Awarded to cxpartners

Start date: Monday 5 November 2018
Value: £600,000
Company size: large

Public Health England

e-Bug Website Redevelopment

13 Incomplete applications

11 SME, 2 large

23 Completed applications

21 SME, 2 large

• Published: Wednesday 27 June 2018
• Deadline for asking questions: Wednesday 4 July 2018 at 11:59pm GMT
• Closing date for applications: Wednesday 11 July 2018 at 11:59pm GMT

Overview

• Summary of the work: To perform Discovery, and potentially other phases, to assess the options of redesigning the e-Bug website (www.e-bug.eu) to better assist students, educators and other stakeholders in an antimicrobial resistance (AMR) setting. This will include exploring user needs and potentially building and launching a digital solution in subsequent phases.
• Latest start date: Monday 24 September 2018
• Expected contract length: 24 months (Total duration of all phases of project)
• Location: No specific location, eg they can work remotely
• Organisation the work is for: Public Health England
• Budget range: £55,000 excluding VAT (Discovery only), Potentially up to approximately £293,000 (excluding VAT) for additional phases

About the work

• Why the work is being done: The e-Bug programme (www.e-bug.eu) is a teaching resource that educates children and young people on hygiene, the spread of infection and antibiotics.; The e-Bug teacher website was built in 2009 and the student webpages added in 2011. Since then, the website has expanded to include new resources for different users. The website is in need of a major update and redevelopment as there have been significant advancements in technology/digital solutions since it was first built. Investigation is needed to assess what the current user need is whilst investigating new user groups and how to attract them.
• Problem to be solved: 1)Assess current/new user needs and explore how to retain/attract them. ; 2)Provide evidence to determine whether there is a case for GOV.UK ; exemption; 3)Explore design and functionality of a new website including incorporating multiple languages; 4)Explore new technology that is now available. The current website ; isn’t responsive on mobile devices/tablets; 5)Explore how e-Bug fits into the new curriculum in England and how ; educational activities can be presented/delivered.; 6)Investigate how/where e-Bug could be listed to increase use/visibility.; 7)Explore possible collaborations with other health organisations; 8)Explore whether e-Bug should remain a separate website or be developed as part of a wider AMR portal.
• Who the users are and what they need to do: 1)Educators in different types of primary and secondary schools, colleges and community settings across a range of ages, experience and seniority; Needs: Access to teaching resources, lesson plans and interactive activities. ; 2)University science students: ; Needs: Access to a peer education section on website. ; 3)Children & vulnerable adults: ; Needs: Access to learning resources i.e. games/quizzes, revision guides and downloading fact files. ; 4)International users including those who have existing Service Level Agreements and pay a fee in order to have their website hosted. ; 5)Healthcare and public health professionals involved in antimicrobial stewardship across the EU, UK and worldwide
• Early market engagement: None
• Any work that’s already been done: Educators have been consulted via surveys and face to face discussions for feedback on the current e-Bug website. This has shown the website to be outdated in design and difficult to navigate through the different sections, for example, the teacher webpages don't link directly to the student webpages. Data from previous research on knowledge change has shown the e-Bug resources, including the teaching packs and online games to significantly improve knowledge in the areas of hygiene, infection and antibiotics. Research has also shown that peer education is an effective method for teaching on e-Bug materials in primary and secondary schools.
• Existing team: The supplier will work with the PHE e-Bug Project team and PHE Digital.
• Current phase: Discovery

Work setup

• Address where the work will take place: The work can be performed from any location but is likely to be co-ordinated by staff in PHE’s London and Gloucester Offices. Gloucester is the primary site for the e-Bug project team.
• Working arrangements: Work may be carried out from multiple locations including the Supplier’s offices. Attendance at PHE Offices in London, Gloucester and in other locations around England will be required for meetings. Supplier staff are expected to be on-site at PHE locations sufficient to manage relationships with senior stakeholders; the project team and users; and, stakeholders and users in other organisations so that the outcomes of the project may be met.
• Security clearance: Enhanced DBS checks will be required

