NHS Test and Trace Service Design Capability

Description

Summary of the work NHS Test and Trace require a Service Design capability to work alongside in-house teams and suppliers. Working with blended teams to deliver outcomes based on data and user needs, the contract will support capability gaps within the scope of User Experience and Design capability in DOS until end FY 21/22. Expected Contract Length 7 Months Latest start date Monday 2 August 2021 Budget Range Substantial activity is in our pipeline until end of FY 2021/22, the indicative budget against the requirements for this capability being £1.25m (excluding VAT). Scope could expand or contract. Budget approval is subject to Cabinet Office spending controls, service assessments, NHS Test and Trace governance. NHS T&T reserve the right to use any of the DOS pricing methodologies in any Statement of Work (fixed price, capped T&M, or T&M). Each Statement of Work will outline the work and budget, suppliers will need to provide costs to enable tracking. NHS T&T doesn’t commit to minimum or maximum spend at this point. Why the Work is Being Done We are looking for Service Design capability, to work at pace alongside our in-house teams and other suppliers, to deliver outcomes that meet user needs and government service standards. The contract will support capability gaps across the Customer Experience division – specifically those capabilities within the scope of the User Experience and Design capability in DOS (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/digital-outcomes-and-specialists-digital-outcomes-capabilities#user-experience-and-design ) – until the end of FY 21/22. Problem to Be Solved To deliver our business plan, we need support to create new, and improve existing, NHS Test and Trace transactions, products and services. Current services cut across a range of online and offline channels, often with complex supply chains and logistics, which are delivered by in-house teams, partners and suppliers working closely in partnership. We are looking for a supplier to provide capability to support the user centred design of communication, content, information architecture, interactions, products, policy, operation and services. This contract will fill service design capability gaps within existing and new teams, supporting a range of projects from inception through to live and continuous improvement. This will be through the delivery of outcomes based on user needs and in line with government service standards. Statements of Work will specify outcomes and problems to be solved. Who Are the Users Everyone has a role to play in breaking the chains of COVID-19 transmission, protecting the public’s health and enabling people to return towards a more normal way of life. Within Test and Trace, our high-level users and needs include: - The general public – who need to behave in a way that can keep themselves, their families and their communities safe - Users of Test and Trace services – who need easy and convenient access to services, who need to find out as early as possible if they have exposed/been exposed to the virus so they can self-isolate to stop further transmission - Those providing testing and tracing services, guidance and support at local, regional and national levels – who need to be empowered and enabled to deliver excellent service to the public - Those designing policy and service – who need fast access to data and insight, and short feedback loops, so they can target and tailor to increase effectiveness and responsiveness of design. Existing Team You will work with existing teams and people in NHS Test and Trace, Department of Health and Social Care, Public Health England and NHS Digital from a range of Digital, Data and Technology professions as well as colleagues from policy, finance, commercial and legal. You will work most closely with our user research professions and our user-centred design specialisms, as well as product management, delivery management, and those in service operations. The successful supplier will be expected to collaborate or work with other suppliers who are providing capabilities as part of a team. Current Phase Live Skills & Experience • Provide evidence of using service design to frame whole problems for users and facilitating design thinking through workshops with users, industry bodies, senior leaders and other stakeholders. • Provide evidence of designing end-to-end services across a range of on-line and off-line channels for participants who are digitally excluded or have access needs. • Provide evidence of communicating service concepts and ideas using methods that allow others to see all the different parts of a service. • Provide evidence of integrating service design with other disciplines such; research, content design, product, business analysis, data analytics, behavourial insight, clinical and policy, to deliver end-to-end services in challenging circumstances. • Provide evidence of prioritising the understanding of user needs and behaviour to underpin and drive design decisions. • Provide evidence of analysing failure within a service and identifying root causes which can be resolved or documented for future learning. • Provide evidence of designing and developing a service through an iterative, user-centered approach informed by user research and data analytics. • Provide evidence of designing accessible and compliant services that met Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. • Experience of working in partnership with both in-house teams and other suppliers to achieve a shared outcome. Nice to Haves • Demonstrable and recent (within the last 2 years) experience of recruiting a diverse workforce and promoting a supportive and inclusive culture. • Demonstrable and recent (within the last 2 years) experience of proving the benefits of a user-led approach in a deadline-driven environment, effectively communicating, influencing those decisions with stakeholders and partners. • Evidence of experience with the GOV.UK and NHS design systems. • Evidence of designing services for under-represented groups. Work Location For the duration of restrictions on movement due to COVID-19, all teams are expected to work and collaborate remotely. Working