PU-17/0089 - Business Index

Tender description

Summary of the work Office for National Statistics are looking for suppliers to further develop it's Business Index work-stream which is moving into Beta. We are looking for a high quality supplier who has significant experience working and delivering in data focused and data engineering environments using agile techniques. Expected Contract Length Minimum 6 months Latest start date 15/08/2016 Why the Work is Being Done The aim of the Business Index is to provide a definitive, uniquely identified list of businesses in the UK. This will be built by joining a range of administrative data sources and de-duplicating these to create a unique view of each business. We estimate the development to deliver the Minimum Viable Product will be around 6 months. Problem to Be Solved Silo based approach across government departments (many indexes/registers doing the same thing), Multiple Government Business identifiers, All businesses not currently captured in one central source, All business not currently captured by Government, Data Sharing Legislation currently a blocker restricting access and use, Access to data via API Gateway, Build a matching & querying service, Build De-duplication engine Who Are the Users As a government department I need to identify all UK businesses through a single Business Index so that I can inform make informed decisions on economic and social policy. Work Already Done The Business Index is now moving into Beta Phase. During Discovery and Alpha we have delivered an agreed technical stack and built a functional concept product with matching, de-duplication (aligning business data from multiple sources into a single source) and query service. Existing Team The team will work with a range of internal product managers who are subject matter experts in index and register development. Currently the team has been assigned an ONS Delivery Manager and an ONS Business Analyst to work alongside the supplier, it is envisaged that two ONS Software engineers will be assigned in September to work alongside the supplier. Current Phase Alpha Skills & Experience • Developer experience in Agile/Scrum/Kanban = 1 points • Expertise in Full Cloudera Stack = 2 Points • Expertise in SQL/NoSQL databases (specifically Elasticsearch) = 2 points • Expertise in Restful API's(inc: security functional and non-functional requirements) = 2 points • Experience in CI tools (Jenkins) = 2 points • Expertise of developing in Data Engineering and Data Management Services = 2 points • Expertise in Cloud Foundry (Python,Scala,Selenium/BOSH/Manifest or docker) = 2 points • Jenkins and Github experience = 1 points • Experience of working in sensitive data environment = 2 points • Experience in set up, configure and build images = 2 points • Development & transformation experience in digital service in 'brownfield' & 'greenfield' estates = 2 points • Expertise in Data/Security IT Architecture (both solution and technically focused) = 2 points • Experience in relational and non-relational databases in multiple formats = 2 points • Expert in cloud technologies: design, planning. security, integration = 2 points • Experience in automation testing environments & continuous integration & deployment = 2 points • Expert in SOA and mircro services = 2 points • Expert in Performance and operating metrics on product service = 2 points Nice to Haves • Experience of the GDS Service Manual = 1 point • Experience of working across government agencies = 1 points • Security knowledge of Cloud Foundry on AWS or local tin = 1 point Work Location The Business Index staff will be located in Newport (Wales) Office. It is expected the team be co-located at this location but willing to travel between our Titchfield and Newport (Wales) locations as required. Working Arrangments The team will be expected alongside internal resource to build and develop the required products. Integrated into the supplier agreement will be a knowledge transfer during the transition to a more permanent operating model. The teams will be co-located and expected to work a on-site for a five day working week with flexibility build in for travel arrangements. Expense payments will be discussed and agreed on successful application. The teams will be expected to work within an Agile Delivery environment and be able to coach and mentor internal staff. Security Clearance All members of the supplier team must be SC Cleared to the required Civil Service Standard prior to commencing contractual work. Additional T&Cs Standard Contract Terms & Conditions will apply although the customer can review and amend in consultation and agreement with the supplier. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • Technical Solutions = 5 points • Approach & Methodology = 5 points • Approach the approach or solution meets user needs = 5 points • How the approach or solution meets the organisation policy or goal = 2 points • Estimated timeframes = 2 points • Identify risks and dependencies, approaches to manage them = 2 points • Team Structure = 2 points • Value for Money = 2 points Cultural Fit Criteria • Work as a team with our organisation and other suppliers = 5 points • Transparent & Collaborative when making decision = 5 points • Have the user and customer needs at the core of decision making = 5 points • No blame culture and encourage people to learn from their mistakes = 5 points Payment Approach Time and materials Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 20% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers 1. Please can you confirm what level of security clearance is required? Is it BCSS or SC? We can obtain BCSS clearance by XX/XX but ONS will need to apply for SC on our behalf and there will be a lead-time while it is obtained before our people can be onsite. Or can they be onsite pending SC clearance? All applicants must be SC cleared. We will still accept and consider applications where the organisation has applied for SC clearance but the process is waiting to be completed. It is the responsibility of the organisation to complete SC process 2. Can you confirm the main development language is Scala with some Python? The main development language to be used in the Business Index is Scala (We use Python as part of ONS Technical Stack so knowledge of this would be advantageous) 3. Were any external suppliers involved in delivering the Discovery/Alpha? If yes, how will ONS ensure a level playing field for this subsequent procurement? The Discovery work for the Business Index was managed by the Governments Business Innovation and Skills Department. The work transferred over to ONS to deliver the Alpha stage where an external supplier was used. All applicants will be evaluated based on their evidence and responses using the same scoring matrix against the competencies required in compliance with government procurement rules and regulations. 4. Further clarification answer to question 1:Please can you confirm what level of security clearance is required? Is it BCSS or SC? We can obtain BCSS clearance by 15/08 but ONS will need to apply for SC on our behalf and there will be a lead-time while it is obtained before our people can be onsite. Or can they be onsite pending SC clearance? The level of security required is SC. ONS would sponsor the successful individual and process any new applications or invoke a transfer of existing clearance from another government department. to enable onsite working. Onsite working without SC clearance is permitted in special circumstances while the process is being completed, however if an individual failed to gain the SC clearance then they would be potentially removed from the environment. 5. What specific skills are you looking for in the "Full Cloudera Stack" versus more general use of Hadoop? The specific skills we require under the "Full Cloudera Stack" are: Impala, Sqoop, HDFS and experience of HBase would be advantageous (experience of using Elasticsearch is required as this is embedded with the solution).