The Office of Government Property, Cabinet Office

The Digital National Asset Register (d-NAR) Beta

21 Incomplete applications

13 SME, 8 large

24 Completed applications

15 SME, 9 large

Published: Tuesday 2 June 2020
Deadline for asking questions: Tuesday 9 June 2020 at 11:59pm GMT
Closing date for applications: Tuesday 16 June 2020 at 11:59pm GMT

Overview

Summary of the work: Design, build and operate a cloud-based cross-public sector property information solution that:

-Automates data collection from designated government databases and 3rd party sources.
-Uses this data to create dashboards, reports and analytics using Business Intelligence and Geospatial tools.

This system is for strategic portfolio management, not day-to-day property operations.
Latest start date: Thursday 1 October 2020
Expected contract length: 24 months with 6 month extension, refer to additional terms and conditions below.
Location: No specific location, for example they can work remotely
Organisation the work is for: The Office of Government Property, Cabinet Office
Budget range: Budget capped at £2,900,000. The Design and Build phase budget is £1,700,000 m and expected to be delivered by 31st March 2021.
Work includes:

•Core delivery team: project management, scrum lead, solution architect, data architect and developer (portal, GIS, reporting).
•Solution architectural and data design
•Solution build
•Service cloud hosting and support
•Database development and data migration & technical validation
•Phased on-boarding support of organisations (~1,800users)
•Handover, material and aftercare e.g. user guides, video tutorials
•System and Data Integration (including API development, implementation and support).
•All required software
•Post go-live system management and maintenance
Optional: 1st line user support helpdesk.

About the work

Why the work is being done: The Authority is the only body in central government with existing access to estate and asset data across multiple public sector bodies with plans to extend this access further.

By 2021, its target is that nearly all UK strategic asset information (e.g. land, building and associated data-sets) for government and public sector bodies will be available to the Cabinet Office, offering a single and trusted perspective across a significant portfolio.

d-NAR will be a cloud-based system to collect, manage and analyse this data to provide insight on the public estate to organisations, cross-public sector programmes, Parliament and the public, leading to greater public transparency. Additional analytical capability will also support better decision making for strategic real estate.
Problem to be solved: OGP’s electronic property information mapping service (e-PIMS) is used extensively across Government with the vast majority of data manually updated directly in the system. e-PIMS is many years old and the upgrade potential for greater reporting and analytics is limited.

Through d-NAR, the Authority requires the ability to:
• Automate the import of data from Government Departments (2-5 bodies in this implementation) and other 3rd party sources
• Provide other public sector bodies with improved data update tools
• Manage the quality of this data
• Create dashboards, reports and geo-spatial outputs for better analytics
• Provide the public with view of a subset of this data
• Manage system and data security to maintain user access to the data and system outputs in line with government regulations and guidelines.

The Authority requires a cloud-based solution for the tasks above, based on off the shelf components which are, or can be, integrated to deliver a coherent single sign on, user-led experience that is intuitive and promotes self-service functionality.
Who the users are and what they need to do: As an OGP analyst, I have to create reports and models to help decision making and policy with ease and confidence in the source data. I need to create reports and maps by myself in a private space using this property data, combined with socioeconomic information. This allows me to understand the impact on departments and local communities of relocating staff. I want confidence in the data quality and clarity on the data definitions/standards of the raw data.

As a Public Sector Property Manager, I need specific data to transfer from my property management system (or other data sources) to OGP at periodic intervals, automatically using integrations with a manual management capability as a back-up. I need to save time and effort for my reporting commitments without manually re-entering data from my system. I also want to view this information and a portfolio view of the property assets in simple navigable reports.

As a member of the public or a public sector organisation, I wish to view and interact with the latest State of the Estate report, using dashboard and maps of the report to extract and explore the data.

