Discoveries into Digital Tools for Consular Assistance

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done The Digital Transformation Unit (DTU) conducted a discovery last year into Gov.uk/Notify and identified a need for digital tools within consular assistance, but was unable to explore this further. Additional consular insights have identified lower levels of satisfaction around customers navigating information on consular pages of Gov.uk and suggested conducting in depth user research to make recommendations for improvements. The Complaints and Compliments Handling System could be improved removing time consuming manual processes. Therefore, the recommendations from these discoveries should ease consular staff burden and improve the user experience for British citizens using consular digital services. Problem to Be Solved There are services provided by British Consulates which would benefit from digital tools which would free up staff time to focus on face to face consular assistance and supporting vulnerable customers. Consular insights identified lower levels of satisfaction around customers finding information on Gov.uk consular pages creating more work for consular staff handling enquiries from customers who could not find relevant information. Consular staff who use the Complaints and Compliments handling system find the process too manual and time consuming. They have a high turnover of staff using the system and find it an arduous process to teach new starters. Who Are the Users As a British citizen overseas, I need access, help and guidance for the situation I am in quickly without as much reliance on consular staff. As a British citizen, I need to easily find accurate, relevant information on the Gov.uk pages, so that I can be as informed as possible and be aware of any tasks I may need to complete. As consular staff, I need to process complaints and compliments efficiently, so that I can focus resource on less manual processing tasks.. Early Market Engagement The Gov.uk/Notify discovery work was completed last year. There is separate ongoing discovery work already being conducted by the consular insight team into consular strategy, FCO's partners and how consular assistance engages family members in assistance cases, which will be completed by December 2019.These discoveries may have insights that feed into the digital tools for consular assistance aspect of the discovery, particularly in regard to bereavement customers.However, this is yet to be determined. Work Already Done Existing Team You will be working with the Digital Transformation Unit, comprising a Delivery Manager, and a Product manager. The team would be expected to work closely with colleagues across the office, particularly within the consular directorate, to gain an understanding of the existing services offered and user needs. A project manager is being recruited separately to run this and one other project. Current Phase Discovery Work Location London with some travel to Milton Keynes Working Arrangments The supplier is expected to provide resource that can be on-site (London or Milton Keynes) during business hours Monday - Friday. The resource should: collaborate and work effectively with the existing Product Owner and Senior BA team members. Be expert in agile approaches including sprints, daily standups, sprint reviews and retrospectives, and working to agreed definitions of done. Be comfortable talking to non-technical staff and translating their requirements into technical terms. Be a good listener. Where appropriate, be innovative and propose changes to processes. Be able, unaccompanied, to meet technical and non-technical staff and represent the Digital Transformation Unit well. Security Clearance All staff working on FCO premises must be at least SC Cleared or capable of being cleared to SC. Bidders must confirm clearance of nominated resources. SC would be a great help but if required, FCO will initiate SC clearance. Additional T&Cs Skills & Experience Give examples of delivering projects using user-centric agile methods Have experience of working in line with GDS Service Manual standards and knowledge of wider industry-standards Have experience of successfully delivering discovery digital services in a public sector environment Have experience of designing user-friendly interfaces in line with GOV.UK style Have evidence of using prototypes, testing, iterating and user research to inform user-friendly digital services Have evidence of a robust security management system which addresses physical, personnel, procedural and technical risks Have excellent written and oral communication skills with the ability to tailor messages to the audience and present at Board level and senior stakeholders Nice to Haves experience of recruiting hard to find participants for user research experience of conducting User Research on a sensitive topic experience of working on services offered in a range of domestic and international locations No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria Approach and methodology Estimated timeframes for the work Flexibility Team structure Value for money Cultural Fit Criteria Confident in consulting multiple stakeholders, suppliers in the UK and overseas, developing and managing relationships and leading discussions with stakeholders to seek input and feedback (10%) Working in multidisciplinary teams with other suppliers (2%) Working with technical and non-techincal staff to understand requirements (2%) Building good relationships and trust with teams both with and without departmental sponsors (2%) Quickly joining teams and understanding their needs (2%) Experience working in an agile manner (2%) Payment Approach Fixed price Assessment Method Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 50% Cultural fit 20% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers Budget range £100,000