This opportunity is closed for applications

The deadline was Thursday 2 June 2022

National Highways (Digital Services Directorate)

Digital Excellence

23 Incomplete applications

16 SME, 7 large

54 Completed applications

35 SME, 19 large

• Published: Thursday 19 May 2022
• Deadline for asking questions: Thursday 26 May 2022 at 11:59pm GMT
• Closing date for applications: Thursday 2 June 2022 at 11:59pm GMT

Overview

• Off-payroll (IR35) determination: Contracted out service: the off-payroll rules do not apply
• Summary of the work: The Supplier will work with National Highways Digital Services to provide project and programme delivery support to ensure enhanced business improvements and resilience across our critical services. Scaling to deliver a larger portfolio of projects and programmes to ensure change is embraced and ways of working are improved.
• Latest start date: Monday 1 August 2022
• Expected contract length: 21 months from the 1/8/22 to 30/4/24 (plus potential further 3 month extension)
• Location: No specific location, for example they can work remotely
• Organisation the work is for: National Highways (Digital Services Directorate)
• Budget range: Up to a maximum of £1,7m in year 1 up to £1m in year 2

About the work

• Why the work is being done: National Highways Digital Services’ goal is to build our technical and business capabilities, transform our operations, improve cyber security, optimise our processes and put the end user at the centre of what we do. The Digital Excellence programme is a 2yr programme from 2022 to 2024 with the completion date no later than April 2024
• Problem to be solved: National Highways Digital Services Directorate (NHDS) are looking to optimise and maximise the potential of the current operating model Digital Services Directorate are looking for external expertise to supplement and enhance current within DS.; 1. Support the ongoing development of the Agile principles and methodologies; 2. Support the development of the digital services capability plan and roll out ; 3. Advise and support the implementation requirements aligned with the recent published Digital Data and Technology strategy. ; 4. Optimise current working practices and development and embedment of significant business process improvements. ; 5. Support the development and enhancement of a Strategic Portfolio management structure; 6. Build upon the existing digital services key priorities.; 7. Work with NH transformation team to align digital services activities and support directorate cross cutting services.; 8. Support digital services in meeting the anticipated growth in demand (Demand Management) over the next 2yrs.; 9. Enhancing our operating and risks resilience over the next 2yrs ; Scaling the organisation to deliver a larger portfolio.
• Who the users are and what they need to do: National Highways staff are consumer of Digital Services and therefore DS will need to capture planned demand for all future services.; ; As a consumer of DS I need to know that delivery of the service is both planned, budgeted for and staff allocated against, in order to ensure delivery to pre-determined timescales.; ; This is in accordance with the requirements of the Digital and Data Technology Strategy.
• Early market engagement: N/A
• Any work that’s already been done: Work undertaken to date, includes the overarching road map for DS programme, which builds upon the implementation of the new target operating model. This includes work around demand capture and management, Agile principles of working and new quarterly business planning and review mechanisms.
• Existing team: The work will be Lead by the Head of Technology Strategy and the Strategy Team Leader, reporting to a Programme Board. Close working will be expected with the wider Digital Services Directorate and individual teams.
• Current phase: Live

Work setup

• Address where the work will take place: Birmingham / other NH offices as required / remote working / Supplier’s own office.
• Working arrangements: The Supplier should work collaboratively with the Head of Technology Strategy and supporting Team.; ; There will be a significant amount of engagement required with various teams across the organisation. Suppliers will use the collaborative tools available within National Highways to make best use of the time. Some travel will be required to meet key stakeholders, business teams and run and take part in workshop activities. A mixture of online and face-to-face team meetings will be required. ; ; All expenses must comply with National Highways Subsistence Policy.
• Security clearance: Government Baseline Personnel Security Standard clearance. (BPSS)

Additional information

• Additional terms and conditions: Standard terms and conditions

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:
  • Experience of delivering significant Digital Services Portfolio enhancements with a focus on Digital Excellence optimisation.
  • Experience in delivering multi-faceted Digital Excellence programmes of work using Agile principles and project frameworks.
  • Experience in optimising existing operating models within a medium to large organisation.
  • Significant experience of delivering change within similarly complex organisation with multiple tiers of governance.
  • Strong stakeholder and change management experience including management of pace of change.
  • Experience of building key performance evidence into the optimisation programme to be reported on a quarterly basis.

How suppliers will be evaluated

All suppliers will be asked to provide a written proposal.

