Discovery – domestic consumer energy efficiency advice service.

Tender description

Summary of the work In discovery phase; A team that validates the need or otherwise for a digital service by engaging and analysing user needs to understand: personas and user stories, assisted digital needs, user end-to-end journey, technical design/constraints, data sources, existing policy/legislation, a plan for alpha (if appropriate). Expected Contract Length 6 weeks from contract signing date to report publishing for BEIS. Latest start date 26 March 2017. Budget Range Our target budget for the 6 weeks of work is for approximately £55k exclusive of VAT. Why the Work is Being Done Improving the energy efficiency of homes in the UK is important in achieving carbon targets and reducing consumer bills. Accurate, impartial advice is the crucial first step for consumers considering improving the energy efficiency of their property. Advice can include making recommendations of measures consumers could take to improve energy efficiency, as well as assessment for eligibility and referral for available support. BEIS currently provides the Energy Saving Advice Service (“ESAS”) as a phone-only service and the Department is considering transitioning to a digitally led service. Discovery will help validate the need for a service, and identify user needs. Problem to Be Solved Understanding energy efficiency improvements can be complex for consumers, needing to take into account the characteristics of a property and its occupants. There can be an information gap between consumers seeking to make improvements and being able to confidently take action. Eligibility for financial support can vary depending on individual circumstances, the property and its location. Referral routes can be complex and so discourage consumers from taking action. A digitally-led service could reach a broader audience than the existing phone service; however there are a significant proportion of consumers who may require a form of assisted service. Who Are the Users All domestic property occupiers are potential users. They can be better supported by tailored advice based on their property and personal circumstances, and where appropriate be referred directly to schemes providing support. Recommendations may include changes to the property, behavioural change or usage of household appliances. The service will also assess personal circumstances, indicating eligibility for support schemes. The service will need to be flexible to be integrate a range of data sources. The discovery phase will assess the needs of vulnerable consumers regarding assisted services. Early Market Engagement We have conducted a supplier day for suppliers on a Crown Commercial Services framework which may be appropriate for the assisted digital element. Data is available from the existing service. Work Already Done A proof-of-concept pilot of an online advice service has been developed. It would sit alongside the phone advice service and use the same knowledge base for advice. BEIS also owns a variety of tools used to calculating energy savings in the home, and has carried out consumer engagement work related to some of these products. Existing Team The team will be working with employees of BEIS who will act as Service Manager and Product Owner. Current Phase Discovery Skills & Experience • Experience in consumer needs discovery in the context of complex consumer-facing services. • Understanding and analysing drivers behind usage of end-to-end online services. • Understanding of how consumer-facing digital services are constructed, operated and maintained. • Experience in assessing amount of work required and costs of developing consumer-facing online systems. • Experience of working across multiple government departments, including data-sharing protocol. • Experience identifying users who require assisted digital services, including vulnerable consumers, and their respective needs and usage patterns. • Experience working with multiple data sources to analyse how they relate to each other, and how to get maximum service value from them. • Understanding of both legal and data protection issues in using personal data. • Communicating complex issues using clear and concise language in both written and verbal ways to a variety of audiences and expertise levels. Nice to Haves • Demonstrable knowledge of the issues surrounding domestic energy efficiency, particularly in respect of consumer advice and consumer energy usage. • Awareness of recent technological developments in energy generation, energy efficiency measures and energy usage measurements, particularly with reference to ‘smart’ technology. • A familiarity with the principles of behavioural insight and behavioural change. Experience of applying these principles to consumer-facing services, particularly online. • Experience of delivering digital projects in line with the GDS Digital Service Standard. • Experience of leading Discovery projects in the public sector. Work Location Work will take place at BEIS offices (central London) and the supplier site as required. Working Arrangments The successful team will be open to co-location with the BEIS policy team at BEIS HQ for at least part of the working week. Actual arrangements will be agreed at the outset of Discovery. We anticipate an agile working environment based on scrum principles which encourages open and fluid communication across the team. We expect the supplier to suggest and manage the approach and ceremonies that enables this but at the very least we anticipate daily scrums along with weekly meetings. Users and stakeholders are nationwide so we anticipate a requirement to engage users from different regional areas. Security Clearance Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 6 Proposal Criteria • Approach and methodology • Technical solution • Proposed programme of work and estimated timeframes • Team structure (with roles and responsibilities) • Value for money Cultural