Arrangments A Statement of Work will be completed, which will identify expected working arrangements, and outline the outcomes and deliverables expected for each engagement. Expenses will not form part of the cost unless the Statement of Work specifies non-remote working (e.g. for user research activity). Security Clearance NHS Test and Trace requires all supplier staff to have baseline personnel security standard clearance (BPSS). There may be a requirement for some of the work to require security clearance checks, where this is needed it will be detailed in the Statement of Work. Additional T&Cs Expenses must be pre-agreed and comply with NHS Test and Trace Travel and Subsistence Policy. For each Statement of Work issued under this contract, the supplier is obligated to undertake the relevant security and criminal checks as determined by NHS Test and Trace, with the Buyer having sole discretion over the acceptance of Supplier Staff who will be performing the activities in the Statement of Work. Suppliers must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) May 2018; the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018, the Law Enforcement Directive and any subsequent amendments/changes to date. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria • Experience of inclusive particpatory design and designing services for under-represented groups. • Experience of working through the service lifecycle of Discovery/Alpha/Beta/Live. • Evidence of ways of working that are compatible with the Government Service Standard. • Evidence of designing a service that has passed a government or equivalent standard accessibility audit and design of equitable, inclusive, accessible services beyond standard (e.g. design for neurodivergence). • Evidence of working with users to understand their work, their operating context and constraints and identifying and implementing improvements. • Evidence of the successful application of lean, hypothesis-driven user-centred design in a fast-paced environment, with conditions of high uncertainty and flux. • Examples of effective communication across organisational, technical and political boundaries, understanding the context. • Evidence of ability to make informed decisions based on user needs, available technology and value for money. • Evidence of designing offline, in-person, non-digital services. Cultural Fit Criteria • Evidence of dissecting and delivering complex and technical (or clinical) information and making language simple and accessible for non-technical audiences. • Evidence of supporting a strong User Experience, Research and Design based culture of service and continuous improvement. • Experience of working with multi-vendor teams and understanding of how to be part of a multidisciplinary, agile service team. • Experience of collaboration with multiple organisational stakeholders with the aim to achieve a single objective. • Experience of transferring knowledge to permanent staff within a client organisation. • Evidence of integrating into a partner organisation's existing ways of working ensuring a healthy working culture. Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method • Case study • Work history • Reference • Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 20% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers 1. Is this opportunity inside or outside IR35? Off-payroll (IR35) determination. Contracted out service: the off-payroll rules do not apply 2. What primary location(s) do you expect the work will place at once any restrictions on movement due to COVID-19 have ended? We are not expecting teams to return to offices full time for the duration of the contract. All teams are expected to work and collaborate remotely. 3. We note on each capability project released (SD, CD + UR) the budget text is the exact same – “the indicative budget against the requirements for this capability being £1.25m (excluding VAT)”, are you able to clarify whether the £1.25m is all encompassing of all three projects, or if it is £1.25m for each of the three projects? £1.25m for each of the three projects 4. Please state the incumbent for this opportunity? Details of the previous opportunity https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/digital-outcomes-and-specialists/opportunities/13782 5. Is there an incumbent? If so please could you disclose their name? Details of the previous opportunity https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/digital-outcomes-and-specialists/opportunities/13782 6. What roles does this Service Design Capability include please? Senior Service Designers and Lead Service Designers 7. "Provide evidence of analysing failure within a service and identifying root causes which can be resolved or documented for future learning.”Please can you clarify if by “within a service” you mean either through assessing the existing service or through the process of delivery (support)? Assessing the existing service 8. Can you please confirm that there will be an opportunity for shortlisted suppliers to ask further clarification questions at Stage 2 once further information around the scope, roadmap and needs expressed further? Yes, there will be an opportunity to discuss further information about the opportunity at the presentation stage 9. Do you have any preference between public sector or private sector examples? Or will both be treated equally as long as they are relevant to the question? Yes, both are acceptable if they are relevant to the question 10. Can you provide timescales for the next round and up to winning the bid? Applicants will be notified by Monday 12th July whether they have been successfully shortlisted. Dates for presentations 14th - 21st July (inclusive). Award notification of successful applicant 28th July 11. Will you be able to organise access to users throughout the project duration? Yes 12. How many in-house / blended teams require Service Design capability? We are expecting support across multiple workstreams. We are unable to confirm the exact number at this time. 13. How many existing suppliers do you have and who are they? Details of the previous opportunity https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/digital-outcomes-and-specialists/opportunities/13782 14. What is your current resource profile of Service Designers and what are you anticipating the resource profile to be for the duration of the contract? Role description for a service designer working in government https://www.gov.uk/guidance/service-designer 15. There is mention of substantial activity in the pipeline until FY 21/22 can your provide a feel for the level of pressure and challenges that current resources are being placed under. We are working in a pandemic so the scope of our work can contract or expand depending on the current situation. 