Department for International Trade

LITE Programme to replace SPIRE licensing import system

4
Incomplete applications
1 SME, 3 large
3
Completed applications
1 SME, 2 large
Published Tuesday 3 July 2018
Deadline for asking questions Tuesday 10 July 2018 at 11:59pm GMT
Closing date for applications Tuesday 17 July 2018 at 11:59pm GMT

Overview

Summary of the work Department for International Trade require a supplier for the 'LITE' programme to deliver specific work packages which will create a new licensing platform for exporting and importing strategically controlled goods.
Latest start date Wednesday 1 August 2018
Expected contract length 8 months with an option for a further 6-12 months extension at DIT's discretion
Location London
Organisation the work is for Department for International Trade
Budget range The budget is in the range £0.9-1.1M to cover a design, content and development team. Delivery management will be delivered in house.

This budget that has been approved by DIT and HMT for LITE 2018/19

About the work

Why the work is being done DIT has an existing contract for the delivery of a new controlled goods licensing system due to expire at the end of July 2018. Under this contract a private beta has been developed and DIT now need a new contract to carry forward the private beta into a public beta. The intention is to replace the current legacy service with a modern application which gives DIT the tools to approve (or not) the export of controlled goods while improving the exporting process for traders. The control of these goods is a statutory requirement under the Export Control Act 2008.
Problem to be solved The LITE programme requires a design and development team to deliver to specified work packages. The scope covers design, application development and system testing. Work package 1 will focus on exporting goods and people assessment tools including assessment by DIT, MOD and FCO. Work package 2 will focus on re-platforming the importing system away from SPIRE and onto GOV.uk PaaS. Work Package 3 will focus on understanding if the future requirements for import licensing can be developed using the designs and technologies created for export licensing public Beta.
Who the users are and what they need to do Internal users include but are not limited to staff in Export Control Joint Unit and associated staff at the MOD and the FCO.
External users range from one-person businesses to SMEs to large corporations who manufacture controlled goods and export them to other countries.
Early market engagement
Any work that’s already been done Phase 1 of LITE has been built with aim to release a private beta in summer 2018.
This comprises a tool that assesses Military controlled goods and helps with registering to export them if a licence is not needed.
Existing team There is an existing digital team in place but contracts run out in July 2018 after the delivery of the private beta. A service manager and delivery manager will remain as internal DIT staff to ensure continuity. A legacy system (SPIRE) is currently live, with a support team currently in place who will remain so under a separate support contract. The replacement system (LITE) is currently progressing into private BETA.
Current phase Beta

Work setup

Address where the work will take place Windsor House, 50 Victoria St, Westminster, London SW1H 0TL
Working arrangements Working arrangements are expected to be flexible and best configured for the project and supplier teams. Onsite work in Windsor House with regular meetings at 3 Whitehall Place and occasional visits to other UK sites for engagement with customs staff, e.g. ports and airports.
Security clearance Supplier shall apply employee screening controls including verifying:
- Identity
- Nationality and Immigration Status
- Employment history
- Criminal History
All staff must hold or be prepared to undergo SC Security Clearance to operate on this project.

Additional information

Additional terms and conditions DOS2 Framework terms and conditions apply subject to elaborations, clarifications, additional terms and conditions identified at ITT stage for shortlisted suppliers and:
•Rate card and Travel & Subsistence.
•Conflict of Interest/Ethical Walls safeguards (applies to all sub-programme and ‘spin off’ activities whether procured via DOS or other contracting route).

Main charging approach:
Agreed deliverables against the defined phases on a roadmap to a live service. This roadmap is to be approved by the programme board.

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
  • Data led transformation of an existing service, taking advantage of more modern approaches to licensing e.g. following the GDS principle of “design with data” (1%)
  • Team experience of development using an Agile Scrum methodology, operating in sprints and aligning their development activities to the GDS Digital Service Standard (1%)
  • Practical experience of working within a complex test environment ensuring appropriate test coverage (1%)
  • Experience of secure development practices for high integrity systems, working with mature and controlled software development processes and legacy systems. (1%)
  • Evidence of working closely with a business unit that operates in a complicated regulatory environment (1%)
  • Credible and referenced proof of experience and excellent technical competence in Java using Play or Python and Django (1%)
  • Experience of development pipeline tooling, specifically Git source code repository, defect tracking systems (JIRA and Confluence), continuous integration tools (Jenkins) and automated testing frameworks (1%)
  • Evidence of complex content design activity particularly using triage models from detailed specification content eg a licensing or classification process (1%)
Nice-to-have skills and experience
  • Teams should be self-motivated, having an ability to work on their own initiative and without constant direction, but also be able to work collaboratively with DIT staff (1%)
  • Experience of working in relevant business domains i.e. Licensing and international trade (1%)
  • Experience of working within a good governance model using agile, user centred development iteration (1%)
  • Migration of SSO, profiles and identity management tools from legacy to new service design led approaches (1%)
  • Contribution, development and maintenance of a common department wide taxonomy, using internal and international reference data (1%)
  • Experience of service design led approaches to transformation in government with multiple government departments at beta phase (1%)

How suppliers will be evaluated

How many suppliers to evaluate 3
Proposal criteria
  • Service design capability (10%)
  • Delivery Capability – Development & Test (10%)
  • Support Capability - Level 3 support to production (10%)
  • Resourcing table and CVs - core team roles (6%)
  • Transition and Exit (10%)
Cultural fit criteria
  • Experience in multi-department transformation (3%)
  • Experience working with public sector organisations (3%)
  • Ability to work collaboratively with key stakeholders (2%)
  • Collaboration Approach (2%)
Payment approach Capped time and materials
Assessment methods
  • Written proposal
  • Case study
  • Work history
  • Reference
  • Presentation
Evaluation weighting

Technical competence

60%

Cultural fit

10%

Price

30%

Questions asked by suppliers

No questions have been answered yet