Road Freight Statistics (RFS) team (Strategic Roads and Freight) at Department for Transport.

T IT 0086 Road Freight Electronic data - AlphaBeta

18 Incomplete applications

15 SME, 3 large

31 Completed applications

23 SME, 8 large

Published: Wednesday 23 October 2019
Deadline for asking questions: Wednesday 30 October 2019 at 11:59pm GMT
Closing date for applications: Wednesday 6 November 2019 at 11:59pm GMT

Overview

Summary of the work: The supplier will deliver a Alpha Phase in line with GDS criteria (https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/agile-delivery/how-the-alpha-phase-works) and DfT Architecture Standards and Principles including, but not limited to:
• alpha testing with relevant stakeholders
• ensuring everyone can use the service
• GDS Alpha documentation
• Deciding whether to move on to beta
Latest start date: Monday 6 January 2020
Expected contract length: 6-8 weeks for alpha with the option for beta
Location: London
Organisation the work is for: Road Freight Statistics (RFS) team (Strategic Roads and Freight) at Department for Transport.
Budget range: Up to £110k for Alpha exclusive of VAT (Capped). and we expect suppliers at this early stage to suggest estimated time frame for Beta and costings.

About the work

Why the work is being done: The RFS are collected via 3 mandatory paper surveys requiring 16,000 paper forms to be completed each year. This method has numerous disadvantages: poor data quality, respondent burden, high costs, lag time. The RFS team wants to explore digital methods for collecting this data to tackle these issues and seeks to discover if a more efficient process could be used to meet the needs of all parties. A recently completed discovery concluded there was significant scope to collect the survey via digital methods and recommended the project proceed to Alpha to further explore avenues and test prototypes.
Problem to be solved: 1) Test digital collection methods via a simple web browser to collect information that is currently collected via paper forms. Compatible with any device, validation to prevent the submission of errors or missing fields and automatic coding to category lists.
2) Explore automated collection and how it might be achieved alongside the digital survey – establish a set of secure APIs using open standards.
3) Complete the conversation with hauliers – redesigning the communications around the survey to help address the attitude of haulier towards the process, guiding them through what they need to do and involving them in the wider purpose.
Who the users are and what they need to do: Respondents:
Road freight hauliers

DfT data capture and statistics team

Data users:
DfT and other government departments use RFS data to inform their evidence base for transport planning and policy initiatives. There are also many external organisations which use RFS data.

DfT Architects - Those who provide architecture standards, principles and provide assurance to digital projects

DfT Live Services - Those who provide Cloud Engineering and Cyber Security services
Early market engagement: N/A
Any work that’s already been done: In 2015 on behalf of DfT, consultants (SYSTRA) researched, the ‘fitness-for-purpose’ of the existing Continuing Survey of Road Goods Transport survey and respondents’ ‘experience’ of completing this. A report detailing the findings and potential for respondents to provide information electronically is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/experience-of-completing-the-continuing-survey-of-road-goods-transport

In 2019, a DfT commissioned discovery project concluded there was significant scope to collect the survey via digital methods and recommended the project proceed to Alpha to further explore avenues for collecting this data and testing prototypes. The full report and all findings will be made available to the chosen supplier.
Existing team: The appointed agency will be expected to work closely with members of the RFS team, which consists of 10 people comprised of a mix of analytical staff responsible for analysing and publishing the data collected as anonymised statistics and administrative staff responsible for the dispatch and receipt of the paper based surveys and the data capture of information from the returned forms
Current phase: Alpha

Work setup

Address where the work will take place: The majority of the work will be conducted at the suppliers own site (or other chosen location) though conducting of user research will require travel around the UK to interview respondents at their premises or chosen location and meeting with DfT in their office in London.
Working arrangements: Suppliers to provide preferred approach. The exact milestones will be agreed with the supplier when appointed.

Regular communication with DfT team including weekly status updates (email/telephone or alternative agile methods/tools) detailing achievements of key milestones and issues that may impact timescales and cost should be provided.

It is expected that the research questions should be fully answered in a final presentation and report.

Alpha should be completed in line with the GDS Service Manual: https://www.gov.uk/service-manual.
Security clearance: Baseline Personnel Security Standard clearance to be active on the contract start date

Additional information

Additional terms and conditions: N/A

Skills and experience

Buyers will use the essential and nice-to-have skills and experience to help them evaluate suppliers’ technical competence.

Essential skills and experience: Demonstrable evidence of delivering an alpha phase in line with GDS guidelines for a government department

Demonstrable evidence of successfully designing and testing digital collection methods via simple web browser with a diverse mix of users, iterating project work accordingly

Demonstrable experience where delivering successful alpha outcomes assisted to support and shape system developments

Demonstrable evidence of establishing a set of secure APIs using open standards in line with GDS requirements

Have demonstrable experience of complex technical investigation to inform future project stage

Demonstrable evidence Proven track record of successfully delivering projects at speed using an agile project management methodology with clearly identified deliverables and timescales.

Demonstrable evidence and experience of drawing up recommendations and options for beta on IT and data projects
Nice-to-have skills and experience: Demonstrable evidence where innovative solutions have been applied to assist in project delivery.

