Client
Harstad municipality shall, on behalf of the municipalities of Harstad, Kvæfjord, Tjeldsund, Lødingen, and Narvik, conduct this competition.
Harstad municipality is responsible for conducting the competition. This tender competition covers all 5 municipalities. The municipalities are independent legal entities and will enter into separate agreements.
Background
The existing agreement for interpreting services expires on November 10, 2026, and a new framework agreement will be established. The need for interpreting services is stable and expected to continue, while the requirements for documented competence and proper handling of confidential information indicate that we must have clear contractual frameworks, ordering processes, and quality assurance mechanisms.
We assume that in the current situation, we have varying types of assignments (planned meetings, acute incidents, short telephone assignments, and more demanding conversations). This necessitates an agreement structure that both supports high availability and gives us control over the competence used in each assignment.
The client needs to ensure continued access to interpreting services that support proper and efficient communication when meeting users, patients, citizens, or other individuals requiring language assistance. These services are important for ensuring correct information exchange, equitable service provision, and good case management.
The new framework agreement shall provide the client with predictable access to necessary interpreting services across various interpretation methods, and facilitate flexible orders tailored to varying needs. The need includes interpretation via telephone and screen (video interpretation), as well as in-person interpretation for physical meetings. Additionally, we require written translation services (translator/translation) when needed.
Description of the assignment
The procurement concerns a framework agreement for the provision of interpreting services. The delivery shall include:
The procurement includes the establishment of parallel framework agreements with three suppliers for the following services:
Interpretation via telephone or via screen/video
In-person interpreter at the municipality's premises or other agreed location
Translator services (written translations)
The client wishes to establish parallel framework agreements with multiple suppliers.
The suppliers will be ranked according to the score achieved based on the award criteria. The supplier achieving the highest score (referred to as supplier 1) shall, as a general rule, be contacted first and shall be awarded the call-off if this supplier has the desired interpreter available. If supplier 1 does not have available capacity or cannot offer the requested interpreter, the supplier with the second-highest score (supplier 2) will be contacted, and so on, depending on how many suppliers the client deems it appropriate to offer a contract to. The ranking of suppliers will be based on the stated award criteria.
The purpose of the framework agreement is to cover the client's ongoing need for qualified language assistance across various situations and professional fields. A solution is sought that can handle orders within the relevant interpretation methods and contribute to the client gaining access to relevant services when needed.
The agreement has an estimated total value of approximately NOK 14,500,000 for all municipalities during the contract period. This is an estimate based on available information on consumption in the period 2022-2026 and is not binding for the municipalities. Estimated distribution per municipality:
Harstad NOK 5,600,000 - max 6,300,000
Lødingen NOK 600,000 - max 1,000,000
Kvæfjord NOK 1,300,000 - max 1,600,000
Tjeldsund NOK 1,500,000 - max 2,000,000
Narvik NOK 5,600,000 - max 6,300,000
The majority of assignments are within telephone/screen interpretation. This type of assignment accounted for approximately 85% of the contract sum.
The main share of assignments for Harstad municipality will be for doctor's offices, the integration unit, child welfare services, home care services, and schools and kindergartens.
When using an interpreter, the choice between different categories will be influenced by many variables, including which department is ordering, the duration and complexity of the assignment, any wishes external parties in the case may have regarding the type of interpreter used, etc. There is also some variation in practice among the municipalities regarding the proportion of the total assignment volume used for remote interpretation (telephone/screen interpretation), in-person interpretation, and translation. The distribution within the different services may therefore change during 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 entail any purchasing obligations beyond actual needs during the agreement period.
Client: Lødingen Municipality
Delivery location: Not location-bound
Estimated value: 14,500,000 NOK
Also published on TED (EU threshold)
