Department for Transport

Provision of The National Parking Platform Discovery/Alpha - T/IT 0233

7 Incomplete applications

7 SME, 0 large

9 Completed applications

3 SME, 6 large

Published: Thursday 7 January 2021
Deadline for asking questions: Thursday 14 January 2021 at 11:59pm GMT
Closing date for applications: Thursday 21 January 2021 at 11:59pm GMT

Overview

Summary of the work: Discovery and Alpha projects to support the delivery of a National Parking Platform, leveraging work done to date:

Provision of a full project team and resources requited to complete the phases

Compliance with DSS, TCOP and DFT Architectural Principles

https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/service-standard

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/technology-code-of-practice/technology-code-of-practice

DPIA

Passing Service Assessments and Architectural Change Board.
Latest start date: Monday 15 February 2021
Expected contract length: 16 week of project for Discovery and Alpha.
Location: No specific location, for example they can work remotely
Organisation the work is for: Department for Transport
Budget range: £200,000 to £250,000 for both discovery and Alpha, costs for each to be provided separately.

DfT will evaluate whether it continues into Alpha after the Discovery.

About the work

Why the work is being done: We need a Discovery and Alpha project to improve the digitisation of parking and the application of the Alliance for Parking Data Standards (APDS) – to enable local authorities and private companies to exchange data, help navigate users to an available parking spaces based on price and quality and deliver multi-vendor and automated transactions.

We have developed a proof of concept National Parking Platform (NPP) with Manchester City Council which should be the basis for identifying user need, design, prototyping and testing with users. The proof of concept is a publicly-owned/centralised/digitised and standardised platform for off and on-street parking.
Problem to be solved: Discovery and Alpha phases as defined by GDS for a National Parking Platform, which best leverages existing work completed as part of a proof of concept in Manchester.

The Discovery must explore the commercial and governance models to ensure the National Parking Platform operates robustly, sustainably and supports interoperability with other transport (data) services – including freight parking, electric vehicle charging, and micro-mobility sectors - and their payment models/data integration.

Alpha will build on the outcomes of the discovery. We expect reuse of existing work from the proof of concept through analysis, producing prototypes for validation, and appropriate GDS assessment.
Who the users are and what they need to do: The key stakeholders are:

• Local highway and planning authorities
• Car park providers
• Parking service providers
• Department for Transport
• Use case subject matter experts and interests – for potential use cases
• Road users
• Real-time traffic data providers
• Sat-nav companies and parking system software suppliers
Early market engagement: The proof of concept NPP project has identified existing multi-vendor parking data platforms, including models employed by each and held discussions with a number of the authorities and suppliers involved in creating and operating these platforms in order to design the NPP.
Any work that’s already been done: Information about the phases of work undertaken by Parking Matters consultancy, on behalf of Manchester City Council and the DfT, and the capability of the proof of concept NPP can be found out:

https://parkingmatters.com/project/national-parking-platform/

Both the NPP and APDS were the subject of a recent Transport Data Initiative webinar and the slides can be found at:

http://transportdatainitiative.com/events-archive/tdi-webinar-2-department-for-transport-parking/
Existing team: Suppliers undertaking this requirement will work remotely but in partnership with the Department for Transport’s Traffic and Technology Division and Highways England.

The core team will be:
• Anthony Ferguson – SRO – Deputy Director, Traffic and Technology DfT
• Graham Hanson – Service Owner – Head of Smarter Traffic Management DfT
• Giles Wane – Product Owner – Smarter Traffic Management DfT

Assurance will be provided by DFT Digital Service.
Current phase: Discovery

Work setup

Address where the work will take place: We expect this work will be done remotely for the foreseeable future. Should official guidance change during the duration of this engagement, you may be expected to attend meetings across England.
Working arrangements: We expect full-time engagement from delivery teams to deliver the required outcomes.

We would expect the Discovery to be completed within 8 weeks which should comprise several sprints, in accordance with Agile programme management, to determine user need.

Exact milestones will be determined with the supplier, post appointment.
Security clearance: All contractors’ personnel must be working toward security clearance level BPSS at minimum and be cleared to begin immediately following award. Evidence of this will be requested at written proposal stage.

Personal data collected during discovery will constitute an information asset which suppliers will be required to appropriately protect.

Additional information

Additional terms and conditions: There will be a break clause between Discovery and Alpha should the needs of the project or the department change.

