Leicester City Council Discovery for a Troubled Families Data and Analytics Solution Design

Description

Summary of the work A summary of the work is to understand the data flows & data integration to enable solution design and evaluate existing products in use. Expected Contract Length It is expected that the contract will be for three months Latest start date Monday 7 June 2021 Budget Range A maximum budget has been allocated for the discovery work of £25k Why the Work is Being Done To better understand interventions delivered via Troubled Families within Leicester, the impact on demand and the outcomes for our families. To link data on individuals and families and then provide analysis on the full cohort, with the ability to filter. To test hypothesis / theories on the cohort such as patterns that could lend themselves to predictive analysis. To evidence the value of data for the cohort, as a way of testing if this can be scaled up to other types of interventions. This may provide learning points which supports the wider council data management and transformation. Problem to Be Solved The current set up of the programme relies upon manual processing at all stages of the data journey from collection, through collation, management and reporting. This limits our ability to identify potential families for inclusion in the programme, to evidence our impact, and also the ability to utilise data to offer more than evaluations. The aim of this work is to identify, through an options appraisal: - available data management solutions (including LCC existing technology and infrastructure) - analytical tools, data feeds and skill sets that are required to support improving the use of data Who Are the Users As a Troubled Families team I need to have data and tools sufficient that we can support strategic decision making through the use of predictive modelling, identify potential families for inclusion in the programme, identify interventions and track progress of intervention to inform outcomes and evidence the impact of the team Early Market Engagement No Early Market Engagement has taken place Work Already Done An Access database currently exists supported by a large amount of manual processing but this does not satisfy the requirements of the team Existing Team Internal teams - Project Manager, Serivce Manager and the services' data team, as well as LCC ICT resources Current Phase Discovery Skills & Experience • Evidence of delivering similar discovery projects using complex technology • Experience of delivering data and analytics projects which involve multiple datasets from different organisations • Proven and demonstrable experience of delivering development projects using an agile methodology • Proven and demonstrable knowledge of IT security standards and associated design considerations • Experience of Information Governance related issues within local authority, healthcare and police settings • Strong documentation, presentation and communication skills • Proven and demonstrable knowledge of ISO accreditations for quality, security and business continuity • Adherence to appropriate cyber security standards and hold appropriate security qualification e.g. ISO27001 • Evidence of developing / working on ambitious digital and data solutions for enterprise-wide master data management challenges Nice to Haves • Understanding of Architectural approaches such as Service Oriented Architecture and approaches espoused in the Government Digital Service Manual. (https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/service-standard) • Evidence of delivering projects to public sector organisations with a particular focus on cross-organisational working in the region. • An understanding of Troubled Families and, ideally, experience of delivering projects within the Troubled Families sector • Demonstrable experience of delivering integration between systems and ideally within a public sector environment Work Location The work is expected to be carried out predominantly remotely given current restrictions relating to Covid-19 pandemic Working Arrangments It is likely that the majority of work will be undertaken using remote working tools such as Microsoft Teams although this will be determined by the nature of the work being undertaken. Any expenses will need to form part of the contract and only agreed with the prior approval by the Buyer. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • Describe your approach and methodology to meeting the requirements including architecture, agile delivery and value for money • Give examples of KPIs and SLAs that you would be prepared to commit to for this contract • Provide evidence of skills/experience/accreditations of the team who'll be undertaking the work and how they'll work together • Provide two referenceable client-focused case studies where your company have provided similar services • Ability to mobilise the team quickly and approach to service continuity • Ability to scale up and down resources, whilst ensuring quality and consistency showing capacity of the organisation • Identification of the risks and dependencies associated with this requirement and potential mitigation Cultural Fit Criteria • Proven experience in last 3-years of an open/collaborative working relationship at all levels with excellent communication and co-ordination skills when conducting daily stand-ups, team meetings, presentation and demonstrations • Forward looking organisation with continual development to keep up with changing digital landscape • Has a no-blame culture and encourages people to learn from their mistakes • Suppliers must demonstrate an ability and willingness to work collaboratively within a multi-vendor delivery environment • Able to proactively communicate effectively with users, technical architects and solve issues amongst complex integration • Demonstrate understanding of the Public Sector landscape in Leicester and contribute towards its Social Value Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method • Case study • Work history • Reference • Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 65% Cultural fit 15% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers 1. If we have a solution used in the public sector in situations like this would it be appropriate to submit for this tender to define how such a platform could be used or are you primarily looking for reuse of internal systems? And would you expect G-Cloud service searches to be used for such a data analytics solution options in part of this discovery? This discovery piece of work is to identify the options available to LCC in improving its use of data related to the Troubled Families team. If you have a solution already used then yes we would be interested to hear about that but the response should also include an evaluation of other options including internal systems 2. For the essential skills and experience question “Adherence to appropriate cyber security standards and hold appropriate security qualification e.g. ISO27001” could the authority confirm whether a cyber essentials certification would be deemed acceptable? For the purposes of this discovery project this is acceptable 3. The expected contract length for this opportunity is 3 months. At this stage does the authority have an expectation that this will be a full time role for this period? It is expected that the contract period to complete the discovery project will last three months, the submission should reflect the amount of resources that the supplier feels will be adequate to complete the project within the timeframe. 