Article published in:
Übersetzen und Dolmetschen im juristischen Bereich / Traduction et interprétation juridiques / Legal Translation and Interpreting: Technologie – Outsourcing – Veränderungen / Technologie – externalisation – transformations / Technology – Outsourcing – Shifts
Edited by Frans De Laet, Reiner Heard and Miodrag Vukčević
[Babel 66:2] 2020
► pp. 193–207

Achieving quality in outsourcing

| Croatian Language Department, DGT, European Commission
In the context of increasing demand and shrinking internal resources, the reliance on outsourcing appears to be a sensible approach in institutional translation. However, in the complex environment of multilingual law-making, working with external partners introduces additional risk factors. This article is an attempt to analyse this specific multiplayer situation and identify some practices which can guarantee sustainable quality performance, from the point of view of the middle manager in charge of in-house staff and workflow. The approach discussed focuses on improved communication with external contractors through a better information flow and enhanced feed-back.
Keywords: institutional translation, multilingual law-making, translation quality, risk assessment, outsourcing, quality management
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction: The multiplayer environment
  • 2.Quality management
  • 3.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 20 April 2020
https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.00160.sir
References
Strandvik, Ingemar
2018 “Towards a More Structured Approach to Quality Assurance: DGT’s Quality Journey”. In Institutional Translation for International Governance, ed. by F. Prieto Ramos, 51–62. London: Bloomsbury Academic.Google Scholar
Šarčević, Susan
2018 “Challenges to Legal Translators in Institutional Settings”. In Institutional Translation for International Governance, ed. by F. Prieto Ramos, 9–24. London: Bloomsbury Academic.Google Scholar
Schäffner, C.; Tcaciuc, LS; and Tesseur, W.
2014 Translation practices in political institutions: a comparison of national, supranational, and non-governmental organisations Perspectives 22 4 493 510 http://​www​.tandfonline​.com​/10​.1080​/0907676X​.2014​.948890
DGT
2014 DGT Quality Management Framework. Ares (2014) 799428.Google Scholar
2015 DGT Translation Quality Guidelines. Ares (2015) 5389770.Google Scholar
2016a DGT Guidelines for Evaluation of Outsourced Translation. Ares (2016a) 3157529.Google Scholar
2016b DGT Outsourcing Framework 2016–2020. Ares (2016) 2986797.Google Scholar