• How many suppliers to evaluate: 6
• Proposal criteria:
  • The ability to provide the necessary skills and expertise based upon an integrated user centric approach. (15%)
  • Have a defined well worked out, understandable methodology to how their approach will solve and meet Digital Excellence Optimisation needs. (10%)
  • All proposed team members must evidence how they will meet the cultural fit. (10%)
  • Evidence of delivery at pace and evidenced of how you will create an Agile methodology. (5%)
  • Value for money of the proposed solution. (5%)
  • Method of risk and dependency identification and well-defined mitigation against such risk (5%)
  • Describe the team structure (5%)
• Cultural fit criteria:
  • Demonstrates the ability to work in a collaborative and co-creative environment. (4%)
  • Demonstrates a proactive ability, takes responsibility for doing things and making them happen. (4%)
  • Demonstrates an open and honest approach to what is said and done, and the commitments made you keep. (4%)
  • Demonstrates a passion for what you do. (4%)
  • Demonstrates strong health and safety, wellbeing ethos within the way the team members work and interact with each other. (4%)
• Payment approach: Capped time and materials
• Additional assessment methods: Case study
• Evaluation weighting:

  Technical competence

  55%

  Cultural fit

  20%

  Price

  25%

Questions asked by suppliers

• 1. Who from your team will be scoring applications for this opportunity and what positions do they hold?: It will be members from the Digital Services team who are trained and suitably qualified on carrying out the evaluation and assessment process.
• 2. Who is the incumbent and how long they have been the incumbent?: This is a new programme of work optimising Digital Excellence
• 3. Can you confirm if shortlisted suppliers will have the opportunity to present?: Presentations may be requred for the 2nd stage of the process
• 4. Has any external supplier been involved in the initial scoping work? If so, who?: No
• 5. We have recently been informed of the delay to awarding the ITCF, which this project appears well suited to, and which we would have nominally expected would have been procured through the ITCF. Please could you advise if you are able to postpone procurement of this project until the ITCF launches: Due to the need for this requirement, we are unable to postpone.
• 6. Are National Highways looking for resources (bodyshop) to support the Digital Services programme or a consulting partner that can advise on best practices, etc?: NH are looking for resources to support the delivery of the digital excellence programme .
• 7. Please can you clarify what you mean by ‘digital excellence optimisation’?: NH digital excellence is programme is the primary change and improvement programme optimising our operating model to help execute the digital and data strategy, deliver workstream alignment within digital roads outcomes and face the demands both now and in the future.
• 8. "For the following question, can you confirm if you are referring to a target operating model design?‘Experience in optimising existing operating models within a medium to large organisation.’": NH digital services is seeking to build on the current operating model by fine tuning what is in place and related business process changes.
• 9. As it is the Extended Jubilee Bank Holiday Weekend from Thursday 02.06.2022 and the Bid Deadline is on the same date at 23:59. We request an extension to Monday 06.06.2022 at 23:59: The deadline is as laid out by the DOS framework
• 10. Please could you confirm if suppliers can use multiple examples in their response to each question?: Suppliers can tailor there response to the question as they deem appropriate
• 11. Please could you confirm if this is to support the formation or evolution of an agile CoE?: Support the ongoing evolution and development of the Agile principles and methodologies within Digital Services.
• 12. Please can you confirm is this specific to section 2.2.2 and 2.3.1 of the digital data and technology strategy or are there other aspects in consideration?: We are looking to build upon the objectives of the DDaT strategy as per sec 2.2.2 and 2.3.1
• 13. The location in the ‘Overview’ section states that the work can all be remote but this conflicts with the work setup which lists the “Remote” option in third place. Please can you clarify if you expect significant on-site presence?: Remote working most of the time with the expectation that the supplier will make themselves available on site as defined by NH Digital Services.
• 14. For the stage 2 proposal response you will be asking suppliers to evidence if their team can hit each cultural fit point. Health and Safety is one of those but in typical IT/office environments, H&S is usually a lesser issue. Please can you clarify the H&S evidence angle you’ll be looking for?: One off NH Key Imperatives is safety therefore we require all applications to H&S well being at the core of their submission.
• 15. Can you please provide an anticipated timeline for this procurement that includes dates for: 1) Shortlisting Notification for Stage 2 2) Submission Deadline for Stage 2 3) Presentation 4) Evaluation period 5) Award Notification: "The current anticipated timelines are as follows: ; ; 1. 27/28 June 2022; 2. 13 July 2022; 3. TBC - Presentations may be required for the 2nd stage of the process; 4. 14/28 July 2022; 5. Aug / Sept 2022"
• 16. Based on the score weightings it does not appear that you plan to carry Stage 1 marks over to the stage 2 scoring. Please can you confirm that is the case?: We do not plan to carry the stage 1 marks over to stage 2