Additional information

• Additional terms and conditions: None

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:
  • E1) Recent and demonstrable experience in conducting the discovery phase relating to the use of digital solutions and technology in similar specialist projects
  • E2) Recent and demonstrable experience of applying the principles of user centred design to the development of digital solutions.
  • E3) Recent and demonstrable experience of designing and/or assessing digital tools to meet the needs of users particularly children/young people and vulnerable adults.
  • E4) Recent and demonstrable experience of redesigning websites incorporating multiple languages, interactive activities/games and other resources to work on a variety of devices including mobile phones, tablets and personal computers.
  • E5) Recent and demonstrable experience of designing systems to manage personally identifying information under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
• Nice-to-have skills and experience:
  • N1) Recent and demonstrable experience of working with healthcare organisations
  • N2) Experience of working with a range of users and stakeholders including scientific experts, international users, technical and digital development teams
  • N3) Recent and demonstrable experience of delivery within an evidence-based policy environment including the development of a value proposition, KPIs and / or other metrics
  • N4) Recent and demonstrable experience of creating educational digital interventions especially for the target use groups set out above.
  • N5) Experience in designing a road map for development of a digital service including supporting cases of GOV.UK exemptions.

How suppliers will be evaluated

• How many suppliers to evaluate: 5
• Proposal criteria:
  • P1) Proposed approach to User Research including children and vulnerable adults in order to meet the outcomes of this project. (max score:40)
  • P2) Proposed approach to Discovery to determine and demonstrate what digital tools and technology can be used to benefit the public health outcomes of this project (max score 30)
• Cultural fit criteria:
  • The Presentation (to be held in September 2018) should summarise the Proposal and also demonstrate the approach that will be used to:
  • C1) Work with the project team’s UK and international stakeholders who have varying experience of agile methods. (4 points)
  • C2) Flexible working arrangements and knowledge sharing; (3 Points)
  • C3) Work within the constraints of existing services, budgets and technologies already used within the programme. (3 points)
• Payment approach: Capped time and materials
• Assessment methods:
  • Written proposal
  • Case study
  • Presentation
• Evaluation weighting:

