Chief Digital Architect and Programme Management Office (PMO) function

Description

Summary of the work To provide a Chief Digital Architect and PMO function that coordinates, manages and leads the technical and logistical delivery, and manages the financial reporting of the SDCA programme, ensuring that outputs are developed and delivered in accordance with the agreed programme scope, objectives and timelines. Expected Contract Length 37 weeks to the end of June 2022. Latest start date Monday 11 October 2021 Budget Range 1. For the period October 2021 to March 2022: max. £380,000; 2. from April 2022 to June 2022: max. £190,000. [Noting that this duration may be extended by 3 months following the HMT Gate Review in March 2022. Why the Work is Being Done DfT is leading a group of Partner organisations to pilot technology and data systems that enable a more joined-up cross-departmental approach to delivering Net Zero. This programme – Shared Digital Carbon Architecture (SDCA) – aims to transform the way carbon data is captured, managed and exploited to support advanced analysis, policy development and to de-risk interdependent strategic infrastructure delivery. Partners include Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, Department for Education, Homes England, Environment Agency, Network Rail, National Highways, Infrastructure Projects Authority and the Transport Infrastructure Efficiency Strategy Living Lab. Problem to Be Solved • Government programmes are, with increasing frequency, facing legal challenges on grounds of climate change; • Government departments’ strategies to decarbonise their respective infrastructure systems are being developed in isolation – achieving Net Zero involves simultaneous transformation of several vital, interconnected infrastructure systems: from transport and housing, to energy and manufacturing. • Policymakers require greater visibility of carbon impacts within / across infrastructure sectors, allowing them to identify points of greatest leverage, where intervention will make most difference; • Meeting Net Zero requires us to understand synergies, interdependencies, trade-offs between different decarbonisation strategies, ensuring efforts to mitigate climate change impacts in one area does not greatly increase emissions in another. Working closely with DfT Digital Architecture team/Lead Digital Architect. Work across the programme technology domains, helping shape the strategy / direction, setting the architectural vision/ roadmap for SDCA. Primary responsibility - providing strong technical leadership, producing architectural designs, standards, patterns/ roadmaps. Working constructively with business stakeholders, technical teams / other stakeholders providing architectural guidance. Set the vision / strategy for SDCA's approach to the architecture and solution implementation ensuring its delivery. Ensure this solution design complies with DfT Architecture Principles and Standards, securing approval from the DfT Architecture Change Board. Who Are the Users The primary users of SDCA are analysts, policy and project decision-makers in DfT and the Partner organisations. In order to decarbonise the UK economy, we require a Shared Digital Carbon Architecture and cross-systems way of thinking that enables: • consideration of the interplay between current and future decarbonisation plans, and how they can combine to deliver better levelling up outcomes; • the delivery of decarbonisation priorities smarter by using the scale of cumulative, connected changes that are needed to achieve net zero; • greater control when implementing major infrastructure transformations, through visibility of the wider system impacts; • higher quality data for whole life carbon, comparable across systems and available for dynamic use in the planning and delivery of all major infrastructure projects. Early Market Engagement Early engagement to consider the guide price for this Invitation to Tender has been conducted with potential suppliers who will not provide the services listed in this tender. Work Already Done Having prepared a busines case and delivery plan to secure funding from HM Treasury through the Shared Outcomes Fund, the programme plan for SDCA has been refined so that it can be delivered through a number of suppliers, working in partnership. This outline specification represents one of five tenders. Existing Team The programme is overseen by the SDCA Steering Committee, which reports to internal carbon boards in DfT and the Shared Outcomes Unit in HM Treasury. A team has been mobilised in DfT to support delivery of the programme, which comprises a programme lead, two workstream leads, a secretariat lead, DfT Policy Officials representing Digital and Housing Policy, Digital Architecture Experts and DfT Analysts. Current Phase Not applicable Skills & Experience • Experienced IT programme architecture within a multi-supplier environment; (CDCA) • An excellent understanding of a broad range of technologies, applications and integration methodologies; (CDCA) • Ability to develop digital systems aligned to business needs, business capability, and digital/ technology strategy; support future technology visions for organisations and develop transitional architecture plans to deliver them; (CDCA) • Advising and assuring development teams during project lifecycle, ensuring the solution is developed in accordance with DfT Architecture Principles and Standards and GDS Service Manual, and meeting delivery targets; (CDCA) • Ability to build and sustain effective working relationships within the PMO, delivery and partner organisations, and other key stakeholders; (PMO) • Ability to articulate ‘the big picture and cut through technical complexity – communicating technical concepts relating to software in a language understood by all, especially policymakers in Government; (PMO/CDCA) • Accurately documenting a programme's creation, development and execution, as well as documenting scope, budget and justification; (PMO) • Ability to deliver against programme milestones, managing a critical pathway across multiple workstreams with intersecting dependencies; (PMO) • Analysing financial data, including project budgets, risks and resource allocation; (PMO) Nice to Haves • Ability to support adoption of