Linguistics Support
| Location: | Colorado |
|---|---|
| Posted: | May 18, 2026 |
| Due: | May 22, 2026 |
| Agency: | Denver Water |
| Type of Government: | State & Local |
| Category: |
|
| Publication URL: | To access bid details, please log in. |
Purchasing-Current
Contract or Solicitation Number:
506685
Solicitation Description:
Denver Water is seeking professional translation and interpretation services to support equitable and accessible communication with customers who have limited English proficiency. This work supports compliance with language access best practices and strengthens engagement with diverse communities, particularly for high-priority initiatives, such as drought response, regulatory reporting, conservation programs and major infrastructure projects.
Denver Water may make contract awards to one or multiple proposers to ensure sufficient language coverage, responsiveness and high-quality service delivery.
We aim to ensure equitable access to information by providing accurate, timely and culturally competent translation and interpretation services that support Denver Water’s mission and customer engagement.
Denver Water aims to establish a streamlined, reliable language access system where services are timely, high-quality and easily accessible across the organization.
The Request for Proposals as stated in the title of this Addendum No. 1 is hereby amended as follows:
- Denver Water response to Written Requests for Clarification and Additional Information is attached below on page 2.
Post Date:
May 11, 2026
Due Date:
May 22, 2026
Attachment Preview
Request for Proposal (RFP) # 506685
Linguistics Support
1.
PURPOSE:
Denver Water is seeking professional translation and interpretation services to support equitable and accessible
communication with customers who have limited English proficiency. This work supports compliance with
language access best practices and strengthens engagement with diverse communities, particularly for high-
priority initiatives, such as drought response, regulatory reporting, conservation programs and major
infrastructure projects.
Denver Water may make contract awards to one or multiple proposers to ensure sufficient language coverage,
responsiveness and high-quality service delivery.
We aim to ensure equitable access to information by providing accurate, timely and culturally competent
translation and interpretation services that support Denver Water’s mission and customer engagement.
Denver Water aims to establish a streamlined, reliable language access system where services are timely, high-
quality and easily accessible across the organization.
2.
BACKGROUND:
Denver Water currently uses external vendors to provide language services. The organization has an ongoing
need for document translation, multilingual communications and real-time interpretation services.
Public Affairs provides centralized language access support for all divisions throughout Denver Water.
Currently, translation and interpretation services are performed on an as-needed basis, resulting in variability in
turnaround times, quality and consistency. These challenges are amplified by the nature of Denver Water’s
communications, which frequently include complex and technical information, such as water use, drought
restrictions and infrastructure impacts that must be translated accurately and clearly for diverse audiences, often
under time-sensitive conditions.
Denver Water anticipates a need for approximately an average of 20 to 25 hours per month of translation and
interpretation services, with peak demand in March, April and October, though with work throughout the year.
Actual volumes may vary, and no minimum level of work is guaranteed under the resulting Agreement.
Examples of documents that need translation include:
• Annual Water Quality Report
• Website content
• TAP news articles
• Marketing materials
• Customer construction/program notification templates, including letters and door hangers
• News releases and media alerts
3.
MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE:
The resulting Agreement will be managed by the Government and Community Relations team within Public
Affairs, supported by the Linguistics Team. All staff will submit language service requests through a centralized
intake process.
4.
TIMELINE:
The anticipated Agreement term is July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2028.
5.
GOAL:
Enhance the accessibility, consistency and responsiveness of language services to ensure all customers can
fully understand, access and engage with critical information provided by Denver Water.
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RFP 506685
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6.
OBJECTIVES:
• Deliver accurate, high-quality translation and interpretation services for customer-facing communications,
including digital, print and in-person interactions.
• Ensure consistent quality, terminology and tone across all translated and interpreted materials, as guided
by Denver Water.
• Provide timely and reliable services that meet defined turnaround time expectations, including urgent
requests.
• Enhance accessibility for diverse audiences through culturally appropriate and linguistically accurate
communications.
• Strengthen customer engagement, satisfaction and trust by reducing language barriers in essential
communications.
7.
