Project Information

Bid Title

Linguistics Support

Issuing Agency

Denver Water

Location

Colorado

Published Date

May 12, 2026

Closing Date

May 22, 2026

Government Level

State & Local

Status

Closed

Original Source

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Bid Inquiries

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Bid Documents

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Project Description

Purchasing-Current

Linguistics Support

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.

Post Date:

May 11, 2026

Due Date:

May 22, 2026

Solicitation Documents:

506685 Request for Proposal.pdf
,
Exhibit A - Construction Notice.docx
,
Exhibit B - Pricing.xlsx
,
Exhibit C - Sample Agreement.docx

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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RFP 506685

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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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RFP 506685

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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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RFP 506685

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Commodity Codes

• NAICS 541930Translation and Interpretation Services

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