1.0 PROCEDURES AND RULES
1.1 ORGANISATIONAL BACKGROUND
UNICEF is the agency of the United Nations mandated to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. Guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child UNICEF strives to establish children’s rights as international standards of behaviour towards children. UNICEF’s role is to mobilise political will and material resources to help countries ensure a “first call for children". UNICEF is committed to ensuring special protection for the most disadvantaged children.
UNICEF carries out its work through its headquarters in New York, 8 regional offices and more than 190 countries and territories world-wide. UNICEF also has a research centre in Florence, a supply operation based in Copenhagen and offices in Tokyo and Brussels. UNICEF’s 37 committees raise funds and spread awareness about the organisations mission and work.
1.2 PURPOSE OF THE RFP
The purpose of this RFP is to invite proposals from qualified organizations to provide translation/interpretation services, from English into Somali and vice-versa in support of UNICEF’s communication and advocacy work.
1.3 FORECAST SCHEDULE
The schedule of the contractual process is as follows:
a) Closing date and time for submission of full proposal: 13/07/2015 at 10.00 a.m. Nairobi Time
b) Award Notice: to be determined
c) Signature of contract: to be determined
1.4 RFP CHANGE POLICY
All requests for formal clarification or queries on this RFP must be submitted in writing to Amna Elmamounaelmamoun@unicef.org/emusumba@unicef.org via e-mail. Please make sure that the e-mail mentions the RFP reference number.
Only written inquiries will be entertained. Please be informed that if the question is of common interest, the answer will be shared with all potential bidders.
Erasures or other corrections in the proposal must be explained and the signature of the applicant shown alongside. All changes to a proposal must be received prior to the closing time and date. It must be clearly indicated that it is a modification and supersedes the earlier proposal, or state the changes from the original proposal. Proposals may be withdrawn on written request received from bidders prior to the opening time and date. Bidders are expected to examine all instructions pertaining to the work. Failure to do so will be at bidder’s own risk and disadvantage.
1.5 RESPONSE FORMAT
Bidders are requested to confirm their intention to submit their proposal, by sending an e-mail toemusumba@unicef.org
Bidders must submit sealed original copies of the Bid duly signed and dated, with envelopes clearly marked with the RFP Number and addressed to UNICEF Somalia Support Centre, P.O. Box 44145-00100, NAIROBI. The bids must be received not later than 13/07/2015 by 10.00 am Nairobi Time at UNICEF SOMALIA SUPPORT CENTRE OFFICE, UN GIGIRI COMPLEX, BLOCK Q, 1st FLOOR. Proposals received after the stipulated date and time will be invalidated.
Sealed Bids received prior to the stated closing time and date will be kept unopened. UNICEF will accept no responsibility for the premature opening of a bid not properly addressed or identified.
Due to the nature of this RFP, there will be no public opening of proposals and responsible officers will open the bids when the specified time has arrived.
1.6 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
Information, which the bidder considers proprietary, should be clearly marked "proprietary", if any, next to the relevant part of the text, and UNICEF will treat such information accordingly.
1.7 RIGHTS OF UNICEF
UNICEF reserves the right to accept any proposal, in whole or in part; or, to reject any or all proposals. UNICEF reserves the right to invalidate any Proposal received from a Bidder who has previously failed to perform properly or complete contracts on time, or a Proposal received from a Bidder who, in the opinion of UNICEF, is not in a position to perform the contract. UNICEF shall not be held responsible for any cost incurred by the Bidder in preparing the response to this Request for Proposal. The Bidder agrees to be bound by the decision of UNICEF as to whether her/his proposal meets the requirements stated in this Request for Proposal. Specifically, UNICEF reserves the right to:
- contact any or all references supplied by the bidder(s);
- request additional supporting or supplementary data (from the bidder(s));
- arrange interviews with the bidder(s);
- reject any or all proposals submitted;
- accept any proposals in whole or in part;
- negotiate with the service provider(s) who has/have attained the best rating/ranking, i.e. the one(s) providing the overall best value proposal(s);
- contract any number of candidates as required to achieve the overall evaluation objectives.
VALIDITY
Proposal must be valid for a minimum of ninety (90) days from the date of opening of this RFP and must be signed by all candidates included in the submission. Bidders are requested to indicate the validity period of their proposal in the Proposal Form. UNICEF may also request for an extension of the validity of the proposal.
