GLA Estate Discovery

Tender description

Summary of the work The GLA is looking to conduct a discovery process to help us develop our digital estate. We are seeking a strategic agency specialising in user experience, digital design, service design and digital transformation. A more detailed Request for Proposal document can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fDQ5KdqHa4VnlkXceyD2rqsUv04V5Wo84s5PLBrnMfg/edit?usp=sharing Expected Contract Length 4 months Latest start date Monday 6 July 2020 Budget Range £100k - £200k Why the Work is Being Done The GLA delivers a range of services online – for partners, government and civil society stakeholders and citizens. However, our main website, London.gov.uk no longer acts as an effective platform for this work. There is also a technical imperative. The majority of services and websites which comprise our digital estate were built on an open source system, Drupal 7. Now that version of Drupal is becoming obsolete – in November 2021 it will no longer be supported, introducing risks to security and higher costs to developing the site. We need to rebuild London.gov.uk in Drupal 8 to ensure it remains secure, robust, scalable and able to meet the needs of our users and stakeholders. Problem to Be Solved Our core website platform is due to go out of support in November 2021. Alongside that, the digital landscape for users and our administration has changed significantly since our last major site update six years ago. This is more than just a website project; we need to review and update our strategy, sites, delivery model and infrastructure and win hearts and minds. We want to develop a shared vision, strategy and roadmap to create and deliver a new digital presence for the GLA, which will engage citizens, allow us to reach our diverse audiences more effectively and clearly reflect our leadership role in London. In addition, the GLA’s digital delivery team has grown over the years to meet rising demand within the organisation, but the delivery model has not been reviewed since 2015. Who Are the Users Primary audiences of London.gov.uk: • Londoners: targets of programmes and marketing campaigns (victims of crime, young Londoners at risk of crimes, house hunters, car buyers etc.) • Londoners: people with a personal interest in a policy area, people engaged with an issue in their local community, campaigners • People with a professional interest, including organised communities (civil society and community groups, schools and teachers, third sector etc.) • GLA staff Secondary users (wide-ranging, but includes): • People interested in the politics of London • People who use our site for their job e.g. city planners, grant applicants • Event organisers and attendees • Researchers, analysts, academics, students • Local authorities and government bodies • Media and bloggers • Tourists, visitors, job hunters • GLA partners Work Already Done The GLA can provide (on request): • GLA digital product and service inventory • Digital delivery team structure (current model with SWOT analysis) • Previous/related research: o Outputs of pre-discovery workshop on London.gov o General digital insights for London o TeamLondon, LondonElects and TalkLondon discoveries • Look Book: Mayor of London brand guidelines • Web analytics - various dashboards • List of content types on London.gov.uk • GLA’s technical standards and development handbook • Peer review on GLA Technology, Digital Services and Data, by the Local Government Association (2018) • London Datastore strategy(2020) • TalkLondon strategy and development roadmap (2019). Existing Team The project team includes; Project Lead, Project Manager, Workstream leads and appropriate team members and specialists. The project team will also be working on other projects. Current Phase Discovery Skills & Experience • Demonstration of high-level of expertise in user research and user experience (including research methods, tools and design principles). Experience of conducting user testing at all levels of the design process • • Digital design expertise - able to provide evidence of visually engaging, user-first websites that have transformed the online experience for users • • Experience of redesigning and relaunching large, information-rich websites, which are platform agnostic • • Experience of designing websites which support digital inclusion - excellent knowledge of inclusive design, accessibility guidelines - specifically WCAG 2.1 AA - and understanding of GDPR regulations • • Experience in agile delivery, knowledge of the GDS service standard and design principles • • Demonstrable evidence where product development has complied with user centred design, using a diverse set of technologies and digital channels • • Demonstrable evidence of knowledge of data platforms and technical architecture e.g. working with .net framework, Windows and Linux servers, Open source technology stacks, MySQL/PostgreSQL database and cloud-based technologies • • Demonstrable experience of drawing-up technical infrastructure recommendations and options, ensuring robustness and scalability in using technology to meet user needs. Evidence of designing modular reusable, repeatable systems • • Evidence of reducing technical debt and using the best technology for the task (while adhering to expected technical standards) Nice to Haves • Demonstrate experience working with local or national government • Demonstrate experience in supporting complex, large organisations through programmes of digital change • Demonstrate experience of migrating content/data from a multi-platform web estate Work Location The Greater London Authority are based at City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, London SE1 2AA, but all teams are currently working entirely remotely. Working Arrangments We expect the work to be carried out remotely and the chosen agency would need to fully integrate with our team, share their knowledge and insight, work in an open and transparent way and demonstrate good agile product delivery practice. Regular meetings, workshops, show and tells should be held on suitable platforms such as Microsoft Teams. Security Clearance Bidders will be expected to meet the Baseline Personal Security Standard. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria • • How you will ensure that the GLA’s aims will be met and the problem (as set out above) solved. • • The proposed approach to carrying out the transformation of multiple subsites and integrating these in a core model. • • How you propose to stage the work with a proposed timetable. • • What team structure you propose, given the skills required and how each team member will contribute to solving the problem and meeting the GLA’s aims. • • Confirmation that the team you propose will be available for the duration of the work. • • What risks you perceive in the proposed work and how you (and the wider team) can mitigate them to an acceptable level. • • What assumptions you are making and the services you need from the GLA. • • How you will ensure that the GLA gets maximum value for money by engaging your company. Cultural Fit Criteria • • How will you ensure that you work with the GLA team as a single team with a shared purpose? • • What measures do you propose to ensure that you quickly understand the Mayor’s vision for London and apply it to your work with the GLA? • • How will you ensure that you communicate with the GLA team frequently, openly, honestly and constructively challenging any pre-conceptions and involving them in decision making? Payment Approach Fixed price Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 50% Cultural fit 15% Price 35% Questions from Suppliers 1. You mention a rebuild onto Drupal 8. Would you be open to considering other open source CMS platforms such as Umbraco instead? No, the GLA is keen to maintain Drupal as our key platform 2. Could you provide a contact email address so that we can request the documents that are listed? vikramgudra@tfl.gov.uk 3. Can we execute this work entirely from an offshore location such as India? Fully remote proposals are acceptable, in line with the provisions within the RFP. 4. Reference the information that you can provide on request. How do we request this, so we can evaluate whether this is the right fit for us? Contact vikramgudra@tfl.gov.uk with the specific document that you are requesting. 5. Is the budget range of £100k to £200k exclusive of VAT? Yes 6. Will there be any shortlisting of suppliers between proposal submission and presentation stage? Or will all 5 agencies who submit proposals be invited to present? All 5 Suppliers who submit written proposals will be expected to present