Office for National Statistics

PU-20-0120 - Energy Data Visibility Discovery

Incomplete applications

22
Incomplete applications
14 SME, 8 large

Completed application

1
Completed application
1 SME, 0 large
Important dates
Opportunity attribute name Opportunity attribute value
Published Tuesday 28 January 2020
Deadline for asking questions Tuesday 4 February 2020 at 11:59pm GMT
Closing date for applications Tuesday 11 February 2020 at 11:59pm GMT

Overview

Overview
Opportunity attribute name Opportunity attribute value
Summary of the work Discovery phase delivery
Latest start date Wednesday 4 March 2020
Expected contract length 3 months
Location No specific location, eg they can work remotely
Organisation the work is for Office for National Statistics
Budget range N/A

About the work

About the work
Opportunity attribute name Opportunity attribute value
Why the work is being done Lack of visibility, leading to limited access and understanding of, data in the energy sector is a barrier to optimisation and innovation of services. This limits effective digitalisation of the sector, which is a key driver for the transition to an energy system that can achieve net zero ambitions.

This work aims to understand specific user needs for how best to develop a solution that provides energy metadata visibility resulting in a positive user experience. Discovery should also take into consideration needs relating to users’ preferred methods for actual data sharing of the metadata described by the visibility service.
Problem to be solved We do not know what an ideal energy data visibility solution best looks like. This is the fundamental problem to investigate before we make significant investment in new digital infrastructure.

We want to understand, in coordination with energy data “users”, i.e. owners, custodians, processors, consumers, researchers, etc:

· Current state of play of energy data availability and quality
· User definitions and personas
· User needs regarding access to metadata and data
· Service options to meet user needs, including risk assessment and costs

The end product should recommend a digital solution that makes metadata Searchable, Discoverable and Understandable, with cost estimates for delivery.
Who the users are and what they need to do The work includes confirming the user landscape and needs. Some examples of existing users stories include:
1. As a data provider, I need to disseminate metadata automatically updating available metadata reflecting my service with minimum burden.
2. As a data user I need to discover metadata through searching specific information I already know and also through browsing metadata based on broad themes.
3. As a data user I need to request access to data that I have found through my metadata searches.
4. As a policy maker/regulator I need diagnostics about data requests and action being taken to resolve them.
Early market engagement The challenge of improving visibility of energy data forms part of a wider effort by BEIS, Ofgem and Innovate UK to Modernise Energy Data. This work has been catalysed by the Energy Data Task Force report and recommendations.

The Energy Data Taskforce observed in their report that the lack of data visibility is a blocker to the modernisation of energy data and hence to the digitisation agenda. They recommended a central data catalogue as a solution.

Following the report, BEIS, Ofgem and Innovate UK validated this need, including further research with energy market stakeholders.
Any work that’s already been done The Energy Data Taskforce report has published its findings about the need for data visibility and the need for a visibility service here:
https://es.catapult.org.uk/news/energy-data-taskforce-makes-five-key-recommendations/

BEIS, Ofgem and Innovate UK have conducted further research, including gathering industry use cases and data sharing needs, where such a service may support users.

The data visibility catalogue is part of a wider programme of work by BEIS, Ofgem and Innovate UK to Modernise Energy Data. Updates on this work can be found on the data homepage of the Ofgem website:
https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/about-us/ofgem-data-and-cyber-security
Existing team The existing team is made up of a core group from ONS, BEIS and Ofgem.

For context, BEIS, Ofgem and Innovate UK have formed a group called “Modernising Energy Data” (MED). The work of this group was catalysed by the Energy Data Taskforce report.

ONS is leading the data visibility workstream for the MED programme of work. ONS has Project management and subject matter staff in place to support delivery of this Discovery.
Other MED workstreams are underway in parallel and we expect coordination between workstreams.
Current phase Not started

Work setup

Work setup
Opportunity attribute name Opportunity attribute value
Address where the work will take place The provider will primarily work from their office, but will need to engage with users from across the UK, as well as co-work at points with ONS and/or BEIS/Ofgem.
Working arrangements We expect the partners to work in close partnership with ONS, with the oversight of the ONS Project Manager. ONS will also be in regular contact with BEIS/Ofgem and the partners should expect to engage with BEIS/Ofgem at points as well. A specific engagement plan is set out in the Memorandum of Understanding between BEIS and ONS.
Security clearance Baseline Personal Security (BPSS)

Additional information

Additional information
Opportunity attribute name Opportunity attribute value
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.