digital initiatives within Government through Agile Service Delivery inline with GDS Service Manual / public sector, maximising the use/ supplementation of existing digital systems; (CDCA/PMO) • Collaborating with Government departments to define, prioritise and develop digital architecture and associated training/on-boarding; (CDCA) • Embed architecture governance across multiple organisations, ensuring architecture alignment with technical designs (CDCA); • Experience with big data and data integration platforms (CDCA); • Experience in the decarbonisation or environmental policy space (PMO/CDCA). Work Location Remote working, and when required attendance at other governmental department offices, including DfT’s, Great Minster House, 33 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 4DR. Working Arrangments As part of the PMO function, you will report directly to the SDCA Steering Committee, work closely with the DfT, the Partner organisations, other key stakeholders /other suppliers contracted. We are seeking to procure a team on an outcomes basis. The supplier will be expected to contribute a minimum of four days a week during the period 11 October 2021 to 30 June 2021, totalling 148 days over 37 weeks. The programme may extend for three months on performance basis. Core business hours - 08.00-18.00, Monday-Friday. The suppliers will work using their own technology, DfT hardware is not provided. Security Clearance None. A non-disclosure agreement will be signed with suppliers. Additional T&Cs The duration of the requirement is contingent upon a successful HMT gate review in March 2022 of past performance to release the next allocation of funding from April 2022. This review will also determine whether the programme should be extended by a further three months from the start of July 2022. The key gate review milestone criteria will be provided for successful suppliers at stage 2. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 7 Proposal Criteria • Technical solution (10%) • Approach and methodology (10%) • How the approach or solution meets user needs (10%) • How the approach or solution meets the programme’s goals (5%) • Estimated timeframes for the work (5%) • How risks and dependencies have been identified, and how approaches to manage them have been offered (5%) • Team structure (5%) • Value for money (5%) • CV (5%) Cultural Fit Criteria • • Experience of working as a team with comparable organisations and suppliers (3%) • • Experience of transparent and collaborative decision making (2%) • • Experience of taking responsibility for a complex, multi-workstream programme of work and resolving problems effectively (3%) • • Experience of sharing approach, knowledge and skills with other team members and with comparable organisations by example (2%) Payment Approach Fixed price Assessment Method • Case study • Work history • Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 10% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers 1. This appears to be 2 requirements combined under one ITT but not currently clear from the summary, can we have further clarification. Do you require a Chief Digital Architect and a PMO team from the supplier?, the Digital Architect role appears to be a Solution Architect requirement – can this also be clarified how this maps to the CDA role. On an outcomes basis, we are seeking one supplier to provide both a Chief Digital Architect and PMO function. For the former, we require the supplier to provide high-level, strategic and technical oversight, coordination, management and integration for the digital aspects of the programme across the Partner organisations. We consider this to be distinct from the Solutions Architect role, which we define as being closer to the build of the technical solution. 2. How many PMO resources do you anticipate being required for this piece of work and can you clarify the level required? We are recruiting on an outcomes basis, rather than requiring a definitive number of personnel/total hours. The PMO function will ensure the effective delivery of the programme to budget, times and quality across its four workstreams. The PMO will bring together and help coordinate the ten Partner organisations, other delivery partners (consultancy support), and other key stakeholders to ensure effective delivery. 3. You mention on the contract notice “This outline specification represents one of five tenders.” Please could you confirm the focus of the other four tenders and how they will interlink with this one? And will they all be released on the Digital Marketplace, or will other procurement routes be used? Two of the tenders relate to the creation of new policy frameworks, to improve policy advice and delivery, and the independent evaluation of this programme. The remaining tenders relate to the delivery and testing of a Shared Digital Carbon Architecture that will inform the above policy frameworks. Other procurement routes will be used to deliver these outcomes. 4. Please could you confirm whether you are seeking 100 word responses which showcase a past project for each of the essential and nice-to-have skills and experience, or if you are looking for suppliers to set out broad experience and how it will be applied in the context of the SDCA? We will be evalutating applications based on essential and nice-to-have skills and experience. We advise that you both seek to showcase past projects, while demonstrating how these skills and experiences might be applied in the context of the SDCA. This is your judgement, but it should be possible to frame these in a way that does not require a dedicated 100-word section for each element. 5. Please could you confirm who the client sponsor is for this work?Please could you explain how far the SDCA programme has progressed? (i.e. still at programme mobilisation, developed/approved business case, etc.)Please could you confirm if the DfT / SDCA programme has had any previous consultancy support? If so, are you able to say from which supplier please? The client sponsor is DfT. The SDCA programme business case has been approved by HMT, it is nearing the end of its mobilisation phase, and positioning for its launch once consultancy support is in place. The SDCA programme has not had any previous consultancy support.