Norway – Interpretation services – Interpretation Services

The Contracting Authority Harstad municipality shall, on behalf of Harstad, Kvæfjord, Tjeldsund, Lødingen and Narvik municipalities, hold this competition. Harstad municipality is responsible for the implementation of the competition. This tender contest includes all 5 municipalities. The municipalities are independent legal entities and will enter into separate contracts. Background The existing agreement on interpretation services expires 10 November 2026 and a new framework agreement shall be established. The need for interpretation services is stable and is expected to persist, at the same time that the requirements for documented competence and proper handling of confidential information mean that we must have clear contractual frameworks, processes for ordering and mechanisms for quality assurance. We assume that in the current situation we have varying types of assignments (planned meetings, acute events, short telephone assignments and more demanding calls). This makes it necessary with a contract structure that both supports high availability and gives us control over the competence used in each assignment. The contracting authority needs to ensure continued access to interpretation services that support reliable and effective communication in the face of users, patients, inhabitants or other persons with a need for language assistance. The services are important for safeguarding correct information exchange, equal service provision and good case handling. The new framework agreement shall give the contracting authority predictable access to necessary interpretation services within different interpretation forms and facilitate flexible orders suitable for varying needs. The need includes interpretation via telephone and monitor (video interpretation), as well as on-site interpretation at physical meetings. In addition there is a need for written translations (translator/translation) if needed. Description of the assignment The procurement is for a framework agreement for the provision of interpretation services. The delivery shall include: The procurement is for the establishment of parallel framework agreements with three tenderers for the following services: Interpretation by telephone or via monitor/video Attendance in the municipality ́s premises or another agreed location. Translator services (written translations) The contracting authority would like to establish parallel framework agreements with several tenderers. Tenderers will be ranked according to the score achieved in accordance with the award criteria. The tenderer who achieves the highest score (called supplier 1) shall, as a main rule, be contacted first and will be awarded call-offs if this tenderer has the requested interpreter available. If tenderer 1 does not have available capacity or cannot offer the requested interpreter, the tenderer who has achieved the second highest score is contacted (supplier 2), and so on depending on how many suppliers the contracting authority thinks it is appropriate to offer a contract. The ranking of the tenderers will be based on the stated award criteria. The aim of the framework agreement is to cover the contracting authority ́s ongoing need for qualified language assistance across different situations and disciplines. A system is requested that can handle orders within the relevant interpreter forms and contribute to the contracting authority getting access to relevant services when the needs arise. The estimated contract value is NOK 14,500,000 for all municipalities in the contract period. This is an estimate based on the available information on consumption in the period 2022-2026 and is not binding for the municipalities. Estimate distributed per municipality: Harstad NOK 5,600,000 - maximum 6,300,000 Sounding NOK 600,000 - maximum 1,000,000. Kvæfjord NOK 1,300,000 - maximum 1,600,000. Tjeldsund NOK 1,500,000 - maximum 2,000,000. Narvik NOK 5,600,000 - maximum 6,300,000 Most of the assignments are within telephone interpretation/monitor interpreters. This type of assignment amounted to approximately 85% of the contract sum. The majority of assignments for Harstad municipality will be for doctors' offices, the unit for integration, the child welfare service, the home care service and the school and nurseries. Using interpreters, the choice between the different categories will be affected by many variables, including which entity orders, the assignment ́s length and complexity, any requests that the external parties in the case may have the type of interpreter that is used etc. There are also slightly different practices in the municipalities as regards how much of the total number of assignments are used on remote interpreters (telephone interpretation/monitor interpreter), on-site interpretation and translations. The distribution within the different services can therefore change in the contract period, depending on future needs. The framework agreement has an estimated maximum value of up to NOK 17,200,000 excluding VAT. The stated value is an estimate and does not involve any obligations to buy beyond the actual need in the contract period.