16. There is mention of scope expanding or contracting – can you provide scenario when they would contract? We are working in a pandemic so the scope of our work can contract or expand depending on the current situation. 17. There is mention of scope expanding or contracting – can you provide scenario when they would expand? We are working in a pandemic so the scope of our work can contract or expand depending on the current situation. 18. What is the cadence of your teams iterations? We work according to the Government Service Standard https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/service-standard 19. Where services need to be created and enhanced? Please can you repost question with more context. We don't understand the question. 20. Which services need to be created and enhanced? Please can you repost question with more context. We don't understand the question. 21. Under the test and trace programme how many projects/service teams exist? Currently there are eight workstreams that are relevant to this opportunity 22. This opportunity states ‘ All teams are expected to work and collaborate remotely.’ what tools do you expect to use to help aid remote collaboration? We currently use a mixture of Microsoft Teams, Jira, Confluence, SharePoint, Trello, Miro amongst other tools. There isn't necessarily a limit 23. What communities of practice exist for service design and how often do they meet up? There is a Service and Interaction Design Community of Practice and it currently meets weekly 24. What specific offline channels require support? It isn't realistic to list all the offline channels that currently make up NHS Test & Trace. However you can consider it everything that makes up test and trace that is not digital. 25. Is this work in the newly formed national institute for health protection or the dept for health & social care? The tender will be across the period when the work currently being carried out by The Department for Health & Social Care moves to being under the newly formed National Institute for Health Protection 26. Can you provide rate cards for this opportunity? Rate cards will be discussed if a supplier is successfully shortlisted. 27. Working with blended teams to deliver outcomes based on data and user needs, the contract will support capability gaps within the scope of User Experience and Design capability,” How have the user stories been developed in the discovery work thus far in order to understand the capability gaps? After a discovery playback with the blended team, user needs are identified and written as user stories or epics - often by a delivery manager discussing with the team - to identify what needs to be done. Each story or epic focus on the user, their need for a service and the goal they are trying to achieve. Which then help the team determine the capabilities (e.g. content, design, devOp, policy etc. ) required to get the stories done and their prioritisation. We follow the GDS guideline for developing user stories: https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/agile-delivery/writing-user-stories 28. What level of access will the supplier have to user groups to help further inform the technologies to be designed and built? Or would participant recruitment need to be managed by the supplier? We do not expect the vendor to recruit as we have existing participant recruitment suppliers in place. 29. Can the buyer give any information regarding how the capability gaps found across the customer experience division – specifically those capabilities within the scope of the user experience and design capability – were found/discovered? Our heads of design have identified the need for additional people to ensure the delivery of the range of services within test and trace. 30. What (if any) API’s or technical integrations have already been highlighted by the team? Eg FHIR/HL7 or RPA? Where relevant, Customer Experience in NHS Test & Trace works with technical partners to deliver technical outcomes. 31. We would expect that a level of “incentivisation” would be required for users to engage with the tool – this could be as simple as seeing the data outputs that they have contributed to. Do the user stories consider engagement and participation with the tool? Would there be an opportunity to repeat part of the alpha phase, involving hands-on testing and iteration to ensure incentivised engagement is a key focus? Please can you repost question with more context about the 'tool' you are referring to. 32. Can you confirm if we are seeking to improve on an existing design from a usability perspective or are we creating something new as part of a wider team? Statements of Work will clarify work packages. This may involve enhancement or something new or a mixture of both. 33. Is the key focus of this activity to bring together the disparate elements and teams? If so, how much work has been done to date, in what areas, with what user groups and by who? The key focus of the opportunity is to complement existing teams to continue delivering the workstreams that currently form NHS Test & Trace 34. Your proposal criteria state that suppliers must be able to provide evidence of working through the service lifecycle of Discovery/Alpha/Beta/Live, has time and budget been allocated to all of these phases as per the service manual within the scope of the project? What is the balance of work for each phase within the scope of this bid? Will there be a service level agreement subject to a review of outcomes at the end of each phase? All work will be carried out under a statement of work and will be outcomes based. This will be agreed between the supplier and NHS Test & Trace.