WP1944 - Digital Capability for Urgent DDaT Requirements (2)

Description

Summary of the work Following on from the success of WP1701-03, WP1810-13 and WP1942/43 that provided urgent DDaT resource across Government. GDS requires a new supplier to work on time-constrained DDaT projects. The new contracts will continue to provide teams to deliver outcomes for Departments and ALBs. Expected Contract Length 24 months Latest start date Tuesday 18 January 2022 Budget Range There is no commitment to minimum spend over the term of the contract. The maximum spend under the contract will be £3 million Why the Work is Being Done There is a need for a flexible supplier to respond to urgent requests received by GDS from departments. Enable departments to access the market for support in delivering urgent digital projects where teams are required within 5-10 working days. We are looking for a supplier who can provide Agile Multidisciplinary Teams to work with departments to provide a delivery bridge where there is a lack of capability and/or capacitiy and no time go to market and procure a supplier. Core capabilities for the proposed contract would be: ● user experience and design ● performance analysis and data ● service delivery ● software development ● user research This contract will allow time-critical work to commence while alternative arrangements are made. Problem to Be Solved UK Government needs access at short notice to supplier teams that can design, build, and deliver digital services. We are looking at placing teams within two weeks to deliver clearly defined digital outcomes. Who Are the Users As a Department/ALB, I need to run discoveries and develop digital services to design, build and run services within 5-10 working days. I need the supplier to quickly understand our problem and work with us to define outcomes, deliverables and milestones to ensure we meet key delivery dates. Early Market Engagement We held a pre-tender market engagement in conjunction with CCS on 10/12/20; https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oXJpJVnKlljwQIk52dlZSTb1bLXXy2tS/view?usp=sharing Please also see link to Q&A in relation to this; https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1C-14vxUGaE0f1F5A245pqcb2GgwpIYfX0rVHM-_HzOQ/edit?usp=sharing Work Already Done Projects will be at various stages and suppliers will be briefed relative to specific statements of work. This is the third series of similar contracts for resourcing in this space. Links to previously let contracts, WP1701-03, WP1810-13 and WP1942/43, below; https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/digital-outcomes-and-specialists/opportunities/9395 - https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/digital-outcomes-and-specialists/opportunities/9676 - https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/digital-outcomes-and-specialists/opportunities/9779 - https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/digital-outcomes-and-specialists/opportunities/11781 - https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/digital-outcomes-and-specialists/opportunities/12297 - https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/digital-outcomes-and-specialists/opportunities/12752 https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/digital-outcomes-and-specialists/opportunities/13374 - https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/digital-outcomes-and-specialists/opportunities/14676 - https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/digital-outcomes-and-specialists/opportunities/15157 Existing Team The supplier will work with Government Departments & ALBs from a range of disciplines, including architecture, security, policy, service and product management, finance, and delivery management. Knowledge transfer back into HMG will be required to enable HMG to improve internal capability to build and support the services. Where required in the development cycle, collaboration with other suppliers may be necessary. This contract will not prevent us from using other commercial arrangements, including using capability contracts, to pull together a team from a range of suppliers. Current Phase Not started Skills & Experience • Evidence your ability to deliver against the full range of DDaT skills required for this contract • Evidence your capacity and flexibility to deliver on this contract. • The winning supplier will have to deal with fluctuating levels of demand. How do you propose to manage requests Departmental requirements and provide the right teams? • When delivering short-term deliveries through SOWs, how would you ensure the client/dept has the tools and skills to continue ongoing delivery • What resources or tools will you provide to deliver real time management data on this contract? • How do you look to provide support, where required, to build DDaT Capability whilst delivering at speed? • If successful, you will be working on behalf of and in conjunction with GDS on this contract. How will you ensure standards/governance are adhered to whilst delivering at pace? • How would you look to manage stakeholders and understand governance requirements to ensure expectations and deadlines are met? Nice to Haves • How you champion the value of user research, user-centred design, and evidence-based decision making • If successful, the Government departments you work with will be working towards a wider Government agenda. What are you doing as an organisation to reduce your environmental footprint? Work Location It is expected that the majority of work will take place inside the M25, however there will be requirements around the UK that we would expect to be supported also. The primary base 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 instead during the execution of the work relating to the SoW. e.g. If SoW primary base is in Coventry then no expenses will be paid for Coventry. Working Arrangments Suppliers will deploy resources at short notice working with departments and their arms length bodies to deliver discovery or development outcomes. The majority of work will be based on customer sites - the sites and working arrangements for a particular project will be specified in a Statement of Work. We anticipate a maximum of 5-8 concurrent Statements of Work. Security Clearance Resources are likely to be required to be security cleared. Most projects will require BPSS and smaller number SC/or above. If not held, resources must meet the criteria and go through the process at the cost of the Supplier. GDS is willing to sponsor supplier staff through the clearance process. Additional T&Cs All expenses must be pre-agreed with between the parties and must comply with the Cabinet Office (CO) Travel and Subsistence (T&S) Policy. All vendors are obliged 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 3 Proposal Criteria • Your ability to maintain capacity to deliver at scale when faced with the fluctuating demands of a contract • Your approach to rapidly deploying a team • Your approach to deploying multiple teams at once • Your approach to recruiting and on-boarding teams • Your approach to building multi-disciplinary teams • Your approach to sourcing security cleared staff, and your approach to getting staff security clearance • Your understanding of the Digital Service Standard and Government Design Principles • Your approach to deploying blended resource across established DDaT teams • Your ability to evidence where value has been added to projects you have worked on • Your approach to managing conflict resolution (resources, stakeholders) • Your approach to managing Departmental expectations regards key skills/experience • Your