A PARTNERSHIP APPROACH TO DESIGNING AND BUILDING NEW WEBSITES FOR TWO NEW UNITARY AUTHORITIES

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done In 2018 the UK Government recommended that the current County, District and Borough authorities within Northamptonshire should be replaced with two unitary authorities. Two new separate websites (acting independently with separate Content Management Systems (CMS)) will need to be in place to reflect this change, initially linking back to the existing 8 Local Authority websites for a seamless customer journey on Vesting Day (1st April 2021). The existing websites will need to be decommissioned (current expectations are within two years maximum from Vesting Day) and all third party sites and transactional systems will need to be replaced to create end-to-end user experiences. Websites are to be live for beta testing by the end of December 2020 moving to live 1st April 2021. The delivery partner will lead to develop a programme of work including sourcing and providing the CMS, designing & building two Minimum Viable Product (MVP) (websites) and migrating and updating content from the existing council websites. We see this as the start of a longer term project to then enable us to close down the existing sites, improve user experience and transfer skills into the retained unitary digital teams to enable continuing maintenance, development and improvements. Problem to Be Solved We need to have two new unitary MVP websites developed by 31st Dec 2020, linking back to the existing council sites for the majority of council service content and transactions. The user experience must be as simple as possible so that customers can navigate seamlessly between the new websites and the relevant content and transactional services on the existing 'legacy' sites. After Vesting Day, the existing websites need to begin decommissioning, a process which needs to be completed for all sites within 2 years from live. The delivery partner will lead the design and implementation of the new unitary websites. This includes recommending, providing and configuring the CMS so that the sites are accessible, sustainable, responsive and scalable. A cloud first approach should be utilised where possible for both websites and CMS systems with the appropriate security controls to minimise complex network configuration of the existing networks. The new websites must meet all relevant government guidance and legislation including GDPR, accessibility legislation and the EU cookie directive. We need a partner that can work with us, upskilling the team in UX, service design and agile methodologies whilst embedding a user-centered approach to delivery sustainable beyond the life of the contract. Who Are the Users Below are some examples of our high-level user needs based on our assumptions. Once we progress the discovery phase of the project, we will be able to validate and broaden user needs. • As a resident of Northamptonshire, I want to be able to locate information effortlessly, so that I can complete my request quickly and easily. • As a business, we want to complete compulsory business transactions easily, so that we can carry on with day to day responsibilities as a business with no delay. • As a customer service advisor, I want to be able to find information about a specific council service quickly, so that I can help answer the query for the customer who has made contact. • As a content editor/publisher, I need a simple and intuitive interface, so that I can create and manage useful content. It is important that although there is a focus on the needs of members of the public, it is noted that people within the local authorities are users too. Early Market Engagement Please access the summary from our early market engagement exercise below; https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qfMKNV6uix9YIICbVCU5w6HQO7cSuRDvnhAwrNylts8/edit?usp=sharing Work Already Done • Research into similar Local Authority unitary website change processes and decision made on the general approach to MVP (top level sites linking to existing District and Borough sites with joint County site) for Vesting Day • System audit (collated information about current systems in use by existing authorities) • Baseline information about existing websites, microsites, third party systems and forms has been collected. • Mapping of the current content publication processes (‘as-is’) • Analytics review – transaction volumes, website page views, conversion rates (where available) Existing Team The project will report into the Future Northants Unitary Programme governance team and will be run by an empowered delivery team. There is some capacity to support the work from existing resource however note that existing roles are not full time and will need to combine with Business As Usual (BAU) activity. Current Phase Discovery Work Location Due to the current Coronavirus outbreak situation, many staff are now working remotely. Remote working/collaboration platforms are being used to enable communication and movement of the project (e.g. Microsoft Teams, Trello etc.) this will continue throughout the project Should the situation make it possible to work on-site within the contract time, the team’s home base will be Northamptonshire County Council headquarters, but you will need to be prepared to work in the district and borough offices located across Northamptonshire. There will be flexibility around working from home or other offices. This will be dictated by the needs of the project Working Arrangments We would expect a delivery partner to work with us on this project for as long as necessary each week. The length of time spent on this project by the partner each week will be determined based on the needs of the project. Any communication or activities that need to take place will be carried out through the most appropriate channel. Security Clearance Additional T&Cs Please note the following in relation to this contract opportunity Local government services in Northamptonshire are currently provided by a single County Council and seven separate District and Borough Councils. On 1 April 2021, all the existing councils in Northamptonshire will be abolished and replaced with two new unitary councils – North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire Councils. During the period leading up to 1 April 2021, all contract procurement will follow Daventry District Council’s Procurement Framework. On 1 April 2021, all contracts procured using this Framework will transfer to one or both of the new unitary councils Skills & Experience Commitment to deliver two MVPs by 31st December 2020;providing and implementing separate websites with separate content management systems for each site - 5% Understanding and experience of delivering services that meet, GDS Service Standard, MHCLG Local Digital Declaration, GDS Technology Code of Practice, WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility guidelines - 5% Providing qualified, skilled personnel to; manage and contribute to the various project stages -provide skills in content migration, content strategy development, business analysis, user research and service delivery - 3% Designing high volume digital services to meet wide ranging user needs; includes mapping business requirements, developing user journeys,stories, personas and wireframes for key content pages/types - 2% Understanding and experience of providing visually engaging customer-first websites that have transformed the online experience for users -2% Understanding and experience of working with internal IT teams to arrange hosting and integration with existing services - 2% Understanding and experience of data security and compliance (GDPR) - 2% Understanding and experience of providing multi-site search functionality and managing search engine optimisation - 2% Understanding and experience of creating and maintaining databases - 1% Other technologies like Customer Relationships Management (CRM) systems and online form platforms - Also having understanding of integration between systems to ensure duplication of effort is minimised - 1% Nice to Haves No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria Technical Solution - 5% Approach and Methodology ; How the approach and solution meet user needs, How the approach meets the organisations’ goals - 5% Identification of risks and dependencies and offered approaches to managing these - 5% Team Structure - 2% Value for Money - 8% Cultural Fit Criteria Able to work well with colleagues across the Northamptonshire local authorities and existing suppliers, including those who have low technical expertise – 2.5% Able to share detailed knowledge and skills regarding the user-centred design, agile methodology and continuous improvement with team members – 2.5% Able to up skill and empower in-house teams to create a sustainable product outcome - 2.5% Comfortable implementing their ways of working to encourage existing colleagues to follow suit – 2.5% Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Case study Reference Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 50% Cultural fit 10% Price 40% Questions from Suppliers No questions have been answered yet Budget range