User Research Capability

Description

Summary of the work DfE are looking for a supplier who can provide User Research capabilities to deliver the digital outcomes required, supporting the Department deliver and continuously improve user-centred education and social care services, and to build user research knowledge and capability within the department. Expected Contract Length 2 years Latest start date Thursday 17 March 2022 Budget Range These capability services are to be delivered over a contract period of 2 years and with an indicative contract value of £3m for the full 2 -year user research contract. Budget approval is subject to Cabinet Office spending controls, service assessments and DfE governance. Each SOW will outline the work required, associated budget and payment approach, CTM, T&M etc. Suppliers will need to provide clear costs to enable tracking. DfE does not commit to any minimum or maximum spend at this point. A pricing template will be provided to shortlisted suppliers at proposal stage Why the Work is Being Done DfE Digital are looking for a supplier who can provide appropriate capability and expertise to deliver outcomes working in blended teams across the department to build and deliver high quality, user-centred and sustainable digital products, and services. This procurement focuses on User Research capabilities, which include User Research, Lead Design Research and Research operations. Working with us to deliver digital outcomes, which are part of building and delivering user centred services in line with the government service standard, which make a genuine difference to people’s lives as part of the department's digital transformation. Suppliers will need to be capable of ensuring user needs, standards and acceptance criteria are met, whilst conforming to time and budget constraints. Using agile methods and working collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams to improve DFE digital services. The supplier is expected to provide expertise and support and transfer this knowledge regularly to civil servants in the team and in the User Research communities. This requirement is primarily within scope of IR35 but there may be elements of work outside scope of IR35. Problem to Be Solved DfE Digital are looking for a supplier who will provide capabilities delivering outcomes based on user needs, evidence, and to the Government Service Standard. The successful supplier will be required to support a range of user led digital projects from inception through to live. Digital and Technology Directorate are looking for a supplier to deliver outcomes based on user needs and government service standards. User Research capabilities should be capable of supporting a range of projects from inception through to live. This approach will provide continuity through the lifecycle of projects, ensuring no break in support and expertise built up in the team leading to improved opportunities for shadowing and knowledge transfer. We anticipate 5-8 projects at any time. The digital projects DfE are delivering are in various phases of work, from discovery through to live. Who Are the Users Our users are both external and internal to Department for Education. Users include, but are not limited to: - Teachers - Parents - Students/Learners - Education advisors - School administrators - University staff - College staff - Local authorities - Social care providers - Training providers - DfE staff As a supplier you will work with our digital delivery teams to support policy areas in developing new digital services and products in line with the DfE’s digital transformation journey. Examples of this include: - As a newly qualified teacher, I need to know what teaching jobs are available, so that I can apply for the right job for me. - As a school leader, I need to know about funding opportunities, so that my school can apply for relevant grants. - As a parent, I need to understand how to apply for financial support for my child. - As a student, I need to know how to apply for financial support for my myself in the education sector. - As a Social Worker, I want to spend more time directly supporting children and families so that I can offer an improved service. Work Already Done The Department has a large digital delivery programme in progress, with a number of services already in Beta and Live phases (e.g. Teaching Vacancies https://teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/) and a prioritised roadmap of other services in inception, discovery, and alpha phases. The department has already completed significant user research with key user groups (e.g. teachers), so user research capability will seek to build on this existing knowledge and fill gaps, where appropriate. You will be expected to work on a variety of programmes from Discovery through to Public Beta, in teams of varying levels of maturity in agile delivery. Existing Team The existing DfE Digital team comprises a Head of User Research, and other lead roles in UR, product management, service design, content design, development, and agile delivery. Multidisciplinary skills may also be provided through compliant commercial routes and the successful supplier will be expected to collaborate with other suppliers in delivering outcomes. User research capability will be expected to support the development of user-centred services, build internal DfE user research capability (e.g. through mentoring and upskilling), and effectively transfer knowledge back into the Department. Current Phase Not applicable Skills & Experience • Evidence of successfully conducting effective exploratory/generative/evaluative user research to inform the design, development, and continuous improvement of user-centred services • Demonstrable experience of applying qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods research approaches, and evidence of delivering successful outcomes appropriate to the business context and lifecycle phase of the project. • Evidence of leading analysis of qualitative and quantitative data using a collaborative approach to analysis • Evidence of successfully communicating actionable insights and findings to drive meaningful change, effective service delivery or evidence that an intervention is not appropriate • Evidence of demonstrating the value of user research and user-centred design, including to stakeholders sceptical or unfamiliar with UCD approaches