HMCTS Strategic Data Platform Transformation

Description

Summary of the work Project management, Dataset and process migration discovery, design and delivery, Data governance, access, retention and security policies, Data Dictionary and Catalogue discovery, design and delivery, Data model design and documentation, SDP ways of working, including QA framework, Data modelling discovery and design, Azure training and handover of all documentation. Expected Contract Length A maximum duration of 24 months with an option to extend for a further 25% as per DOS terms. Latest start date Monday 31 January 2022 Budget Range The budget range of the contract is £1.8m for the whole period, split £0.9m in each year subject to final budget confirmation. HMCTS does not guarantee volume or duration of work. Pricing has a 30% weighting and pricing submission documents will be issued to suppliers who pass Round 1. Suppliers will be evaluated against DOS criteria. The initial Statement of Work and Roadmap is available upon request from HMCTSCommissioningandCommercial@justice.gov.uk Interested parties should request this document. Why the Work is Being Done Our current data infrastructure doesn’t allow us to exploit our data efficiently or effectively. Our technology is over 10 years old, which means that we are currently highly manual and often use varied processes to extract and transform our data into useable information. The SDP is a core enabler of the HMCTS Data Strategy. To deliver the proposed benefits of the SDP, we need to migrate our legacy data and all our workflows on to the new platform. This is a significant business transformation as we will need to draw up or refresh our policies, learn to use the new tools available on the platform and develop new ways of working. This work is critical to realise the benefits of the SDP. Problem to Be Solved Our current data systems are costly to maintain, and teams are not developing modern data skills. There is also a material risk that our systems may fail, resulting in an irretrievable loss of data or knowledge. In addition, we are now receiving new forms of data from Reform systems that we are unable to ingest easily into our legacy environments. One of the pillars of the wider HMCTS data strategy is that we “gather, hold and curate the data we need now and into the future”. To deliver this aim, we have been developing the HMCTS SDP. This aims to move the production of MI from the current Oracle based stack to an MS Azure analytics data stack. The improvement in technical infrastructure should reduce the time spent on manual data processes. This should allow the HMCTS Analysis & Performance team to focus on the delivery of analytics, data science and insight products. The SDP entered its test phase in February 2021, and a “Proof of Concept” project using test data has been completed. Who Are the Users The key users are as follows: Analysis and Performance: Professional/expert users who will need to be trained to use the new platform so they can use the data to create MI Digital and Technology Services: Responsible for building the SDP and ingesting the data into it DLRM Programme (part of the HMCTS Reform programme): will need to migrate data into the SDP from legacy systems before they can be decommissioned. Early Market Engagement None Work Already Done The SDP project has been running for 2 years and has delivered a Proof of Concept report for the Probate service. We are working on a Minimum Viable Product that will develop a report suitable for business use, for delivery in February 2022. We are also ingesting new data sources into the platform that need to be modelled and engineered into datasets ready for reporting and analysis. This project will need to migrate and merge our existing data with these new data feeds. Existing Team There is no team currently delivering this piece of work. There is a team delivering the SDP technical build which is an external supplier, made up of a delivery manager, data architects, data engineers and business architects. The Analysis and Performance team, who are the customers of this product and are permanent staff members numbering approx. 60 people. The people involved with the SDP are the data engineers and the reporting and analysis leads. Current Phase Alpha Skills & Experience • Experience of delivering complex transformation programmes, working in multi-supplier teams environment, managing cross team dependencies, risks, and planning with agile teams to articulate detailed delivery plans e.g. in 3-month blocks. • Experience of business requirements analysis and technology availability to make informed build vs buy decisions. • Experience of Azure Synapse and Oracle data management environments and data processing languages including MS SQL, Spark SQL, Oracle SQL, Python and R as well as the use of Github. • Expertise in data governance and data privacy laws and policy design and drafting. • Expertise in development of data dictionaries and data catalogues that are accessible to a diverse user base. • Expertise in data architecture and data model design for both new and existing datasets. • Demonstrate experience of knowledge transfer to the buyer’s organisation to build permanent back-end capability including user guides and training. • Experience of handing over services to buyer teams and/or other supplier teams – e.g. developing buyer capability and capacity and maintaining an exit strategy/handover • Ability to scale up development teams quickly to meet customer demand, e.g. scaling to deliver