This opportunity is closed for applications

The deadline was Monday 18 May 2020

Home Office (Police Digital Service)

User-centred design capability for Police Digital Service

27 Incomplete applications

23 SME, 4 large

37 Completed applications

26 SME, 11 large

• Published: Monday 4 May 2020
• Deadline for asking questions: Monday 11 May 2020 at 11:59pm GMT
• Closing date for applications: Monday 18 May 2020 at 11:59pm GMT

Overview

• Summary of the work: The requirement is for a supplier who can provide the necessary knowledge, skills and experience to help meet demand for user-centred design capability within the Home Office’s Police Digital Service (PoDS) directorate, on a range of internal and public facing services from discovery to live.
• Latest start date: Tuesday 26 May 2020
• Expected contract length: 12 months.
• Location: London
• Organisation the work is for: Home Office (Police Digital Service)
• Budget range: There is no commitment to minimum spend over the term of the contract.; ; The maximum spend under the contract will be £700,000 for financial year 20/21.; ; Maximum day rate of a SFIA grade equivalent to £800 for any team member deployed.

About the work

• Why the work is being done: PoDS has two key focusses:; Improve investment decisions: by putting evidence of user needs at the heart of police investment and policy decisions; 1. Build capability: having great digital people with great tools to inform and act on investment decisions; Our objectives (and progress towards them) are publicly available. We check our progress against key results weekly and every three months we review and plan the next three months as a team.
• Problem to be solved: Ineffective communication and messaging. It is critical that end-users receive communication and messaging that focuses on user objectives and getting users to their end goal. We need to avoid publishing over complicated content that could prevent users reaching their end goal. This includes considering accessibility, user design, relevant evidence and consistency.
• Who the users are and what they need to do: PoDS is a multidisciplinary team of digital professionals supporting agile and user-centred design within Home Office policing programmes. ; The team is run by the Head of Service & Delivery. PoDS is part of the wider Innovation - Law Enforcement Portfolio (ILEP) team. Our SRO is responsible for five large programmes of Policing-related work:-; • Law Enforcement Data Service (LEDS); • Child Abuse Image Database (CAID); • Emergency Services Mobile Communication Platform (ESMCP); • Home Office Biometrics (HOB); • National Automatic Number Plate Recognition Service (NAS); PoDS has undertaken research to understand the stages of Policing e.g. understanding 999/101 numbers, mobile policing user needs and more.
• Existing team: PoDS is a multidisciplinary team of digital professionals supporting agile &user-centred design within Home Office policing programmes. ; Team is run by the Head of Service & Delivery. PoDS is part of wider Innovation - Law Enforcement Portfolio (ILEP) team. Our SRO is responsible for five large programmes of Policing-related work:-; • Law Enforcement Data Service (LEDS); • Child Abuse Image Database (CAID); • Emergency Services Mobile Communication Platform (ESMCP); • Home Office Biometrics (HOB); • National Automatic Number Plate Recognition Service (NAS); PoDS has undertaken research to understand stages of Policing e.g. understanding 999/101 numbers, mobile policing user needs &more.
• Current phase: Not applicable

Work setup

• Address where the work will take place: The primary location is at Clive House, 70 Petty France, London, SW1H 9EX. The closest London Underground Station is St James Park. ; ; As the Home Office is currently in a lock down until further notice, the team members will be required to work from home until changes are announced.
• Working arrangements: The team will take part in a day to day stand ups, wider team meetings and feed into community areas.; ; The team will integrate with the permanent staff in a way that creates a ‘one team’ approach. This is to ensure consistency, quality of delivery and clear communication across the work.; ; Any expenses will be payable in line with the Home Office Travel and Subsistence policy. Travel outside of the M25 will be subject to this policy. No expenses are payable within the M25.
• Security clearance: All individuals are required to have SC Clearance. Due to the shortness of time the Home Office will not be able to arrange this clearance.

Additional information

• Additional terms and conditions: Standard terms and conditions will apply.; ; Any expenses will be payable within the Home Office Travel and Subsistence Policy. Travel outside of the M25 will be subject to this policy. No expenses will be payable within the M25.

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 experience of working within the Home Office environment within the past 12 months.
  • Demonstrable ability to deploy an Agile discovery or development team for a digital project within 1-2 weeks of a Statement of Work being issued.
  • Collaboration and alignment - Demonstrable experience of working as a joint team with commissioning organisation and operating within its governance.
  • Under this contract, you would need to deploy multiple teams for different digital projects and locations. How would you sustain this?
  • This contract would place variable demands on your DDAT resource pool. If you have other contracts that place conflicting demands, tell us how will manage this.
  • Provide demonstrable experience of planning and delivering user-centred digital services to the cross-Government service standard, corresponding service assessment process, and Technology Code of Practice.
  • Demonstrable experience in using Agile/Scrum methodology to iteratively architect/develop high quality government digital services to GDS open source standards.
  • Demonstrable experience of hands on management and ability to conduct high quality handover and training sessions to ensure effective long-term support and further development of the service.
  • Demonstrable ability to mobilise quickly a skilled and experienced team, responding flexibly to peaks and troughs in demand.
• Nice-to-have skills and experience:
  • How do you identify digital staff who have, or can achieve, security clearance? At what stage does this take place?
  • Demonstrable experience of providing on the job coaching and mentoring on agile delivery and specialist digital skills to the client’s ‘in house team’.
  • Demonstrable experience of working with a policy area within a central government department to deliver digital transformation to meet a policy objective.
  • • Demonstrable experience of working with a wide range of user groups including business stakeholders, civil society organisations, Government and the general public.