resulting in continued engagement or commissioning • Evidence of demonstratable experience in successfully improving the client’s internal user research capability against measurable criteria, for both individuals and organisations • Evidence of successfully enabling fully inclusive approaches to design and delivery of accessible services that work for all users, and evidence of inclusive study design, participant recruitment and research practice • Evidence of recruiting participants in a sustainable and collaborative way, contributing to the long-term ability of the client organisation to recruit successfully across specific user groups. • Demonstrable experience of successfully assuring that research is conducted in accordance with applicable ethical and legal frameworks/standards, and relevant industry codes of conduct, e.g GDPR, Market Research Society • Provide evidence of your business capability and capacity to successfully scale up and down concurrent projects at pace to meet business needs with both inside and outside IR35 working arrangements Nice to Haves • Experience of successfully collaborating with education, training, and social care providers to achieve a common goal • Experience of contributing to and supporting a user research community of practice in a client organisation to share knowledge and expertise, and to improve and innovate their user research practice. • Evidence of creating or using innovative methodologies or communication approaches to successfully create impact within the client organisation • Demonstrable experience of supporting and contributing to a research operations function in a client organisation, by identifying common issues and working collaboratively to contribute to effective, shared approaches Work Location For the duration of COVID-19 restrictions all teams are expected to work remotely. The work will be based at any of the main DfE offices nationwide. The location of the contract is nonspecific and project location will vary depending on the requirements of the SoW. The primary location will be detailed in each Statement of Work (SoW) and expenses will not form part of the cost unless the supplier is asked to work from a secondary location during the execution of the work e.g. If SoW primary base is in London, then no expenses will be paid for London. Working Arrangments DfE require User Research capabilities to deliver outcomes for our agile development and continuous delivery. A Statement of Work will outline the base location, working arrangements and outcomes and deliverables for each service and delivery phase. To improve DfE internal capability, knowledge transfer will be a requirement for each SoW. Separate SOWs may include services that fall inside and outside of IR35 - with an expectation that a high proportion will be inside of IR35. We will be looking for a supplier that has the capacity to meet both scenarios. Security Clearance DfE requires all supplier staff to have baseline personnel security standard clearance (BPSS) – any enhanced security requirements will be detailed in the Statement of Work. Suppliers will be required to complete a supplier security assurance form to ensure they meet the required standard for DfE e.g. cyber essentials Additional T&Cs Standard Framework and Call Off T&Cs apply. Expenses must be pre-agreed and comply with DfE Travel and Subsistence policy. Primary work location stated in the SoW will not attract expenses. Contract and Vendor Management will form a key part of governance. Suppliers will be expected to co-operate in a manner that fosters healthy working relationships and quality delivery. Suppliers must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) May 2018; Data Protection Act 2018; Law Enforcement Directive and any subsequent amendments to date including providing sufficient guarantees to meet GDPR requirements in line with Procurement Policy Note 02/18 May 2018. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria • Evidence of designing and executing exploratory research approaches to build a deep understanding of user groups (e.g. needs, context and mental models) to influence decision-making and delivery of user-centred services • Evidence of successfully designing and executing effective research approaches to drive continuous product or service improvement • Experience of successfully helping internal stakeholders, such as delivery or policy teams, with varying levels of UX maturity adopt user-centred practices to deeply understand a problem space • Proven Experience of your approach to helping teams to adopt a wide range of qualitative and quantitative analysis and synthesis techniques and innovative approaches to communicating insights • Evidence of successfully delivering user-centred services and products in line with the Government Service Standard and/or similar standards • Evidence of collaborating with multiple internal/external teams in order to successfully reduce duplication of research and deliver an improved user experience for complex end-to-end services. • Evidence of involving a delivery team in user research planning, observation and analysis • Demonstrate and evidence ability to promptly scale up, respond to fluctuating requirements, and be flexible in deploying to meet organisational needs without compromising adherence to service standards/tech code of practice • Demonstrate and evidence how your business model will propose to deliver value for money for a government organisation when delivering and developing digital products, services and outcomes Cultural Fit Criteria • Provide evidence of experience of building capability of permanent staff from a diverse range of experience and varying skillsets, within a client organisation over the duration of a contract/engagement. • Evidence of experience of working successfully with an organisation at varying stage of agile culture adoption and reinforcing a culture of continuous improvement and iteration in all teams. • Provide evidence of experience in how you actively and successfully manage and prioritise the wellbeing of yours and the clients teams whilst achieving outcomes at pace. • Evidence of your approach to actively promote diversity and inclusion, encouraging increased representation of under-represented groups within the workforce e.g. Women, BAME, Disables, LGBTQ+ and how you monitor/measure this. Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method • Work history • Reference • Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 40% Cultural fit 20% Price 40% Questions from Suppliers 1. Would you consider experience in local government and regulated industries such as the utilities sector as well as central government experience? Yes. We welcome these examples given many of these user research capabilities are transferable between contexts. 2. For recruitment of participants, would you expect the supplier to source all users or would you provide access to contact lists to recruit from? No, the supplier would not be expected to source all participants for user research. DfE have access to a network of potential participants, as well as specific contracts for the sole use of user research participant recruitment. 3. What’s the likely maximum requirements at any time? We expect up to 10 SoWs at any one time. However, this may be exceeded during particularly busy periods. This may also be lower during quieter periods. There are likely to be more than one User Researcher/other capability required on each SoW. Please note that DfE are not committing to a particular number of SoWs at any one time. 4. Can you conffirm the following statement is correct?Separate SOWs may include services that fall inside and outside of IR35 – with an expectation that a high proportion will be inside of IR35. We will be looking for a supplier that has the capacity to meet both scenarios.What will be the approx % split between inside and outside IR35? This contract is for both inside and outside IR35 requirements. IR35 determinations will be assessed based on the outcomes and working practises required for each Statement of Work (SoW). It is likely that the majority of requirements will fall inside of scope of IR35. However, DfE cannot commit to an approximate % split of SoWs being inside or outside scope of IR35. 5. In the requirement you state that research has already been started/ conducted. Please could you clarify if this is a new requirement or extension? This is a new requirement. The successful supplier will be expected to support a range of digital services and products. Some of these services are in progress and some will be new. The opportunity states that "The department has already completed significant user research with key user groups (e.g. teachers), so user research capability will seek to build on this existing knowledge and fill gaps, where appropriate." This refers to the ongoing digital delivery programmes already in progress in the Department. 6. Please explain your thinking about ‘ethical and legal frameworks/standards in regard to research? All user researchers whether permanent or contingent are expected to operate ethically in line with industry standards, such as the Market Research Society code of conduct and the Social Research Association ethics guidance, as well as any local governance or assurance processes. 7. Within our individual 100-word responses, would you like to see one, more detailed example or multiple examples with less detail? We expect suppliers to present examples within the word count that best demonstrate how they meet the given criteria. 8. Are there any specific themes or examples you’d like to see within suppliers’ responses? There are no specific themes or examples beyond the stated criteria. It is at the supplier's discretion to demonstrate how they meet the essential and nice to have criteria. 9. Can you provide a procurement schedule for this opportunity? We expect the timeline to be:- Review and shortlist initial submissions (Stage 1) - w/e 18th February 2022- Review and evaluate supplier proposals and presentations (Stage 2) - w/e 18th March 2022- Contract award - w/e 18th March 2022These timelines are indicative only and are subject to change. 10. Can you confirm that existing suppliers of user researchers to DfE have ethical walls agreements in place in respect of this opportunity? No existing supplier is involved in the tender process for this opportunity. All suppliers will be assessed fairly, openly and transparently against the published criteria with the opportunity to ask clarification questions. 11. In the requirement you state that research has already been started/conducted. Please could you clarify if there is an incumbent provider for this work or a provider who has been working with you on the programme to define this additional requirement? No supplier has been involved in the development of this requirement. 12. As a small business we do not hold resource in bench and can onboard external resources only after issuance of contract.How quickly will you need all the resources to be deployed for the project from the contract signing date ? Would you allow staggered resource deployment? This contract is not for one specific project that will commence once the contract is signed. The contract will be used for numerous projects at any one time and called off as appropriate. Each SoW will be assessed on a case-by-case basis depending on the needs of the project. Typically, we would expect a response to SOWs and a team on the ground within 7-10 working days of receipt of the SOW. However, please note, we would normally pre-engage and alert the supplier of the upcoming work to allow more lead in time. 13. Is the user research capability expected to support with mentoring and upskilling only the User Researcher? Or does it also include the Lead Design Researcher and Research Ops roles? We expect mentoring and upskilling to be provided based on the needs of the delivery team and context the researcher is deployed, this could include junior, mid-level or senior user researchers. This may include an element of upskilling in research operations, but DfE does not typically deploy research ops roles within delivery teams. 14. Question re “exploratory/generative/evaluative” – does ‘/‘ mean ‘and’ or ‘or’? We expect suppliers to have capability in exploratory, generative and evaluative research approaches. 15. Do DFE have up and running research ops systems / software that we will be required to use or operate within? DfE has a central research operations team who provide guidance and policy on operations and practice, and work closely with a digital tools team to enable researchers to access the tools they need. All researchers are expected to work with these central teams to balance central and programme-based needs for tooling.