As_a_department_data_analyst, I_need_to_view_my_asset_information_and_associated_data-sets_through_search, maps_or_dashboards_so_that_I_can_inform_business decisions, such as relocation options. I_want_to_be_able_to_see_vacant_space_across_government_so_that_I can_consider_it_for_use_for_my_department.
Early market engagement: An RFI was issued in 2018 (CCS-Ref-00343874) to conduct a soft market test for the functional and non-functional requirements of d-NAR.

Responses demonstrated that:
• There was sufficient market interest from system integrators, specialist Business Intelligence and Geospatial service providers
• From a technical perspective, the business requirements could be met by existing, or combinations of existing, products.

The main Authority requirements of data aggregation from multiple sources, data management and analytics through reporting/geospatial views have been delivered for other clients. These case studies provided confidence the market has sufficient experience to meet OGP’s specifications in the required budget and timeframe.
Any work that’s already been done: The RFI (Ref-00343874) contains the use cases, functional and non-functional requirements for the full system, together with an explanation of the existing system and data landscape. These have been updated in line with Authority priorities but functional changes are minor.

In addition, an Alpha phase has successfully delivered two POCs on a subset of the functional requirements. This reinforced the soft market test conclusion, that d-NAR is deliverable through existing market products and services.

Data Standards and Target Operating Model are being developed to support the d-NAR development. Discussions with government departments on automated data integration through API’s are ongoing.
Existing team: The programme comprises of three main work areas (Strategy, Digi-Tech and Property Data Standards and Governance) led by a project delivery team.

The work described in this specification will managed by the client project manager and Digi-Tech lead, Graeme Thomson. The supplier project manager will report directly to Graeme but will work with members of the project delivery team.

3rd party consultants, mainly providing specialist technology advice or reviewing technical designs, may also be part of the team.
Current phase: Beta

Work setup

Address where the work will take place: Cabinet Office location at 1 Horse Guards Road, Westminster or Canary Wharf, London. This is subject to the latest Government guidance on travelling and social distancing measures.
Working arrangements: OGP promotes smarter working practices and green travel plans. Therefore, activities requiring location based meetings and workshops should be planned and kept to a minimum. The Authority uses Google Hangouts for collaboration in support of this approach.

System design, configuration and testing should be carried out virtually or at the Supplier’s own premises unless a specific operational advantage in co-location is identified. Any travel and living expenses to London should form part of the supplier’s price.

Critical review sessions should be scheduled in advance to ensure attendance can be secured. These arrangements are also subject to latest Government COVID guidance.
Security clearance: Any supplier staff who will have access to internal OGP data should be Baseline Personnel Security Standard cleared. It is expected that a limited number of the team should have CTC clearance to allow access to more secure data.

Additional information

Additional terms and conditions: Potential Bidders must sign up to the CCS e-Sourcing Suite for the Proposal Stage before the Shortlisting Stage submission deadline. https://crowncommercialservice.bravosolution.co.uk/web/login.html

In line with Clause 32 of the terms_and_conditions of the framework, the Authority reserves the right to terminate the Contract without cause following the minimum notice period. This is a call-off contract therefore the Authority cannot guarantee spend under this Contract. The Authority will review the Contract and their budget following the build and design phase of the Contract and may exercise their right to terminate the Contract without cause following the minimum notice period at this time.

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: Potential Bidders must confirm they are already or will sign up to the CCS e-Sourcing Suite for the Evaluation Stage before the Shortlisting Stage submission deadline (Yes/No Response)

Potential Bidders must agree to abide by Crown Commercial Service’s Process for the Evaluation Stage (Yes/No Response)

Bidder has successfully implemented production-level asset information collection and reporting systems at a central government department or corporate international level. (Minimum of 2 named projects within last 3 years) (20%)

Bidder has successfully implemented production-level Business Intelligence and GIS projects at a central government department or corporate international level. (Minimum of 2 named projects within last 3 years) (20%)

Bidder has successfully integrated and managed multiple internal and external data sources (>15), driving data quality and API automation on an ongoing dynamic basis, on_a_single_production-level platform. (Minimum_of_2_named_projects_within_last_3 years) (20%)

Bidder must provide evidence of current core delivery team with relevant experience of delivering work of the type listed in 3-5 above. (20%)
Nice-to-have skills and experience: Bidder has experience of delivering projects in a public sector context. (10%)

Bidder has experience of delivering projects using an agile methodology from requirements to operation. (10%)

How suppliers will be evaluated

All suppliers will be asked to provide a written proposal.

