0812 Digital accessibility partner to capability build across Essex County Council Revised

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done We are a large and complex organisation with a significant web estate with a range of legacy sites and apps. In addition to the main www.essex.gov.uk site there are over 80 microsites that will need to be assessed and made compliant with WCAG 2.1 AA by September 2020. There are a handful of staff who understand digital accessibility from a code and content perspective and we need to build our capability and capacity quickly to enable us to comply with the legislation and ensure our web estate remains accessible going forward. Problem to Be Solved Content Designers, Developers and Graphic Designers do not have a clear understanding of what WCAG 2.1 compliance means for their profession or the best tools or techniques to check and assure their work. User Researchers do not understand what tools, techniques, facilities or approaches they may need to create a test panel of users with disabilities and impairments that can test our digital products on an ongoing basis. Senior leaders and commissioners do not have a clear understanding of the importance of delivering inclusive digital services to support self-service and channel shift. Who Are the Users As a Content Designer, Developer or Graphic Designer, I need to understand what constitutes WCAG2.1AA compliance for my profession so that I can meet the need of all users. As a User Researcher I want to create a panel of residents with a range of disabilities and impairments so that I can test websites, apps and systems on an ongoing basis to understand if they are compliant. As Head of Product I want to support senior leaders and commissioners to understand the importance of inclusive digital services so that they are commissioning digital products that are accessible from go live. Early Market Engagement Work Already Done We have done an audit of our web estate and now hold a list of: • Website names and URLs (approx. 80) • Some platform information • Identified content editors Work is already underway to ensure content and code on essex.gov.uk is accessible and we are just completing fixes based on recommendations from a Shaw Trust assessment. We already have the SiteImprove tool but it has never been used for accessibility checking purposes outside of Essex.gov.uk. We are working with SiteImprove to train developers and Content editors on the system. Existing Team Service Design Team: • Product Manager x 2 • Delivery Manager x 1 • Content Designer x 6 • Front End Developer x 1 • User Researchers x 3 Graphic Design Team: • Designers x 4 Technical Services Team: • SAAS Team x 6 • Technical testers x 6 Current Phase Alpha Work Location Main site - County Hall, Chelmsford, plus other ECC locations as needed. You will have to be available at these locations when required but we also accept that this can be balanced with work being progressed or delivered remotely if deemed suitable. Working Arrangments Day to day delivery will be governed by standard agile delivery techniques. This will involve daily stand ups and fortnightly sprint planning sessions which include a retrospective of the previous sprint and prioritisation by the Product Owner for the following sprint. Security Clearance Additional T&Cs Skills & Experience Experience of successfully implementing AA WCAG 2.1 standards Experience of delivering an accessibility project with a public sector body where you worked as a joint team and operated within the organisations governance and culture Experience of working with an organisations leadership team to ensure that accessibility is understood and championed from the top down A detailed understanding of how to best support User Researchers to create a panel of residents with a range of disabilities and impairments for ongoing testing Experience of providing User Researchers with practical methods and techniques appropriate to testing with users with accessibility issues Experience of delivering a high quality handover that ensures a legacy of accessibility understanding and capability remains within the organisation Capacity to mobilise a skilled and experienced team, responding flexibly to peaks and troughs in demand and able to substitute similar resources without implication to the project Nice to Haves Share an outline of the roles and responsibilities of the team that will be working with us A short case study that illustrates your work against a similar set of requirements No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria Approach to and experience of working with senior leaders to embed a top down understanding of the importance of online accessibility across our delivery of services to users Experience of supporting a User Research function to effectively recruit and test with users with a range of disabilities to ensure that meaningful insights can inform product development Your experience of working to deliver against a similar set of requirements in a public sector organisation Your ability to scale the appropriate resource to meet the needs of the accessibility project over the next 12 months Approach to and experience of leaving a meaningful legacy that enables an organisation to continue to deliver accessible online services to users Cultural Fit Criteria Describe previous work where you have established a trusted advisory relationship within a public sector body Payment Approach Fixed price Assessment Method Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 10% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers Budget range the budget is capped at £60k