Procurement Guide: How to Buy Language Services via NASPO ValuePoint
Buying language services in the public sector often feels like managing chaos.
In one department, a school administrator urgently needs parent letters translated for an upcoming semester. Across town, a court clerk is scrambling to find an interpreter for a last-minute hearing. Meanwhile, your communications director is asking complex questions about ADA compliance and PDF remediation for a new website launch.
For procurement professionals, this results in a cluttered inbox full of disparate vendor emails, endless RFP drafts, and looming questions about compliance. The traditional route—running a full Request for Proposal (RFP) for every individual need—is time-consuming, expensive in staff hours, and vulnerable to protests.
There is a more efficient path.
If your state participates in the cooperative purchasing arm known as NASPO ValuePoint, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. You can leverage existing Master Agreements to secure high-quality, compliant language support.
In this guide, we will walk you through a defensible framework to streamline your procurement using a NASPO ValuePoint Translation and Interpretation Provider.
Why Use NASPO ValuePoint for Language Services?
NASPO ValuePoint facilitates public procurement using a "Lead State" model. Essentially, one lead state conducts a rigorous, competitive procurement process to award a Master Agreement. Once awarded, other states and public entities—such as cities, counties, and school districts—can sign a "Participating Addendum" (PA) to use that same contract.
For language access, this falls under specific portfolios designed to consolidate spending and vetting.
Using a pre-vetted provider under this contract, such as Taika Translations (Contract #17972), allows agencies to bypass the friction of new solicitations while ensuring they are working with vendors who have already met strict government standards.
Here is the step-by-step process to transition from "scrambling for quotes" to a consolidated language strategy.
Step 1: Audit Your Internal Needs First
Before opening a contract document, you must clarify exactly what your agency requires. "Language services" is a broad umbrella, and vague requests lead to vague deliverables.
Start by answering these four questions:
1. What services are critical?
Do not assume "translation" covers everything. Be specific about your technical requirements:
Document Translation: For letters, forms, legal policy, and public notices.
Interpreting: For real-time communication (phone, video, or on-site).
Accessibility: For 508/WCAG compliance, captioning, and braille.
2. Who are the end-users?
A health department dealing with strict patient confidentiality (HIPAA) has different operational constraints than a public school aiming for general community engagement. Knowing your user base helps define the security requirements needed in a vendor.
3. What are your volume and language spikes?
Identify your top 5–10 languages. Do you have steady daily volume, or do you face massive spikes during enrollment periods or tax season?
4. What does success look like?
Define your metrics. Are you trying to reduce turnaround time, lower costs, or minimize quality complaints?
Step 2: Navigate the NASPO Structure
Once your needs are defined, you need to verify your access to the cooperative contract.
Check Your State’s Participation: Visit the official NASPO ValuePoint Remote Interpreting and Translating Services Portfolio. Search for your state on the map or list to see if a Participating Addendum (PA) is active.
Review Eligibility: Confirm if "political subdivisions" (local governments, schools, nonprofits) are authorized to use the state contract in your jurisdiction.
Read the Fine Print: You don’t need to memorize the Master Agreement, but you should scan your state’s PA for specific administrative fees or local reporting requirements.
Step 3: Vet the Vendor for Public Sector Fit
Just because a vendor is on the NASPO list doesn’t automatically make them the right fit for your specific agency. You should treat the NASPO contract as a starting point for a relationship, not the entire relationship.
When speaking to a potential partner, structure your vetting process around these pillars:
Capacity & Scope: Can they handle your specific language mix? For example, at Taika Translations, we cover over 300 languages and operate 24/7 to ensure that even rare dialects are supported.
Security & Compliance: How do they handle PII, HIPAA, or FERPA data? Security breaches are not an option in government work.
Service Level Agreements (SLAs): Ask for concrete numbers. What is the standard turnaround for a 20-page policy document? How fast can they connect a video interpreter?
Onboarding: Do they offer a portal for easy ordering? Will they train your staff?
Pro Tip: Ask potential vendors if they provide educational resources for your team. A vendor that invests in your success is a partner, not just a supplier. (See our Multicultural Communication Training for an example of how we support client teams).
Step 4: Launch and Manage the Contract
The most common point of failure is not the contract itself, but the rollout. If your department heads don’t know the contract exists, they will continue to buy off-contract, creating "rogue spend" and compliance risks.
To prevent this, we recommend a three-point rollout plan:
Create a One-Pager: Distribute a simple guide internally that explains who the vendor is, what services are covered, and how to place an order.
Host a Kick-off Training: Invite the vendor to explain the ordering process to your key stakeholders (Legal, Comms, Health, etc.).
Set KPIs: Schedule quarterly reviews to look at usage data, spend, and quality metrics.
Moving Forward
By leveraging a NASPO ValuePoint Translation and Interpretation Provider, you move from reactive buying to a proactive strategy. You ensure your agency is compliant, your costs are controlled, and—most importantly—your communities get the access they deserve.
If you are ready to explore how this looks in practice, you can view Taika Translations’ NASPO profile here to see our specific contract details, master agreement, and contact information.
Need to discuss your agency’s specific language strategy?
Contact the TaikaTranslations team today for a consultation on how to maximize your cooperative purchasing power.