Demonstrable evidence of successfully managing and assisting in delivering IT projects within public sector organisations.

Demonstrable evidence of using clear development methodologies, outlining how this would work in conjunction with a client’s internal development team.

How suppliers will be evaluated

All suppliers will be asked to provide a written proposal.

How many suppliers to evaluate

Proposal criteria

Identify the approach and methodology to the alpha project planning and delivery, identifying the main stages and activities proposed at each stage. (20%)
Detailed resource plan – demonstrating how in-house, supplier and external resource will be used and at what stage (10%)
How the approach or solution meets user needs (20%)
How they’ve identified risks and dependencies and offered approaches to manage them (10%)
Estimated timeframes for the work (5%)
Demonstrate value for money (5%)

Cultural fit criteria

Experience of working as a team with similar organisations and other suppliers (2.5%)
Experience of transparent and collaborative decision making (2.5%)
Experience of taking responsibility for their work and evidence of resolving problems effectively (2.5%)
Experience of sharing approach, knowledge and skills with other team members in a similar environment by example (2.5%)

Payment approach

Capped time and materials

Additional assessment methods

Case study
Work history
Presentation

Evaluation weighting

Technical competence

70%

Cultural fit

10%

Price

20%

Questions asked by suppliers

1. Can we request the Authority to provide the completed Discovery report for more information?: The Discovery report is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-freight-surveys-digital-data-solution
2. Was there a documented report of the outputs from the Discovery? And if so, would we be able to see it?: The Discovery report is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-freight-surveys-digital-data-solution
3. Apologies, I've just seen that there was a full Discovery report which will be made available to the chosen supplier, but is there any chance that shortlisted candidates would be able to review this prior to the next stage?: The Discovery report is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-freight-surveys-digital-data-solution
4. 1) How many users were spoken to in the discovery? 2) What are the user needs we need to meet? 3) What are the different user types within 'freight hauliers'? (ie admin staff, managers, drivers etc) 4) What is the current standard DfT tech infrastructure to align with the tech principles? (eg aws azure gcp etc?) 5) Will there be a dedicated product owner?: For question 1 -3
The Discovery report is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-freight-surveys-digital-data-solution

For question 4
DfT does have a preferred cloud platform. Details of the preferred platform, along with other standards, can be found in our architectural principles which will be shared upon request.

Flexibility can be extended around these principles, depending on the needs of the solution. Variation from the principles will need to be agreed with an internal Architect.

For question 5
This project will be assigned a dedicated ""Service owner"" and ""product manager"" from the Department for Transport.
5. Is it possible to see the surveys that are sent out currently?: The current surveys can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/continuing-survey-of-road-goods-transport-gb-respondents-section

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/continuing-survey-of-road-goods-transport-ni-respondents-section

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/international-road-haulage-survey-respondents-section
6. In the work that’s already been done section you mention that the Discovery findings will be provided to the chosen supplier. To avoid giving a competitive advantage to the current Discovery supplier and/or their delivery partners, can these be shared at the start of stage 2 instead?: The Discovery report is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-freight-surveys-digital-data-solution
7. Can you please provide the platform of choice for DfT? Azure, AWS or other?: DfT does have a preferred cloud platform. Details of the preferred platform, along with other standards, can be found in our architectural principles which will be shared upon request. Flexibility can be extended around these principles, depending on the needs of the solution. Variation from the principles will need to be agreed with an internal Architect
8. Please can you confirm the organisation that DfT commissioned the latest discovery project from in 2019?: The contract was awarded to Lagom Strategy as illustrated on the discovery project https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/digital-outcomes-and-specialists/opportunities/8993
9. Please can you confirm that the latest discovery project deliverables will be made available to all bidders at the ITT stage?: The Discovery report is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-freight-surveys-digital-data-solution
10. Please can you confirm that this contract will provide an option for continuation into Beta subject to a successful Alpha?: The project will be 6 - 8 weeks for the alpha with the option to continue into a Beta subject to a successful Alpha
11. Do you have a target cloud/technology platform for Alpha and technical standards that we must adhere to?: DfT does have a preferred cloud platform. Details of the preferred platform, along with other standards, can be found in our architectural principles which will be shared upon request. Flexibility can be extended around these principles, depending on the needs of the solution. Variation from the principles will need to be agreed with an internal Architect
12. Were any prototypes designed or tested in the recent Discovery? If so, will all documentation and open source code be available for continuity into Alpha?: No prototypes were designed or tested in the recent discovery. The user research was used to determine the best method for collecting the Road Freight Data.
13. Were any prototypes designed or tested in the recent Discovery? If so, will all documentation and open source code be available for continuity into Alpha?: No prototypes were designed or tested in the recent discovery. The user research was used to determine the best method for collecting the Road Freight Data.
14. The budget (£110k) seems tight for a 6-8 week Alpha, how has this been calculated and can the budget be reviewed/increased?: The budget was calculated on best estimates using the Digital Outcomes and Specialist calculator. It is not anticipated that any changes to the awarded contract will be made however, should this occur then the Department will work in line with DOS Guidance and comply with the Public Contract Regulations. We will expect bidders to provide their own pricing and how they identify the roles of their proposed team
15. Please can you share the Discovery outputs/report?: The Discovery report is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-freight-surveys-digital-data-solution
16. Can you describe the size of the team you expect the supplier to provide and the key roles?: "We have no expectation of the size of the team or roles, we expect bidders to provide innovative responses on the makeup of their team to deliver this requirement and will evaluate the proposal comprehensively as per criteria listed.