1.8 PROPOSAL EVALUATION
After the RFP opening, each proposal will be assessed first on is technical merits and subsequently on its price. The proposal with the best overall value, composed of technical merit and price, will be recommended for approval. UNICEF will set up an evaluation panel composed of technical UNICEF staff and their conclusions will be forwarded to the internal UNICEF contracts Review Committee.
The evaluation panel will first evaluate each response for compliance with requirement of the RFP. Responses deemed not to meet all of the mandatory requirements will be considered non-compliant and rejected at this stage without further consideration. Failure to comply with any of the terms and conditions contained in this RFP, including provision of all required information may result in a response or proposal being disqualified from further consideration
The proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria:-
a) Technical Proposal
CATEGORY/POINTS
- Overall Response - 15 Points
. Completeness of response
. Overall concord between RFP requirements and proposal
- Experience of company and Key personal - 25 Points
- Proposed Methodology and Approach - 20 Points
Total Technical Score - 70 Points
(Only proposals which receive a minimum of 45 points will be considered further)
b) Price Proposal
(NOTE: PRICE PROPOSAL SHOULD NOT BE INCLUDED IN THE TECHNICAL PROPOSAL)
The total amount of points allocated for the price component is 30. The maximum number of points will be allotted to the lowest price proposal that is opened and compared among those invited firms/institutions which obtain the threshold points in the evaluation of the technical component. All other price proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price.
Score for price proposal X = Max. Score for price proposal x Price of lowest priced proposal/Price Proposal of X
The bidders should ensure that all pricing information is provided in accordance with the following: The currency of the proposal shall be in US Dollars. Invoicing will be in the currency of the proposal. The bidder will suggest a payment schedule for the contract, linked to unambiguous Contract milestones. All prices/rates quoted must be exclusive of all taxes as UNICEF
2.0 TERMS OF REFERENCE
Background
UNICEF Somalia office produces various advocacy and communication materials to raise awareness on the situation of children and women in Somalia and UNICEF’s interventions. The programme sections also develop technical documents, tools and communication material that require adaptation into Somali language. Audiences include the international community and international media, but more importantly, the Somali programme managers and practitioners, implementing partners, the media and communities. To meet such needs, having highly qualified professional English-Somali translation/interpretation services is vital.
Scope of work
The contracted Translation Company is required to provide accurate translation from English into Somali and vice-versa of:
· Written documents, such as annual reports, situation analysis, newsletters, press releases, human interest stories, briefing books, etc., produced by UNICEF and partners;
· Visual materials, such as video, audio, photo essays, etc;
· Conference, interview, workshop and meetings.
Conditions
1-The final output should not require editing from UNICEF’s side and should be ready for immediate dissemination/release upon approval by UNICEF
All translations, except onsite conferencing services, should be submitted as soft copy, WORD document to UNICEF.
And must be presented in an easy-to-read format, i.e., using time code to indicate start/end that matches the original video/audio.
For highly technical content, the service provider could seek support from UNICEF technical experts to ensure accuracy of translation. If the provider opts to seek support from sources outside of UNICEF, UNICEF reserves the right to conduct reference check.
End product (e.g. final report, article, documents, etc.)
· Written and visual material translated into English-Somalia and vice versa accurately, clearly and well represented/formatted.
· Onsite interpretation services for meetings/workshops, interviews, etc.
Qualifications
· Demonstrated skills and professional experience in translation and interpretation.
· Ability to bring out sensitive and subtle language nuances. Knowledge of Somali context, including latest trends in development and humanitarian aid for Somalia and beyond.
· Be able to provide equipment, such as headsets, microphones, etc., and set up interpretation booths, if needed.
· Ability to take up assignments on very short notice and deliver under tight deadline.
· Knowledge of Somali context, including the latest trends in development and humanitarian aid for Somalia and beyond.
· Familiarity with UNICEF’s work and children’s issues.
· Must be able to travel to/inside Somalia, as well as Kenya and other locations.
Contract duration
Contract will be established for a period of 24 months
Terms of payment
Job orders will be issued by the Communication Section on need basis.
As per the agreed upon rate sheet, payments will be made by UNICEF upon submission of invoices indicating word count, the number of days worked, and deliverables that meet UNICEF’s quality standards.
HOW TO APPLY:
Sealed bids are to be hand delivered or sent via courier on or before 15.07.2015 at 11.00 am to UNICEF SOMALIA Office, PO Box 44145-00100 Nairobi, UN Complex, Gigiri, Block Q 1st floor and dropped at the tender box.
Kindly send details of the person(s) submitting the bid a day before to facilitate entry to the UN Complex.
Due to the nature of the bid there will be no public opening.
