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2021-066 Digital Solution to administer the Clean Heat Grant

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Summary of the work The Clean Heat Grant will administer capital grants and will run for 2 years. This tender is to develop and deliver a digital solution to administer the proposed Clean Heat Grant. A completed MVP will be required by April 2022. Expected Contract Length 10 months Latest start date Monday 2 August 2021 Why the Work is Being Done Ofgem delivers green energy and social programmes on behalf of government. These programmes are in fields as diverse as renewable heat and electricity, energy efficiency and fuel poverty. The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) recently consulted on proposals for a Clean Heat Grant (CHG). Ofgem has been named as the intended administrator for the scheme. The scheme is intended to increase the proportion of green gas in the grid and to contribute towards reaching the Government’s net zero emissions target by 2050. This contract is expected to start 2nd august 2021, with the Clean Heat Grant & MVP digital product Go-Live date of 2nd April 2022. Problem to Be Solved A co-sourcing partner is required to deliver the digital solution that will administer the proposed Clean Heat Grant (CHG). Ofgem, as the administrator of the grant, will need to issue the grant to participants and payments to installers. The grants will enable the installation of 3 different types renewable technologies and is expected to be open to new participants for two years. The applicant would complete upfront eligibility via the digital solution, and as administrator Ofgem teams would assess the application and perform due diligence before approving or rejecting grants. Once the technology has been installed Ofgem teams would need to pay the grant amount to the installer. As part of the user journey, the user needs to be informed of the progress of the application. To administer the grant, peaks and troughs need to be managed to support installer networks and minimise the risk of budget overspend. In line with government guidance compliance and audits are needed to reduce the risk of gaming. Who Are the Users • As an external users, I need to complete applications to apply for a grant. • As an installers who install renewable heat systems, I need to supply an invoice to Ofgem so that they can approve it prior to work taking place. • As an internal user, I need to administer the scheme to process applications, manage and complete other back-office tasks. • As a service team I need to monitor performance data and feedback to stakeholders • As Audit, compliance, or counter-fraud teams I need to monitor fraudulent practices and actions that breach regulatory requirements so that the grant is not gamed Work Already Done We are at present in discovery phase, at this stage we are understanding our landscape and user needs. We are undertaking interviews, surveys, and workshops to prioritise needs with internal and external users. As we move out of discovery, we will have a prioritised list of user needs and a hypothesis and risk base assumptions to test in Alpha. We plan to move out of Discovery by end of July. Existing Team Underpinning all the above requirement is the ability of the team to work as an integrated team with Ofgem. The co-sourcing partner is required to work as part of an Ofgem programme delivery team, alongside Delivery Managers, Business Analysis, Automation Tester, Product Managers, Developers, and Service Design professionals. The shape of the team will evolve as the project progresses. The team will be assisted by subject matter experts from the wider team, largely within the business, but also with technical expertise. The team is supported by a Senior Reporting Officer, senior management structure, and project steering group. Current Phase Discovery Skills & Experience • Have previous experience of delivering a Programme of this magnitude • Have evidence of delivering at scale • Work well in an Agile team, adhering to sprint ceremonies, and working collaboratively with teams outside of your immediate remit • Have previous experience of working in Azure cloud technology • Have previous experience of Microsoft focus dev. Stack • Work to Ofgem technical, GDS and National Cyber Security Centre security standards Nice to Haves • Experience of working with Ofgem or other highly regulated organisations on previous scheme launches • A knowledge or understanding of renewable energy support schemes and relevant technologies Work Location The usual place of work is at 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London, E14 4PU, though suppliers can also work from the Glasgow office if preferable. At present the team is working remotely due to Covid-19 and the successful supplier would be expected to do the same until government advice on best practice changes. Working Arrangments Suppliers will be required to be on site or working remotely 5 days a week Monday-Friday to work with delivery team. They will be required to update various teams and senior managers and run show and tell sessions. Expenses will be in line with Ofgem expenses policy and security must meet Ofgem's requirements. Security Clearance All Supplier staff (including sub-contractors) working with Ofgem will require to be security cleared to BPSS as a minimum at the awarded Supplier’s expense. