FSAC Multimedia Assessment Delivery Website Development CCIS19A01

Tender description

Summary of the work Provide an online website that delivers automated exercise administration of exercises to enable the running of Fast-Stream-Assessment-Centres involving circa5000 candidates p.a. Continued support during the testing/implementation phase if changes are required. Low-level support may be needed during the contract, where technical changes cannot be resolved by FSET-staff with administrator rights. Expected Contract Length Twenty Four (24) Months - No Extension option Latest start date Monday 18 March 2019 Budget Range Overall Contract Value: £146,000.00 exc VAT £73,000.00 exc VAT per Contract Year Why the Work is Being Done Supplier support is required to provide an Exercise Delivery Website for selection assessments for 2019/20 onwards. Fast Stream (FS) is a key recruitment gateway for talent to enter Government. FS strives to increase diversity across the Civil Service. Selection assessments play a vital role in identifying diverse talent. We monitor and address any differences in success rates in selection assessments. Research on this complex area shows that exploring new approaches in assessment delivery (e.g. using different media-like video-not just text) can facilitate reducing group differences. We are redesigning FS selection–with greater multimedia content-using the opportunity to do that. Problem to Be Solved A website that delivers exercises(written and hosted by authority), for 2 years, and allows: •Various content formats: text/images/graphs/animations/fictitious maps/audio/pop-up reminders/video with content control. •Content adaptation/optional features for visual or hearing requirements e.g. Font Size/Volume/Contrast/Subtitles/export to print. •Stable, secure and robust delivery with automatic recovery. •Secure logins and access rights. •Enhanced item(TEI) types with intuitive navigation. •Customisable exercise content with workflow tracking/sharing-Facilities and storage structures. •Administration and timing of components for each login. •Spell check/dictionaries. •Exercise usage-reports. •Use over various devices (Desktop/Tablet/Mobile). Support needed for any changes or fixes required for the duration of contract. Who Are the Users circa.5,000 candidates need access to complete an expected 3 main exercises. Users in Cabinet Office need to be able to upload/download material that is both non-candidate specific and candidate specific. Administration rights for users in Cabinet Office will help facilitate changes to the process for the next campaign and following campaigns. Exercises need to be exportable for offline completion by those unable to do via computer. Early Market Engagement A request for information exercise was conducted in Summer 2018 which included this stage of the assessment process. However, at that stage it was not clear that the requirement would essentially be for a website to be built and maintained. We have since determined that as the website doesn’t require scoring and responses to candidate answers. It only needs to provide stable delivery of the exercises (which are written by the Authority). This would include different components for each login to allow for group exercises where one candidate receives different information to another. It is expected that the website will deliver these multimedia exercises to circa 5000 candidates. The website will however, still be required to allow content writers the facility to administer, edit and review exercise content, with suitable templates, version control, auto save and import/export controls that allows for multiple users and progress to be tracked by Fast-Track-and-Early-Talent-team(FSET). All candidate feedback will also now be handled within FSET’s own system. Work Already Done Cabinet Office is in the process of starting to design the assessments and prepare video material which will be held as content on the website. Existing Team The Potential Supplier will be working with an existing team which designs assessment centre activities, headed by the Chief Psychologist/Head Assessor and a team, headed by the Head of Assessments Operations, which delivers the assessment centres. There are writers designing the assessments for 2019-20 assessment centres. Current Phase Alpha Skills & Experience • 3 years of experience developing websites incorporating multimedia elements for over 5000 users. • Experience in developing websites suitable for visual/hearing impaired. • Capacity to work towards tight time schedules. Initial website trial test will be on 1st May 2019. • Staff should have all relevant qualifications required to ensure a robust and thorough website is delivered. • Knowledge and experience of developing secure websites. • Proven experience in use of industry standard web application technologies such as HTML5, JavaScript, PHP, CSS3 and JSON • Experience developing for multiple device types, Desktop, Mobile and Tablet. Nice to Haves • Previous experience of delivering digital products and services to government. • Familiarity with Government Digital Service Standards. • Past experience of delivering an educational or recruitment website. Work Location The location of the FSACs (Fast Stream Assessment Centres) are at 100 Parliament Street, London, SW1A 2BQ and Tyne View Park, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE12 9FA, but website work can be completed remotely. Any Supplier/Authority meetings, demos and joint testing will be held at one or both of these sites. Working Arrangments Work can be completed remotely. Any meetings will take place at one of the locations in the Location section. It is expected that working arrangements would allow meeting the below timetable: ●Initial scoping meeting outlining full project detail - within 1 week of contract award ●Confirm deliverables and timings - within 2 weeks of award trial ●Initial website trial by 1st May 2019 ●All changes and fixes required to be completed by the start of FSACs in early October 2019 ●Dates/times for year 2 to be confirmed once Year 1 version of site delivered. Security Clearance It is expected that the supplier will undertake staff SC clearance. Put in place Supplier staff vetting requirements, rights to search visitors, site/premises access, Supplier staff ID etc. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria • 7%-Capability to follow and create digital requirements following all aspects of the Government's Digital Service Standard.(Security,Accessibility,Browsers and Devices,GOV.UK styles,Element Designs,60Design Patterns) • 10%-Demonstrate how the submitted proposal will be ready for Initial Trial content by 1st May 2019. • 7%-Detail the process and timeframes for responding to any changes or fixes to the website as required during the process. • 9%-Show how the proposal will ensure a robust website is designed and built. • 10%-The ability of the proposal to meet user needs including diversity and disability. • 10%-Show how during development any information hosted or stored within the Suppliers internal websites are stored securely within the UK, according to the Government's Security Policy Framework. • 7%-Identify and explain any mitigation techniques to be put into place for all risks that may occur during this development process and prevent the successful delivery of the requirement. Cultural Fit Criteria • 2.5%-Work as a team within our organisation and other stakeholders. • 1.5%-Transparency and collaboration when making decisions. • 4%-Ability to work towards tight timescales in possible high stress scenarios. • 2%-Can work with individuals who may have low technical expertise. Payment Approach Fixed price Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 10% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers 1. Do you have any particular technology choices in mind for this project? We are open to supplier suggestions and recommendations that align with the published specification. We will, however be hosting the website through Gov.uk PaaS, as such your application must:● be built using a supported buildpack ● meet the 12-factor application principles● be written in Go, Node.js, Java, PHP, Python, Ruby, static HTML, CSS, or JavaScript 2. Is there a Discovery outcomes report that can be shared with suppliers at this stage? We ran a RFI process in mid-2018 resulting in a change of direction towards a website requirement (from a hosting platform). No further discovery has taken place. This website is not intended for the public and we are not taking a formal agile project approach of discovery/alpha/beta/live. 3. As this project is currently in Alpha phase, what Discovery work was undertaken? Was Discovery undertaken in-house or by a supplier? If it was lead by a supplier, who are they and will they be applying for this opportunity? We ran a RFI process in mid-2018 resulting in a change of direction towards a website requirement (from a hosting platform). No further discovery has taken place. 4. What’s the name of the incumbent supplier that is designing assessment centre activities? We are using a range of consultants rather than just one supplier, all overseen by our inhouse experts. 5. If suppliers have BPSS clearance, do you still require them to have SC clearance in place? If you do, are you happy for suppliers to be undergoing an SC clearance application during the award of the contract or does this have to be in place prior to awarding the contract? SC clearance is desirable but BPSS is acceptable for development work. It is not envisaged that there would be any access to candidate personal data required for this project so SC is not required; if that changed then SC clearance would be required and would need to be in place before such work was undertaken. 6. Are you working with any existing suppliers in relation to this tender opportunity? If you are, who are they? No, this tender is stand alone within a complex project to transform the entire Fast Stream Assessments. 7. Who from your team will be scoring applications for this opportunity and what positions do they hold? This procurement exercise is being managed by Crown Commercial Service. The Scoring team will be made of those who are involved in this project within the Cabinet Office. 8. Can you host a call with suppliers about this opportunity where we can have a live Q&A and the discussion notes are shared on this tender ad? This has proven helpful on other DM opportunities. It was determined that a Q&A session for this opportunity would not be required hence it was not included in this listing. 9. Please can you provide details of what the next steps are following this initial application i.e. deadlines for the written proposal/presentation and when? It is anticipated that suppliers will receive at the minimum 5 working days to prepare for the presentation and written proposal after the decision on the shortlisting process is made. The short listing process decision is anticipated to be made before the close of play Tuesday 19th of February