Create a data platform team and build in-house capability so it can be self sustaining

Description

Summary of the work Create a data platform team and build in-house capability so it can be self sustaining Expected Contract Length 12 months Latest start date Monday 8 February 2021 Budget Range This procurement is to the total value of £500,000 excluding VAT in order to ensure maximum flexibility. However, we expect to agree small statements of work for each £60-80,000 so that we can ensure we’re delivering solutions that meet users needs. Why the Work is Being Done Hackney has an opportunity to rethink how it manages its data as it recovers from a cyberattack. We need further to build our capacity to present recovered data to users so that it can drive decision making. As we recover applications, we want to rethink our data schema so that we’re capturing data once and using it many times. And where possible, reduce our reliance on proprietary databases and schema through the use of open source and open data standards. Over time we want to decrease our reliance on a partner as we increase our in-house capacity. Problem to Be Solved We have a set of files recovered from damaged servers and want to make use of these for decision making. We currently have a manual process for doing so, dependent on a small number of experts. Our legacy applications are built to perform silo’d business processes hampering our ability to manage data strategically to better meet user needs. And our reliance on proprietary approaches reduces our capability to support and improve services. We need to learn these new approaches whilst delivering at pace for our residents. Who Are the Users As a resident, I need Council staff to have access to historic data so that the Council can provide an effective service As a resident I want to provide information once so that I get access to the service I need and I don’t have to repeat myself As a data analyst I need a clear data schema so that I can understand and predict the demand and effectiveness of council services As a DevOps engineer I need to understand the data schema of an application so that I can maintain and improve an application Early Market Engagement N/A Work Already Done We already have A process for recovering data and making it available to users via Qlik API standards and playbook An API platform with 35 REST APIs Work to rearchitect housing applications, using the HACT data standard A Citizen Index for matching people across line of business applications Existing Team 14x Data and insight team members 12x .NET developers, with a focus on APIs Product teams designing and developing tools for residents and staff Current Phase Live Skills & Experience • Demonstrate a track-record of user-centred design and Agile approaches to delivery • Experience of developing applications that have been assessed as meeting a government Service Standard • Experience of working collaboratively with an in-house team, building skills and capabilities to support a smooth handover • Have experience of working with tools associated with public cloud platforms • Have experience of developing ‘in the open’ - using tools such as Github • Experience of data transformation work (eg migrating to open source databases) • Have experience of designing to meet the public sector accessibility guidelines • Demonstrate how they have worked collaboratively in a multi-vendor environment • Demonstrate how they put security first in their work • Experience of developing open APIs • Experience of successful offboarding and hand-over to an in-house team • Experiences of building teams, including identity, processes and culture Nice to Haves • Demonstrate an understanding of Hackney’s approach to technology and data • Demonstrate how they provide opportunities for apprentices • Experience of Qlik • Experience of Python • Experience of one or more local government data domains Work Location Work can take place remotely and communicated via weeknotes and show & tells Working Arrangments This work can be done remotely but will require fortnightly reporting (eg via show & tells) to involve key stakeholders and regular engagement with practitioners through video conferences. We will provide access to key systems to project team members where required. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria • Understanding of the brief • Clarity of the approach • Experience from a similar project • Team structure, including skills, experiences and relevance of individuals • Identification of risks and plan to mitigate them • Blended day rates of the team Cultural Fit Criteria • Work as a team with our organisation and other suppliers • Be transparent and collaborative when making decisions • Share knowledge and experience with team members and the wider service • Hackney Council is a diverse organisation, reflecting the diversity of our borough. Describe how you would successfully work as a team with Hackney and other suppliers in a diverse environment. Payment Approach Time and materials Assessment Method Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 5% Price 35% Questions from Suppliers 1. Hi – Hackney have existing Cloud technology suppliers, can you indicate if there is a predefined delivery platform – AWS, Azure, GCP – for any part of this requirement? AWS is our primary cloud provider. We know that there may be user needs which are better met through alternative cloud platforms. 2. What is meant by ‘identity’ in the following question ‘Experiences of building teams, including identity, processes and culture’? The data platform team will need to develop an inclusive identify which is mindful of its relationship to the whole Council, the IT service and the existing data & insight and development teams. In our experience, identity can be an important part of team culture and is important to get right 3. Who is the incumbent and how long they have been the incumbent? There isn’t an incumbent. This is a new initiative. 4. Please can you confirm how the “Essential” and “Nice to Have” skills will be evaluated? All responses are evaluated against the 0-3 point criteria. A 0 point answer for a 'nice to have skills' will not exclude a bidder from the process. 5. Who’s in the incumbent and how long they have been the incumbent?Who’s on the panel? 1. There isn't one2. The panel will comprise a member of Hackney's data and insight team, a member of the development team and the head of digital & data. 6. Is their scope for suppliers to propose some of the work be delivered near-shore and/or off-shore Yes, within the rules around data protection 7. Will you accept us subcontracting significant elements of work to a preferred collaborator who is not on DOS4 but will on DOS5 Yes - provided the tender response gives us sufficient clarity about the relationship between the expertise, the team, the credentials and the price 8. In reference to the question “Demonstrate how they provide opportunities for apprentices”, could you please clarify if the reference here is to “supplier Apprentices” or “Hackney’s Apprentices”? We would like to understand the current track record of the supplier in providing opportunities for apprentices. Were Hackney to hire apprentices into this team this would be a separate decision as part of the knowledge transfer / offboarding strategy. 9. Could you please share your IT and Data strategy or equivalent? All the information that you need about our approach is available at HackIT.org.uk