RFQ Number:              RFQ-IND-2023-05

Issuance Date:            May 12, 2023

Deadline for Offers:     May 31, 2023

Description:                 Request for Quotation of Comprehensive Translation and Interpreter Services

For:                              Clean Cities, Blue Ocean (CCBO) Project

Funded By:                 United States Agency for International Development (USAID),

Contract No. AID-OAA-I-14-00059-7200AA19F00016

Implemented By:         Tetra Tech ARD

Point of Contact:         Seri Tarigan, Finance and Admin Manager

Seri.Tarigan@tetratech.com

***** ETHICAL AND BUSINESS CONDUCT REQUIREMENTS *****

Tetra Tech ARD is committed to integrity in procurement, and only selects suppliers based on objective business criteria such as price and technical merit.

Tetra Tech ARD does not tolerate fraud, collusion among offerors, falsified proposals/bids, bribery, or kickbacks. Any firm or individual violating these standards will be disqualified from this procurement, barred from future procurement opportunities, and may be reported to both USAID and the Office of the Inspector General.

Employees and agents of Tetra Tech ARD are strictly prohibited from asking for or accepting any money, fee, commission, credit, gift, gratuity, object of value or compensation from current or potential vendors or suppliers in exchange for or as a reward for business. Employees and agents engaging in this conduct are subject to termination and will be reported to USAID and the Office of the Inspector General. In addition, Tetra Tech ARD will inform USAID and the Office of the Inspector General of any supplier offers of money, fee, commission, credit, gift, gratuity, object of value, or compensation to obtain business.

Offerors responding to this RFQ must include the following as part of the proposal submission:

• Disclose any close, familial, or financial relationships with Tetra Tech ARD or project staff. For example, if an offeror’s cousin is employed by the project, the offeror must state this.
• Disclose any family or financial relationship with other offerors submitting proposals. For example, if the offeror’s father owns a company that is submitting another proposal, the offeror must state this.
• Certify that the prices in the offer have been arrived at independently, without any consultation, communication, or agreement with any other offeror or competitor for the purpose of restricting competition.
• Certify that all information in the proposal and all supporting documentation are authentic and accurate.
• Certify understanding and agreement to Tetra Tech ARD’s prohibitions against fraud, bribery and kickbacks.

Please contact Seri Tarigan, Finance and Admin Manager with any questions or concerns regarding the above information or to report any potential violations. Potential violations may also be reported directly to Tetra Tech ARD’s US office.

Section 1: Instructions to Offerors

1. Introduction: The Clean Cities Blue Ocean (CCBO) Program is a USAID program implemented by Tetra Tech ARD. The program works in seven focal countries with over 17 engagement sites throughout Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean (Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Vietnam, the Dominican Republic, and Peru). The goals of the CCBO program are to: promote 3R practices and strengthen local and regional markets for recycled plastics; build social and behavior change (SBC) for the 3Rs and sustainable solid waste management (SWM); increase capacity and effective governance for SWM and recycling systems; and support international fora, public-private partnerships (PPPs), and multi-stakeholder alliances. In addition to CCBO’s four technical objectives, the program also works to advance gender equality and women’s economic empowerment as a cross-cutting objective.

As part of project activities, CCBO is seeking to engage a service provider for provision of professional translation, interpretation, and proofreading/editing services on an as-needed basis. The service providers’ tasks will be delivering the below description of requirements, in various types/subjects such as events, reports, document, press releases, etc. For written translation assignments, the service providers are expected to use their own necessary equipment and equipment required for simultaneous translation. Additionally, CCBO would like to select individuals and/or firm that can provide interpretation at events, as well as transcription and translation of interviews.

The purpose of this RFQ is to solicit quotations from eligible vendors for as-needed, ad hoc translation services. As a result of this RFQ, the CCBO Program anticipates issuing a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) or possibly multiple BPAs to establish specific pricing levels and parameters for ordering these services. This will allow the CCBO Program to issue specific purchase orders, on an as-needed basis, for the procurement of these services over the next 12 months. The vendor shall furnish the services described in any purchase orders issued by Tetra Tech ARD under this BPA. Tetra Tech ARD is only obligated to pay for services ordered through purchase orders issued under this BPA and delivered by the vendor in accordance with the terms/conditions of this BPA.

