PU-17/0100 - Address Index

Tender description

Summary of the work Office for National Statistics are looking for suppliers to further develop it's Address Index work-stream which is moving into Beta. We are looking for a high quality supplier who has significant experience working and delivering in address 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 Address Index being developed under this beta will be used to underpin the 2021 census and statistical work across ONS. The development is of an address referencing service and includes tools to manage and match complex address data. We estimate the development to deliver the Minimum Viable Product will be around 6 months. Problem to Be Solved Tools to allow management and matching of address data; building a matching & querying service; (controlled) access to stored address data and the matching service via an API Gateway, expanding the use of the index to include attribute data (information about each address), linking to Business Index data. Who Are the Users Users are initially ONS business areas including census - but options for wider use of the service by other government departments are being investigated. Users will be able match individual addresses and batches of addresses as well as extract samples and frames from the data store. Early Market Engagement n/a Work Already Done The Address Index is now moving into Beta Phase. During Discovery and Alpha we have delivered an agreed technical stack and built functional products around query and matching using multiple data sources. 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 August to work alongside the supplier. Current Phase Alpha Skills & Experience • Expertise in Agile/Scrum/Kanban = 2 points • Expertise in Full Cloudera Stack = 2 Points • Expertise in SQL/NoSQL databases (data matching expertise) = 2 points • Expertise in Restful API's(inc: security functional and non-functional requirements) = 2 points • Elastic Search/Matching expertise (preferably on addresses) = 3 points • Expertise of developing in Address/Data Engineering and Data Management Services = 2 points • Expertise in Cloud Foundry (Scala,Python,Play,Selenium/BOSH/Manifest or docker) = 3 points • 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) = 3 points • Experience in automation testing environments & continuous integration & deployment (Jenkins) = 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 point • Security knowledge of Cloud Foundry on AWS or local tin = 1 point Work Location The Address Index staff will be located in our Titchfield Office in Fareham Hampshire. It is expected the team will be co-located at this location but willing to travel between our Titchfield and Newport (Wales) locations and potentially other governments departments as required. Working Arrangments The team will be expected to work 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 on-site for a five day working week with some flexibility built in for travel arrangements. 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. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • Technical Solutions = 5 points • Approach & Methodology = 5 points • 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. What team size are you expecting - and can you clarify budget range, which are two heavily linked questions. The size of the team has not been agreed but from an organisational perspective we like to work with teams of 7-10. On the Address Index there is likely to be a blended approach using internal and external resource. No set costs have been agreed for delivery of the Beta phase, however we are aware of current market rates for the approximate team size we are looking for and applications will be looked at on cost, value and quality basis. 2. 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 and Alpha stage was delivered by our current external suppliers. All applicants will be assessed using the same scoring matrix against the competencies required in compliance with the Digital Marketplace procurement rules and regulations. 3. You have two locations (Titchfield and South Wales) and modern DevOps projects are commonly carried out across multiple locations. Are you willing to drop the onsite requirement so that the work can be undertaken in the EU in Central and Eastern Europe? It would save tax payers lots of money & provide access to skills without a degradation in service. The supplier team for the Address Index will need to be co-located in our Titchfield Office in Hampshire with some occasional travel to Newport (Wales) and other government departments. Due to the level offsite stakeholder engagement and knowledge transfer to internal staff during Beta these are essential criteria. Although we are flexible on ad-hoc days away from the locations as agreed. 4. 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? 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. Will the present external suppliers be eligible to bid for the Beta stage of this programme? Yes the current external suppliers will be eligible to bid for the Beta Stage 6. Are there any outputs that you can share from the Discovery and Alpha stage? The discovery phase identified initial user stories but the requirements have developed during alpha.The alpha stage :Developed an address matching function to test standard delivering proof of concept for single and bulk matches (as outlined in the tender document)Agreed the technology stack (which is reflected in the essential experience criteria section of the procurement tender document)Developed query and extract services to test standard