How many suppliers to evaluate

Proposal criteria

Demonstrate your approach to providing the Technical Solution, including a written proposal of solution against requirements, experience of project team, presentation of approach and case study(Including_Reference) on past innovation (40%)
Demonstrate how your proposed technical solution will ensure the ability to incorporate and meet WCAG 2.1 AA Accessibility standards (10%)
Detailed Methodology demonstrating successful iterative development delivery (4%)
Detail your approach to managing risks and resolving issues effectively, this should demonstrate how you define and understand risks, how you resolve issues and how you take lessons-learnt (5%)
Detail your approach to Quality Assurance and Testing how your processes and procedures to ensure consistent high quality outputs free from defects (4%)
Demonstrate how you will ensure you have the resource availability and stand-up capability to successfully deliver this Contract (1%)
Provide a Case Study as to where you have successfully performed innovation/efficiencies beyond the initial need of a previous Customer to add additional Value to your Service (1%)

Cultural fit criteria

Demonstrate how successful knowledge transfer and handover will be done (5%)
Demonstrate your approach to transparent and Collaborative Working (3%)
Detail how you will identify opportunities for continuous improvement (2%)

Payment approach

Fixed price

Additional assessment methods

Case study
Work history
Reference
Presentation

Evaluation weighting

Technical competence

65%

Cultural fit

10%

Price

25%

Questions asked by suppliers

1. Who’s the incumbent and how long they have been the incumbent?: There is currently no incumbent for this as it is a new system.

