Interpretation, Translation and Transcription Services

The Vendor is required to provide comprehensive and innovative language access services, including high-quality interpretation, translation and transcription, cultural adaptation, and training.
- This opportunity aims to enhance multilingual communication, improve service delivery across departments, and ensure equitable access to city programs and information for residents and visitors with non-English language preferences (NELP).
- Requirements
•    Applicants to provide telephonic interpretation must have the organizational capacity to meet a usage volume between 75,000 and 80,000 minutes per month across city departments (primarily in Spanish, but additional language capacity also required). 
•    Applicants to provide in-person interpretation and video interpretation must have the organizational capacity to meet a usage volume between 150 and 300 hours per month across city departments. 
•    Consecutive interpretation is the largest need, but capacity to provide legal and simultaneous interpretation is also required. 
•    Applicants to provide document translation must have the organizational and project management capacity to meet usage volumes as they are determined by departments.
•    Applicants to provide technical training must have the organizational capacity and expertise to provide trainings to city staff on how to access, schedule, and manage language access services, including interpretation and translation platforms. 
•    The proposal should include technical training for city personnel on the proper use of language access tools, service portals, and procedures for requesting interpretation and translation. 
•    Applicants to provide certification training for city staff to become qualified in house interpreters should include a plan to deliver interpreter certification courses that equip city staff with the skills and credentials to serve as in-house interpreters.
- Document or text translation services
•    Standard document translation: also known as standard translation, editing and proofreading
•    Rush document translation: rush translation, editing and proofreading (rush TEP) 
•    Transcription and localization services: adapting content culturally and linguistically to resonate with the target audience 
•    Back translation: translating a document back into the original language to verify accuracy 
•    Website and digital content translation, including multilingual websites 
•    Certified translation: translation with formal certification for legal or official use, performed or reviewed by a translator specializing in the content field and certified by a regulating body
•    Form and signage translation: translation of public forms, wayfinding signs, and informational posters 
•    Transcription: the conversion of audio speech (in English or another language) into text 
•    Accessible orthography services: including subtitling, braille translation, etc.
- In-person interpretation, excluding simultaneous remote interpretation
•    In-person simultaneous interpretation: on-site simultaneous interpretation (simultaneous OSI) 
•    In-person consecutive interpretation: on-site consecutive interpretation (consecutive OSI)
- Telephonic interpretation
•    On-demand telephonic interpretation: on-demand over the phone interpretation (on demand OPI) 
•    Scheduled telephonic interpretation: scheduled over-the-phone interpretation (scheduled OPI)
- Video interpretation, including simultaneous remote interpretation
•    On-demand virtual interpretation: on-demand virtual remote consecutive interpretation (on-demand VRI)
•    Scheduled interpretation: scheduled virtual remote consecutive interpretation (scheduled VRI) 
•    Zoom, Microsoft teams and other simultaneous interpretation: scheduled remote simultaneous interpretation (scheduled RSI)
- Audio remote simultaneous interpretation (audio RSI)
•    Remote simultaneous interpretation (RSI): audio stream distribution over multiple communications channels or devices during a live interpretation event 
•    For telephone access, attendees call a specific phone number and enter a code to be connected to the audio channel for their chosen language.