A service to efficiently manage information requests; from submission to publication.

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done Hackney Council receive c.1800 Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Requests per year. These need to be responded to within 20 working days of receiving a valid request. The Council receives c.150 Subject Access Requests which need to be defined, verified, collated, redacted and released within 40 calendar days (30 days from May 2018) of receiving a valid request and ID. This work is being done to improve efficiency in the back office processes to improve our level of compliance, and the quality of the information service provided to our residents and the public at large. Problem to Be Solved Requests are managed on two systems - neither manage the whole process. Requesters must specify which type of request they are submitting. Requests subject to both DPA and FOI are harder to manage. Requesters are given no assistance in compiling a clear and valid request - this would increase the quality of response and streamline processes. We do not publish FOI responses; this would increase transparency and may reduce volume of requests. Requests that span Council services cannot be tracked and collated easily. Reporting requires manual effort. There are software limitations - deadline calculation and ability to stop the clock. Who Are the Users As a member of the public I want to be provided with all of the information that I want or need so that I can satisfy my query. As a director I need to review and approve responses containing information relating to my business area so that I can ensure they are correct and of the right quality. As a champion I need to see all requests that require my input and their status , so that I can prioritise them and collate the information on time. Early Market Engagement Work Already Done A project manager is in place and some initial discovery has begun, with as-is and to-be workshops coming up over the next month. Existing Team The team consists of one project manager. The information management team are available as subject matter experts but are not dedicated to the project. Current Phase Discovery Work Location The supplier can alternate between Council offices in Mare Street, London E8 and its own office (if relevant). Working Arrangments The supplier can alternate between Council offices in Mare Street, London E8 and its own office (if relevant). Security Clearance Additional T&Cs Skills & Experience Have experience of working to the user-centred, Agile approaches set out in the Government Digital Service manual Blend multi-disciplinary skills, including user research, service design, front-end development and business analysis Be able to provide examples of similar projects where they've produced a user portal with back office workflow. Have some knowledge of user needs, and information legislation Be willing for their work to be assessed publicly against the local government digital service standard Have experience of introducing Lean business process mapping Work openly and iteratively with the project team and be prepared to talk about its work Support the team in learning user-centred, Agile approaches Nice to Haves Be prepared to share risk and/or reward with the Council if the service is attractive to other authorities Transfer knowledge to help the onward development of the service Challenge the emerging Hackney Agile Lifecycle to show how we can better develop user-centred services incrementally No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria How the proposed methods supports our goal Team structure, including skills, experiences and relevance of individuals Experience of the method of working from previous projects How they’ve identified risks and dependencies and offered approaches to manage them Estimated timeframes for the work Cultural Fit Criteria Work openly and iteratively with the project team and be prepared to talk about its work Support the team in learning user-centred, Agile approaches Transfer knowledge to help the onward development of the service Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Written proposal Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 10% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers Budget range