e-PIMS, the legacy system that has supported the programme objectives and which d-NAR will supersede, is maintained by Corporate Document Services (CDS), who have provided these services since 2005.
2. Who's on the panel?: The panel will be composed of at least one Senior Civil Servant and two other civil servants.
3. Was the Alpha and associated POCs delivered internally or with the support of a 3rd party/incumbent? If the later, can you advise who they are please?: The Alpha phase had several workpackages. The workpackages relevant to this procurement were delivered by ESRI and PCSG. The digital marketplace listings are both available publicly. The client side support was provided by Deloitte.
4. Can you confirm what you mean by 'asset'?: Asset in this context encompasses land, buildings and property.
5. What sort of evidence of current core delivery team is acceptable to answer the final essential need? The 100 word limit doesn't support sharing profiles of team members.: Please provide details of skills and experience of current staff that relate to the criteria 3-5. A high level organisational overview is acceptable.
6. Is it possible to request a copy of the RFI (ref-00343874)?: If you require a copy of the RFI (ref-00343874) then please e-mail dat-pdo@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. The deadline for providing the supporting information is Tuesday 9 June 2020 at 11:59pm GMT.
7. In the 100 word limits can we put in a link eg: for more info: <hyperlink to case study>: links and outside information are not allowed in the 100 word response.
8. In terms of cloud infrastructure for d-NAR has a decision been taken in this regard or can options be suggested by the supplier: No decision has been taken in this regard.
9. Does GIS in the tender refer to Geographic Information System?: It does
10. Could you confirm that when referencing 'responses 3-5' in one of the questions, they are referencing the order the previous questions appear on the portal?: That is correct, the 3 criteria where examples require a minimum of 2 named projects within the last 3 years.
11. What’s the process or next stages of the tender? How many suppliers will be shortlisted in the next phase?: 5 suppliers will be shortlisted and taken through to the full RfP procuremetn stage.
12. Does the term Beta actually include going live?: Yes
13. Is the requirement subject to GDS assessment?: Yes
14. Given this project is at Beta stage how much scope is there for the selected supplier to make changes.: We will be working in an agile fashion, drawing upon the skills and experience of the supplier to deliver the best outcome.
15. Can you describe the most likely use cases to be addressed by "Uses this data to create dashboards, reports and analytics using Business Intelligence and Geospatial tools": Delivery of The State of the Estate report is a key analytical use case for OGP. Other analytical outputs are driven from a number of use cases and will depend on the user types and complexity of analysis or supporting data. More detail will be made available in the second phase of the procurement process.
16. Can you expand on the division of responsibilities between staff at OGP and those estates staff and analysts in Departments? For example will OGP be offering an analytics service to departments or is this relationship yet to be defined: The key division is that public sector organisations provide data to OGP to meet statutory obligations and support strategic estate portfolio management. The analysts in OGP process that information. There will be an expectation that the new system delivers visual outputs to all internal to OGP and external to OGP government analysts - to what extent these outputs will be of a self service nature for OGP and external analysts is still to be defined.
17. We understand PowerBI is in use currently are the Authority open to using other tools: PowerBI is currently used for BI within OGP but we remain open to other tools, if they deliver better outcomes.
18. Our read of the ask is that it is an automation of ingesting a large volume of data from multiple sources (connect through APIs) and then visualize that data including geospatial tools for reporting/analytics – is this a fair summary: Yes, implementing processes to drive data quality and provide the data for different audiences or enable business processes would underpin your summary. This is in addition to the data and skills aspects. The frequency of change of that data is seldom real time.
19. What are the complexities in the data model? And what is the impact of this?: As set out in the supporting documentation, the current data model is complex in terms of hierarchy and relationships, and there are many to many relationships. Work is underway to set out a future data model with rationalised requirements aligned to strategic objectives.
20. Do you measure data quality against minimum data standards?: Yes
21. What do you mean by automation? Synchronous with real-time updates? Or would asynchronous daily, mini-batch suffice your use cases and operational needs?: We are operating at portfolio level and in a strategic context so would not expect real time updates. We will be agreeing the appropriate update regularity with data providers.
22. Have you identified critical data elements (i.e. a core set of data) that you capture/ingest to satisfy current and future use cases?: Yes.
23. What are the total number of Public Sector Property Management Systems? How often do these change? % File transfer % API Integration % d-NAR interface? Do any of these data ingestion mechanisms exist or need to be implemented as part of this project? Have any third-party / external data providers been identified?: Data collection will need to be implemented through a mixture of API/ systems integration, bulk upload and manual entry. The mix will be dependent on ongoing discussions with departments with initial API requirements detailed in the RfP. Yes, initial 3rd party/external data providers have been identified.
24. Do you have an agreed set of definitions for your data? Is there a business glossary / data catalogue in place?: We have a draft Beta standard that will be shared in the second phase of the procurement process and developed further with the successful Technology Partner.