  Technical competence

  70%

  Cultural fit

  10%

  Price

  20%

Questions asked by suppliers

• 1. Please can you advise on the timelines for the proposal and presentation?: This is to be confirmed but it is likely the Request for Proposal (RFP) will be sent to shortlisted suppliers around 18th July 2018. Suppliers will have 2 weeks to submit their proposals from the date it is sent. The presentations are likely to be during the first and/or 2nd weeks of September 2018 and further clarification shall be provided in the RFP.
• 2. Will the build (post Discovery) be re-procured on DOS as per DOS and spend control guidance?: Any build is dependent on the outcomes of Discovery and therefore this cannot be answered at this time. We are retaining the option to use the same supplier for all phases of the project in which case future phases would not be re-procured. See also the answer to question 4.
• 3. Do you have an incumbent agency and will they be applying for the opportunity?: There is no incumbent supplier.
• 4. Are you going to disregard a supplier who is a Discovery specialists who is not going to do additional phases? Are you only wanting a supplier who could potentially go end-to-end (Discovery, Alpha, Beta), contrary to GDS guidelines?: All applications will be assessed on their individual merits as set out in the DOS Advertisement and as will be further detailed to short listed suppliers in the Request for Proposal. The initial procurement is for Discovery with the option to extend to one or both of Alpha and Beta depending on the outcomes of each phase, and we will consider suppliers who can provide only Discovery or Discovery and Alpha but not Beta.
• 5. Please could you advise on the proposal and presentation timelines for this procurement following the shortlisting stage?: Please see the answer to the question 1.
• 6. Your assessment methods suggest a simple evaluation process shortlisting 5 suppliers to a presentation stage and then appointment. Are you able to sketch out the timeline for this ahead of the expected project start date in September?: Please refer to the "assessment methods" in the advert. Shortlisted suppliers will be required to complete a Request for Proposal (RFP) including case studies and attend a presentation. Please also see the answer for question 1.
• 7. Noting the constraints mentioned in C3 and thinking ahead to potential future phases of work, does PHE have any specific technology preferences or requirements that suppliers should be aware of at this stage?: Suppliers will be expected to follow the guidelines given in the Government Technology Code of Practice: https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/technology
• 8. Should we assume that enhanced DBS checks are required in time for the start of the project and don't need to be evidenced as part of the selection process?: That is correct. However, if a supplier has already undertaken these checks and wishes to state this, they may do so.
• 9. Can you elaborate on your specific rationale for determining whether there is a case for GOV.UK exemption?: This will be determined once the project begins and will form part of the requirements for Discovery. However, Government Digital Service (GDS) have informed PHE that an exemption case must be put forward to support continuation of an e-Bug digital service. Details of GOV.UK exemptions can be found https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/request-an-exemption-from-govuk/exemptions-guidance and we would expect any exemption case to be based on Category C: an online destination outside GOV.UK is critical to meeting user needs.
• 10. Do you have access to users including the children and vulnerable adults, to participate in the user research?: The e-bug team has a list of schools that we have worked with, but under the new data protection laws we may be restricted as to how we can use these. If approved we could give them contact details, but unfortunately we do not have the staffing to undertake any admin for this process.; We have contact details of a group that works with individuals with learning difficulties we can also give details of, who are very likely to participate.; User recruitment will be part of the supplier's obligations.
• 11. Does the PHE project team include a educational content specialist that we can collaborate with to align the content to the national curriculm, or will the supplier be required to supply?: We do not have a specialist. We use teachers, partners and the curriculum websites to keep us up to date with the curriculum changes. PHE will be able to support the alignment of new content with the National Curriculum in England. However, it would be useful if suppliers could review the English National Curriculum during development. In addition, the European partners of the project will also support with the alignment of any new content with their national curricula.
• 12. Can you tell us more about the size and skills of the PHE e-Bug project team? Are there any external partners that will also be involved?: The PHE e-Bug project team is a small multidisciplinary team based in Gloucester (supported by PHE digital) comprised of clinical microbiologists, researchers, psychologists, public health professionals and learning technologists. The e-Bug team involves internal and external collaborators in needs assessment and to obtain customer insights when developing and evaluating any new materials. E-Bug is currently implemented in 23 countries globally and all European and international partners will have the opportunity to feed in to the Discovery process. Partners range from public health professionals, scientific researchers, policy workers, WHO and ECDC representatives
• 13. How frequently do you envisage face-to-face project meetings in London, Gloucester or elsewhere in England being required during a) the discovery phase, and b) the subsequent phases of work within the 24 month contract period?: Face-face meetings will definitely be required, at a minimum to meet initially, to plan project timelines; discuss user data and present final data. Monthly progress meetings will be required but depending on supplier location, can be completed via teleconference or Skype with quarterly face to face meetings in Gloucester, or alternatively with another mutually convenient location within 2 hours travel of Gloucester.
• 14. Will your project team be recruiting user research participants, or do you envisage that being the responsibility of the appointed supplier?: The supplier needs to recruit stakeholders and schools etc, although the e-Bug team may be able to provide some contacts, if within data protection rules.
• 15. Can you elaborate on your specific rationale for determining whether there is a case for GOV.UK exemption?: (Additional information to Question 9.) Currently e-bug has digital exemption as it was EU funded, has 23 different languages with partners and users worldwide , and this allows the website to be separate to PHE and other health related sites and means that it may have a different style to government, NHS or public health websites. Exemption means that the resources do not go through the same approval processes. This allows approved partner administrators to make changes for partners supported by the 23 languages on the website.