Offerors are responsible for ensuring that their offers are received by Tetra Tech ARD in accordance with the instructions, terms, and conditions described in this RFQ. Failure to adhere with instructions described in this RFQ may lead to disqualification of an offer from consideration.

2. Offer Deadline and Protocol: Offers must be received no later than 17.00 WIB local Jakarta time on May 31, 2023 by email to ccbo-indonesia-procurement@tetratech.com

Please reference the RFQ number in any response to this RFQ. Offers received after the specified time and date will be considered late and will be considered only at the discretion of Tetra Tech ARD.

3. Questions: Questions regarding the technical or administrative requirements of this RFQ may be submitted no later than 17.00 WIB local Jakarta time on May 19, 2023, by email to ccbo-indonesia-procurement@tetratech.com. Questions must be submitted in writing; phone calls will not be accepted. Questions and requests for clarification—and the responses thereto—that Tetra Tech ARD believes may be of interest to other offerors will be circulated to all RFQ recipients who have indicated an interest in bidding.

Only the written answers issued by Tetra Tech ARD will be considered official and carry weight in the RFQ process and subsequent evaluation. Any verbal information received from employees of Tetra Tech ARD or any other entity should not be considered as an official response to any questions regarding this RFQ.

4. Qualifications: The offeror must be able to demonstrate substantial experience in translating technical documents and provide a list of relevant clients and projects that demonstrate staff experience. The offeror must specify the proposed final price for services outlined in the provided statement of work (SOW).

5. Quotations: Quotations in response to this RFQ must be priced on a fixed prices per word, including delivery and all other costs. Pricing must be presented in Indonesian Rupiah (IDR). Offers must remain valid for not less than thirty (30) calendar days after the offer deadline. Offerors are requested to provide quotations on their official quotation format or letterhead; in the event this is not possible, offerors may complete the table in Section 3.

In addition, offerors responding to this RFQ are requested to submit the following:

• A copy of their official registration or business license.
• Proposal that includes:
• Service provider’s profile outlining experiences as mentioned on the technical aspect sections.
• Narrative description of the services provided by the organization.
• Good understanding and experience working on waste management sectors is preferred (it’s especially for the type of services: Interpreter, translator, notetaker, editor, sign language)
• Brief description of the team of translators outlining their experience with similar work. CVs should be provided as an annex.
• The specified proposed personnel have relevant educational background to the selected service (minimum bachelor’s degree) and have relevant experiences in the field.
• Experience working with USAID, or other donor-funded programs are preferred.
• Copy of sworn translator certificates for each submitted personnel (If any).
• A responsive, correct, and complete filled quotation valid to 30 days upon submission date (Quotation form attached) meeting requirements the above-mentioned technical aspect.
• Name, title, and contact information for organizational point of contact
• Contact information for at least three current or former clients who can serve as references

6. Delivery: Services will be delivered in Jakarta, Semarang, Makassar and Ambon.

7. Source/Nationality/Manufacture: All goods and services offered in response to this RFQ or supplied under any resulting award must meet USAID Geographic Code 937 in accordance with the United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 22 CFR §228. The cooperating country for this RFQ is Indonesia.

Offerors may not offer or supply any commodities or services that are manufactured or assembled in, shipped from, transported through, or otherwise involving any of the following countries: Burma (Myanmar), Cuba, Iran, North Korea, (North) Sudan, Syria.

8. Warranty: Reserved.

9. Taxes and VAT: The agreement under which this procurement is financed does not permit the financing of any taxes, VAT, tariffs, duties, or other levies imposed by any laws in effect in the Cooperating Country, when the value of such taxes exceeds Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) 250,000. Invoices with VAT charges in excess of IDR 250,000 will be processed for tax exemption, which can take up to 60 days to complete. Invoices with a VAT value of less than IDR 250,000 will be paid in full within 30 days as per our standard payment terms.

10. Eligibility: By submitting an offer in response to this RFQ, the offeror certifies that it and its principal officers are not debarred, suspended, or otherwise considered ineligible for an award by the U.S. Government. Tetra Tech ARD will not award a contract to any firm that is debarred, suspended, or considered to be ineligible by the U.S. Government.