Fit Criteria • Working transparently and collaboratively across government. • A collaborative and sharing approach, actively seeking input from colleagues and stakeholders. • Adept at communicating technical ideas with non-technical clients, both in writing and verbally. Payment Approach Capped time and materials Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 55% Cultural fit 15% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers 1. Why is BEIS considering transitioning to a digitally-led service? Is there a contract expiry (e.g. with ESAS) or legislative deadline informing or driving this decision? • The contract for the existing ESAS is due to expire in autumn 2017. This, along with recommendations emerging from the independent Each Home Counts review, has led us to consider transitioning to a digitally-led service. This also fits in with wider trends towards digitally-led services across government. 2. Has any commitment to Ministers or Senior Civil Servants been made in relation to development of a digitally-led service? • The project has been through the standard BEIS internal process. 3. Has prior user research been conducted in relation to this service? If so, can BEIS describe the amount, quality and coverage of that prior work? • User research has not yet been conducted in relation to a digitally-led service. 4. What prior data is available? Does BEIS consider the available data to be of good quality? • data exists on usage of the current service. It includes total contact per month, level of service referrals, how users heard about the service, and why they called. We consider this data to be of good quality. 5. Does the Energy Saving Advice Service have any survey or other data on user demographics, or use of the phone service that could inform this Discovery? • The Energy Saving Advice Service has data on the geographic spread of users, but does not record any other demographic data. 6. Has any documentation, PR, policy or legislation been published in relation to this work? If so, can BEIS share links to that work? • No documentation, PR, policy or legislation has been published in relation to this work. Suppliers may, however, find the independent Each Home Counts review useful, insofar as it discussed consumer advice in relation to energy efficiency. It can be found online at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/578749/Each_Home_Counts__December_2016_.pdf 7. Does BEIS have any contracts in place through which procurement of user research participants for *this* Discovery could take place? • BEIS does not have any such contracts in place. 8. Would payments in relation to recruitment or incentivisation of user research participants have to come from the (max) £55k budget for this work or is a separate budget available? • We anticipate any supplier that wishes to pay or incentivise user research participants in this way would do so out of the existing budget. 9. Have the BEIS Service Manager / Product Owner had any prior training or experience in agile, user-centred delivery methods as mandated in the Service Manual and Service Standard? • Both Service Manager and Product Owner are undertaking training in agile project delivery. 10. Can Travel and Accommodation expenses e.g. for remote user research visits be claimed in addition to the stated £55k budget for this work? • The successful supplier will be expected to fund their own travel and accommodation expenses. 11. If the Discovery team are not based in London would BEIS cover Travel and / or accommodation costs for team travel to BEIS London in addition to the stated £55k budget for this work? • The successful supplier will be expected to fund their own travel and accommodation expenses. 12. Has the existing proof-of-concept pilot for an online advice service be tested with any users? If so, how successful would BEIS say that testing has been? Would those same users be available for further testing if we developed further designs to be tested? • The proof-of-concept pilot has been subject to internal testing to ensure that the outputs are robust. 13. Will people from the Energy Saving Advice Service be available for calls, meetings or interviews in relation to the existing phone service? If not, will BEIS staff knowledgeable about the existing service be available and have time to spend working with the Discovery team? • The Energy Saving Advice Service will be available for such contact in relation to the existing phone service, as will BEIS staff 14. Has budget been identified and committed for an Alpha phase should Discovery prove successful? If yes, how large is this budget? • We anticipate that Discovery will inform the scale of the Alpha phase, which will help inform the final budget for the phase. 15. What parts of the UK will users of this service come from? Does Discovery need to consider the needs of the devolved administrations or users in the regions run by the devolved administrations? • Users of this service will come from England and Wales. Discovery will need to consider the needs of all users within England and Wales, as (for example) coverage of energy-saving schemes often varies between areas. 16. Can BEIS give examples of the type, volume and nature of data sources to be considered as part of this Discovery? • Data sources include (but are not limited to): property assessment tools based on the government’s Standard Assessment Procedure, property data from sources such as the valuation office agency, energy performance certificates, the Green Deal Register. 17. Will the successful supplier be required to use equipment provided by BEIS, e.g. laptops, in order to perform this work? If yes, will such equipment be available on the first day of work? • We anticipate that the successful supplier will use their own equipment to carry out work on Discovery. 