SCOPE OF WORK:
A. Core Services
The selected proposer(s) shall provide the following services:
1. Translation Services
Provide written translation services for strategically identified customer-facing materials (primarily
English to Spanish, with additional languages as needed).
a. Includes one round of translation, one round of proofreading, quality assurance checks, any
revisions or modifications of existing terms in vocabulary requested by Denver Water.
2. Interpretation Services
Provide simultaneous and/or consecutive interpretation services (in-person and virtual), including
necessary equipment (e.g., headsets), for public meetings, community engagement events, and
customer interactions, as needed.
3. Rapid Response, On-Call and Remote Support
Offer on-demand interpretation services, including telephone-based support for customer interactions,
as well as for time-sensitive situations.
4. Terminology Management
Use, maintain, and expand an established Spanish-language glossary of Denver Water and industry-
specific terminology to ensure consistency.
5. Quality Assurance
Perform quality assurance, editing, and proofreading for all deliverables.
6. Urgent Communications Support
Ability to support urgent or time-sensitive requests (e.g., emergency maintenance, drought-related
messaging).
7. Multilingual Capacity
Provide services in languages beyond Spanish, as needed (e.g., Vietnamese, Amharic, Arabic).
8. Cultural Competency Review
Conduct reviews to ensure communications are culturally appropriate and resonate with target
audiences beyond literal translation.
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RFP 506685
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B. Additional Services (as needed)
1. Glossary Development/Terminology Management
Updates to Denver Water’s Spanish language glossary, as requested.
2. Transcreation Services
Adapt multilingual materials and messaging to maintain intent, tone, and effectiveness across
languages and cultures.
C. Proposer Requirements
1. Required Experience
a. Demonstrated ability to deliver high-quality translation services, primarily English to Spanish,
with additional languages as needed.
b. Experience translating technical and policy-related content with accuracy and clarity.
2. Preferred Experience
a. Experience with public sector, utility, water, or infrastructure-related communications.
b. Experience supporting community engagement or public outreach communications initiatives.
D. Service Level Expectations
1. Turnaround Times
Establish, communicate, and consistently meet defined turnaround times and service expectations for
standard, expedited, and urgent requests.
2. Quality Standards
Documented quality assurance processes, including editing and review steps to ensure accuracy,
consistency, and clarity.
3. Performance Management
Ability to track and continuously improve service delivery performance (e.g., timeliness, quality,
customer satisfaction).
4. Work Authorization and Approval Procedures
Denver Water reserves the right to request a quote showing the breakdown of fees and estimated
delivery schedule prior to approving any assignment.
8.
RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS:
All proposals must include the information requested in the following sections A, B and C with each section
clearly labeled as outlined below.
A. General Information:
• Entity’s legal name
• Entity’s business address
• Point of contact name, e-mail, and phone number
• Year entity was established
B. Required RFP Response Narrative:
For each item below, provide a narrative response that is concise but effective enough to allow qualitative
evaluation. Provide a response to all items in the order given. List each item number and restate the question
prior to the response. Limit response to 10 PAGES, excluding work samples.
1. Experience
a. Describe your experience providing translation and/or interpretation services for public sector
or utility organizations, including examples of work involving complex, technical or program-
related content.
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2. Service Approach & Quality Assurance
a. How do you ensure accuracy, clarity and consistency when translating complex or technical
content?
b. Describe your quality assurance process, including editing and proofreading steps.
c. How do you ensure cultural competency and that translations go beyond literal word-for-word
translation?
d. Describe your experience utilizing, maintaining and expanding client-specific glossaries.
e. Describe if and how you use AI tools to assist in the translation process. If applicable, what
domain safeguards are in place to ensure client information is protected and used responsibly?
For which stages of the process are AI tools used (e.g., first drafts, terminology alignment,
quality assurance)?
3. Service Level
a. Provide your proposed turnaround times for the translation service request types listed below.
Define how your firm classifies each request type (e.g., based on complexity, word count,
volume, turnaround urgency, or other relevant factors).
i. Standard requests
ii. Urgent requests
iii. Scheduled requests (include the number of business days required for advance
scheduling)
iv. Complex or specialized requests (e.g., high-volume, highly technical, multi-language,
or other non-routine work)
b. Do you measure service quality, including timeliness and customer satisfaction, and how?
c. How do you provide on-call and scheduled interpretation services? Define how your firm
classifies each service type and describe the process for delivering them.