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • Evidence your work with clients of different levels of technical expertise on similar projects • Team structure including roles, resourcing levels, responsibility and availability • Your proposed approach and methodology, detailing how it meets the needs of this requirement Cultural Fit Criteria • Identification of risks, dependencies, and offered approaches to solve or manage them • Demonstrate transparent, collaborative approach to work, sharing this with the project team and seeking actionable feedback Payment Approach Fixed price Assessment Method Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 10% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers 1. Can you please advise the timelines of this procurement (e.g. shortlisted companies notified, anticipated contract award)? Also, can you confirm if shortlisted suppliers will have the opportunity to present? Tenderers will be informed if they have been shortlisted W/C 07/06Contract award is anticipated for W/C 12/07Shortlisted suppliers will be provided with a more detailed ITT which will include a technical and commercial response. Once these are submitted and evaluated we intend to hold presentations W/C 05/07 but may not invite all shortlisted suppliers depending on the shortlisted responses and associated scores. 2. Who from your team will be scoring applications for this opportunity and what positions do they hold? Applications will be scored by Ofgem employees with the following job roles:Head of Operations,Head of Digital Development.Head of Future Heat Programme;DDaT Enterprise Architect; Delivery Enterprise Architect; Head of Operations;Head of Digital Development. 3. Could you please advise who is conducting the Discovery work i.e. is it internal or are there external suppliers involved? Discovery is being undertaken internally 4. Is there an incumbent and are they expected to tender? There is no incumbent supplier 5. Just to confirm this is a requirement for an Alpha partner as it’s not explicit? Does the supplier need to take Alpha into Beta and Live? We are looking for a supplier for Alpha, Beta and going into live. 6. Who will be reviewing the suppliers ie what roles / responsibilities? Applications will be scored by Ofgem employees with the following job roles:Head of Operations,Head of Digital Development.Head of Future Heat Programme;DDaT Enterprise Architect; Delivery Enterprise Architect; Head of Operations;Head of Digital Development. 7. Who is running the discovery? Internal or incumbent agency? Discovery is being undertaken internally 8. Could you give an indication of budget please? The spend under this project is anticipated to be in the region of £780,000 to £980,000 including VAT over the lifetime of the contract. Tenderers are reminded that 30% of your final tender score is determined by price and are encouraged to provide as competitive as price as you are able to rather than trying to match the anticipated spend. 9. Ability to scale is highlighted, but scale of the project is not defined – what is the associated budget? The spend under this project is anticipated to be in the region of £780,000 to £980,000 including VAT over the lifetime of the contract. Tenderers are reminded that 30% of your final tender score is determined by price and are encouraged to provide as competitive as price as you are able to rather than trying to match the anticipated spend. 10. Hi,Is the scope of the contract, to include delivery of an MVP into private beta for a fixed period, a Beta assessment followed by a period of public beta, and a live assessment?Thank you Detailed information of this opportunity will be available to shortlisted tenderers to enable submission of a commercial bid. The submission should be fixed price for Alpha, Beta and Live phases of the project. This fixed price should be itemised by day rates and number of days required by each suggested specialist reflecting the need for different roles in different phases. The total price will be used to evaluate tenderers. After Discovery, the roadmap may evolve as we find out more, Ofgem will then refer to the day rates detailed in the successful tenderers commercial evaluation for any change to work. 11. Good morning,Will this solution be required to go through formal (internal or external) GDS Assessment?Thanks We will be undergoing a GDS assessment at key phases of the project 12. Hi, can you elaborate on what is meant by Microsoft dev stack? Is there a particular restriction on languages and if so, what’s the reasoning behind that? The current technology stack for new scheme software builds focuses on Microsoft Azure Platform as a Service (PaaS) components and microservices built using Kubernetes, Docker, Microsoft .Net Core and C#. 