18. Has BEIS already identified a pool of user research participants, including AD users, with which user research can be conducted? If yes, have appointments already been set up with these participants that coincide with the Discovery period? • We anticipate that a successful supplier will identify user research participants for the Discovery period. 19. Has the existing service or a prior Discovery phase already been assessed against the Service Standard ? If so, what were the results? • The existing service has not been assessed against the Service Standard. No prior discovery phase has taken place. 20. Is it possible to arrange a webinar to present the "proof-of-concept pilot of an online advice service that has been developed" This would significantly improve our understanding of your needs • Within the time constraints of this tender exercise it is not possible to arrange a webinar. 21. You make reference to integrating a large range of data sources - are these sources on the same technology stack (i.e. SQL) or does the technology stack vary between sources? At this stage is the requirement discovery of those data sources and suggested pathways for integration? or something greater? • At this stage we are looking for data sources to be fully identified, analysed and integration suggested. 22. Was the PoC successful? If not is a new PoC required during in this phase? • The proof-of-concept has demonstrated that an end-to-end consumer journey is possible online. It is based on journeys through the phone service and should not be considered a definitive solution to meet user needs for a digital service, which will need to be evidenced in this phase. 23. In the summary of work you mention data sources and a plan for alpha - but in "work that has already been done" you have stated that a PoC has been created that uses the same knowledge base as the phone service. Are the data sources you refer to the shared knowledge base backend? Is the PoC going to be morphed into the live system? if so what technology stack does the PoC use and what technology stack does the backend use? • Some data sources that could be included are beyond the scope of the phone service. The PoC is largely based on systems used by the phone service, and some of these could (and may have to) be substituted for a digitally led service. We expect this to be clarified during this phase. 24. Please can you confirm that participating in the Discovery phase will not preclude organisations being involved in subsequent procurements related to the service. • That is correct. Subsequent procurements relating to the service will not be prejudiced by having been involved (or otherwise) in the Discovery phase. 25. Please confirm that you are seeking the following Resource types to join an BEIS Agile Discovery Analysis team? a. Scrum Master to lead the Agile team b. Business Analyst c. User eXperience (UX) Designer d. Solution Architect • It is up to prospective suppliers to propose the resources that they feel would best deliver the outcomes within the project budget. 26. Please confirm that the expected Outputs of this Discovery Phase are as follows a. Set of Epics or User Stories reflecting Stakeholder Requirements and providing a Scope definition for the subsequent phases. b. Set of Solution Options with Recommendations for implementing the Digital Platform to deliver this Online Advice Service. c. Set of User Interface designs including data visualisations to act as indicative examples of the ultimate solution style. • At a high level, this is accurate, particularly concerning the User Stories and User Interface designs. We would anticipate that all outputs, especially the Solution Options, would go into detail regarding the context and implications on the wider subject area. 27. Could you provide metrics on the number of Stakeholders expected to participate in this Discovery Phase and any anticipated logistical constraints associated with communicating with Stakeholders e.g. ability to travel to BEIS London offices for any required face to face activities, use of teleconference, video conference and screen sharing facilities? • The successful supplier will have scope to identify stakeholders. However, we anticipate this will include: BEIS policy colleagues covering areas including fuel poverty, supplier obligations and consumer protection amongst others. Suppliers will likely wish to travel to BEIS London offices to engage with internal stakeholders as well as the internal team. Teleconference facilities will be available for discussions with BEIS colleagues. Suppliers will need to discuss with external stakeholders the most appropriate method of contact, which may require travel or use of teleconference. 28. Could you describe the project organisation structure that you anticipate that the successful Vendor will fit within ? • It is up to prospective suppliers to propose the project organisation structure that they feel would best deliver the outcomes within the project budget. 29. Could you advise which, if any, 3rd parties have assisted with the development of POCs to date? • The proof-of-concept was developed by the supplier of the phone service, in collaboration with their software partner 30. Please confirm whether you anticipate that the successful Vendor will manage the BEIS Agile Discovery Analysis team i.e. be responsible for creating all the Analysis Artefacts to be produced? • We anticipate that the successful Vendor will be responsible for creating the Analysis Artefacts produced during this phase. 31. Can you please provide the data available from the existing service, as mentioned in the Market Engagement section? • The existing phone service took 147,000 calls in 2015/16 and has taken 88,000 between April 2016 and January 2017. The average call time in 2016/17 has been 11 minutes. Callers have predominantly accessed the service via internet search (40%), energy suppliers (23%) and through word-of-mouth (12%). Callers have predominantly called with issues relating to heating (52%), insulation (21%) and behavioural advice (12%). Further data will be available to the successful supplier. 