Industrial Decarbonisation Digital Service Discovery

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done Decarbonising energy intensive industry is key to achieving in the government’s ambition to reach net zero carbon emissions, now a legally binding target for the UK. The Industrial Clusters Mission has been designed to facilitate decarbonisation of industry through focusing on emissions reduction within industrial clusters. It has become clear that significant information sharing between businesses, academia and government will be required to deliver the Mission. However, there are barriers to information sharing that exist, preventing valuable knowledge being shared between these actors that must collaborate in order to achieve the Mission. BEIS are interested in developing a thorough understanding of the specific barriers to information sharing that exist, and what potential solutions to this might look like. We are looking to procure a team with experience of developing digital products through an Agile project management approach. The team will be required to explore barriers to information sharing within the Mission and develop digital ideas that might overcome these barriers, and indicate to BEIS whether there is value in progressing to the Alpha development stage for any of those digital solutions proposed. Work must start in January 2020 and be complete in March 2020. Problem to Be Solved To help set a goal for the discovery phase, the following problem statement has been drafted: “We are aware that there are numerous barriers to information sharing which prevent industry from taking action to decarbonise. However, we do not have a comprehensive understanding of what these barriers are, or the best way to overcome them. We need to understand potential barriers to information sharing in more detail, and crucially, identify whether there is a digital service that could effectively address potential barriers, therefore supporting industry to engage with the Industrial Clusters Mission and decarbonisation policy more broadly.” However, as per the Agile project delivery process, this problem statement would be discussed and has potential to be redefined at the outset of the discovery phase. BEIS have put together a list that provides examples of information sharing issues that inhibit industrial decarbonisation and should be explored in further detail. This information will be shared with shortlisted applicants. The list should be considered to be illustrative rather than exhaustive, and an important part of the brief is for the contract to explore and identify information sharing issues/barriers. Who Are the Users As this requirement is for a Discovery phase, we have not yet identified who the users of a potential digital service will be. Key stakeholders to the Industrial Clusters Mission have been identified, and working relationships between BEIS and these organisations already exist. The supplier would be expected to work with these stakeholders, and any others that they identify, to understand where the most influential barriers to information sharing exist, and where there is potential for a digital service solution to be developed. In developing ideas for a digital solution, who the users might be should be considered, and that thinking should be informed by engagement carried out with these stakeholders. Key stakeholders, and potential users, include: Manufacturing businesses, based in industrial clusters, that could benefit from better information sharing with other businesses, decarbonisation project developers, Industrial Decarbonisation projects, that might benefit from information sharing with businesses, government, or others. Trade Associations representing Energy Intensive Industry Local government and Local Enterprise Partnerships who might benefit from better information sharing with business, clusters and central government. Examples of the Mission's stakeholders and potential users will be made available to the successful supplier. Early Market Engagement BEIS has previously carried out a Discovery phase to explore the potential for a digital solution to facilitate information sharing between industrial businesses, commissioned through the Industrial Decarbonisation and Energy Efficiency Roadmaps to 2050 project. The Roadmaps project identified a need to improve information sharing between industrial companies on the topic of decarbonisation and energy efficiency. The findings of this will be shared with the chosen supplier to inform them of approaches previously taken. However, the ambition for BEIS’ industrial decarbonisation policy has increased since the Roadmaps project work was commissioned. Approaches to decarbonisation such as the Industrial Clusters Mission, which has an ambitious and time restricted target, highlight the importance of understanding and addressing any barriers to information sharing that prevent us from achieving this goal. Work Already Done Through existing workstreams, such as the Roadmaps project and development of the Industrial Clusters Mission, we have put together a light touch scope for this Discovery phase. This includes initial thinking of barriers to information sharing that might exist within the Mission, and those stakeholders or users that could potentially benefit from development of a digital service. This work will be made available to potential suppliers. Existing Team The supplier will be required to work with the BEIS Industrial Decarbonisation policy team. There will be limited Digital support provided by BEIS, and as such the supplier would be expected to provide digital expertise. The successful contractor will be expected to identify one named point of contact through whom all enquiries can be filtered. A BEIS project manager will be assigned to the project and will be the central point of contact. The supplier will be expected to work closely with key stakeholders. Current Phase Discovery Work Location The project will be based at the BEIS offices at 1 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0ET for meetings and workshops. Some travel may be required to engage with stakeholders – UK only. Costs for travel will not be covered by BEIS. Working Arrangments BEIS works in a flexible environment which allows for onsite and homeworking. Regular face to face meetings will be agreed with the supplier once they've been selected. The project will be based at the BEIS offices at 1 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0ET for meetings and workshops. Some travel may be required to engage with stakeholders – UK only. Expenses, such as cost of travel, will not be covered by BEIS. Security Clearance Additional T&Cs 1 Intellectual Property Rights Skills & Experience Experience of delivering digital projects within the Government Service Manual Experience of delivering Discovery phases inline with the Government Service Manual Experience of working with public sector teams, particularly those with no/limited experience of Agile, in Discovery and iterative development Experience of working with a diverse group of stakeholders both within and outside of Government Experience of recruiting users for research Experience of conducting user research with small, medium, large companies and complex organisations Experience of delivering evidence-based research to inform a user-centred design, focused on user needs, end-to-end user journeys, motivations and goals Experience of working in the open and regularly sharing with a wide audience Nice to Haves Experience of working with organisations active in, or working with, the Energy sector Experience of working with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Experience of delivering similar types of projects No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 4 Proposal Criteria Technical Solution Approach and Methodology How the approach meets BEIS' policy objectives Estimated timeframes for the work How risks and dependencies have been identified and offered approaches to managing these risks Proposed team structure Value for money Cultural Fit Criteria Work as a team with our organisation and other suppliers Be transparent and collaborative when making decisions Take responsibility for their work Share knowledge and experience with other team members Challenge the status quo Can work with clients with low technical expertise Payment Approach Fixed price Assessment Method Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 10% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers Budget range £80,000 - £150,000