Design and build a website for a new local authority

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done By April 2020 the five councils in Buckinghamshire will become a new unitary authority, called Buckinghamshire Council. There are four district council websites and one county council website (as well as a large number of microsites and sub domains). We need to design and build a platform (CMS and front end) for the new council, in a user-centred and iterative way. An MVP must be in place by April 2020. This project will support the transformation of end-to-end services as we redesign local government in Buckinghamshire. Problem to Be Solved By vesting day (April 2020) we need a new website for the Buckinghamshire Council. This will be a minimum viable product (MVP), which we will continue to iterate. The MVP needs to be developed to meet the needs of users, reflect the new council’s vision and represent Buckinghamshire as a place. It should make it easier for people to find information, complete tasks and understand what they need to do next. We want to use technology that is modern, open, flexible and extensible. It must be accessible and consistent with the GDS Technology Code of Practice. Who Are the Users The new council’s website will need to meet a wide range of user needs for residents, businesses and visitors. Some indicative high level user needs are: As a resident/business/visitor, I need to quickly access the right information and services online, so that I can meet my needs. As a content publisher, I need a simple and intuitive interface, so that I can create and manage useful content. As a developer of a digital service, I need to access content and data via an API, so that I can reuse canonical data. Early Market Engagement A draft of the digital marketplace requirements was shared via twitter. The comments received help us be clearer about the outcomes we're seeking. We also reduced the number of evaluation criteria in response to feedback from a number of potential suppliers. Work Already Done Existing Team Unitary Customer and Digital Board. Head of Digital (Product Owner). Web and digital teams in Aylesbury Vale District Council, Chiltern and South Buckinghamshire Councils, Wycombe District Council and Buckinghamshire County Council. Suppliers of existing websites. Current Phase Not started Work Location Buckinghamshire (Aylesbury, High Wycombe, Amersham, Denham). The home base for the team is likely to be Aylesbury. Working Arrangments We will require a team onsite for approximately 2-3 days a week, most weeks. This is so that you can work closely with council staff and have easy access to the service users. Agile ceremonies should be held onsite wherever possible. Security Clearance Additional T&Cs Skills & Experience Provide an agile multi disciplinary team including user research, service design and product development Have experience designing high volume digital services that meet a wide range of user needs Have knowledge of the user needs of local government service users Deliver in line with the Government service standard and technology code of practice Design services that meet accessibility legislation and best practice Design services for users with low digital literacy Have experience of developing content strategy Have managed the phased roll out of a new website architecture Have the ability to work with internal IT teams to arrange hosting and integration with existing services Nice to Haves Provide evidence of having passed a government, local government or NHS digital service assessment Develop digital and design skills with in-house teams Demonstrate experience of delivering end-to-end service transformation No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria Technical solution Approach and methodology How the solution meets user needs How the solution meets the organisations’ policy or goal Estimated timeframes for the work - the proposal will be evaluated to determine if the approach can realistically produce a minimum viable product by April 2020 Identification of risks and dependencies with a plan to manage them Team structure Value for money Cultural Fit Criteria Work as a team with colleagues from across Buckinghamshire and with existing suppliers Be transparent and collaborative when making decisions Take responsibility for the work Support the learning and development of Buckinghamshire colleagues Be comfortable standing up for their discipline Work with stakeholders with low technical expertise Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Written proposal Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 20% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers Budget range the maximum spend under the contract will be £700,000 - managed through statements of work. there is a minimum spend of £150,000 - to deliver a minimum viable product by april 2020 (vesting day for the new council).