32. Regarding the Proof-of-Concept. Could you provide further information on the customer segment this was targeted at and the reason for choosing that segment. Is it based on user research already completed? Have you performed formal user research using the PoC and members of the target customer segment? It would help us understand what stage to start our user research process. • The Proof-of-Concept was developed based on the phone service, and was to be targeted at similar users. The Proof-of-Concept has not been released, but has been internally tested to ensure it reaches the appropriate recommendations. 33. Please can you also provide any information used at the Supplier Day. Thank you. • The project has changed since the Supplier Day, and so information on specifications and timetables have since been superseded. We therefore consider that it may be unhelpful to supply that information. 34. Does BEIS consider this work to be in or out of scope of IR35? • We would refer suppliers to the gov.uk guidance relating to IR35, including a tool provided by HMRC https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-employment-status-for-tax. 35. Could you describe the types of subject matter experts that ideally should be consulted on the solution? • The successful supplier will have scope to identify stakeholders. However, we anticipate this will include: BEIS policy colleagues and stakeholders within industry and the charitable sector, covering areas including energy efficiency advice, fuel poverty, supplier obligations and consumer protection amongst others. 36. Do you have an existing solution(s) in mind, or is there an opportunity to define this from scratch? • We anticipate that the project will define and develop a solution from scratch. 37. Will you be able to share (in due course) as to why changing peoples mindset/behaviours in this space has proved to be challenging? • We anticipate that exploring challenges within consumer energy efficiency advice, in particular engaging consumers, will be a key element of the discovery process, and will assist the successful supplier in understanding this. 38. In previous projects what internal challenges have you faced implementing digital services? • This is the first such digital service the team has sought to implement. 39. Is an early project commencement date viewed as a competitive advantage? • We anticipate that project commencement date will be considered when shortlisting suppliers. 40. Can you explain the pitch process, after being shortlisted? • We will confirm the requirements of the presentation with suppliers at the point they are shortlisted. 41. Are you able to share the materials from the proof of concept pilot? • We will share materials from the proof-of-concept pilot with suppliers who are shortlisted. 42. Can you share who conducted the proof-of-concept pilot? And is there an incumbent supplier? • The proof-of-concept was developed by the supplier of the phone service, in collaboration with their software partner. 43. Do you have a preference on the number of examples required within the 100 words? • We have no preference on how suppliers choose to meet the tender requirements. 44. Will there be a supplier webinar to talk through the requirements for this tender? If so, please can you provide details. • Within the time constraints of this tender exercise it is not possible to arrange a webinar. 45. Could define what is meant by "Understanding of how consumer-facing digital services are constructed, operated and maintained." and how this applies to Discovery activities? • We anticipate that the successful supplier will have knowledge of how consumer-facing digital services are built to ensure they cater to user needs. They will have knowledge of how to ensure they are operated in such a way that they continue to cater to user needs. Applying this knowledge in Discovery is a key part of ensuring the later stages of the project continue to cater to user needs. 46. Do the current BEIS tools that have been developed feed into the knowledgebase used over the phone? • To what extent would we have access to analysts at BEIS to better understand the tools, knowledgebase and the structure of any data? • The current BEIS tools have been developed independently of the phone service. The successful supplier would have access to colleagues at BEIS that have worked on the tools, knowledge base, and the structure of any data. 47. following our previous question re proof of concept - Is it to simply prove that it’s possible to consolidate the knowledgebase used into a type of online form that can give people answers based on input questions? Or have they got design elements and functioning logic within it?  Has it been tested with users?  Can it be tested with users? • Can you share the results of the consumer engagement work conducted in relation to the tools developed by BEIS? Or would this form part of initial desk research? • The proof-of-concept was developed to prove that the advice route provided by the phone service can be replicated online, based on user input It has been subject to internal testing and research to ensure that the outputs are robust. We anticipate that work concerning other tools developed by BEIS would form part of the research within this project. 48. This is described as a discovery project, and yet a proof of concept has already been developed. Please can you give us more detail about the proof of concept and how it relates to this discovery project? • The proof-of-concept was developed by the supplier of the existing phone service. It relates to the discovery project insofar as a demonstration that it is possible to provide consistent, accurate, and tailored advice including savings estimate, and where appropriate scheme eligibility assessment. We anticipate the proof-of-concept will be relevant to the discovery project, but we do not have a view as to how it informs the work produced. 