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: Provide demonstrable evidence of experience of delivering Discovery and Alpha stages on project(s) that comply with the TCOP, DSS and internal architectural standards and passing service assessments

Provide demonstrable evidence of experience of delivering Discovery and Alpha stages on project(s) that focused solely on transport data

Provide demonstrable evidence of experience of delivering Discovery and Alpha stages on project(s) that apply data standards to deliver platform interoperability

Provide demonstrable evidence of experience of delivering Discovery and Alpha stages on project(s) that delivery was with complex multi-organisation commercial models
Nice-to-have skills and experience: Provide demonstrable evidence of experience of delivering Discovery and Alpha stages on project(s) that was working with a relevant road transport data sector

Provide demonstrable evidence of experience of delivering Discovery and Alpha stages on project(s) that involved interrogation of live pilot projects to support strategic decision making

Provide demonstrable evidence of experience of delivering Discovery and Alpha stages on project(s) that leverage Google cloud platform

How suppliers will be evaluated

All suppliers will be asked to provide a written proposal.

How many suppliers to evaluate

Proposal criteria

Approach and methodology - 30%
Technical solution – 35%
Value for money – 5%
Team structure – 5%

Cultural fit criteria

Provide demonstrable evidence of experience of delivering Discovery and Alpha stages on project(s) working as a team with our organisation and other suppliers
Provide demonstrable evidence of experience of delivering Discovery and Alpha stages on project(s) of being transparent and collaborative when making decisions

Payment approach

Capped time and materials

Additional assessment methods

Evaluation weighting

Technical competence

75%

Cultural fit

Price

20%

Questions asked by suppliers

1. You specifically request experience of projects which “focussed solely on transport data”. This question excludes any otherwise eminently qualified suppliers which have not previously worked in the transport sector. Can we use a relevant example which is not transport data centric, with no impact on how it will be scored?: No – the specification requires transport data experience.
2. You specifically request experience of “Discovery and Alpha stages on project(s) that was working with a relevant road transport data sector”. This question excludes any otherwise eminently qualified suppliers which have not previously worked in the transport sector. Can we use a relevant example which is not transport data centric, with no impact on how it will be scored?: No – the specification requires relevant road transport data experience.
3. If you have a preferred technology stack, what are the main technologies?: DFT has a range of technologies it currently use, and is open to using others should there be a good justification for doing so. The Architectural principles contain as much information DFT share at the procurement stage. Given this project is a non-national proof of concept, entering Discovery, we do not yet have a tech stack for this service.
4. Will a consortium of suppliers, lead by a prime, be considered in this procurement process? If so, will all members of the consortium need to be registered on DOS 4?: It is for the supplier to design how they respond to the requirement. This may or may not involve partnership responses, this is for the lead supplier to define. The lead supplier is required to be registered on DOS 4.
5. Can you elaborate on the competitive tender process please? After submission of our answers via this portal, will a further stage be run to select a group of potential suppliers? Will this stage involve presentations and / or a more detailed pitch?: Following this submission, a maximum of 5 suppliers will be taken through to the second stage. This will involve an evaluation of Written Proposal, Case Studies, CVs and presentation if required.
6. Is the budget range £200,000 to £250,000 to cover discovery and Alpha? Or is there a budget of £200,000 to £250,000 for each phase? (i.e. £400,000 to £500,000 in total).: The specification makes clear that this is the budget for both, and asks for estimates for each separately.
7. Will your Product Owner be allocated full time to this project?: No – but the project manager will do so.
8. Are you able to recruit and provide access to users for the purpose of user research?: Yes – we are already in discussion with most of the players and subject matter experts have a full range of contacts.
9. Do you have any preference between public sector or private sector examples? Or will both be treated equally as long as they are relevant to the question? We appreciate that the first question necessitates a public sector example, but for some of the other questions, private sector experience working with parking/automotive could be highly relevant.: I do not fully understand. The platform requires both public and private sector parking suppliers and local authority managers.
10. Please can you share a procurement timeline outlining steps (which would typically include evidence response evaluation from 21st January, shortlisting of suppliers for next stage, preparation of supplier proposals, evaluation of supplier proposals, announcement of successful supplier, contract completion, contract signatures, commence work on 15th February)?: Event - Date
Publish requirements on DOS 4 CCS Framework - 6 Jan
Stage 1 Clarification period ends on - 11:59 PM on 14 Jan
Stage 1 Bids received by - 11.00 AM on 21 Jan
Stage 1 Moderation/Consensus - 22 Jan
Invite suppliers to 2nd Stage (Max 5) - 25 Jan
Stage 2 clarification ends on - 11:59 PM on 27 Jan
Stage 2 Bids received by - 11:00 AM on 1 Feb
Stage 2 Moderation/Consensus - 2/3 Feb
Contract Award - 4/5 Feb
Contract Start - 15 Feb

