Discovery and alpha into improving digital collaboration between Local Authorities

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done The Local Digital Declaration https://localdigital.gov.uk/declaration/ (signed by 150 local authorities as well as MHCLG and GDS) has 5 principles one of which covers working in the open and sharing plans & experiences. From MHCLG’s research into collaboration, and the initial usage of the LocalGov Digital Pipeline service, we believe that providing a way for local authorities to collaborate and be aware of each other’s work (possibly using a central digital service, such as Pipeline) is likely to be a key part of enabling that principle to be realised. Problem to Be Solved The structure of local and central government lends itself to public organisations working in silos to devise solutions to meet their own needs. This leads to huge inefficiencies through duplication of spending, lack of collaboration and sharing of knowledge. Who Are the Users As a Local authority employee, I want to find others that have done similar work to me or are planning similar work, so that I can share learning (and potentially code) and make sure my project is successful As a MHCLG Collaboration Manager or SME supplier, I need to know where there are common needs or opportunities in the sector, so I that I can help support innovation and transformation to help local authorities make better local services for citizens Early Market Engagement We have been raising awareness with users across the sector via the Hackney blog https://blogs.hackney.gov.uk/hackit/pipeline, MHCLG blog https://mhclgdigital.blog.gov.uk/?s=pipeline and the LocalGov Digital Slack community inviting feedback. We posted a brief for an alpha earlier this year, which we withdrew after reconsidering our requirements (we felt we needed to do additional discovery work) https://www.digitalmarketplace.service.gov.uk/digital-outcomes-and-specialists/opportunities/8886 Work Already Done Significant work has been done on LocalGov Digital's Pipeline https://pipeline.localgov.digital service, which seeks to address the problem we're hoping to solve. Hackney have done user research on this service, which we are building on with this work. MHCLG has also done further user research with Local Authorities at our Local Digital Roadshows and with teams who were successful in applying for the Local Digital Fund. We are due to do further research before this team begins. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1NQ36GnNfglKux5qmYnR-NWC0KWQ9BNZKFZ1ZVLbr_fI/edit#slide=id.g50ab097add_0_56 Existing Team As this is a cross-sector product, a stakeholder group is being established to work closely with a Product Manager based at MHCLG to prioritise the backlog of features. The supplier is expected to provide the delivery team to work with this product manager and serve the stakeholder group. Within the Local Digital Collaboration Unit (LDCU) some capacity exists covering content design, service design and user research. However, we expect the supplier not to depend on this support. Rather, we hope our teams can work closely together to help build team capacity. Current Phase Discovery Work Location The primary site is the MHCLG office located at 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF. The intended users of this tool are across the country and we expect rounds of research and testing to take place across the country. Travel/expenses to sites should be included in your costs and will not be reimbursed separately. Working Arrangments The supplier is expected to work onsite alongside existing teams for at least 3 days a week for face-to-face meetings. The supplier should demonstrate effective use of Agile principles and established project management approaches to enable progress to be monitored and issues resolved. The supplier will also be expected to work openly and allow anyone in the sector to have visibility of progress including the open, live broadcasting of show and tells (on Wednesday lunchtimes). The supplier will be expected to engage with local authorities and groups such as LocalGov Digital via user research and online collaboration tools. Security Clearance CTC or above is desirable as staff will otherwise need escorting on site. If the successful supplier does not have CTC cleared staff, MHCLG will sponsor clearance. The supplier team will be expected to start this immediately after appointment. Please make it clear whether staff have clearance when submitting responses. Additional T&Cs 1. All outputs will be owned by MHCLG and published openly where appropriate using a suitable open license that supports reuse. 2. All materials/outputs derived from the contract shall be the property of MHCLG. 3. GDPR requirements will be discussed and agreed once the successful supplier has been notified (as part of discussions to agree the wording of the call-off contract). Skills & Experience Demonstrate meeting skill requirements based on the anticipated composition of the team Have experience of doing user research and service design for public services Experience of working with a diverse group of stakeholders (ideally in local government) Experience of working in the open and regularly sharing with a wide audience Nice to Haves Experience of working with local authorities No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 4 Proposal Criteria Technical solution Approach and methodology How the approach or solution meets user needs Value for money Team structure Cultural Fit Criteria Work as a team with our organisation and other suppliers Be transparent and collaborative when making decisions Share knowledge and experience with other team members Work openly Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Written proposal Case study Work history Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 50% Cultural fit 15% Price 35% Questions from Suppliers Budget range overall budget: £150-200k. we would like the opportunity to evaluate whether we continue into alpha after discovery, so it would be beneficial if the supplier could provide a separate bid for discovery and alpha. proposed budgets for these phases are below. discovery: £50-80k alpha: £120-150k