4. Account Management & Support
a. How will our account be supported? Describe the team structure and the roles and
responsibilities of key personnel involved in service delivery and ongoing support.
b. How will requests be coordinated and prioritized?
5. Work Samples
a. Translate the attached Exhibit A – Construction Notice into Spanish. In addition to the translated
document, provide:
i. A brief description of your approach, including how you ensured accuracy, clarity, and
consistency; how you handled technical or ambiguous content; and a breakdown of
fees by applicable per-word rate category.
ii. Standard pricing for exhibit
iii. Rush pricing for exhibit
iv. Advance scheduling pricing for exhibit (if different from standard pricing)
v. Anticipated turnaround time for exhibit
b. Provide a sample of transcreation work demonstrating your ability to adapt messaging for
different languages and cultural audiences.
C. Proposal Pricing:
Pricing: Proposers shall submit comprehensive pricing using the attached Excel spreadsheet, Exhibit B –
Pricing. Include all fees to be considered.
Proposers are required to submit their pricing according to the compensation structure provided, which
includes Tabs A. Translation Services, B. Interpretation Services, and C. Additional Services. Denver Water
will entertain other tailored compensation structures, but this exhibit, at a minimum, must be included in the
proposal submittal.
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Price Adjustments: Prices (fees) under the resulting Agreement are to be firm and fixed for the first 12
months of the Agreement term. Requests for economic price adjustments to take effect after the first 12
months shall be submitted to Denver Water by the Consultant with appropriate documentation justifying the
request at least sixty (60) calendar days prior to expiration of the first 12-month period. Price adjustments
shall occur no more frequently than annually. Requests for economic price adjustments not received at least
sixty (60) days prior to expiration of the first 12-month period will not be approved, and prices will remain the
same for the next 12 months or for the remaining Agreement term, whichever is less. Denver Water and the
Consultant will make reasonable efforts to mutually agree on the format and methodology of documented
price adjustments.
Reimbursement and Additional Fees: All travel or incidental expenses, including but not limited to airfare,
lodging, vehicle mileage, surcharges, time to and from the Denver Water administration building, etc.,
required to fulfill the obligations of the resulting Agreement shall be the sole responsibility of the Consultant,
unless specifically approved in advance by Denver Water. Denver Water will not reimburse the Consultant
for any travel or incidental expenses if the Consultant’s team member(s) is/are located in the Denver
Metropolitan area.
9.
SUBMISSION FORMAT AND PROCESS:
Interested parties may submit a response via email narrative or PDF attachment addressed to the contact listed
below. All pricing must be submitted in the attached Excel spreadsheet, Exhibit B – Pricing.
Kristen Williams, Procurement Specialist
kristen.williams@denverwater.org
Subject Line: RFP 506685 - Linguistics Support
Due Date: Friday, May 22 by 3:00 pm MST
NO HARD COPY/MAILED OR FAXED COPIES WILL BE ACCEPTED.
Proposal Submittal Documents Checklist:
• General Information
• Response Narrative
• Exhibit A – Construction Notice Translation
• Transcreation Sample of Work
• Exhibit B – Pricing (Excel spreadsheet)
• Any proposed modifications and/or exceptions to Exhibit C – Sample Agreement
10. EVALUATION AND SELECTION PROCESS
Proposals will be evaluated by criteria described in this RFP. Proposals considered responsive will be
evaluated for completeness of information provided, the Proposer’s adherence to RFP requirements, support
for claims made, and the overall approach taken. Denver Water’s objective is to select the Proposal(s) judged
to be in the best interest of Denver Water.
Proposals may be evaluated using criteria including but not limited to:
• Experience
• Service Approach & Quality Assurance
• Service Level
• Account Management & Support
• Work Samples
• Professionalism
• Proposed Pricing
• Any other relevant and appropriate factors as determined by Denver Water
This list does not reflect or imply any weighting or relative importance.
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This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.
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