IPA Benchmarking Data Service (Beta)

Description

Summary of the work The IPA Benchmarking Data Service will house a core set of features that have been derived from user research during Alpha. These features (product backlog) will make up the MVP to be developed during Private Beta. We need an experienced team to build the MVP service as specified in Alpha. Expected Contract Length 3-5 months role dependent Latest start date Tuesday 25 January 2022 Budget Range 300-400k Why the Work is Being Done The benchmarking hub will collect data of completed projects and provide access to this data to project leaders across government. This data will support project investment decisions by presenting historic project cost and other metrics for better estimation and benchmarking. This service will leverage the UK Government’s project portfolio data and also give access to other industry data sourced by IPA. The IPA would like to have a Beta version launched by March 2022. Problem to Be Solved Infrastructure projects across government and ALBs, continue to be delivered with a significant gap between estimated costs and actual costs. Benchmark project cost data is often procured from private companies in order to support cost estimating activity, for lack of good quality, available / accessible and trusted data. There is no clear or fully informed consensus on why some infrastructure projects cost what they do when compared to one another, or the intricate drivers causing inaccurate forecasts, which can often result in implementation delays and overspend. The ultimate outcome that the IPA Benchmarking Service is intending to achieve is (a) reduced / eliminated cost variances between business case cost forecasts / estimations and actual project outturn costs (b) an improved relationship between government and ALB organisations and the supply chain i.e. enabling stronger commercial decision making through accessible and centrally managed cost data; this will be a huge benefit for organisations when negotiating on the cost of future projects ahead of and during formal procurement activity Who Are the Users The following user groups and segments have been identified through user research and analysis. One of the key findings is that many of the needs captured are agnostic across all users: User groups: - Analyst: As a project analyst I need to access good quality project data so that I can easily benchmark my project cost to other similar projects and as a result produce better estimates. - Project Owner: As a project lead/owner/SRO I need get data on similar to mine project so that I put a better estimates into my business case and reduce risks. I also need to find guidance on cost estimation and project benchmarking, so that I create a good business case. Finally, I need a convenient and error prone way to submit completed project data to IPA, so that I can contribute data and stay compliant. - Benchmarking Service Owner (IPA) As a head of benchmarking (service owner) I need the ability to access good quality project data to perform further analysis so that I can fulfill data requests and support policy makers. Work Already Done We are near the end of Alpha phase. Existing Team A service owner A technical/data architect A product owner Current Phase Alpha Skills & Experience • Demonstrate experience of designing and developing inclusive services meeting the GDS Digital Service Standards (Beta) • Experience building data centred services including front end/ back end development and data visualisation • Experience doing user research with senior stakeholders across multiple departments • Experience implementing data processing (ETL) pipelines Nice to Haves • Experience of implementing data ingestion pipelines from Excel files. • Building digital services that have passed GDS Beta assessments • Experience with building APIs and consuming data from APIs Work Location Remote. There may be a need to come into London (expenses not covered by the IPA) for meetings subject to CV19 conditions Working Arrangments Weekly teams meetings/stand ups. Working from home. May require London HQ meetings Travelling expenses not provided. No expectation of overnight stays. Security Clearance A minimum of Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) standard is required for all roles. Additional T&Cs This opportunity is subject to passing the GDS Alpha assessment in mid-January. The procurement is subject to the passing of Alpha No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 4 Proposal Criteria • Proposed supplier team structure, with evidence to demonstrate a strong team and how their skills and experience will deliver the required outcomes • Evidence that your proposed approach and methodology for delivery will successfully deliver working software to meet user needs and meet specified acceptance criteria. • Value for money and quality, assessed in comparison to other pitching suppliers. • Evidenced successful delivery of similar projects (cross government data centric ) • Identification of risk and plan to mitigate them Cultural Fit Criteria • Can work with clients with low technical expertise • Work as a team with our organisation and other suppliers • Works openly and transparently • Challenge the status quo Payment Approach Time and materials Assessment Method • Case study • Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 40% Cultural fit 20% Price 40% Questions from Suppliers 1. Is there an incumbent? Gulp Ltd is supporting the IPA during the ALPHA development 2. Does the IPA have a vendor supporting the delivery of the Benchmarking Data Service? If you are can we ask who the supplier is? Gulp Ltd is currently supporting IPA in developing the Alpha 3. Has the IPA made any technology decisions on the delivery of the Benchmarking Data Service? The solution will include a digital web app to be developed using GOVUK design patterns. The current selection for the tech stack includes React, NodeJS, PostgreSQL and other open source JS modules. We are planning to deploy the app on GOVUK PaaS. 4. Nice-to have skills – “Building digital services that have passed GDS Beta assessments”.Can i check if this is compliant with the below DOS5 guidelines ?https://assets.crowncommercial.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/RM1043.7-DOS-5-Buyer-webinar-how-to-create-an-opportunity-with-notes.docxExtracts (page -8)“It is discriminatory to suppliers to state that they must have previous experience working in the public sector or within your specific industry.What is it about the public sector that requires specific skills or experience? Suppliers may have worked for complex commercial organisations which are highly regulated (eg financial or pharmaceutical) and could therefore demonstrate the required skills and experience within a different environment.” As this is the first digital service for IPA it is closely watched by many eyes and has to be assessed by GDS. We therefore prefer to work with suppliers who have a track record of taking such services through a GDS assessment before.We specifically put this requirement as a nice to have (not must have), so suppliers who cannot meet it will not be immediately disqualified from the tender. 5. Is there a probability of the incumbent supplier being used again for the Beta phase considering they have all the evident skills for continuation ? If the incumbent supplier decides to bid for the BETA, then they will be scored and treated in the same manner as the other bidders. Full procurement processes and guidelines will be followed when scoring the tenders.