25. Is the target operating model within scope of this RFP?: No, this will be made available to the supplier.
26. Has a cloud platform provider been chosen, if so which one & what type of licensing agreement exists?: A cloud platform provider has not been chosen.
27. Can the Authority confirm that the DOS Framework can be used for the procurement of the ‘off the shelf components’ referred to in its description of the work? If so, please confirm that Suppliers can include appropriate licensing terms for such components as a ‘Specific Term’ in Part A – Order Form of the DOS Call-Off Contract.: Off the shelf components can also refer to open source products so this would not be relevant. We would expect the licenses to account for a small proportion of the contract value and, as such, suppliers should include appropriate licensing terms.
28. Would post go live support options include the Authority running this for themselves once upskilled to do so?: It is an option and the authority will consider the business continuity of all post go live options. In any option, skills transfer remains a key part of the delivery and will inform to what extent and to which parts of post go live support can be managed by OGP. OGP does not currently have the capability to run a newly developed system.
29. How many source data organisations are in scope?: e-PIMS currently has approximately 1,000 organisations in scope and we expect this stay broadly the same.
30. Are there any commercial constraints or frameworks existing, which software & technology must be procured through? If so, please can you provide the process/timescales to procure software through such frameworks?: Government has access to a range of frameworks through Crown Commercial Services (CCS), providing options in terms of products and timelines. Details of these are available on the CCS portal.
31. Has there been any engagement or a steering group setup with source data providers?: Yes a Programme Board is in place with senior representation from across central gov and key data providers. Work groups with cross government representation for Strategy, Data and Digi-Tech are also all in place. Both the Board and work groups are well established.
32. Can you please provide a brief description of any existing in-house/vendor software, frameworks and tools that you are using for data ingestion, file transfer, data integration, data quality, data catalogue/dictionary, data modelling, data governance, reference and master data management, data warehouse, reporting and analytics?: The capabilities of the current e-PIMS system or Alpha POCs should not dictate the future system design. Further detail can be found in the information strategy if required - this forms part of the 2018 RFI documentation.
33. What type and classification of data is to be acquired from data providers?: OFFICIAL classification level strategic asset information for land and built public sector assets. Typically property data and characteristics of the site and property, including size, usage and costs and other associated location-based references such as GIS layers. Please note d-NAR is a portfolio information tool not a property management system.
34. What is the typical size of data assets to be processed/collected?: The core dataset is expected to be approximately 300-500 data fields.
35. Does the budget cater for the procurement exercise and if so does an existing vehicle/framework exist?: Suppliers should look to price the costs for all components of the requirements.
36. Are there any non-functional requriements[sic] which the program is aware of now, in terms of scalability to be considered in the solution design?: Yes a full set of non-functional requirements will be made available to the shortlisted suppliers.
37. Given the API implementation and support details in the tender is there an event driven architecture strategy/API management strategy or implemented API Management solution which exists, please can this be shared?: The API Strategy and details will be made available to the shortlisted suppliers. Some APIs exist within e-PIMS but the supplier will be expected to develop APIs for their proposed solutions.
38. Is the expectation that software licensing and maintenance/product support is included in the budget?: Yes
39. What aspects of cloud provisioning, hosting support etc do you require? Networking and IaaS/PaaS/Serverless, HA/DR, Zone design, etc.: This will be determined, and evaluated, as part of suppliers’ response to the requirements.
40. Who are the data providers, please can you provide organisation types or examples?: Central Government Departments and their arm’s length bodies.
41. Does the program expect to run an agile lifecycle, alpha, private beta, beta, live?: The Alpha phase is complete but Beta is expected to follow an agile methodology in accordance with GDS requirements.
42. Are there any technologies to support delivery which cannot be used or must be used, i.e. solution design constraints?: GDS standards must be followed.
43. Are there any pre-defined KPI’s or SLA’s for the helpdesk?: Yes, these will be shared with those short listed in the second phase of procurement.
44. How many users are expected to be supported via the helpdesk?: Around 1,800 users that may grow in future. Queries on average are currently 300 per month. They generally concern account management and are relatively straightforward and repetitive.
45. Is there an existing helpdesk or will a new service delivery model/team be required to support users and resolve user issues?: A help desk currently delivers a number of roles, we are exploring the opportunity for 1st level help desk to be delivered as part of these requirements.
46. What technologies are the source databases implemented in?: Public sector organisations run a range of property management systems, such as MRI Horizons and Technology Forge. Around 5 organisations will be integrated in the initial Design and Build but we would expect the solution to be capable of covering a range of property management systems, along with bespoke systems developed by organisations.
47. Is there any preference for certain technologies or platforms?: No.
