UK SBS IT18203 UKRI-STFC National Infrastructure Modelling Service

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done National infrastructure systems (energy, transport, digital communications, water etc.) are undergoing a rapid change which is based upon the availability of digital data, communications, and computer power. There are opportunities to improve the efficiency, reliability and sustainability of infrastructure through better sharing and use of data, exploitation of simulation and optimization techniques, and engagement with stakeholders through visualisation. The Data Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure (DAFNI) represents an £8 million investment from the UK Collaboratorium for Research on Infrastructure and Cities (UKCRIC) to provide world leading infrastructure systems research capabilities and enhance the quality of outputs. Problem to Be Solved Although the problem space that DAFNI is looking to address is both broad and complex, an initial requirement gathering exercise elicited a number of core capabilities. One of which was the need for a National Infrastructure and Modelling Service (NIMS). The requirements for NIMS identify the need to provide the user community with the ability to improve performance of existing models, reduce the complexity of creating models and facilitate the creation of complex system-of-systems models. Who Are the Users As an academic researcher I need to invest my time in the development of new and improved mathematical models rather than optimisation of Software Engineering aspects. As a policy maker I need to have confidence and understand how models have been developed and what outcomes mean. As an academic researcher I need to visualise the output of my model simulations to gain Stakeholder buy in. Early Market Engagement Work Already Done A requirements elicitation activity has already been conducted for the entirety of the DAFNI platform and has identified core requirements for the user community. These have been analysed by the Platform Architect and translated into a conceptual design for the NIMS. It has been broken down into 4 principle components: a workflow framework and creator; a workflow engine; a model catalogue and a data transformation library. Existing Team The DAFNI project consists of the STFC development team of 8 people as well as 6 project delivery personnel. STFC also collaborates with a number of academic institutions for the development of the platform including: Oxford University, Newcastle University and University College London. Current Phase Discovery Work Location Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Harwell Oxford Didcot OX11 0QX Working Arrangments The successful supplier will provide expertise that will be embedded in the STFC-DAFNI project team in a combined remote and in-person capacity in line with evolving project requirements. This will represent onsite 3 days a week with remote working for 2 days a week. Travel expenses should be costed within the bid. Security Clearance BPSS 3 Years – Level A Additional T&Cs Skills & Experience Demonstrate how you will apply your skills and expertise to create a scalable solution. 2% Demonstrate how you will apply your skills and expertise to process large scale datasets. 2% Demonstrate how you will apply your skills and expertise to enable users of limited technical ability to access large scale batch processing frameworks. 2% Demonstrate how you will apply your skills and expertise to assist with the creation of a modelling workflow engine. 5% Demonstrate how you will apply your skills and expertise to support coupling of ETL and Modelling tasks. 5% Demonstrate how you will apply your skills and expertise to ensure quality of code in the delivery of your solution. 2% Demonstrate how you will apply your skills and expertise to test the solution. 2% Demonstrate how you will apply your skills and expertise to deliver a reliable and resilient solution. 2% Demonstrate how you will apply your skills and expertise to provide an extensible solution. 2% Demonstrate how you will apply your skills and expertise to deliver an open source solution. 2% Demonstrate how you will apply your skills to utilise containerisation technologies. 2% Nice to Haves No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria Technical solution 15% How the approach or solution utilises existing open source frameworks 5% Approach and methodology 5% How the approach or solution meets user needs 4% Estimated timeframes for the work 3% How they’ve identified risks and dependencies and offered approaches to manage them 2.5% Team structure 2.5% Cultural Fit Criteria Demonstrate how you will engage with Academics within the scientific research community. 1% Demonstrate how you will convey technical concepts to those of limited digital literacy. 1% Demonstrate how you will ensure you share knowledge and utilise knowledge within the delivery team. 1% Demonstrate how you will approach decision making and prioritisation. 1% Demonstrate how you will approach mistakes in delivery. 1% Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Written proposal Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 65% Cultural fit 5% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers No questions have been answered yet Budget range maximum contract value £100,000.00 excluding vat