Teachers' Student Loan Reimbursement: Alpha

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, so that we are able to pay teachers in a timely and (potentially) automated way on a yearly basis for at least 10 years. Who Are the Users As a teacher I need to feel valued for the effort I out into teaching, so that I can motivate myself to continue teaching. As a potentially eligible teacher hearing about TSLR for the first time,I need to know why the service is being offered, so that I feel like it 'get it'. As an eligble teacher, I need to know how the 'money stuff' works, so that I'm clear on what I will get and when. Early Market Engagement N/A Work Already Done We have completed a 6 week discovery phase on this project and have developed a number of user stories and personas to help further work in Alpha. Details of this work will be provided on request. Existing Team Product Owner (who was also PO during Discovery) SRO Current Phase Alpha Work Location Co-located at: Department for Education, Picadilly 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 BPSS clearance is required for all team members. This will need to be in place before the start of the discovery. We will consider suppliers without security clearance, and provide support to gain clearance. Additional T&Cs N/A Skills & Experience Experience of working to GDS service standards including using Agile methodologies. Have experience of rapid prototype iteration based on ongoing user research. Have experience of testing technical feasibility of prototypes in Alpha Have experience of delivering high quality content and information architecture design for complex user journeys across multiple touchpoints, that meets user needs. Have significant experience of conducting user research & usability testing based on a robust methodology. Have experience of recruiting user research participants (including users with accessibility and assisted digital needs) Nice to Haves Show evidence in leading, coaching, mentoring and upskilling people in agile techniques and user centred design to build capability within existing teams. Experience in taking services successfully through the GDS Service Assessment. Experience of using the gov.uk design system. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria Design solution – recent example of experience working on digital projects that have met user needs and can demonstrate sound knowledge of GDS Digital Service Standards Approach and methodology – examples that demonstrate a solid understanding of Agile core principles and how these were applied. How the approach meets user needs: An example of where the supplier has tested design hypotheses through prototyping in Alpha and iterated these designs to develop a user needs service. Value for money - provide evidence of how you will ensure value for money for this project Alpha plan: This should detail a proposed team structure, explaining the justification for each member; an activity timeline; plan for GDS assessment; including attendance and success criteria; and key deliverables. Explain your approach to identifying and managing risk within the project Cultural Fit Criteria Provide an example where the supplier has worked collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary team with other organisations, e.g other goverment organisations. There is a need to be transparent and collaborative when making decisions. Explain your understanding of a transparent and collaborative environment. Provide an example of where applying agile ways of working has enabled timely delivery of a product. Provide an example of how you would quickly join the team and understand user needs, to maintain continuity between existing discovery work and alpha. Provide an example of how you have worked with exisiting systems, including government platforms to develop new services Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Written proposal Case study Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 20% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers Budget range estimated budget of £350,000 (including vat). bidders must fully detail their resources and charges at the proposal stage. travel and subsistence should be included in the proposed charges. please provide costs for both 10 week and 12 week alpha