Discovery of a Teachers' Student Loan Reimbursement Service

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done The Department, delivering on a manifesto commitment, is developing a service to enable eligible teachers to apply for student loan reimbursements to help increase recruitment and retention in areas of most need. Problem to Be Solved By 1st September 2019, we need a business solution and operating system that allows us to verify and process claims in an timely and automated way on a yearly basis for at least 10 years. Who Are the Users As a teacher, I need to be able to make an application so I can receive my student loan reimbursement. As the Department for Education, we need to be able to verify and process claims so we can reimburse student loans. Early Market Engagement Work Already Done Existing Team Senior Responsible Officer (Assistant Director), Product Owner Current Phase Discovery Work Location Department for Education, Piccadilly Gate, Store Street, Manchester. M1 2WD Working Arrangments Working principally from DfE's Manchester office, maximising opportunity for engagement with policy units and stakeholders. Some travel to other DfE sites, and to meet users is expected. Expenses must be included in the contract sum, there is no separate budget for this. Operate a standard agile scrum methodology: daily stand-ups, sprint planning, sprints, retrospectives, show and tells. Supplier will lead by being a role model in agile working. They will need to collaborate with our team and invest time in knowledge sharing and coaching to increase DfE staff capability. Product owner works part-time, 4 days a week. Security Clearance Additional T&Cs Skills & Experience Examples of delivering digital services using an agile team (per the GDS Service Manual) and meet the Digital Service Standard/Tech Code of Practice Demonstrate experience designing services for a wide range of digital skills and confidence Experience in leading an agile team as well as to coach, mentor and upskill people in agile techniques and roles to build capability within existing teams Be agnostic of any particular software, enabling us to consider a range of options to meet user needs Demonstrate experience of a range of User Research methods Nice to Haves Experience of developing design patterns that can be re-used for other services Demonstrate experience of managing and proactively engaging internal stakeholders and building relationships to support digital transformation Demonstrate experience of delivering services for UK government departments or public bodies Demonstrate knowledge and experience of working in the schools sector Demonstrate experience of passing GDS Service Standard Assessments No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria Clear approach with evidence that it will successfully identify user needs Plan of activities with clear deliverables and dates that demonstrate completion of the project within the required timescales Clear team structure and demonstration of how their skills and experience will deliver the requirement Evidence that the supplier has an understanding of the policy landscape and that the proposal is relevant to that context Identification of key assumptions, dependencies, risks and issues, with robust mitigation plans Evidence of how the proposal represents value for money for DfE Cultural Fit Criteria Demonstrate your approach to engaging with internal senior stakeholders undergoing cultural change and how this will support project success Demonstrate how you will work transparently, collaboratively and share your approach with the DfE project team and seek actionable feedback Demonstrate an understanding of DfE’s need to deliver the best value for money solution Demonstrate ability to work at the boundary between modern digital ways of working and DfE/Government’s formal procedures and policies Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Written proposal Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 20% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers Budget range £90,000 - £100,000