13. Can you advise if this procurement is via the recently awarded Digital Resource Pool Framework? This procurement is via the Digital Outcomes and Specialists CCS framework. 14. What is the expected channel of the digital solution? A public facing website or a mobile app or both? We will be using a public facing website. 15. Can you confirm how the budget and fixed price approach was formulated from your internal discovery for Alpha and Beta? The budget was determined by previous deliveries of the same or similar magnitude and our knowledge of current internal resource. Fixed price is the pricing model we have adopted for previous projects. 16. Can you share the details of MS dev Stack and Azure cloud technologies being used at Ofgem? The current technology stack for new scheme software builds focuses on Microsoft Azure Platform as a Service (PaaS) components and microservices built using Kubernetes, Docker, Microsoft .Net Core and C#. 17. Will you be using ASP.Net for front, middle or back end services We will be using asp.net. .net core 3.5 (back end) and MVC for the front end. 18. Have you made any decisions on your chosen technology? Or are there any factors already in play that might influence your decision for instance internal capability, systems to integrate with or an existing technology strategy The current technology stack for new scheme software builds focuses on Microsoft Azure Platform as a Service (PaaS) components and microservices built using Kubernetes, Docker, Microsoft .Net Core and C#. 19. Please could you provide an overview of what additional detail will be released at ITT stage i.e. prioritised backlog, key architectural details The ITT will map out delivery timelines, cover additional delivery requirements, technical and architecture requirements, security protocols. Further details on price and payment terms , contract details , what further information required from suppliers and terms & conditions. 20. Please could you quantify what Ofgem means by ‘programme of this magnitude’ i.e. expected user numbers, volumes, criticality to policy etc. This is a new Government end to end service which will service thousands of transactions a year involving individuals and businesses, from application,through to payment and data collection. Existing Ofgem digital products that support the administration of other renewable energy schemes can beresearched for comparison (eg NDRHI, DRHI and ECO). 21. Would Ofgem please clarify the position on the use of offshore resources within the delivery e.g. a mixed on/offshore model or fully offshored model? Ofgem are expecting resource to be based onshore. 22. On the Nice to have skills: A knowledge or understanding of renewable energy support schemes and relevant technologies – does the ‘relevant technology’ refer to renewable energy tech or the DDaT capability required to administer a grant within a regulatory environment This Refers to having knowledge or understanding of renewable energy and relevant technologies. 23. Have you got a specific product (eg Dynamics, Salesforce etc) in mind or are you contemplating a bespoke build The intention is to build a bespoke delivery to meet the requirements of the grant. 24. You mention working with Azure and the Microsoft dev stack – what is your thinking around using pre-built compliant SaaS services that are already in use across UK Government? We have evaluated various across Government options but after consideration it was decided that a bespoke option best met the requirements for this. 25. Can you please share the magnitude of the project? This is a new Government end to end service which will service thousands of transactions a year involving individuals and businesses, from application,through to payment and data collection. Existing Ofgem digital products that support the administration of other renewable energy schemes can beresearched for comparison (eg NDRHI, DRHI and ECO). 26. What kind of team if Ofgem looking for? Is it safe to assume couple of developers, testers, business analyst, architect?Is there a number that you have in mind? Type of roles we are looking for to work with internal team are Developer, UX designer, Quality assurance and use researcher. Potentially we may require BA and content designer roles, with the ability to flex resource as we move into Beta. 27. What do you mean by ability to scale?How will this question be evaluated? We have asked the Tenderers for evidence of delivering at scale. Tenders will be evaluated based on the examples provided, if they are of a similar scale and nature to this requirement. 28. When you say experience of delivering programme of this magnitude- what are the parameters that we should be aware of apart from a new scheme launch, budget. Are there any other parameters like similar story points, team size? If you could share more detail around on what basis will the question be evaluated, it will be great. You need to deliver a programme of 1000's of transactions per year by April 2022 for an estimated budget of between £780,000 to £980,000 (including VAT) over the lifetime of the contract. 