Beta development of digital service for senior public sector leaders

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done The NLC was created by the government in October 2018. It connects the most senior leaders across the public sector in England and helps them work together to improve public services. The Centre runs a world-class leadership programme (with residential courses), connects people across sectors and regions, and is becoming a global hub of leadership data and high quality research. The Centre's offer is being launched in mid-September and must be well established and tested ahead of a flagship event in January, including its digital services which will primarily support the network. Problem to Be Solved User research and market analysis shows there is no existing service to bring together the most senior public sector leaders. Use of external services (e.g. LinkedIn) is not consistent, and use of sector specific services do not cross organisation boundaries. The most senior leaders of our public sector cannot find each others' details; contact each other across boundaries with confidence; provide feedback to the Prime Minister as a group; and access cutting edge support and content, curated for them. The work will need to be front-loaded over the contract period due to parental leave in the NLC team. Who Are the Users Our primary users are the most senior public sector leaders in the country, roughly 1,500 people. We have identified many needs, including: As a member of the network... 1) I need to connect with my peers across other sectors, so I can broaden my network and approaches to challenges 2) I need curated content that’s tailored to my interests, so I can save my limited time Additional groups include delegates on programmes (I want to know what I expect on the programme, so I can prepare), personal assistants, NLC staff, and interested external parties. Early Market Engagement In February, the NLC tendered for a contract for our current digital work (Discovery and Alpha). The market was competitive and the contract was awarded to Convivio. Work Already Done Discovery has been completed. Alpha is currently underway - expecting to complete at the end of August. Discovery recommendations were: 1) A multi-channel approach to support leaders’ developing and nurturing their face-to-face networks. The digital service will play a supporting role in making key parts of the user journey easier. 2) NLC staff will need to support the digital service, as a concierge and post-programme facilitator. 3) Build a platform that will enable the NLC staff to engage senior leaders with useful content that is easy to find. nationalleadership.gov.uk has been published. Directory prototype is being tested with users. Existing Team The NLC is around 20 people: nationalleadership.gov.uk/about/team/ The Head of Digital acts as Product Owner. It is expected that you'll work very closely with other teams, particularly the Network and Communities team for the directory work. Current Phase Alpha Work Location The NLC is mostly based in 1 Horse Guards Road in Westminster, with a team member in Manchester as well. This project can be delivered remotely, and travel to test the service with users (who are spread across England) will be required. Working Arrangments We are unable to host a team regularly in our offices unless you already have CTC clearance. Remote working is fine, with daily stand ups beneficial - other communications channels (Slack, Hangouts) also encouraged for more informal conversation. It would be useful to have face to face sessions at least once a fortnight as a whole team. Security Clearance BPSS is minimum to access government assets. We do not anticipate SC level clearance being necessary. Existing CTC clearance will be necessary if the team will want to work in 1HG building. Additional T&Cs Skills & Experience have recent experience of delivering to the Government Service Standard, including successfully passing service assessments, particularly scaling a service through Beta phase have recent experience of delivering to the Technology Code of Practice have experience of helping an organisation create effective data infrastructure, aligning with government standards and best practice have experience of drawing insights from Beta testing to drive decisions across the client team have experience of developing a digital service in a way that supports delivery in non-digital channels have experience at developing quality services at a very fast pace in a start up environment, including senior stakeholder management have experience of building a highly secure service that is accessible to different organisations and still usable for users Nice to Haves show evidence of delivering a project across different parts of the public sector provide details of when the supplier has delivered a beta phase, having not delivered the alpha No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 4 Proposal Criteria Demonstrating an understanding of user needs and NLC requirements Proposed approach and methodology - including technical approach Identifying risks and dependencies Estimated timeframes for the work and plans to manage slips Team structure, including the relevance of the team members' skills and experience Value for money Cultural Fit Criteria Work in an open and transparent way, sharing work in progress and involving others as you go Value boldness and creative thinking Share learning and build capability in others Value diversity and inclusion Communicate clearly and work with others with less technical expertise Challenge us and the assumptions we have made Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Written proposal Reference Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 20% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers Budget range £430,000-460,000 + vat