Skills and experience
Opportunity attribute name Opportunity attribute value
Essential skills and experience
  • Knowledge of the ONS and its services - 4%
  • Knowledge of working in a cross-departmental government environment - 4%
  • Knowledge of working across different levels of government and sectors - 4%
  • Experience of delivering a discovery phase in line with GDS guidelines for a government department - 12%
  • Proven experience conducting and documenting user research with a diverse mix of users, iterating project work accordingly - 12%
  • Experience summarising user research findings, validating these and disseminating this to stakeholders - 8%
  • Proven track record of iterative delivery using agile methodologies - 8%
  • Experience devising user-centric digital services with wide ranging users - 8%
  • Experience working with data (such as modelling and/or architecture) - 8%
  • Experience working with metadata (such as standards and formats) - 8%
  • Experience of data curation, such as matching and linking or management of slowly changing dimensions - 6%
  • Experience of drawing up recommendations and options for alpha business cases for digital/data services - 6%
  • Collaborating effectively as a workstream in a large-scale programme environment spanning institutions as well as government and private sector organisations - 6%
  • Experience with open working and delivery of wider progress updates to wide ranging stakeholder communities and inviting effective feedback - 6%
Nice-to-have skills and experience

How suppliers will be evaluated

All suppliers will be asked to provide a written proposal.

How suppliers will be evaluated
Opportunity attribute name Opportunity attribute value
How many suppliers to evaluate 3
Proposal criteria
  • Technical solution - 10%
  • Approach and methodology - 40%
  • How the approach or solution meets user needs - 5%
  • How the approach or solution meets your organisation's policy or goal - 5%
Cultural fit criteria
  • Can demonstrate the ability to learn fast in new sector environments and deliver a successful outcome - 4%
  • Demonstrates collaborative working and constructive challenge to ensure the user needs are understood and met, and best value is achieved from the project - 3%
  • Works to best engage the users and stakeholders to build relationships effectively - 3%
  • Will work to develop an understanding of user pains, gains and job roles with an open minded approach - 4%
  • Can demonstrate the ability and is open to share methods and evidence base to support conclusions - 3%
  • Can demonstrate openness in their objectives for the project and issues they face or mistakes made - 3%
Payment approach Fixed price
Additional assessment methods
  • Case study
  • Work history
  • Reference
  • Presentation
Evaluation weighting

Technical competence

60%

Cultural fit

20%

Price

20%

Questions asked by suppliers

Questions asked by suppliers
Supplier question Buyer answer
1. Supplier Q and A Session Second Supplier Q and A Session details as follows:
Monday 3rd February
11:00 - 12:00
03000 682 500
616894#
2. Timelines around the start date – beginning of March? Will there be a requirement for presentations Yes - these will either be w/c 24th February or 2nd March
3. Are ONS looking for any other pricing mechanism other than fixed price? No
4. Do you want a specific technical solution with costs, or examples of technologies you could use, with indicative costs? This question is for stage 2 where successful shortlisted suppliers are requested to provide a proposal.

ONS will be looking for a specific technical solution of how bidders intend to delivery the project and a fixed cost associated with this.
5. Knowledge of the ONS and its services – are you looking for a supplier who’s worked directly in the past or good knowledge of the sector. No – no preference on the supplier having worked with ONS in the past. We do not require an “energy sector expert” but the supplier needs to show experience of being able to learn fast around the requirements of users in the sector.
6. If you are asking to better understand users why do you have 24% selection criteria based on experience of ONS and working with government? Surely understanding users requires a fresh perspective?

Knowledge of the ONS and its services – 4%
Knowledge of working in a cross-departmental government environment – 4%
Knowledge of working across different levels of government and sectors – 4%
Experience of delivering a discovery phase in line with GDS guidelines for a government department – 12%
The supplier needs to have a strong understanding and ability to take user needs across industry and government and use a knowledge of how government work verses industry to be able to support the assess and recommendations of how best to delivery the final service

Just being focused on the user or on how to deliver from a commercial perspective would not give us the support in assessment we are looking for
7. Will ONS give us access to specific users or will we need to identify and recruit them ourselves? ONS with Support form BEIS and Ofgem will give the supplier access to users from the various user groups as we see it. The supplier should as part of the project challenge this information and verify the user groups within the Energy market and build on the user lists given
8. Will we have access to existing data shared and processes around sharing data? ONS will give the supplier access to data gathered from previous project, the supplier will also be expect to collaborate with the other projects connected to this work where more data to support the discovery will be shared
9. Is the context related to energy data/metadata in general or is it specific to Net Zero carbon future? Energy data / Metadata in general
10. How does the Discovery relate to the Innovate UK Modernising Energy Data Access Competition? This ONS energy data visibility discovery and the Modernising Energy Data Access (MEDA) competition are two workstreams from the overall Modernising Energy Data (MED) programme, which is a collaboration between BEIS, Ofgem and Innovate UK

The MEDA project looks to understand the interoperability between the elements of the MED project and Wider energy data services. providing re-usable processes for the energy sector.
The deadline for asking questions about this opportunity was Tuesday 4 February 2020.