All dates subject to change
11. Please could you clarify your expectation with this requirement: “We expect full-time engagement from delivery teams to deliver the required outcomes”. In particular, we’d like to clarify that this doesn’t rule out deploying specialist roles part time on the project team where their value can be delivered in full without them being deployed full time (5 days per week) on the project.: We welcome the inclusion of subject matter experts who will be managed by the contractor as required to deliver the requirements.
12. Nice-to-have requirement 3 references the Google Cloud platform. Has a decision to adopt the Google platform already been made or is DfT receptive to submissions that propose the use of alternative cloud platforms during Discovery/Alpha, where these: (1) have been used to deliver similar transport requirements; and, (2) offer the potential for component re-use that could de-risk/accelerate delivery?: Google cloud platform is DFT’s strategic cloud provider. Use of other cloud providers will need to be agreed by the Architecture team as an exception to the Architectural principles.
13. Please can you clarify what is meant by the phrase ‘complex multi-organisation commercial models’? Does this refer to the commercial models for national parking that are employed by the stakeholders listed or is it meant in a different context?: You will note that the multi-vendor payment system is fundamental to the operation of the platform. We are seeking experience of delivery of multi-organisation commercial models, not limited to parking, which will help deliver this payment system.
14. Can the solution be a COTS offering, configured to meet the requirements, or is the Department looking to build (and own) a proprietary/bespoke solution?: The determination of the commercial models and governance of the platform is to be determined by user research and alpha piloting. Initial work undertaken for the proof of concept have focused on community ownership.
15. To what extent is Policy expected to be relevant to this engagement, and is there a Policy Lead assigned?: This specification is designed to deliver user research to support a technical solution. The DfT and subject matter experts can provide policy support, if required.
16. The following statement is in the progress section of.... https://parkingmatters.com/project/national-parking-platform/ “Under NPP Phase 2 a working group composed of senior local government officials and other public sector officials is developing a commercial model, allowing multiple operators and service providers to co-operate at scale; and exploring the governance options for the platform, including long-term funding proposals.” How does the working group mentioned above relate to this tender?: This working group is supporting the delivery of the proof of concept. Access will be provided to the group, and its findings, as part of the specification delivery.
17. Can you please clarify for ‘Provide demonstrable evidence of experience of delivering Discovery and Alpha stages on project(s) that involved interrogation of live pilot projects to support strategic decision making’... is this about the Discovery and Alpha phase defining and progressing [new] live pilot project/s OR about the Discovery and Alpha interrogating with existing live pilot projects? Thanks.: The specification is clear – that the alpha/discovery requires the contractor to test and validate the existing proof of concept being delivered by Manchester City Council.
18. To clarify on question 9, the question is in the context of the 100 word evidence responses to each of the essential and nice to have criteria. We’d like to understand if you have a preference for public sector examples or if either public or private sector examples are equally welcome to demonstrate relevant experience?: The parking platform and the multi-vendor payment operation will require a mix of commercial and public sector operations. It is for the contractor to determine the appropriateness of their experience in light of the specification requirements.
19. Cultural fit is worth 5% of the scoring but there is no value given against the 2 questions. How will these be scored/weighted at the proposal stage?: 3% and 2% respectively
20. Will the scores for the evidence response be carried forward into the proposal stage?: No
21. Do you anticipate a gap between the end of the Discovery phase and the start of the Alpha phase? If so, could you estimate the duration of that gap in your experience?: There will need to be a period for review, but we would not expect this to last more than two weeks.
22. To deliver a quality engagement for the stated budget range, we would anticipate using certain roles on a part-time basis. Is this acceptable to the department?: The design and delivery of the proposal is for contractors to design to best meet the requirements of the specification.
23. How will pricing be scored? Is there an expected project/team structure or total cost?: It will be based on total cost

The Percentage Scoring Methodology will be used to evaluate all proposals for this requirement. This methodology is based on the following principles:

Firstly, the lowest tendered price will be scored 20%, and each subsequent bid will be baselined to this score.

Calculation – lowest bid value / bid being evaluated x 20%

Can we store analytics cookies on your device?

Awarded to Kainos Software Ltd