Border Systems Technology Project (BSTP) - Critical Systems Project Delivery Capability

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done Border Systems Technology Projects, delivers functional and technical change to the legacy Border services which include Semaphore and Warnings Index. These systems are part of the Critical National Infrastructure operating 24/7/365 supporting operations and users for Border and Immigration controls both within Home Office and wider Government Agencies. Problem to Be Solved Borders IT require a specialist Delivery Partner for critical systems project delivery on the Semaphore and Warnings Index programmes, covering programme and project management, architecture and data modelling. Both are critical national systems protecting the border - more detail will be provided at the next stage. You will be the team managing the feasibility, change control, planning, deployment, and continuous integration of the projects through development, test, and live service. Maintaining these critical systems to be fully available, resilient and fit for purpose is essential and the Delivery partner must have in-depth knowledge and experience of these systems or similar. Who Are the Users Users include Border Force, Police and wider government agencies to secure UK borders, and detect criminal behaviour. Early Market Engagement N/A Work Already Done There are currently resources in place on the programme. The projects are a mixture of enhancements to existing systems and technology, upgrades, or technology refresh projects. The team manage these from feasibility, change control, planning, deployment and continuous integration. There is a constant pipeline of projects managed by the team. Existing Team The Delivery Partner will be working with the Authority’s incumbent development teams (both in house and outsourced specialists), with other areas of the portfolio and programme and with other Delivery Partners. The team is a mixture of specialist programme management, technical architecture, delivery and assurance capability and requires in depth knowledge of Border control systems and architecture. Current Phase Not applicable Work Location The Supplier will be predominantly based at Home Office premises at Apollo House, Croydon, CR9 3RR, but may be required to attend Marsham Street, London, SW1; and other locations as necessary including supplier premises. Working Arrangments The service will be required to work to standards and practices set by (Government Digital Service) GDS and Home Office Teams. Resources are expected to work as part of existing delivery teams focussed on specific outcomes. The team is expected to be available during standard Home Office working hours. Expenses will conform to Home Office internal policies and will not be payable within the M25. The Delivery Partner is expected to be available during standard working hours, and physically onsite Monday – Friday. Security Clearance Staff should have active Security Clearance and at least one person cleared to DV level. This will be requested at the assessment stage and the selected supplier must hold Security Check (SC) level clearance when they start work. Current SC can be transferred from another Government department with supporting evidence. Additional T&Cs These roles are deemed to be outside the scope of IR35 of the Intermediaries legislation. The delivery partner will work primarily on-site with teams as required and report to management on site. The supplier is expected to work across the multiple sites as required. Suppliers will be shortlisted on meeting and providing evidence of essential skills/experience and can start work by the latest start date. The 5 top-scoring suppliers will be taken through to the evaluation stage. Shortlisted suppliers will be evaluated using the technical competence, cultural fit and price using the criteria, weighting and methods published with this requirement. Skills & Experience Experience developing, assuring and supporting large, secure and highly-available, n-tier architecture based around legacy IBM/Microsoft or similar solution ‘stack’ (including virtualised p-Series servers, multiple IBM WebSphere and 3rd party products). Evidence of supporting, optimising and enhancing large, clustered Oracle databases (more than 20TB and tables with billions of rows) used in transactional, reporting and analytics scenarios. Demonstrate working with aviation and maritime carriers, UK and their system suppliers, to understand business processes and systems, ensuring understanding of UK’s passenger data requirements, and analysis of carrier data. Evidence active participation in international working groups involving governments, aviation carriers, system providers, International Air Transport Association (IATA), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), World Customs Organisation (WCO) and others. Understand issues applying security checks to individuals travelling across borders, including demonstrating a detailed understanding of the passenger carrier industry. Experience in developing, assuring and supporting systems accessed by a broad-base of local/remote geographically distributed users, (1000s), including securing and supporting systems requiring deployment of critical, specialised devices and equipment. Nice to Haves No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria Technical competence: Skills and experience 25% Technical capability 20% Governance 5% Working successfully in complex multi Delivery Partner public sector organisations 10% Cultural Fit Criteria Proactive one team approach 1.25% Ability to be transparent, flexible and collaboratively work as part of a team with existing delivery partners and services 1.25% Problem resolution 1.25% Knowledge and experience sharing 1.25% Security Clearance Approach to onboarding of SC resources 5% Payment Approach Time and materials Assessment Method Written proposal Work history Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 10% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers Budget range budget range of between £3m-£4m over 24 months (excluding vat).