Suggested roles following the discovery are published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-freight-surveys-digital-data-solution"
17. What do you expect the outputs to be from the Alpha?: The requirements for this alpha project are listed in the advert. Suggested outputs to explore are published in the discovery report https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-freight-surveys-digital-data-solution.
18. Has there been a discovery phase for this project and if so was there a supplier engaged, and if so which supplier?: Yes there has been a Discovery phase. The contract was awarded to Lagom Strategy as illustrated on the discovery project https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/digital-outcomes-and-specialists/opportunities/8993
19. Is there an incumbent supplier who has been involved in this project so far? For example, the supplier who conducted the discovery phase.: The contract was awarded to Lagom Strategy as illustrated on the discovery project https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/digital-outcomes-and-specialists/opportunities/8993
20. Has there been any pre-market engagement and if so which suppliers have been engaged?: No pre-market engagement has been conducted
21. Has any incumbent supplier been involved in any capacity (e.g., helping to draft the specification for this opportunity) or will they be involved in the selection process?: No supplier has been involved in drafting the specification and will not be involved in the selection process.
22. Are you using standard scoring and, if so, how does a supplier achieve a 3 versus a 2 on this opportunity for the essential and nice-to-haves? If you are not using standard scoring, can you please explain your scoring methodology?: DfT follow the Digital Outcomes and Specialist scoring guidance as follows:

Score Description
0 Not met or no evidence
1 Partially met
2 Met
3 Exceeded

We are unable to provide you with more detailed information as we expect bidders to demonstrate and evidence their knowledge and experience as noted within the evaluation criteria set out within the advert.
23. Has this opportunity been advertised before and, if so, why was it not successful?: This opportunity has not been advertised previously
24. Has there been an exploration of other survey technologies in use in other departments?: Full details of all work undertaken as part of the discovery can be found in the discovery report at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-freight-surveys-digital-data-solution”
25. Has there been an exploration of other survey technologies in use in other departments?: Sorry there was a " mark left on the link to the previous question that stops the link opening.

please see below

"Full details of all work undertaken as part of the discovery can be found in the discovery report at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-freight-surveys-digital-data-solution
26. Has there been an exploration of other survey technologies in use in other departments?: Sorry there was a " mark left on the link to the previous question that stops the link opening.

please see below

"Full details of all work undertaken as part of the discovery can be found in the discovery report at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-freight-surveys-digital-data-solution
27. Can the Discovery report be shared?: The Discovery report is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/road-freight-surveys-digital-data-solution
28. Will the DfT facilitate access to users?: Within the road freight statistics team we have a list of users willing to take part in testing and research, which will be shared with the supplier awarded the contract.
29. Is there an accessibility specialist within the DfT, who could support on an accessibility Audit?: The Department has not allocated an individual in this role as part of its team on this project. We expect bidders to provide innovative responses on the makeup of their team in line with the roles as set out in the discovery report to deliver this requirement in line with GDS specifications and will evaluate the proposal comprehensively as per criteria listed
30. Is there a team structure the DfT expects (e.g. roles, collaborative agile team delivery with DfT): We have no expectation of team structure and the roles above what was set out in the discovery report, we expect bidders to provide innovative responses on the makeup of their team to deliver this requirement and will evaluate the proposal comprehensively as per criteria listed.
31. Question 4 of the essential requirements asks for "Demonstrable evidence of establishing a set of secure APIs". Can you explain the requirement for the project to use a set of APIs rather than a single one?: The technical requirement and justification for using a secure set of APIs can be found in the discovery report.
32. Is the company who conducted the Discovery (Lagom Strategy) also bidding for this tender?: At this stage of the process we have no visibility of who is bidding for this opportunity.
33. Can we have a copy of the Architecture Principles document plus the How the Aloha Phase Works document (as the link is broken): Please request a copy of the document via email to liz.davies@dft.gov.uk

The link to How the Aloha Phase Works document is now fixed please see below

https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/agile-delivery/how-the-alpha-phase-works"
34. Can we have a copy of the Architecture Principles document plus the How the Aloha Phase Works document (as the link is broken): Please request a copy of the document via email to liz.davies@dft.gov.uk

The link to How the Aloha Phase Works document is now fixed please see below

https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/agile-delivery/how-the-alpha-phase-works

A working version of the link has been provided under earlier responses.
35. Is there a requirement to provide analytics capability as part of the Alpha Phase solution or just to integrate with an existing capability?: The Alpha stage does not involve the build or delivery of a finished product, this would fall under Beta.

The requirements for the Alpha are as set out in the advert and the Discovery report.

Can we store analytics cookies on your device?

Awarded to Torchbox Ltd