REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS: In-person simultaneous interpreting services

BACKGROUND

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the global organization of national parliaments. It has a membership of 179 Member Parliaments. The main regional and other parliamentary organizations are also part of the broader IPU community, as Associate Members and Permanent Observers. The IPU promotes democratic governance, institutions and values, working with parliaments and parliamentarians to articulate and respond to the needs and aspirations of the people. It works for peace, democracy, human rights, gender equality, youth empowerment and sustainable development through political dialogue, cooperation and parliamentary action.

At its creation, in 1889, the IPU was founded to promote inter-parliamentary dialogue and diplomacy between nations. Today, we continue to provide a platform for the global parliamentary community to come together, exchange good practices and identify avenues for action.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this request for proposals is to secure competitive and high-quality in-person simultaneous interpreting  services.  The IPU expects the selected service provider to provide qualified and certified conference interpreters to service IPU meetings. These highly skilled professionals will have proven experience working at high-level international meetings.  The service provider should provide a single team leader (head interpreter) or project manager to be the focal point with the IPU Secretariat (for working documents, updates on working arrangements, etc.). The IPU expects to work regularly with the same interpreters in order to develop their familiarity with the Organization’s bodies and areas of work.

The service provider should, wherever possible, undertake to recruit conference interpreters who are affiliated to a professional association and/or accredited by multilateral organizations. Knowledge of the IPU, the UN system and/or parliamentary settings (national/international) is an asset.

The interpreters recruited should work mainly into their mother tongue. If an interpreter is also required to work into a language other than their mother tongue, their capacity to do so should have been checked and approved by the service provider. As a general rule, the team of interpreters should be recruited with language combinations such that the use of “relay” is kept to a minimum.

When the IPU holds its meetings outside of Geneva, the service provider will endeavor to recruit a team of professional interpreters (with the required language combination) locally, i.e. in the city where the meeting is being held.  Should this not be possible, interpreters will be recruited from the region, if their credentials correspond to the meeting’s requirements, so as to limit the team’s travel time to the venue and related costs.

The IPU organizes many events throughout the year, with participants from all over the world. Its events and meetings range from small working groups of less than 10 persons to its two main Assemblies which take place in March/April and October/November. IPU Assemblies attract 1,500+ delegates (170 to 190 delegations) from IPU Member Parliaments, Associate Members, and Permanent Observers, involving both plenary sessions and multiple smaller meetings in parallel.

The official meetings of the IPU vary in their characteristics and specifications:

• Nature: national capacity-building programmes, regional seminars, specialized parliamentary conferences, global events with the participation of the full IPU membership
• Format: working groups, drafting committees, training sessions, interactive debates, working sessions of IPU statutory bodies, high-level parliamentary conferences
• Size (number of participants): small (15–30 persons), medium (100–200 persons), large-scale (in the range of 1000 participants – as is the case with IPU Assemblies)
• Languages: meetings in the two IPU official languages (French and English); meetings (e.g. Assemblies and specialized conferences) in the four IPU working languages (English, French, Arabic and Spanish); and meetings in the six official UN languages.

The in-person simultaneous interpreting services provider should offer full-day and half-day rates. The proposal should also address the issue of the cost of meetings overrunning, as well as any additional expenses related to interpreters’ travel to a meeting’s venue (flights, accommodation and daily stipend, where applicable, provided by the IPU).

REQUIREMENTS

The service provider will be expected to:

• provide the services of interpreters in the languages required for the meeting/event
• provide proof of the interpreters’ professional qualifications and experience
• optimize the distribution of languages among interpreters, e.g. where possible reduce the number of interpreters through efficient language combinations while ensuring interpreters are working mainly into their mother tongue
• ensure that interpreters have received in advance the background documentation from the service provider as provided by the IPU
• ensure that interpreters are adequately prepared for specific meeting requirements, and among other things:
  • have good general knowledge of the IPU and its work
  • are aware of the background regarding the meeting/event they will service
  • have good knowledge of the structure and nature of the meeting/event (have the list of participants, the agenda or programme, etc.)
  • have researched the specific terminology for the meeting/event, particularly if the background documentation is not available in their target language
• ensure that quality control mechanisms are in place to identify possible areas of improvement linked but not limited to linguistic knowledge, etc.

The service provider must indicate their legal status and must not be subject to any liquidation, judicial reorganization or similar proceedings. The service provider must also demonstrate that all members of their teams have social security cover.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Quality of responses to stated requirements
• Past experience
• Financial sustainability
• Overall cost and cost-effectiveness.

BUDGET

• Describe the fee structure/breakdown and payment schedule.
• Details should be provided about the cost structure including:
  • Full day rates (up to two 4-hour periods) per interpreter
  • Half-day rates (1-4 hours) per interpreter
  • Overrun time limits and costs
  • Travel-related expenses
• The quoted price should be all inclusive. If the price excludes certain fees or charges, provide a detailed list and explanation of excluded elements. Include the rates of the service provider for the recruitment and management of the team.

Note: The IPU is an international organization exempt from Value Added Tax (VAT) in Switzerland. However, the exemption only applies to invoices submitted by registered companies and not individual external collaborators.

ABOUT YOU

• Provide a brief profile of your organization/team and an approximate number of interpreters per language.
• Provide relevant case studies/examples of large, complex language combination setups.
• Describe any subcontractors/outside resources necessary to deliver the services.

Miscellaneous

• Proposals must contain the signature of a duly authorized officer or agent of the company submitting the proposal.
• Bidder must disclose any relevant conflicts of interest and/or pending lawsuits.
• The IPU will negotiate contract terms upon selection. All contracts are subject to review by IPU legal counsel, and an agreement or contract will be signed outlining terms, scope, budget, timeline, and other necessary items.
• The IPU will not cover costs related to preparing or issuing proposals.