How suppliers will be evaluated

All suppliers will be asked to provide a written proposal.

• How many suppliers to evaluate: 3
• Proposal criteria:
  • Approach: ability and capacity to recruit and onboard teams to deliver customer outcomes in the required timescales.
  • Methodology: demonstrable evidence of developing and delivering high quality government digital standards during Discovery, Alpha, Beta and Live phases.
  • Resources: the capability and capacity to meet availability and flexibility-to-scale requirements in providing defined resource-types with required skill levels and security clearances in accordance with customer’s need.
  • Standards: evidence of delivering customer outcomes to recognised industry standards.
  • Stakeholder engagement and management: experience of managing across the disparate interests of internal and external stakeholders in a complex, cross-organisational environment.
  • Project Management Information: demonstrate experience of project management reporting and escalation to ensure immediate and appropriate action is taken.
  • Collaboration: demonstrable experience of working as a joint team within commissioning organisations and operating within its governance.
  • Training & Handover: demonstrate effective ways of working to ensure progress and support of the strategic outcomes remains aligned.
• Cultural fit criteria:
  • Works collaboratively within a joint team of Customer staff and other suppliers
  • Behaves with openness, honesty and transparency in accordance with the Civil Service Code.
  • Demonstrates a commitment to knowledge-sharing and active participation in the upskilling of Customer staff.
  • A committed, proactive and ethical approach to work.
  • Flexibility in adapting to meet changing priorities and business requirements.
  • A track record of recognising the importance of the Health and Wellbeing of all staff involved in Programme Delivery.
• Payment approach: Capped time and materials
• Additional assessment methods:
  • Case study
  • Work history
  • Reference
  • Presentation
• Evaluation weighting:

