm will undertake the following activities:

• Document translation. Translate PowerPoint presentations and Word documents from English to Spanish.
• Simultaneous interpretation. Provide interpretation for 11 virtual workshop sessions of 2.5 hours each, held over Zoom every 2-3 weeks from September 2021 to March 2022.

Period of Performance:
The expected date for completing a signed contract is September 12, 2021 and the first virtual workshop session will be held the week of September 20, 2021.  The sessions will continue through March 2022, with 11 sessions in total.

Technical Requirements:
Firms applying to this solicitation must showcase relevant expertise, experience, and capacity to accomplish the proposed objectives.  In general, Firms should have:

• Experience translating technical documents from English to Spanish, and expectations for turn-around time based on document size
• Experience providing simultaneous interpretation between English and Spanish.
• Experience providing translation/interpretation for the household energy/clean cooking sectors.

Timeline:

Budget:
Bids must include a per-word cost for written translation, and per-hour or per-session cost for simultaneous interpretation.

If a bid has a mathematical discrepancy, CCA may correct the discrepancy and notify the Firm of the adjustment. In such circumstances, the Firm may choose to withdraw their bid.

Proposal Guidelines and Requirements:

• The proposal should be no longer than 6 pages (in pdf) in length, which should include the following:
• Information on the Firm and team members proposed
• Description of previous English to Spanish translation and simultaneous translation work, including any clean cooking experience
• Details on expected turn-around time for translation based on document size
• 2 reference letters from previous clients
• Price for both written translation and simultaneous translation
• Proposals received after August 24, 2021 11:59pm EST will not be considered.
• CCA prefers a single point of contact who manages deliverables. If the execution of work to be performed by the Firm requires the hiring of sub-contractors, the Firm must clearly state this in the proposal. Sub-contractors must be identified and the work they will perform must be defined. Subcontractors are subject to vetting and approval of UNF/CCA.
• CCA will not refuse a proposal based upon the use of subcontractors; however, we retain the right to refuse the sub-contractors you have selected.
• Provisions of this RFP and the contents of the successful responses are considered available for inclusion in final contractual obligations.
• This RFP is open to multiple partners and is a competitive process.

Format for Proposals:
Proposals must include:

1. The full legal name of applicant.
2. The organization’s Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number

Proposal Selection Process:
CCA will review all written proposals and may request a phone interview and/or updated submission to address questions or provide clarification. CCA will use the following criteria in our evaluation, which will be weighed against each other.

Intent and Disclaimer:
This RFP is made with the intent to identify a Firm to deliver results as described in this RFP. UNF/CCA will rely on the Firm’s representations to be truthful and as described. CCA assumes it can be confident in the Firm’s ability to deliver the product(s) and/or service(s) proposed in response to this RFP.

If CCA amends the RFP, copies of any such amendments will be sent to all respondents to the proposal.

Contracting and Compliance:
CCA will negotiate contract terms upon selection. A copy of the contract terms and conditions will be provided upon selection. All contracts are subject to review by the UN Foundation’s Business Services and Budget Reporting team. The project will start upon the complete execution of the contract. The contract will outline terms and conditions, scope, budget, and applicable flow down terms. Selected recipient(s) must comply with CCA, United Nations Foundation, and funder compliance requirements. The selected recipient(s) must also undergo detailed legal, financial, and commercial due diligence.

Release:
The Firm understands that CCA has chosen to solicit an RFP for consulting services, and that the Firm’s response does not guarantee that CCA will enter into a new contract with the Firm or continue any current contract(s) with the Firm.

The Firm agrees that CCA may, at its sole discretion:

• Amend or cancel the RFP, in whole or in part, at any time
• Extend the deadline for submitting responses
• Determine whether a response does or does not substantially comply with the requirements of the RFP
• Waive any minor irregularity, informality or nonconformance with the provisions or procedures of the RFP
• Negotiate with all Firms UNF deems acceptable
• Issue multiple awards
• Photocopy the responses for evaluation/review

This RFP is not an offer to contract. CCA assumes no responsibility for Firm’s cost to respond to this RFP. All responses become the property of CCA.