through private and public beta. Nice to Haves • Experience of working in highly regulated and process-driven environments. • Experience of improving designs by using innovative ideas Work Location Primarily London and remote working. The HMCTS platform is only accessible from the UK, and no overseas working is supported. Working Arrangments HMCTS services are built to government service standards using a Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) essential. SoWs will be issued to define the development outcomes of each project phase and typically span three to six months. For any work performed at a non-base location and outside London (outside of the M25), all reasonable travel and expenses costs shall be met in accordance with the rates set out in the MoJ travel and subsistence policy. All expenses will require prior approval from HMCTS before being reimbursed. Security Clearance All supplier resources must have a Baseline Personnel Security Check (BPSS) which must be dated within three months of the start date. Any development work that requires access to production areas within HMCTS IT systems will require SC clearance which the supplier should provide. For further guidance see: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-baseline-personnel-security-standard Additional T&Cs The initial Statement-of-Work (SOW) will be Capped Time and Materials but the Buyer reserves the right to use alternative payment mechanisms such as Fixed-Price, Incremental Fixed Price or Time & Materials for future SOWs. Suppliers shall provide transparency on the rates paid to resources and third parties in the supply-chain on request enabling full visibility of charges and costs including overheads and profit-margin in an auditable form. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria • Please explain how you would deliver the outcomes for this service including previous examples. 10% • Please explain how you will bring together your resources to start this project quickly and ensure early delivery of key milestones, incorporating previous examples. 5% • Please give an example of where you have previously worked with existing suppliers on a project to minimise disruption and ensure positive working relationships. 5% • Please detail your approach to the leading and owning a managed service basis to ensure an effective and efficient delivery, incorporating previous cases and lessons learnt. 10% • Please outline your approach, with examples, to business requirements analysis and technology availability to make informed build vs buy decisions. 5% • State your approach, with examples, to providing assurance for the handing over of live services to buyer teams 10% • Describe how you would develop and share good practice and processes, including how you would deliver training to HMCTS staff to develop their capabilities. 10% • Please explain how you plan to sustain pricing within changing market conditions and how the proposal offers value for money for HMCTS. 5% • Please provide evidence of communication skills, working with all stakeholders, gathering and interpreting feedback and communicating to technical and non-technical audiences. 5% Cultural Fit Criteria • Describe your approach for working with other vendor and client teams across multiple projects at different locations with examples. (3%) • Please explain how you will ensure collaboration at all levels of delivery between users, team members, and management. Give examples of how you will maximise the value from collaboration. (2%) Payment Approach Capped time and materials Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 65% Cultural fit 5% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers 1. Who from your team will be scoring applications for this opportunity and what positions do they hold? Three civil servants are planned to be evaluating responses for Stages 1 and 2 and their roles are Deputy Director Programme, Head of Data PMO and Head of DTS Projects. The pricing submission will be evaluated by the Commercial team and Finance. 2. Have any external suppliers been involved in the scoping of this work? If so, who? Yes, Solirius and PA consulting. 3. 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? It is anticipated that shortlisted suppliers will be advised in the week commencing 22 November with planned award expected to be advised in the week commencing 20 December subject to stand still. There is no plan to have supplier presentations. 4. The opportunity states “systems will require SC clearance which the supplier should provide”. Please can The Authority clarify if this means that all supplier personnel should have extant SC clearance? If this is not the case, with The Authority sponsor SC for relevant personnel? HMCTS would expect suppliers to have BPSS clearance. If SC clearance is required in some cases, we should be able to sponsor. 5. Is it possible to deliver some of the outcomes using resources within the EEA? No, we may require some office working and need resources to be based in the UK. 6. Can you provide some information on how pricing will be evaluated? Full details of Pricing evaluation will be advised to short listed suppliers for Stage 2. 7. You require a team to start on the 01/01/2022, how will HMCTS ensure that suppliers can mobilise a team on the required date? The latest start date is shown as 31 January 2022. The evaluation process in Stages 1 and 2 will assist HMCTS in ensuring the preferred bidder can meet the requirements. 