11. Evaluation and Award: A technical/cost trade-off analysis will be performed by Tetra Tech ARD in order to determine the best value to the project, based on the following technical factors:

The combined technical evaluation factors listed above are significantly more important than cost or price. Tetra Tech ARD, however, will not select an Offeror for award on the basis of a superior technical proposal without considering cost in order to determine the best value.

Please note that if there are significant deficiencies regarding responsiveness to the requirements of this RFQ, an offer may be deemed “non-responsive” and thereby disqualified from consideration. Tetra Tech ARD reserves the right to waive immaterial deficiencies at its discretion.

Best-offer quotations are requested. It is anticipated that award will be made solely on the basis of these original quotations. However, Tetra Tech ARD reserves the right to conduct any of the following:

• Tetra Tech ARD may conduct negotiations with and/or request clarifications from any offeror prior to award.
• While preference will be given to offerors who can address the full technical requirements of this RFQ, Tetra Tech ARD may issue a partial award or split the award among various suppliers, if in the best interest of the CCBO program.
• Tetra Tech ARD may cancel this RFQ at any time.

Please note that in submitting a response to this RFQ, the offeror understands that USAID is not a party to this solicitation and the offeror agrees that any protest hereunder must be presented—in writing with full explanations—to the CCBO program for consideration, as USAID will not consider protests regarding procurements carried out by implementing partners. Tetra Tech ARD, at its sole discretion, will make a final decision on the protest for this procurement.

12. Terms and Conditions: This is a Request for Quotations only. Issuance of this RFQ does not in any way obligate Tetra Tech ARD, the CCBO program, or USAID to make an award or pay for costs incurred by potential offerors in the preparation and submission of an offer.

This solicitation is subject to Tetra Tech ARD’ standard terms and conditions. Any resultant award will be governed by these terms and conditions; a copy of the full terms and conditions is available upon request. Please note the following terms and conditions will apply:

• Tetra Tech ARD’ standard payment terms are net 30 days after receipt and acceptance of any commodities or deliverables. Payment will only be issued to the entity submitting the offer in response to this RFQ and identified in the resulting award; payment will not be issued to a third party.
• Any award resulting from this RFQ will be in the form of a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA). The CCBO Program anticipates issuing a BPA (or multiple BPAs) under which specific purchase orders can be issued, on an as-needed basis, at the pricing levels established in the BPA. When the need arises for the commodities/services described in the BPA, the CCBO Program will issue a purchase order to the BPA-holder. If there are multiple BPA-holders as a result of this RFQ, the purchase order will be issued to the BPA-holder that presents the best value for that specific order, based on price and delivery time. Any BPA issued as a result of this RFQ will have a minimum duration of 6 months. The Service Providers shall furnish the commodities/services described in any purchase orders issued by the CCBO Program under the BPA. The CCBO Program is only obligated to pay for services to the extent purchase orders are issued under any BPA resulting from this RFQ.
• No commodities or services may be supplied that are manufactured or assembled in, shipped from, transported through, or otherwise involving any of the following countries: Burma (Myanmar), Cuba, Iran, North Korea, (North) Sudan, Syria.
• Any international air or ocean transportation or shipping carried out under any award resulting from this RFQ must take place on U.S.-flag carriers/vessels.
• United States law prohibits transactions with, and the provision of resources and support to, individuals and organizations associated with terrorism. The supplier under any award resulting from this RFQ must ensure compliance with these laws.
• The title to any goods supplied under any award resulting from this RFQ shall pass to Tetra Tech ARD following delivery and acceptance of the goods by Tetra Tech ARD. Risk of loss, injury, or destruction of the goods shall be borne by the offeror until title passes to Tetra Tech ARD.
• In accordance with FAR 52.204-23 and 52.204-25, there is a prohibition on contracting for hardware, software, and services developed or provided by Kaspersky Labs, Huawei Technologies Company, ZTE Corporation, Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, Dahua Technology Company, and their subsidiaries, or other covered entities. No products or services originating from of these firms listed in this subsection (g), or other covered entities are allowed.