49. Do we need to carry out user research for these variety of tools used to calculate energy savings in home? If yes, how many tools are there in the scope? • The successful supplier will have access to the variety of tools, and may wish to carry out user research on them where they deem there is value to the project in doing so. It is important to note that the commercial feasibility of using any particular tool will need to be considered. The Department will determine the calculation methodology that must be used to calculate energy savings in the home or business. 50. Can this online ‘Proof-of-Concept’ service be used as an online prototype to conduct the user research in order to validate user needs? • We have no view on whether the proof-of-concept service is appropriate to be used to conduct user research. However, it is important to note that the PoC is based upon systems that underpin the phone service and may not be appropriate for a live digitally led service. 51. Was there any user research done to develop this ‘Proof-of-concept’? Is that available to be used in Discovery phase? • The proof-of-concept pilot has been subject to internal testing and research to ensure that the outputs are robust. Research was carried out on usage on the phone service which will be available. 52. Regarding the assessment of Assisted digital service, how many interviews you are considering to be appropriate – 20, 30, 40, 50? Asking this because these would be a face-to-face user research sessions. Also, do you have access to this user base and can you recruit them for us to conduct the user research? • The successful supplier will identify the number of and recruit user research participants for the discovery period. 53. When you say ‘the service will need to be flexible to integrate with a range of data sources’ – Are these data sources to pull information from or push information to or both? How many are we talking about as a ballpark? • The data sources referred to are largely to pull information from based upon user input. We anticipate that discovery will explore where data sources exist and where there will be opportunities in future to incorporate data sources which are not yet fully developed. In certain circumstances there could be a need to push user data to other entities for validation and (if successful), subsequent processing. 54. Is the scope of this project to convert the complete phone-only service into a digitally led service? Or you are thinking about a smaller scope as ‘MVP’? • The scope of this project is discovery for a digital-by-default successor service to the phone-only service. We anticipate that there are opportunities for a service to represent more than a conversion of the phone service. 55. Do you have any list of initial user needs that could be used as hypothesis while testing it out in Discovery? • User needs will include those based around needing advice on achieving home energy efficiency - including for example installing energy saving measures, accessing local and national schemes to support the installation of energy saving measures (in particular through the Energy Company Obligation) and making behavioural changes to achieve energy savings. We anticipate that these will form the starting point to explore user needs in more detail during Discovery. 56. Do you have any list of initial user needs that could be used as hypothesis while testing it out in Discovery? • User needs will include those based around needing advice on achieving home energy efficiency - including for example installing energy saving measures, accessing local and national schemes to support the installation of energy saving measures (in particular through the Energy Company Obligation) and making behavioural changes to achieve energy savings. We anticipate that these will form the starting point to explore user needs in more detail during Discovery. 57. Do you have data and statistics from the phone-only service to gather insight on the current service usage? • The existing phone service took 147,000 calls in 2015/16 and has taken 88,000 between April 2016 and January 2017. The average call time in 2016/17 has been 11 minutes. Callers have predominantly accessed the service via internet search (40%), energy suppliers (23%) and through word-of-mouth (12%). Callers have predominantly called with issues relating to heating (52%), insulation (21%) and behavioural advice (12%). Further data will be available to the successful supplier. 58. Do you have a Technical architect in the team to provide information and have discussion for the technical design/constraints? • The existing team at BEIS comprises the Service Manager and Product Owner. We anticipate all other roles proposed by the supplier would be part of the supplier’s proposal. 59. When you say ‘a plan for alpha’ - does that include anything other than the below?: 1) How you’d start developing a new service if discovery finds there’s a user need for one 2) The people needed in the team for the alpha phase • Should Discovery find there is a user need for a service, we anticipate the plan for alpha will include, but will not necessarily be limited to: what the user needs are, how the service can meet the user needs, what team will be for the alpha phase. We expect that suppliers may want to explore additional recommendations for the alpha phase where appropriate. 60. Re timeline for the procurement. We understand that we need to submit Skills and Experience by 10th March. Please can you provide us ASAP the dates for when you require Proposal and Presentation? • We will provide the dates for Presentation when informing suppliers of being shortlisted, on the basis of the skills and experience/written proposal to be submitted by 10th March. However, we would anticipate it would be a matter of days after shortlisting, rather than weeks. 61. Could you provide documentation or other details concerning the POC Pilot work referenced? • We will share materials from the proof-of-concept pilot with suppliers who are shortlisted.