• 17. The advert states that a case study will be used as part of the Stage 2 evaluation criteria but there appear to be no marks allocated to it as the remainder sums to 100%. Please can you clarify this?: The advert states that a case study will be used as part of the Stage 2 evaluation criteria but there appear to be no marks allocated to it as the remainder sums to 100%. Please can you clarify this?
• 18. The advert states that a case study will be used as part of the Stage 2 evaluation criteria but there appear to be no marks allocated to it as the remainder sums to 100%. Please can you clarify this?: The case study will be used as evidence of delivery of this type of work in a similar organisation
• 19. Regarding Q2 in the Essential Skills section, please can you confirm if suppliers can use other examples in their response other than the Digital Excellence programmes of work (and not be penalised/lose marks), given the Digital Excellence Programme hasn’t commenced yet?: Yes
• 20. What is your preferred Agile framework? What do you consider works well with use of this framework and and what do you consider does not work well?: We have a defined Agile delivery framework which defines agile roles, ways of working and governance.
• 21. What are the current successes with your ways of working practices which you would like to emulate in future practices and what are the failures you would wish to avoid?: The current successes, building of an operating model which is fit for purposes across all of DS and we are looking to build on the success of this operating model by ensuring we optimise all related business processes.
• 22. How would you describe your current agile culture. What is working and what isn’t?: Our current Agile methodology is geared around training coaching, guidance frameworks and embedding.
• 23. What is there that is good about your current agile framework that is working and should be scaled?: This is currently part of our development road map and we therefore expect the model to be enhanced.
• 24. Given recent changes in working practices, do you operate a work from home policy, an on-site working policy or a hybrid approach?: Currently have a hybrid approach which may change dependent on NH policy.
• 25. Can you please explain what do you mean by “key performance evidence into the optimisation programme”?: We will expect to see specific metrics as evidence of achievement of objectives.
• 26. "Please could you clarify what is meant by “change” in this question? i.e. are you referring to technical/cultural/procedural etc.“Significant experience of delivering change within similarly complex organisation with multiple tiers of governance.”": NH are seeking experience of delivering change both cultural, technical and procedural in a similar type organisation.
• 27. Please can you confirm if any National Highways resources will be allocated to support this project?: DS will lead the programme of work with multiple workstream leads providing direction of travel.
• 28. Please can you tell us what the outcomes are of the Digital Excellence programme work to date (i.e.3 months prior to 21 month contract within the 2 year transformation)?: The current work streams are under development in line with a draft road map.
• 29. How do you plan to evaluate price?: Please refer to the DOS requirements regarding the cost weighting
• 30. How many programmes of work do you currently have underway? What stages are those programmes at?: The road map is currently being refined
• 31. Do you see this as primarily ‘advisory work’ or would you prefer a supplier who can provide both advisory and delivery expertise?: The expectations are set out in the published requirements
• 32. Would winning this work preclude the supplier from delivery work within the portfolio?: No
• 33. Regarding point 4 in the “Problem to be solved” section, the requirement outlines ‘embedment of significant business process improvements’. Have these already been identified or are these for the supplier to recommend and then deliver?: Digital excellence the next iteration to support the evolution of DS and therefore we would expect the supplier to support DS in this development.
• 34. Regarding point 5 in the “Problem to be solved” section, are organisation design/changes in scope for the Strategic Portfolio management structure development and enhancement?: The scope is as identified as part of the published requirements which includes the DS road map
• 35. Regarding point 5 in the “Problem to be solved” section, how will the Strategic Portfolio management structure be integrated with broader National Highways governance and strategic priorities? Or is this to define during the project?: Defined as part of the programme .
• 36. Please could you provide some examples of the types of projects or programmes that are a part of your Digital Services Portfolio? (Are they external customer facing or internal or both?): Identified as part of the requirements of the Digital and Data Technology Strategy.
• 37. Regarding the Stage 2 proposal, where evidence is requested in the criteria, please can you confirm if multiple examples are acceptable or should bidders provide only one delivery example?: There is no limit regarding potential examples
• 38. Regarding point 5 in the “Problem to be solved” section, what are the priorities of the NH transformation team? How does NH expect the chosen supplier to integrate with the NH transformation team?: DS will lead the programme of work with multiple workstream leads providing direction of travel. The priorities are as described in the published requirements.