Section 2: Offer Checklist

To assist offerors in preparation of proposals, the following checklist summarizes the documentation to include an offer in response to this RFQ:

• Cover letter, signed by an authorized representative of the offeror;
• Official quotation, including specifications as applicable;
• Copy of offeror’s registration or business license, ID card, work permit as applicable;
• CV of the translator(s)/interpreter(s)
• A list of assignments in the last three years that are representative of the offeror’s experience in providing translation services.

Section 3: Scope of Work

Tetra Tech ARD is seeking translation services to support the USAID CCBO Program, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Tetra Tech ARD. The selected provider will work directly with the CCBO Team to translate key program documents into the local languages of Indonesia.

The table below contains the technical requirements of the commodities/services. Offerors are requested to provide quotations containing the information below on official letterhead or official quotation format. In the event this is not possible, offerors may complete this Section 3 and submit a signed/stamped version to Tetra Tech ARD.

Delivery time (after receipt of order):               calendar days

Detailed SOW for Translation Services

1. Translation service “General Type” Indonesia to English or vice versa:

• Produce an accurate translation (i.e. capturing the meaning and context of the words and not word by word) of various documents, speeches, talking points, presentations, brochures, fact sheets, reports, press releases, etc. as assigned by CCBO;
• Use the appropriate terminology considering the style and nuances of the original text.
• Quality check and proofreading of translation ensuring no typographical errors in the final text
• Ensure timely delivery of translated materials
• Make necessary corrections or changes required by CCBO or its partners and re-submit corrected text within the agreed timeframe
• Deliver the translated documents as per the plan developed by the of the project, as per each specific assignment.

2. Simultaneous Interpreter service Indonesia to English and vice versa:

• Provide consecutive interpretation during project events (ceremonies, workshops, trainings, conferences, informative community events, etc.) and meetings (technical working groups meetings, meetings between international advisors/experts or CCBO representatives and local counterparts, etc.)

3. Proofreading/Editing of Indonesia to English or vice versa:

• Review and edit texts written in Indonesia to English or vice versa
• Assure texts are technically, linguistically and grammatically correct and consistent in terms of completion and terminology usage
• Assure that texts meet high quality standards, are error free and will not need further editing after completion of translation
• Deliver the edited documents as per the plan developed by the of the project and as per each specific assignment.

Section 4: Offer Cover Letter

The following cover letter must be placed on letterhead and completed/signed/stamped by a representative authorized to sign on behalf of the offeror:

To:                   USAID Clean Cities, Blue Ocean (CCBO) Project

Sampoerna Strategic Square Building, Level 30, South Tower, Unit 30.35 &30.36

Jend. Sudirman Kav 45 -46, Jakarta 12930, Indonesia

Reference:      RFQ No. IND-2023-05

To Whom It May Concern:

We, the undersigned, hereby provide the attached offer to perform all work required to complete the activities and requirements as described in the above-referenced RFQ. Please find our offer attached.

We hereby acknowledge and agree to all terms, conditions, special provisions, and instructions included in the above-referenced RFQ. We further certify that the below-named firm—as well as the firm’s principal officers and all commodities and services offered in response to this RFQ—are eligible to participate in this procurement under the terms of this solicitation and under USAID regulations.

Furthermore, we hereby certify that, to the best of our knowledge and belief:

• We have no close, familial, or financial relationships with any Tetra Tech ARD or CCBO project staff members;
• We have no close, familial, or financial relationships with any other offerors submitting proposals in response to the above-referenced RFQ; and
• The prices in our offer have been arrived at independently, without any consultation, communication, or agreement with any other offeror or competitor for the purpose of restricting competition.
• All information in our proposal and all supporting documentation is authentic and accurate.
• We understand and agree to Tetra Tech ARD’ prohibitions against fraud, bribery, and kickbacks.

We hereby certify that the enclosed representations, certifications, and other statements are accurate, current, and complete.

Authorized Signature:                                                                                                

Name and Title of Signatory:                                                                                     

Date:                                                                                                                          

Company Name:                                                                                                        

Company Address:                                                                                                                

Company Telephone and Website:                                                                                       

Company Registration or Taxpayer ID Number:                                                       

Does the company have an active bank account (Yes/No)?                                                

Official name associated with bank account (for payment):