Accessibility audit of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's digital real estate

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done The agency requires a specialist supplier to support our project to achieve compliance with the new Accessibility Regulations that apply to public sector websites. Suppliers are required to conduct an audit of our digital estate including extranets against WCAG 2.1 AA. A report detailing which sites and pages do not meet this standard and which accessibility requirements they do not meet should be the end product of the audit. Problem to Be Solved Automated checks of the agency's digital real estate have identified that all of our sites and systems are incompliant. We now require manual checks to fully scope the action we need to take to achieve compliance and formulate our project plan. Who Are the Users As a disabled user, I need to be able to access and interact with the guidance, products and services available on the agency's digital real estate with ease so that I can decide whether or not to use or progress them. Early Market Engagement Work Already Done Automated checks using Microsoft Accessibility Insights for Web have been carried out against our websites and extranets and have identified failures across the board. Work to improve accessibility on sites that we host content on but do not maintain e.g. gov.uk is underway and being progressed through the webupdates/communications function and by content owners cross-agency. Existing Team This is a cross-agency project involving the Communications and Transformation Divisions with internal stakeholders from across the business responsible for content development and business continuity reliant on digital systems. Current Phase Discovery Work Location 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London, E14 4PU Working Arrangments The agency would expect the supplier to attend meetings online and in-person as required, but the majority of this work can be completed at the supplier's premises. Security Clearance Successful bidder will be expected to sign the agency's standard NDA. Additional T&Cs Skills & Experience Experience of conducting accessibility audits of software for the public sector and optionally for the private sector; Experience of application of the accessibility regulations on extranets and online forms; Experience of understanding of WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines; Experience of understanding the Equality Act 2010 in relation to websites; Experience of understanding the EU Accessibility Directive; Experience of testing with users who have a range of disabilities; Experience of assessing websites for usability through assistive technology and software. Nice to Haves Recent experience (last 12 months) of conducting accessibility audits for the public sector; Experience working with a UK-wide regulatory body; Experience providing content designers and product owners/developers with guidance relating to accessibility; Experience managing expectations of a broad range of senior stakeholders with a range of technical experience; Involvement in the wider accessibility community - for example through publishing blog posts, running training and contributing to standards. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria Technical solution; Approach and methodology; How the approach or solution meets user needs; How the approach or solution meets your organisation's policy or goal; Estimated timeframes for the work; How they've identified risks and dependencies and offered approaches to manage them; 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; have a no-blame culture and encourage people to learn from their mistakes. Payment Approach Fixed price Assessment Method Work history Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 50% Cultural fit 10% Price 40% Questions from Suppliers No questions have been answered yet Budget range £15,000 (excl. vat)