48. Has any user research been conducted with regards to replicating functionality/design from e-PIMS in the new system?: Yes, 2 Proof of Concepts were created and made available to the wider user community, a survey was then conducted with follow up 1:1 interviews.
49. Will CDS be available to discuss the architecture of e-PIMS?: Not as part of the short listing phase, but we will ensure all information required is available to shortlisted suppliers. Note this is a new system and not like for like replacement.
50. Does the budget include VAT, and does it cover all stages from Beta to Live build?: No, VAT is not included. The budget covers all stages from Beta to Live.
51. Can you break down the level of different users who will be using the system into approximate numbers? a. OGP analyst, b. Public Sector Property Manager, c. Member of the public or a public sector organisation, d. Department data analyst: The breakdown of users will be provided in the full RFP, including metrics for public access. As a minimum, upto 100 OGP staff will use the self service analytics capability while all other users (mostly public sector organisations) will use the application to modify their own data records, generate reports and view a predefined visual analytical outputs that may not have flexibility of a self service analytics tool. To what extent self service capability is made available to wider users is still to be determined.
52. What are the “multiple internal and external data sources” that are mentioned and how many?: This is asking for your experience in complex data integration and management where data sources are disparate and may exist within the organisation in other systems or outside the organisation entirely.
53. How many API calls will be used to integrate with other systems?: These will be set out in the detailed requirements provided to short listed suppliers. We expect the initial phase, as part of Design and Build, to deliver between 2 and 5.
54. Please clarify the formats required for reports – Printed to paper, on-screen, emailed results?: Reports are expected to be primarily displayed on screen, with the ability to export.
55. Where will the base data originate? Will it be imported by integration or by “data loading” on a regular basis? If loaded, what formats can we expect, or can we specify via a template?: Data will originate from public sector organisations. It will be ingested through systems integration, file upload and manual entry through a portal. For bulk upload it would be feasible to use a user-friendly template and this will be developed as part of system detailed design.
56. Will an initial data migration be required and if so, please confirm whose job any data integrity or cleansing will be?: Yes, data cleansing and migration of placeholder datasets will be a key aspect of this contract to test the system-platform functionality ready for onboarding Departments (in phases) from 1 April 2021. Identification and rectification of Beta data quality issues is expected to be a joint team activity.
57. What would be the annual budget for support and maintenance, and separately, any licence fees?: Please see the d-NAR digital marketplace listing for budget post design and build.
58. You say “As a member of the public or a public sector organisation, I wish to view and interact with the latest State of the Estate report, using dashboard and maps of the report to extract and explore the data.” – do you mean that any external user must be able to infinitely “explore” the data? What does this exactly mean?: The existing State of the Estate report is available online. Public access will be limited to a static data set that sits behind the charts and data that were used to produce the report and they will be able to interact with these through a set of predefined dashboards.
59. Please elaborate on the public facing element. Will you need a public facing portal required to share this with the public or more widely within government? Will registration and logins be required?: User management and logins will be required for Organisations (Primarily Gov Departments) to enter/edit their asset data held and generate reports of these. Public access will be through a separate portal and limited to a specific data set; no registration is expected for the initial build.
60. Does the budget include licence fees for the cloud solution?: Yes
61. Have any outcomes been defined already, and can these be shared? Such as; requirements/Epics/Stories etc.: These have been defined and will be shared with those short listed in the second phase of procurement. The 2018 RFI provides supporting material to your query.
62. Your requirements do not mention the need for support. Will you require the supplier to deliver break-fix and ongoing change support or will that be delivered by an internal team? Or mix of both?: We will require the supplier to deliver break-fix and ongoing change support. The ability to transfer some of this responsibility to an internal team will be part of solution assessment.
63. When does the new system have to be completed and up and running to replace the current system? Are there any particular drivers around dates?: The system should be available for onboarding of departments on the 31st of March. The onboarding process itself is envisaged to take several months.
64. Are you able to share the draft data standard and governance framework? Or at least its table of contents? Does it include the Data Governance organisation?: We have a draft Beta standard that will be shared in the second phase of the procurement process and developed further with the successful Technology Partner. If you require a copy of the governance framework of the d-NAR programme, then please e-mail dat-pdo@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
65. Are there any specific milestone dates for project go live? Operational Beta?: Key milestone of 31st of March 2021 for a Minimum Viable Product delivered. The Authority will review the Contract and their budget following the design and build phase.
66. Does the budget include support and maintenance, in year one and beyond? If so for how many years?: Yes, until the end of the contract. As stated, the Authority will review the Contract and their budget following the design and build phase.

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