Norway - Interpretation services - Framework agreement for interpretation services

Background Innherred Anskaffelser KO is a municipal working partnership between 11 municipalities in Innherred and Namdalen in Trøndelag. The aim is to implement rational, reliable and efficient procurements on behalf of the participating municipalities. Inderøy municipality is the office municipality and a formal employer for employees in the cooperation. The framework agreement shall, upon the start of the agreement, include nine municipalities: Levanger, Verdal, Inderøy, Steinkjer, Snåsa, Grong, Lierne, Røyrvik and Høylandet. Namsos, Flatanger and Trøndelag county shall have an option to join the contract after the existing agreements expire. Municipal companies (KF) under the participating municipalities shall also be able to use the contract. The procurement shall ensure continued access to interpretation services after the current framework agreement expires and combine the municipalities into one joint contract. This shall contribute to better coordination, like practice, more general follow-up as well as a better basis for management, statistics and quality follow-up across the cooperation. Current situation, contract extent and option participants There is currently a framework agreement for interpretation services for Snåsa, Steinkjer, Inderøy, Verdal and Levanger. The agreement expires 30.11.2026. In 2025, a total of 9,247 interpretation assignments were registered for these municipalities, of which 9,168 are telephone interpretation, 67 video interpretation and 12 attendance interpretations. The statistics form the basis for estimating the extent in the new contract. Since the current contract was established in 2022, six municipalities in Namdalen have become a part of Innherred Anskaffelser KO: Grong, Lierne, Røyrvik, Høylandet, Namsos and Flatanger. The contracting authority does not have equivalent detailed statistics for these six municipalities. Based on the available ratio, the need is estimated to approx. 3,000 interpretation assignments per annum. The distribution between telephony, video and turn-out interpretation is mainly expected to be comparable to the historical distribution in the Innherred municipalities. The estimate is uncertain and is not binding for future withdrawals. Grong, Lierne, Røyrvik and Høylandet are included in the new framework agreement from the start of the agreement. Namsos and Flatanger have a separate framework agreement for interpretation services until 20.08.2027, and shall therefore have an option to join the new contract after this expires. Trøndelag county shall also have an option to join the framework agreement. The county ́s contract will run until 30.04.2027, and commencement can take place from 01.05.2027. In 2025 3,157 interpretation assignments were registered for Trøndelag county, of which 2,473 are telephone interpretation, 127 video interpretation and 557 attendances. Most of the attendance assignments were connected to Sør-Trøndelag, and it is anticipated that a significant amount will apply to the Trondheim area. Attendance assignments can also occur at the county ́s entities elsewhere in Trøndelag. At the turn-out interpretation, the tenderer must reckon on assignments in Innherred, Namdalen, the Trondheim area and other parts of Trøndelag, depending on the contract participants ́needs. Historical figures and geographical distributions are only a guideline and are not a guarantee for future volume or location. The estimated value of the framework agreement, based on available statistics and calculated ratios, is NOK 35,000,000 excluding VAT. The maximum value of the framework agreement is NOK 45,000,000 excluding VAT. Description of the assignment The procurement is for a joint framework agreement for the provision of interpretation services for the participants of the agreement. The agreement shall cover continuous need for telephony interpretation, video interpretation, ongoing interpretation of meetings and written translations, both planned and acute assignments. A large number of the assignments are expected to include telephone and video interpretation. The services will be used in ordinary municipal and county services, including health and care services, child protection, NAV, refugee service, adult education, schools, nurseries and other public service areas. The need will vary as regards language, scope, date, geographical location and which interpreter form is best suited. Tenderers shall have sufficient capacity and language coverage to handle a broad and varied need, also at short notice. The contract shall serve many orderers across municipalities, entities and service areas, and therefore there are high requirements for delivery ability, accessibility, quality and efficient systems for ordering and following up. The delivery shall always be in accordance with the Interpretation Act and associated regulations. The contracting authority places great emphasis on the use of qualified interpreters and that the best qualified interpreters available for each assignment are offered, based on the qualification categories in the National Interpreter Register. The framework agreement shall contribute to predictable and efficient access to high quality interpretation services, as well as facilitate uniform ordering routines, good follow-up and a better overview of the use of the services across the contract participants.