  Technical competence

  50%

  Cultural fit

  20%

  Price

  30%

Questions asked by suppliers

• 1. Hi there, the first sentence discusses 12 month Home Office experience, does this mean this is a re tender for a current incumbent?: No there is no incumbent supplier. The "12 months" statement is because we wish to work with suppliers who can provide relevant recent experience.
• 2. Is there an existing incumbent? Is this a "competitive" renewal of that contract?: No there is no incumbent so this is not a competitive renewal of a contract.
• 3. Is there an incumbent?: There is no incumbent.
• 4. Is there an incumbent supplier currently providing these capabilities?: There is no incumbent.
• 5. Good Morning, please can I raise an initial question. Could you confirm if there is an existing/incumbent supplier delivering this service? Many thanks.: There is no incumbent.
• 6. Hi, Is there an incumbent supplier providing this capability?: There is no incumbent.
• 7. Can you please advise if there is an incumbent supplier today?: There is no incumbent.
• 8. We have been advised by the Crown Commercial Service that the wording on the essential skills below is not compliant with the framework. It is discriminatory to suppliers to state that they must have previous experience working in the public sector or within your specific industry.Essential skills and experience Demonstrable experience of working within the Home Office environment within the past 12 months.: The first Essential skills and experience criterion "the Demonstrable experience of working within the Home Office environment within the past 12 months." is to be removed.; ; It will be replaced by:-; ; "Demonstrable experience of working successfully in a challenging and complex environment similar to public-sector environment or similar commercial environment".
• 9. Are you able to provide a resource profile of the team you require, including a breakdown of the roles and skills?: The exact profile is not prescribed, but it is likely to include roles such as Delivery Manager, Service Designer, Product Manager, Interaction Designer and Researchers.
• 10. With the mention of security clearances is this offered to resources by Home Office? If so, does this lead time get considered for the onboarding.: The authority will not be sponsoring security clearance. Security clearances that are held with other departments may be transferable.
• 11. Can you please specify the list of standards that is meant by 'Standards: evidence of delivering customer outcomes to recognised industry standards.'?: The relevant standards can be found by following this link:-; ; https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/service-standard.
• 12. Will the development take place on public cloud or utilise existing Home Office cloud platforms?: The work will be following in line with the Home Office standards.
• 13. When restrictions are lifted, is it expected that resources will be co-located or will you enable off-site working for the delivery of this capability?: This depends on the project and team agreement but co-located is preferable.
• 14. Could you please clarify if PoDS requirement is for purely user centred design expertise (interaction/user research/content) or software/system development for the connection of user centred design functionality?: The PoDS requirement is for user centred design expertise (interaction/user research/content).
• 15. Is start date (26th May) published in the notice correct given there will be a proposal stage as part of the evaluation?: We will be issuing an ITT to the shortlisted applicants (the specified number being the "3" referred to in the advertisement). However we have reconsidered the start date.; ; the contract is now intended to start on MONDAY JUNE 8TH so applicants should bear that in mind. The Home Office does reserve the right to amend that date should circumstances necessitate.
• 16. Are you looking for a provision of resources or ultimately a project based proposal?: The PoDS team has a set of outcomes to deliver, which they will work with the new provider to establish how best to resource and structure the delivery method.
• 17. Is there a strict limit on the SFIA rate or will the supplier be able to provide a team that provides the best capability for the best Value for Money? Which may include rates higher than £800p/d.?: There is a cap overall of £800. we have further clarity on the caps to be applied: [Target rate SFIA 3 - £425, SFIA 4 - £575, SFIA 5 - £625].
• 18. Will the new supplier be required to work with the Home Office’s User Centred Design (UCD) partner? See https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/digital-outcomes-and-specialists/opportunities/10966: This requirement includes some services not provided by the Home Office DDaT UCD partner. As the UCD partner is the primary provider of UCD services to Home Office DDaT, the successful supplier will be required to work collaboratively with them.
• 19. Question 1 – Demonstrable experience of working within the Home Office environment within the past 12 months.Please explain in detail what is required. We have been part of multi-disciplinary and delivery teams with Home Office agencies (NCA, UK fire and rescue etc.) i.e. Home Office arms lengths bodies. Does that meet this requirement?: This requirement has been changed; please refer to Question 8 which should answer this point. If it does not please submit a further question.
• 20. Please can the buyer confirm what marking scheme will be used to score responses to Phase 1?: Responses to Phase 1 will be scored as per CCS guidance.; ; Score Description; 0 Not met or no evidence; 1 Partially met; 2 Met; 3 Exceeded; ; The evaluation team will score each supplier individually and will not share scores until all suppliers have been scored using every assessment method. When the team has finished scoring all suppliers, it will agree a score for each criterion. It can’t take an average of the evaluation team’s scores. It will:; • discuss why evaluators gave the score they did for each criterion.; • reach an agreement on each supplier’s score for each criterion.
• 21. The existing CQ responses make reference to SFIA rates and caps on rates however it is not clear how support will be contracted. Please can the Authority clarify whether resources will be contracted on a T&M basis or fixed price?: There will be a series of SoWs issued against this contract. The advertisement states that “Capped T&M” will be the pricing basis. Each SoW will be costed against the rate card submitted by the supplier and incorporated into the contract.
• 22. Please can you confirm what marking criteria will be used to score the responses?: Responses to Phase 1 will be scored as per CCS guidance.; ; Score Description; 0 Not met or no evidence; 1 Partially met; 2 Met; 3 Exceeded; ; The evaluation team will score each supplier individually and will not share scores until all suppliers have been scored using every assessment method. When the team has finished scoring all suppliers, it will agree a score for each criterion. It can’t take an average of the evaluation team’s scores. It will:; • discuss why evaluators gave the score they did for each criterion.; • reach an agreement on each supplier’s score for each criterion.
• 23. Does the statement, “All individuals are required to have SC Clearance. Due to the shortness of time the Home Office will not be able to arrange this clearance”, apply to the full length of the contract i.e. will the HO be able to support with security clearance at some point in the life of the 12-month contract?: The Supplier will be solely responsible for providing SC cleared resource.
• 24. Will the Home Office help with transferring individuals’ security clearance from other departments?: Yes, The Home Office will facilitate transferring of SC clearance.
• 25. Can you provide an indication of the size and profile of the team required to be in place at the start of the contract?: It will be in the SOW that will be part of the Invitation to Tender documentation.
• 26. Please can you confirm what is meant by 'digital staff' in the question 'How do you identify digital staff who have, or can achieve, security clearance? At what stage does this take place?': The exact profile is not prescribed, but it is likely to include roles such as Delivery Manager, Service Designer, Product Manager, Interaction Designer and Researchers.
• 27. We have been contacted again by CCS about the criterion "Under Skills and Experience - you have written the belowDemonstrable experience of working within the Home Office environment within the past 12 months.This is non compliant as discriminatory to suppliers that have not worked within Home Office before.".This has already been dealt with under question 8; the answer is repeated below.: REPEAT OF QUESTION 8 AND ASSOCIATED ANSWER:-; ; The first Essential skills and experience criterion "the Demonstrable experience of working within the Home Office environment within the past 12 months." is to be removed.; ; It will be replaced by:-; ; "Demonstrable experience of working successfully in a challenging and complex environment similar to public-sector environment or similar commercial environment".