8. Would the Buyer be open to a bid from a prime bidder and specialist subcontractor? The DOS 5 framework allows bidders to utilise key sub-contractors provided that they are declared. The prime bidder will remain responsible for all deliverables and performance under the contract. 9. Please can you advise who the incumbent is? As stated in the DOS opportunity this is a new requirement. There is no incumbent. 10. Given this is a capped time and materials contract, can you provide a list of the specific project outcomes you are seeking? This will be outlined in the Statement of Work. 11. Can you please clarify the precise scope of work, for example: a) Is this a pure data migration exercise? b) Is this a data migration exercise with data cleansing? c) Is this a data migration exercise with data cleansing and some MI platform development work ? This is a data migration exercise with some cleansing and MI platform development work. We will be looking for suppliers with Azure skills who will be able to support the development of new pipelines on the strategic data platform. 12. Please confirm the volumes and storage capacity for the data to be migrated to the new SDP. We estimate we hold approximately 500GB of data in our existing server. However, the majority of this data is refreshed weekly or monthly from the underlying data source and so some of it may be possible to re-build from source rather than needing migration. 13. Are you planning to use Azure Synapse to design/build the SDP? Yes, Azure Synapse is part of the SDP build. 14. Can you please advise by what you mean by “data governance and data privacy laws and policy design and drafting”? We need to ensure that our ways of working on the SDP are compliant with data privacy laws and adhere to expected levels of data governance. We need support to design and implement the policies that will ensure that we are compliant. 15. Can you advise by what you mean by “improving designs”? Are these related to data or general architecture? We would like to hear supplier views on innovative ways in which the objectives of this specification could be achieved. This is a fast-moving area of work and we know that suppliers may be able to bring novel approaches or techniques from previous projects that could help us deliver our objectives more efficiently or effectively. 16. Can you advise what context do you want to see “innovative ideas” for the answer? We would like to hear supplier views on innovative ways in which the objectives of this specification could be achieved. This is a fast-moving area of work and we know that suppliers may be able to bring novel approaches or techniques from previous projects that could help us deliver our objectives more efficiently or effectively. 17. To score full marks, do examples have to be related to “Data Platforms”? We expect that answers that relate directly to the type of work covered in this specification to be able to score the highest. 18. Can you please define what you mean by “highly regulated and process-driven environments”? As a large government organisation, HMCTS uses strict processes to govern the way that public money is spent and delivery assured. This project and the successful supply will need to be prepared to support the level of reporting and assurance that will be required. This will include providing plans, RAID logs and updates to the Data PMO as well as being prepared to provide written updates and to engage stakeholders to ensure successful transition through governance stages. 19. Can you expand on “highly regulated and process-driven environments”? As a large government organisation, HMCTS uses strict processes to govern the way that public money is spent and delivery assured. This project and the successful supply will need to be prepared to support the level of reporting and assurance that will be required. This will include providing plans, RAID logs and updates to the Data PMO as well as being prepared to provide written updates and to engage stakeholders to ensure successful transition through governance stages. 20. Did HMCTS used any external vendors to set up the SDP Platform? If so can you provide details? Yes. The vendor we have used is Solirius. 21. Which supplier is delivering the SDP technical build and did the same supplier help you with the proof of concept? Solirius is supporting the SDP technical build and supported delivery of the proof of concept. 22. Who is the external supplier involved in the SDP development and how long they have been the incumbent? There is no incumbent for this work specification. The SDP technical build team are supplied by Solirius and have been working with HMCTS since 2019. 23. Can HMCTS confirm whether there is an incumbent supplier delivering any services outlined in the DOS page (Project management, dataset and process migration, data governance, data model design, etc.) associated with the Strategic Data Platform? Solirius is supporting the SDP technical build and supported delivery of the proof of concept. This means that they have supported some elements of this specification to ensure that we can progress. We would expect this supplier to be able to work constructively with the Solirius team. 24. Is there an incumbent or has any previous work been done before? Solirius is supporting the SDP technical build and supported delivery of the proof of concept. This means that they have supported some elements of this specification to ensure that we can progress. We would expect this supplier to be able to work constructively with the Solirius team. 25. If there is an