approach to dealing with multiple stakeholders (skill and seniority) and managing expectations • Your approach to dealing with cross-department projects with collective outputs and blended delivery teams • Your approach to working at a national/regional level • Your approach to remote working and return to the workplace post-covid • Your approach to challenging non-technical and technical decisions where you see value in an alternative approach • Your approach to embedding a team quickly within organisations with differing cultures • Your approach to Data Protection compliance • Your approach to continuous Improvement - Reinforce a culture of continuous improvement and iteration in all teams • Approach to knowledge transfer, upskilling and sharing of best practice with the client. Cultural Fit Criteria • Your approach to social responsibility • User-centricity - How you champion the value of user research, user-centred design, and evidence-based decision making • Evidence of integrating into a partner organisation's existing ways of working ensuring a healthy working culture. • Support a no-blame culture • Be transparent and collaborative on performance issues • Demonstrate action to support health and wellbeing, including physical and mental health Payment Approach Time and materials Assessment Method • Case study • Work history • Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 65% Cultural fit 15% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers 1. How will IR35 status been determined? Up to now, the majority of SoWs have been delivered outside IR35. The status will be assessed and determined on an individual Statement of Work basis. 2. In the market engagement pack it suggests there are 2 kinds of contract: a £1m 1 year contract and a £4m 2 year contract. Does the £4m 2 year contract suggest something better suited to a major supplier than to an SME or consortium of SMEs? The contract(s) are awarded on merit, therefore, if a consortium/SME bid is deemed stronger than that of a single larger organisation then the consortium/SME will be awarded the contract. 3. As before are more of these opportunities likely to be released in 2021 and in April 2022? One more opportunity is scheduled to be released early 2022 4. In the pre-engagement presentation you said there’d be opportunities costed for both SMEs and larger businesses. As some contracts are for £3m 2 year engagements such as this one and some are 1 year £1m engagements are we to assume this one is designed to favour a larger supplier/consortium? Due to the demand to support urgent DDaT requirements, contracts values have increased. We don't believe the budget to be prohibitive to SMEs 5. Are there likely to be other opportunities to bid on this framework with different contract values both in 2021 and in April 2022? One more opportunity is scheduled to be released early 2022 6. What are the range of skills you could be potentially looking for? We are seeking a supplier that can deliver across the entire DDaT spectrum of skills/roles. 7. who is the current incumbent? Please refer to the Digital Marketplace for details of contracts awarded. Links within this requirement also. 8. Who will be on the panel for considering bids? We don’t need names but job titles would be helpful so we can gauge our audience To be determined 9. What resources or tools will you provide to deliver real time management data on this contract’. Do you you mean ‘real time-management’ data’ or do you mean ‘real-time management data’. It would be helpful if you could clarify exactly what is required. Thank you real-time management data 10. Did you award or cancel the last two: WP1943 – Digital Capability for Urgent DDaT Requirements and WP1942 – Digital Capability for Urgent DDaT Requirements (2) Both were awarded. 11. Will feedback be given this time? We endeavour to provide feedback on all requirements. At shortlisting stage this may be a brief summary/overview of your overall score and why you were unsuccessful. At the assessment stage this is a more in-depth feedback. If for any reason you have not received this, please do let us know. 12. Can you define what you mean by “flexible supplier” A supplier with the capacity to respond to fluctuating and varied demand for urgent DDaT requirements 13. What “real time management data” do you require? Due the the nature of these contracts it is important to have a view of delivery, budget, governance and any other risks or contingencies so all parties are aware of how delivery is progressing and any potential challenges in real time 14. Re: If successful, you will be working on behalf of and in conjunction with GDS on this contract. How will you ensure standards/governance are adhered to whilst delivering at pace? – are you referring to Technology Code of Practice/GDS standards etc? We would like to know what you understand by standards/governance in the context of this contract. 15. With regards to Q5, “What resources or tools will you provide to deliver real time management data on this contract?​” – could you please elaborate on the management data you will be expecting as part of this contract? Due the the nature of these contracts it is important to have a view of delivery, budget, governance and any other risks or contingencies so all parties are aware of how delivery is progressing and any potential challenges in real time 16. For Question 6 of the Essential Skills and Experience (i.e. “How do you look to provide support, where required, to build DDaT Capability whilst delivering at speed?”), please confirm:1) When you say “to build DDaT Capability”, are you asking how we will support GDS to build its own DDaT capability?2) When you say “delivering at speed”, are you asking about the supplier providing resources at speed, or is it about the supplier’s assigned resources delivering the SOW work package at speed? (1) For this contract it would be the Client Department for which the SoW is to be delivered.(2) We believe this is already inferred in the question. 17. Regarding the ‘Address where the work will take place’ section, is there an expectation/requirement for work to be delivered onsite or is remote delivery acceptable? If onsite is required, what percentage of time is expected onsite (e.g. 2-3 days per week)? Each individual Statement of Work delivered will be unique and therefore the requirements will dictate onsite/remote. It is reasonable to expect that some may be entirely on site, others entirely remote and some a mixture of the two. 18. For essential skill 6, you request evidence of how we would provide support to build DDaT Capability? What is meant by this, specifically? This could refer to upskilling / knowledge transfer, outreach and recruitment or delivery and governance, among other things. For this contract we are interested in how you'd look to support departments plans to build digital capability and how you'd look to add value to delivering outcomes through supporting Digital Capability skills. 19. Re: “How do you look to provide support, where required, to build DDaT Capability whilst delivering at speed?” – Does this refer to delivering outcomes within the SOW? For this contract we are interested in how you'd look to support departments plans to build digital capability and how you'd manage that along with delivering outcomes 20. "How do you look to provide support, where required, to build DDaT Capability whilst delivering at speed?” are you referring to building in-house DDaT Capability? For this contract we are interested in how you'd look to support departments plans to build digital capability and how you'd manage that along with delivering outcomes