4. 1. What do they want us to predict?2.   What information are they processing and how are they manually collecting their data? Are they handwritten forms? If so, could they change to strictly digital forms?3.   “the ability to utilise data to offer more than evaluations.”. Is this referenced to AI/ML predictions?4.   What specific decision are they looking to make through predictive modelling?5.   How do they currently track progress of intervention? If they do not already do this, how would they like this tracked? (UI, Excel, Database etc…)6.   Do they have a test environment? 1. Predictive modelling is to be used to help identify which families would benefit from early intervention and to aid strategic decision making in terms of commissioning services2. Data is received electronically from multiple services / third party organisations3. Potentially dependent on the options provided by the supplier4. See response to Question 1 above5. There is an access database that is currently used to track progress of intevention6. There is no specific test environment set up 5. The requirements seem to break down into two fundamental needs. Is this correct?1. The ability to process data from various sources in a more efficient and likely consistent manner.2.The provision of a solution to allow for predictive modelling using the data and then using the models to support decision making. Yes that assumption is correct 6. Potential Solutions. Are you aware of these technologies? Happy to supply details if required.1. To supporting the management of data from various sources we would likely recommend the use of some Robotic Process Automation technology.2. To supporting the requirement of predictive modelling and then using models to support decision making. We would look to a machine learning platform and would recommend a solution using H2O.ai The purpose of the discovery work is to identify options available. LCC are aware of these technologies. 7. Scope – The scope of the project is a discovery phase covering the following, have we understood this correctly?1. Analysis of the data flow process via a series of process reviews2. Analysis of the available data, current decision drivers and predictive criteria3. Design & proposal for potential solutions for the two requirements, including delivery estimates, limitations, risks, and assumptions.4.Potential proof of concept builds of the solutions, at minimum for demonstration purposes. Parts 1 and 2 are correct assumptions. Parts 3 and 4 are out of scope for the discovery project, the outputs should be an options appraisal surrounding potential solutions (including using in-house technology) 8. Assumption’s part 1. Please advise.1.The data sources in questions are digital and accessible via front end’s, spreadsheets or via query to databases.2. The data and processes in question do have some structure and definition.3. There are known target data factors would be used to prediction outcome, such as “Family Qualified for Support”, “Children at Risk”, etca. H2O.ai can also be used for analysis of data but for predictive models you would need to provide a target to factor to predict. Yes these are all correct assumptions 9. Assumption’s part 2. Please advise.1. The data does not involve reading of digital documents, if required this is also achievable but would extend the scope to a 3rd requirement.2. The level of a proof of concept build of the solution would be subject to the structure and availability of the data. The assumption from the details provided is there is a set of historical data and there is a structured process for gathering the data from the various sources. These are correct assumptions but the build of a proof of concept solution is out of scope for this discovery project - the scope is for an options appraisal including use of existing technology already employed within LCC. 10. Please share detailed scope of work. The scope of the discovery work is to identify, through an options appraisal:- available data management solutions (including LCC existing technology and infrastructure)- analytical tools, data feeds and skill sets that are required to support improving the use of data 11. Will this fixed cost project or T & M based? Fixed Cost 12. What is expected from presentation? The presentation should cover the options that are put forward, analysis of these and your recommendations 13. Can bidder work from outside UK? Yes however it is expected that any meetings will be conducted within normal UK working hours 14. Would delivering this discovery project prevent the awarded organisation from delivering a future data and analytics solution if the council went out to tender for this? No 15. What are the expected deliverables from this project? "The expected deliverables of this discovery work is to identify, through an options appraisal:- available data management solutions (including LCC existing technology and infrastructure)- analytical tools, data feeds and skill sets that are required to support improving the use of data" 16. As it is a text field only, how you want bidders to submit their evidence for different criteria? Responses should be provided in the text box provided but if you want to provide supplemental information you can do this but please ensure this is referenced in the response and clearly identified (named) . 17. Does LCC utilise a CDW Workflow within Liquidlogic already? Not to the best of our knowledge in the relevant service area 18. Has Leicester already procured the TF Workspace and Data Warehouse within Singleview? Not to the best of our knowledge in the relevant service area 19. Is the CPiS import/export link functioning? Not to the best of our knowledge in the relevant service area 20. Does LCC have data feeds via Graphnet or EMIS? Not to the best of our knowledge in the relevant service area 21. Are there any existing integrations to any other NHS, education, DWP or Police systems? (Or has a DPA in place to receive actual or anonymised data) Data is received from these services in a mixture of electronic formats. DPA's and any work relating to this are out of scope for this discovery project. 22. Is the production of an outline DPIA in the scope of work (Feasibility Assessment)? No this is out of scope for this discovery project 23. Does the scope include the calculation of financial claims? The scope is for an options appraisal around improving the use of data and so if the calculation of financial claims is made possible by solutions identified then please include 24. What EMS does LCC use? Not sure what EMS is standing for in this context so cannot anwer this question. Please clarify