Biocides and Pesticides Transformation Programme (1.11.4.3978.)

Description

Summary of the work HSE requires a flexible Delivery Partner with proven experience of delivering Alpha/Beta to Government Digital Service and Technology standards, using Dynamics365, Microsoft PowerPlatform and Azure Cloud, to complete the Alpha phase of a new digital permissioning service. Extension to Beta subject to funding approval and agreement between the Parties Expected Contract Length Alpha - 3 to 6 months, possible extension to Beta - anticipated to be a further 8 to 12 months Latest start date Tuesday 1 February 2022 Budget Range £ 650k to £ 750k (exc VAT) for Alpha £ 1.7m to £ 2.1m (exc VAT) for Beta - if contract extended to include Beta Why the Work is Being Done HSE is responsible for the regulation of certain types of chemicals, including the highly regulated pesticides - Biocides and Plant Protection Products (PPPs). Under the Biocides and PPP Regulations, we assess these chemicals for risk to humans and the environment before they can be placed on the market. When the UK left the EU on 1 January 2021, HSE became an independent chemicals regulator, no longer part of the EU’s central co-ordination and work sharing processes. This means we need to deliver new regulatory functions, previously operated at the EU level. In order to meet our legal obligations from 1 January 2021, we put in place a number of temporary solutions to mitigate the loss of access to EU systems and support delivery of new regulatory functions. We adopted these temporary solutions in an existing environment where complex regulatory processes were being supported by legacy tools and technology that are no longer fit for purpose, along with inefficient manual processes. On 1 April 2021, the Biocides and Pesticides Transformation Programme (BPTP) was established to transform the delivery of these regulatory activities into efficient, digital, GDS/CDDO compliant services, developed to meet internal and external users’ needs through collaborative working. Problem to Be Solved Transformation is required to deliver significant user benefits – for external users we want to deliver more efficient, transparent digital processes, enabling more predictable decision timelines to aid their business planning. For internal users, we need modern, synergistic tools and processes, to enable them to do their work more efficiently, with improved data capture, management information, data quality and security. We are looking for an experienced Partner to deliver the Alpha phase of the Programme adhering to GDS Service Standards within an Agile project delivery model. This will include providing prototyping and wireframing, testing potential solutions and on successful delivery of Alpha. Potentially the Alpha phase delivery partner may be contracted to deliver HSE's service requirements for Beta. Who Are the Users Our primary external users are chemical companies (‘applicants’) or their representatives (consultancies) seeking to get a biocidal or plant protection active substance approved and/or authorisation to place a biocidal or plant protection product on the market. They span the range of business size from large multi-nationals to smaller niche operations. Other external users include; • Competitor companies using our databases to check what others have on the market, or wishing to alert HSE to the existence of counterfeit or unauthorised products on the market. • Businesses that re-use information published on HSE’s website in relation to authorised products, to deliver advisory services to the agricultural and growing industries. • Trade associations that use information on HSE’s website to provide advice and guidance to their members, or in some instances, to make certain types of off-label applications on behalf of their members. • Enforcing authorities (local authorities, police and other government bodies) who need to check our databases to see whether products are authorised for enforcement purposes and, for local authorities, for their own use in pest and weed control e.g. in streets and parks. Internal users: HSE staff supporting delivery; Helpdesk, support/administration, operational delivery and specialist scientific functions. Early Market Engagement No early market engagement has been undertaken. Work Already Done The Discovery phase of the project was completed by an external supplier, blended with an HSE team. Discovery outputs include various artifacts to meet GDS requirements for: - Understanding Users; - Understanding of user context and needs; and - Understanding different constraints 3 focus areas have been identified to address during Alpha: (1) Structured Data, (2) Knowledge Management and Application Self-Service Portal, and (3) Workflow Management. Further details to be provided at Stage 2 of the procurement exercise. Existing Team The Partner is expected to work closely with members of the Biocides and Pesticides Transformation Programme team consisting of Programme Management, Target Operating Model and Digital Delivery workstreams, HSE IT Function, and wider HSE staff. Governance and assurance for delivery will be provided by the BPT Programme Board, Technical Design Authority, and Business/Strategic Design Authority. Knowledge transfer back into HSE is required to enable HSE improve internal capability to build and support the Service. Current Phase Discovery Skills & Experience • Provide details of three contracts which demonstrate experience of delivering digital projects of similar size, include the value of the contracts • In the context of the three contracts quoted in Q1, demonstrate experience of significant engagement with client teams/stakeholders in alpha/beta stages of agile digital delivery, advocating a user-centric approach • In the context of the three contracts quoted in Q1 , demonstrate experience of prototyping different solutions and exploring different options for creating a digital service • In the context of the three contracts quoted in Q1, demonstrate experience of delivering a cloud-based solution using data driven design as part of a digital service • In the context of the three contracts quoted in Q1, demonstrate experience of delivering user-focused services in alpha and beta, meeting agile standards including accessibility • In the context of the three contracts quoted in Q1, demonstrate experience of using Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft PowerPlatform and Azure Cloud for delivery of a service • In the context of the three contracts quoted in Q1, demonstrate experience of understanding and developing security requirements for a digital service within a UK Government setting • In the context of the three contracts quoted in Q1, demonstrate experience of creating agile environments within a learning organisation and upskilling its staff Nice to Haves • The nice to have skills and experience should be demonstrated in the context of the three contracts quoted in Q1 of the esssential requirements