29. How long is this contract for this work.Is the budget of £780,000 to £980,000 (inc. VAT) to cover additional work / support / maintenance after the Go-Live date of 2nd April 2022, If yes, how long will the additional work be required The contract is to run 2nd August 2021 - April 2022 the budget is to cover Alpha & Beta , once live the Ofgem team will take into Business As Usual. 30. Please could you confirm if Microsoft development technologies e.g. ASP.NET/ C#.NET) are a must or are you also open to consider an open source solution within the Azure environment We require the solution to be written in Kubernetes, Docker, Microsoft .Net Core and C#.to meet our technical Architecture. 31. 1. Are there any Preferred technologies within the Microsoft stack?2. What is Payment system to link to?3. What is the Interface to payment system expected to be like?4. How frequently will the interface be used?5. Are any Uptime guarantees required from the solution?6. Does the solution need to factor in any Disaster Recovery requirements?7. Since consultation only closes in July, will there be any changes to the MVP requirements at that point? 1.The current technology stack for new scheme software builds focuses on Microsoft Azure PaaS components and microservices built using Kubernetes, Docker, Microsoft .Net Core and C#. 2. the payment system links to an internal finance team 3.It is expected to link to the payment system via an API 4. this will be dependent on take up but should have the capability to flex to increase in demand. 5. This forms part of discovery 6. Yes as part of security of the platform. 7. That will be informed by discovery and updated in ITT which will be sent to shortlisted suppliers 32. 1. Does the MVP need to be installed on OFGEM systems or demonstrated on contractor systems?2. What level of Due Diligence is expected into each application?3. What is the complexity of the workflow – how many levels of alerts / flags need to be handled?4. What support is expected once the solution is installed?5. Is support needed in Welsh / other languages?6. What is the rough User:Concurrency ratio for the various types of Users? 1. on Ofgem systems 2.This will be decided in discovery. 3.this will be part of discovery 4. After installation Ofgem will maintain the system. 5 . Welsh support is required and this handled internally 6. This will be informed by Ofgem's User Research and final requirements. 33. Would Ofgem have any objections to the successful supplier utilising specialist subject-matter expertise in the form of a subcontractor to deliver desired business outcomes? We would require the details of any Sub-Contractors that will be involved during the project and the proposed management arrangements, but provided they pass Ofgem vetting we have no objection to the use of subcontractors. 34. What are the outputs of the internal Discovery phase (i.e. High level Epics, User Stories? Shortlisted suppliers will be provided with any available details as part of ITT 35. Is a Nearshore Delivery model acceptable? (this would include our staff being nearshore in europe, not data or infrastructure) Ofgem are expecting resource to be based onshore only. 36. We assume this would follow an Agile delivery methodology using a Continuous Integration & Continuous Delivery approach. Can this be confirmed? Yes agile deliver is Ofgems chosen methodology 37. Is there planned to be a single Product Owner that will drive the delivery of this work from OFGEM? Ofgem will have a product owner in place for delivery 38. When delivering at scale, do you have a particular framework in mind, e.g Safe? We will be following the Government Digital Service agile guidelines. 39. Regarding data breach liability: In the event of any data breach, if the breach was caused by the supplier then the ICO would fine the supplier directly, that of course would sit outside of the contract that would be in place between our two organisations. If that breach led to third party claims being submitted to Ofgem, you would look to pass that liability onto the Supplier. The liability of £10M is unpalatable as the risk provision compared to the contract value is too great. We therefore ask if you would consider a value commensurate with the overall contract value? The liabilities under this contract will remain unchanged from those agreed at a framework level 40. What is the deemed status of the work? Is it inside or outside IR35? IR35 is not expected to be applicable for this project and so we would expect this to fall outside of IR35. If tenderers think their bid would fall inside of IR35 they are expected to notify Ofgem.

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3 years ago

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3 years ago

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