Networks and Infrastructure Capability Programme Delivery Supplier

Tender description

Summary of the work A service provider is being sought to work under the direction of the current programme team to support the delivery of our objectives. The Supplier will support Programme Development, Delivery Management, Business Analysis, Business Change and Communications, Technical Architecture and Analysis. Statement-of-works to be issued factoring specific work-packages and deliverables. Expected Contract Length 18 months Latest start date Friday 4 October 2019 Budget Range Up to £4m for a period of between 12 and 18 months, up to 15-30 FTE. No minimum volume commitment. Why the Work is Being Done The Networks and Infrastructure Capability Programme (NICP) is being established to ensure the Home Office (HO) has best in class network and infrastructure capabilities in UK Government on a long term sustainable, economic and efficient foundation, available as-a-service across the department, its arms-length bodies and wider communities of interest. NICP will: • Deliver a ‘rock-solid enterprise technology platform’; • Better converge solutions and exploit common services, including transformation to Cloud; • Support continuous development and product lifecycle management, including the development of the operating model; • Drive cost reductions, and • Establish a skilled, permanent workforce Problem to Be Solved The programme is seeking to address what is considered as the HO’s organically developed, complex, and siloed approach to network and infrastructure delivery. As demand for IT services grows rapidly within the HO, the current approach is unsustainable and increasingly unaffordable. It also presents risk to ongoing continuity of services, and the stable implementation of new initiatives, including, by inference, potentially the service provided to the citizen. It is crucial that the pace at which digital services are offered is only hindered by the pace at which the business can adapt. Who Are the Users NICP will be working across the HO and engaging with Arms-Length Bodies, other government departments and law enforcement. The programme includes all aspects of networks and infrastructure technology, i.e. hosting, networks, data centres, internet gateways and Cloud. Work Already Done The programme has received internal approval for the Strategic Outline Business Case. Work is now underway to deliver the Programme Business Case in the autumn, and, in parallel, scale to be able to deliver at pace. Existing Team There is a small, existing team comprised of civil servants and external expertise. The programme also draws on wider HO expertise including HR, Finance and Commercial. Current Phase Not applicable Skills & Experience • Strong evidence of working in large-scale (GMPP) IT programmes, and particularly network/ telecommunication change programmes, in central government departments, or similarly complex organisations, with multiple stakeholders • Demonstrable experience of programme development across the programme lifecycle particularly for technology programmes • 3. Demonstrable experience of supporting the multi-workstream IT projects using effective project and programme management techniques, including planning, financial control, RAIDO management and a mix of agile and waterfall methodologies • Demonstrable experience of successfully providing business analysis to support the development of solutions which meet business needs • Demonstrable experience in developing technical design / solutions for networks, hosting, platforms and Cloud, in line with agreed industry, Govt and HO technology approaches and strategies • Demonstrable experience of delivering stakeholder and communications strategies and plans particularly to support engagement with senior leaders, and responding to challenge • Demonstrable experience of delivering change so that it is deeply embedded in the organisation • Demonstrable experience of establishing product lifecycle management approaches • Demonstrable experience of developing full business cases using the government’s five-case model • Demonstrable experience of developing service and technical requirements that can be contracted against Nice to Haves • Ability to think creatively and articulate innovative ideas to solve complex problems • Proven ability to work collaboratively at pace within a high profile pressurised delivery environment. • Excellent communications skills with enhanced listening techniques Work Location Southern House, Wellesley Grove, Croydon CR0 1XG, and other sites in Croydon, with regular travel to Central London and around the UK. Working Arrangments The Supplier will be required to work alongside Home Office resources – civil servants and contractors – in our offices. Security Clearance Minimum of SC. Additional T&Cs Travel expenses will be paid for journeys outside the M25 with the prior agreement of the customer and in line with HO Policy. Subsistence will not be payable. £1,000 cap on day-rates to apply. Suppliers are not expected to charge more than 100 days in consecutive 6 months or more than 200 days in a year, unless agreed otherwise with the Customer. SFIA grade caps may apply. Hybrid payment approach (Fixed price paid on milestones, capped T&M and T&M) No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 4 Proposal Criteria • Supplier solution including approach and methodologies • Proposed Implementation plan, milestones, management reports and KPIs • Proposed team and CVs • Mobilisation approach • Identification of risks and dependencies and the approaches offered to manage them • Value for money and commercial flexibility Cultural Fit Criteria • Ability to provide knowledge-transfer and share best practice, with a clear demonstration of how knowledge transfer is achieved during the period of delivery and towards the end of the contract • Ability to work collaboratively and as an integrated team • Ability to conduct work in accordance to Civil Service Standards • Demonstration that diversity of thought, actions and behaviours are valued Payment Approach Fixed price Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 5% Price 35% Questions from Suppliers 1. Please would you be able to confirm that the ‘Capability Programme Delivery Supplier’ would not be excluded from any future follow-on Networks and Infrastructure service delivery procurements? The supplier will help the programme in writing service requirements for upcoming procurement & will also support the team in procurement activities. Therefore, to ensure supplier’s independence and avoid any conflict of interests, the Supplier will not at this stage be able to participate in any follow-on Networks and Infrastructure service delivery procurements, but this is something we will keep under review. 2. Will you sponsor SC clearance? Yes. 3. Are you able to provide an indication of resource requirements on Day 1 of the contract? Some of the requirements will be outcome based, and therefore it will be up to the bidders to propose resources for the requirements.At a high level, we expect circa 6-12 resource team with programme delivery, change and communication, business case development, technical architecture, and business analysis related roles. 4. In the proposal criteria you mention team structure and cv's, could you kindly supply a list of the skillsets you feel will be required to enable us to draw the team together for this programme please? Please refer to 'Essential skills and experience' criteria and our answer to the previous clarification. Further competition documents will be issued to the short-listed bidders in the later stage which will detail the required outcomes/teams. 5. Please can you clarify how the £1000/day rate cap will be applied? Will this be applied so that the average rate across all resources cannot exceed £1000/day (i.e. a max ADR of £1000) or is that no individual resource can be billed in excess of £1000/day? Is this inclusive or exclusive of fixed payments for milestone completion? No individual resource can be billed in excess of £1000/day. On fixed payments charged milestone completion - the pricing mechanism will be based on the outcome delivered. However, the Supplier will be required to be transparent around resource profiles (including grades, rates, number of days planned) and explain the price components (e.g. any non-resource related costs, risk margin%) under fixed price when requested. Any resource specific rates used for the calculation of fixed price will need to adhere to contractual day-rates (which will be capped under £1k).