Discovery Stage to establish future delivery options for student finance in Wales

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done For a number of years, the operating model and supporting infrastructure and ICT systems within Student Loans Company have struggled to cope with the demands and increasing complexity of operations involved in supporting four separate UK governments. In 2016, an independent review was completed, providing advice on alternative options for the delivery of Student Finance Wales. The primary role of the system is to: • deliver financial support to eligible students pursuing higher and further education; • pay Higher Education Institutions public contribution towards tuition fees. Problem to Be Solved Discovery stage for the design and build a bilingual, flexible, streamlined, interactive and online digital student finance system to process and assess higher education grant and loan applications. Currently process is partially paper based. Investigate and set out the option of building a Welsh student finance system (in collaboration with a strategic partner). Ensure control mechanisms are in place, accountable to Welsh Ministers, that will deliver Welsh required outcomes. • ensure the service is modern, delivers user needs and is value for money. • ensure the heart of the service is located in Wales, possibly building on the existing operation." Who Are the Users Mainly Students (including disabled students) but also Parents, Partners and Practitioners. As a student I need to: • understand what student finance is available; • know what level and type of student finance I am eligible for; • know how to apply for student finance and what evidence I need to provide; • be able to provide evidence easily and quickly; • communicate quickly and effectively with the funding body; • track the progress of m application; and • receive student funding as quickly as possible to enable me to undertake my studies. Early Market Engagement Work Already Done In 2016, Ed Lester (ex-CEO of Student Loans Company (SLC)) was procured by Welsh Government to carry out a review. He provided advice on alternative options for the delivery of Student Finance Wales (SFW). A combined Options Appraisal / Strategic Outline Case proposed a preferred option for a Discovery Phase (Option 1- build a Welsh system (in collaboration with a strategic partner)). Discovery Phase Report is not published but can be made available to the succesful Supplier. Existing Team Welsh Government - 2 members of the Higher Education SLC Sponsorship Team. Current Phase Discovery Work Location Wales - Cardiff and Llandudno Junction; England - Darlington and London, Scotland - Glasgow Working Arrangments It is anticipated that day-to-day contact will be via telephone and/or email, as required. The contractor will need to visit the Welsh Government’s offices in Cardiff for meetings, as agreed. The contractor will send fortnightly updates by email to the Client during the fieldwork stages. Travel costs should be included in the overall rate. Security Clearance ISO27001, Cyber Essentials: A Security Aspects Letter will be issued. The Letter sets out additional security requirements which supplement the Cyber Essentials Certificate. The contractor will also need security clearance from the Student Loans Company. ICT contractors with admin access to servers require SC clearance. Additional T&Cs The Supplier shall be required to provide an up-to-date Cyber Essentials certificate prior to the commencement of work. The Supplier shall be required to provide a signed copy of the Welsh Government SecurityAspects Letter (Available upon request). The Supplier shall be ISO27001 certified. Skills & Experience experience designing services for users with low digital literacy experience of proposing technical solutions experience of combining user research, service design and developer expertise experience designing services for a wide range of digital skills an understanding of how to meet the needs of a diverse range of users experience in leading and supporting business case development, cultural transformation and service redesign evidence experience of delivering services and solutions in the public sector and Financial Services Market of similar size and complexity. Evidence of successfully implementing and supporting digital transactional processing systems to public sector clients experience of user experience (UX) design Nice to Haves an understanding of student data and the potential for data linkage between any new system and existing data systems experience of database development understanding of Welsh Public Sector Welsh Language requirements experience of developing multi-lingual systems and/ or applications No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria How the overall approach and methodology meets the requirements How well the approach or solution meets our organisation’s policy or goal How well the proposal identifies the risks and dependencies and offers approaches to manage them Details of resource capacity and delivery team structure How the proposal demonstrates value for money Cultural Fit Criteria Work as a team with our organisation and other interested parties Share knowledge and experience with other team members Can work with clients with low technical expertise Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Written proposal Case study Work history Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 15% Price 25% Questions from Suppliers Budget range £80,000.00 excluding vat