incumbent supplier, is that supplier looking to provide this phase of work? Solirius is supporting the SDP technical build and supported delivery of the proof of concept. This means that they have supported some elements of this specification to ensure that we can progress. We would expect this supplier to be able to work constructively with the Solirius team. We have not had confirmation that they are bidding for this work. 26. Can HMCTS clarify it’s response to the ‘current phase’ section on the DOS page. The DOS page stages that the current phase of the programme is Alpha. Does this mean that this opportunity is to support the Alpha phase, or is it to support a Beta phase? The current phase of the strategic data platform technical build is alpha, but will be moving into Beta in the new year, which is when we anticpate this work will start. 27. Can you explain how this work differs from the SDP technical build for which there is already an external supplier? Who is this external supplier? The supplier delivering the technical build is Solirius. This piece of work is different because it is focussing on the transformation work needed within HMCTS so that HMCTS can begin using the new platform effectively e.g. creating new policies, training users, designing a new target operating model and migrating data. 28. For requirements 7 & 8 in the Skills and Experience section, could HMCTS clarify whether they are looking specifically for examples of our experience with HMCTS, given that they’ve used the terms buyer teams and buyer’s organisation? We are looking for experience with these requirements in general, not specifically experiences with HMCTS. 29. Have any suppliers been involved in the delivery of the SDP platform itself? Yes, an external supplier, Solirius, has been delivering the technical build for the strategic data platform 30. Essential skills question 7 and proposal criteria question 7 refers to training of HMCTS staff to develop their capabilities. Please can you elaborate on the current skill and expertise level of the staff that will be receiving the training? The staff are experienced in using the current data warehouse (Oracle) and the performance management systems that feed into this. Some staff, particularly data engineers, have been involved in the technical build of the strategic data platform, but most will require training in using Azure technology for the new strategic data platform. 31. We have requested the initial Statement of Work and Roadmap, but are yet to receive these documents. Please can you confirm when they will be available, as these will be useful in informing our responses? The Statement of Works and Roadmap have been issued to those bidders who have requested it. 32. Was the Discovery performed by a supplier or internally? Solirus and PA Consulting supported the discovery that led to this specification. 33. Please can you confirm whether the deadline for asking clarification questions will be extended to enable bidders to ask questions relating to the initial Statement of Work and Roadmap, once these documents have been issued? The Statement of Work and Roadmap are for information purposes at Stage 1 of the process and are used specifically in Stage 2. HMCTS will not be extending the deadline to ask questions. 34. Is the use of the SAFe methodology mandated or does the team have autonomy to select the agile methods that are best suited to their skills and expertise? HMCTS will not mandate any particular delivery methodology, but would expect contractors to be able to adjust, if necessary, to ensure smooth working with other teams. 35. What scope of model design and development would need to be done in Python + R by the contractor, and how much would be provided by the client? – Basically want to know if it’s the contractor that would be deciding on the mathematics/statistics behind the implementation rather than just implementing a mathematical/statistical formula into Python to provide query results? The design of measures and the counting rules or formulae for determining them will be owned by HMCTS. We would expect the contractor to be able to design and deliver a data model that enabled HMCTS management information to be calculated correctly. 36. “Suppliers shall provide transparency on the rates paid to resources and third parties in the supply-chain” – does resources include employee salaries? Can you explain why you need this information? HMCTS is looking for a structured process for the sharing and management    of    charges and costs  and operational and performance    data    between    the    supplier    and    the    Buyer.       The    aim    is    to    promote    collaborative    behaviour    between    Buyer  and    Supplier    through    financial    transparency.        The    outcomes    should    be    a    fair    price    for    the    supplier,    value    for    money    for    the    Buyer    and    performance    improvement    for    both    over    the    contract    life. 37. Can you expand on “highly regulated and process-driven environments”? As a large government organisation, HMCTS uses strict processes to govern the way that public money is spent and delivery assured. This project and the successful supply will need to be prepared to support the level of reporting and assurance that will be required. This will include providing plans, RAID logs and updates to the Data PMO as well as being prepared to provide written updates and to engage stakeholders to ensure successful transition through governance stages.