The Firm, by submitting a response to this RFP, waives all right to protest or seek any legal remedies whatsoever regarding any aspect of this RFP.

The Firm represents that it has responded to the RFP with complete honesty and accuracy. If facts provided in the Firm’s response change, the Firm agrees to supplement its response in writing with any deletions, additions, or changes within ten (10) days of the changes. The Firm will do this, as necessary, throughout the selection process.

The Firm understands it may receive proprietary and confidential information from CCA during the RFP process (“Confidential Information”). The Firm and CCA agree to not use Confidential Information for any purpose other than the Firm’s participation in the RFP process, and to not reveal Confidential Information directly or indirectly to any other person, entity, or organization without the prior written consent of the other party. The Firm and CCA further agree to exercise all reasonable precautions to maintain the proprietary and confidential nature of Confidential Information where it can best demonstrate its value and capacity to delivery ecosystem-wide, meaningful value.

Grounds for Exclusion:
Material misrepresentations, including omissions, may disqualify the Firm from a contract award.

Submissions will be rejected in CCA’s sole discretion if it finds that the Firm has engaged in any illegal or corrupt practices in connection with the award.

The Firm will be excluded from participation for the reasons below. By submitting a proposal in response to the RFP, the Firm confirms that none of the below circumstances apply:

• The Firm is bankrupt or being wound up, is having their affairs administered by the courts, has entered into an arrangement with creditors, has suspended business activities, is subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or is in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations.
• The Firm or persons having powers of representation, decision-making or control over them have been convicted of an offense concerning their professional conduct by a final judgment.
• The Firm has been found guilty of grave professional misconduct; proven by any means which CCA can justify.
• The Firm has not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which they are established, or within the United States of America, or those of the country where the contract is to be performed.
• The Firm or persons having powers of representation, decision-making or control over them have been convicted for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organization or money laundering by a final judgment.
• The Firm makes use of child labor or forced labor and/or practice discrimination, and/or do not respect the right to freedom of association and the right to organize and engage in collective bargaining pursuant to the core conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Principal Point of Contact:
Questions should be sent by email to info@cleancookingalliance.org and ederby@cleancookingalliance.org by August 18^th, 2021. Responses will be posted to https://www.cleancooking.org/sector-resources/funding-opportunities/ by August 20^th, 2021.

Submission Details:
The application should be submitted as a pdf to CCA by email with the subject line ‘Standards workshop translation and interpretation – [Firm name]’ to info@cleancookingalliance.org  and ederby@cleancookingalliance.org no later than August 24, 2021, 11:59 pm EST.

Questions & Answers:

Can recommendation letters in Spanish be submitted?
Recommendation letters in Spanish should be submitted along with an English translation (provided by the application).

What is the volume of PPT and Word document translation from English to Spanish?
The nine PPT decks requiring translation will have on average 5,000 words each- we will request a week’s turn-around for each.
We will require Word document translation of around 2,000 words per month.

Is a DUNS number required?
Organizations must have a DUNS number to receive funding for this work. Organizations can apply for a DUNS number free of cost here: https://fedgov.dnb.com/webform/
Individual consultants, or consortiums of individual consultants do not need a DUNS number, and instead should note “N/A individual consultant” on their application.

Can you provide a Spanish-English technical glossary?
CCA will work with the selected organization/consultants to develop a technical glossary for this work post-award.

Are out-of-state vendors able to participate as well?
Yes, there is no geographic limitation for applicants.

Can we bid for written translation services only?
No, we are only accepting bids for both services from the same firm/consortium.

Is there any variety of Spanish we should take into account for document translation?
No, the program will be multi-national within Latin America.

Can we participate if we don’t have experience in the household energy/clean cooking sectors but technical knowledge instead?
Yes, firms without household energy/clean cooking experience can bid, although such experience is preferred