• 39. Regarding “Evidence of delivery at pace and evidenced of how you will create an Agile methodology” in the Stage 2 proposal criteria, does NH want bidders to provide evidence of where they have created an agile methodology, or does NH want bidders to describe how they will create an agile methodology (or both)?: We have an Agile series of principles and we are developing an COE bidders will need to synergise with that approach
• 40. In the section titled Problem to be Solved, does the operating model relate to the way Software is being delivered? or is it around the managed services/infrastructure/ or a combination of these?: The operating model has been defined and bidders are expected to work with DS to optimise that operating model
• 41. Do you have Agile Coaches in house?: Yes
• 42. When you mention “Support the development of the digital services capability plan and roll out”, is the capability plan the plan of resources and their skills that are required to implement all projects NHDS has on the roadmap?: Yes
• 43. Could you share with us the “recent published Digital Data and Technology strategy”? or it is this one (https://digital.nhs.uk/about-nhs-digital/corporate-information-and-documents/our-strategy): The strategy is is published the NH external web site : https://nationalhighways.co.uk/suppliers/digital-data-and-technology/digital-data-and-technology-strategy/
• 44. Could you give us a few examples of business process that need to be improved?: This will be subject to discussions and road map evolution once the successful bidder is onboarded
• 45. Does “Portfolio enhancements” refer to the current portofolio of the Digital Services of NH?: Current and future
• 46. how would you measure a successful “Digital Excellence” optimisation?: To be determined
• 47. Do you have any additional details around skills set and number of people required?: The supplier is expected to provide this as part of their solution
• 48. Are we able to deliver this engagement remotely from outside the UK? (e.g. EEA Region). The potential team woudl be able to travel to the UK for workshops and other key sessions.: Remote working most of the time with the expectation that the supplier will make themselves available on site as defined by NH Digital Services.
• 49. Are you able to detail the remainder of the timeframes for the procurement please.: See response to question 15 above
• 50. Who was the previous incumbent for this framework?: See response to question 2 above
• 51. Do you have an incumbent supplier already providing the required services? If so, how long have they been doing so please?: See response to question 2 above
• 52. Is there an incumbent?: See response to question 2 above
• 53. Is there currently an incumbent for the Digital Services programme?: See response to question 2 above
• 54. Can you please confirm the definition of the ‘optimisation programme’ in question 6 i.e. is it related to improving business outcomes from a digital service through ongoing feature improvement, aimed at improving ongoing ways of working and process maturity (e.g. agile and engineering maturity), or both?: See question 8 above
• 55. Can you please confirm the definition of the ‘optimisation programme’ in question 6 i.e. is it related to improving business outcomes from a digital service through ongoing feature improvement, aimed at improving ongoing ways of working and process maturity (e.g. agile and engineering maturity), or both?: See question 8 above
• 56. The title of the opportunity ‘Digital Excellence’ is also used in questions 1 and 2. Can you confirm the meaning and definition/objectives of the programme?: See question 7 above
• 57. Regarding the first point in the ‘Problem to be solved section’, please could you confirm if this is to support the formation or evolution of an agile CoE?: See question 11 above
• 58. Regarding the third point in the ‘Problem to be solved section’, please could you confirm is this specific to section 2.2.2 and 2.3.1 of the digital data and technology strategy or are there other aspects in consideration?: See question 12 above
• 59. Regarding the fourth point in the ‘Problem to be solved section’, please could you confirm is this across all departments with Digital Services? Are there specific improvement areas targeted?: See question 12 above
• 60. Regarding the sixth point in the ‘Problem to be solved section’, please could we get visibility of the digital services key priorities?: See question 12 above
• 61. Please can you confirm if there is an incumbent and if so, who this is?: See response to question 2 above
• 62. No presentation stage is mentioned in the advert. Please can you confirm that there will be no presentation at Stage 2?: See response to question 3 above
• 63. Can you please clarify what you mean by ‘Digital Excellence’?: See response to question 7 above
• 64. Please could you provide a procurement timetable?: See response to question 15 above
• 65. Please can you define the expected timeframes for the remainder of the procurement.: See response to question 15 above
• 66. How fast do anticipate this work ramping up?: Apologies, we do not understand the detail of the question.
• 67. Regarding delivering programmes “using Agile principles and project frameworks”, does this entail using an agile approach to deliver outcomes or embedding agile principles and frameworks into the programme itself, or both?: See response to question 39 above