section • Demonstrate evidence of system design and configuration, utilising user-intuitive user interface(s) • Demonstrate experience of managing the delivery of a digital service through alpha and beta phases including leading projects through service assessments • Demonstrate evidence of delivering high-level and low-level designs for Service Architecture and provide details of the standards they were assessed against Work Location Combination of working remotely and at HSE office as/when required. HSE Offices: Mallard House, Kings Pool, 3 Peasholme Green, York YO1 7PX and/or Redgrave Court Merton Road Bootle Merseyside L20 7HS. Working Arrangments The supplier will be responsible for leading delivery of the digital service, working collaboratively with the existing Programme team. Day-to-day delivery will be governed by agile principles and techniques with delivery of work packages in Sprints. Whilst working remotely is allowed, the Partner may need to travel to HSE offices in York and Bootle. All expenses must be pre-agreed between the parties and must comply with the HSE T&S policy. Security Clearance All must have BPSS as a minimum. Additional T&Cs Pricing will be based on capped time & materials. All expenses must be pre-agreed with between the parties and must comply with the HSE Travel and Subsistence (T&S) Policy. All tenderers will need to provide sufficient guarantees to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures so that the processing meets the requirements of GDPR and ensures the protection of the rights of data subjects. For further information please see the Information Commissioner's Office website:https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-reform/overview-of-the-gdpr/ No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria • The outputs the supplier proposes to supply against the requirements set out above. Further details to be provided at Stage 2. • The supplier's proposed delivery plan - detailing how they intend to meet the requirements. • Details of the supplier's delivery team, including evidence of relevant experience / CVs of key members of the team. • Evidence of the supplier's understanding of the project delivery guidelines / legislative requirements they shall need to ensure they comply with and their plan to ensure that compliance. • Assurance provided by evidence of previously delivered, successful similar engagements. Cultural Fit Criteria Details of how the supplier intends to work collaboratively with the Programme's in-house regulatory, policy and project delivery resource 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. Can you confirm if shortlisted suppliers will have the opportunity to present? Yes. Further details will be provided in the Stage 2 tender documentation. 2. For all the Essential and nice-to-have skills it has been stated “In the context of the three contracts quoted in Q1...”.Are we required to provide 3 high-level examples (less details) in all of the questions or just one This is a long answer and is therefore posted in two partsIn response to Q1 of the Essential requirements HSE wants you to provide details of three contracts that are similar in terms of scale, scope, nature and value of what will be delivered through this contract. For the remaining questions HSE wants you to describe in more detail (limited given the word count restriction) how those contracts required you to deliver (thus demonstrating) the requisite skill sets for HSE’s contract. 3. For all the Essential and nice-to-have skills it has been stated “In the context of the three contracts quoted in Q1...”.Are we required to provide 3 high-level examples (less details) in all of the questions or just one Part two of the response to this questionIf you are unable to demonstrate one or more of the requisite skill sets in the context of the three contracts quoted in Q1 then you can do so in the context of other contracts but describing those contracts will impact on your word count and may reduce your opportunity to describe what you have done. HSE wants as much focus as possible to be on the detail of delivery to provide a greater degree of assurance. 4. Do the answers to each of the questions have to relate to all three of the contracts detailed in Q1 or can they reference one, two or three or any combination thereof? Any combination thereof, the higher number of contracts the responses can be linked to, the greater the level of assurance that will be provided to HSE of capability. 5. This is a clarification rather than a response to a supplier question The budget range for the Alpha Phase is £ 830k to £ 980k, not £ 650k to £ 750k as previously stipulated. 6. Can you please provide an anticipated timeline for this procurement that includes dates for:- Shortlisting Notification for Stage 2 – Submission Deadline for Stage 2 – Presentation – Evaluation period • Award Notification Shortlist notification - w/c 22 November 2021Issue ITT - w/c 29 November 2021Proposal deadline - w/c 20 December 2021Presentations - w/c 17 January 2022Complete evaluation - w/c 17 January 2022Award notification - w/c 24 January 2022 7. Who is the incumbent and how long they have been the incumbent? Thoughtworks Consultancy delivered the discovery phase of the programme which ended on 31/03/21, however, ongoing discovery work has continued using the existing programme team. 8. Who from your team will be scoring applications for this opportunity and what positions do they hold? It is expected that the evaluation team will consist of:Head of ProcurementHead of DigitalBusiness Lead / Subject Matter ExpertDeputy Director, TransformationProgramme ManagerDelivery Supplier ManagerThis may change but not markedly 9. Could the Authority share the high-level procurement timelines? Including Shortlisting, ITT, Presentation and results? Shortlist notification - w/c 22 November 2021Issue ITT - w/c 29 November 2021Proposal deadline - w/c 20 December 2021Presentations - w/c 17 January 2022Complete evaluation - w/c 17 January 2022Award notification - w/c 24 January 2022 10. Who delivered the Discovery stage? Will they be applying for this opportunity? Thoughtworks Consultancy delivered the discovery phase of the programme. We don't know if they will be applying for this opportunity. If they are, assessment will be on the same basis as all other applicants. HSE does not know if they are a supplier to this framework 11. Can you confirm how a potential contract extension for Beta might take place, taking into consideration DOS 5 rules on duration and value of extensions (as a % of the original contract). We will probably look to include provision for the Beta phase (duration and cost) within the initial contract with a ‘break’ point provision if we decide not to, or are unable to, proceed to Beta. 12. Are any of the questions weighted? All of the questions relating to the Essential Requirements are weighted as three. All of the questions relating to the Desirable Requirements are weighted as 2.