Continuous Development Phase of the Energy Performance of Buildings Register

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done The Department is responsible for providing a statutory service to lodge, store and retrieve Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), Air Conditioning Inspection Reports (ACIRs) and Display Energy Certificates (DECs). The Department must ensure that there is no break in the continuity of this statutory service as the service moves out into the live iterative development phase. A development team is required both to keep a high quality service running and to lead continuous improvement of the service. Problem to Be Solved The service is now in its continuous service phase. In addition to adding to the ongoing support function (ie. ad hoc fixes, maintenance, monitoring etc.), there is still a substantial back log of work to be fulfilled including many features that are key to successful delivery of the EPC Action Plan: Further improvement to consumer information provided by the EPC and how it is presented e.g. FAQ section, data as a URL Tools to test the robustness of EPCs e.g. URN for assessors, availability of additional information Better identify non-compliance by assessors, and introduce a formal error-reporting system Improved quality assurance through smart auditing In addition to these key areas, GDS service standards demand that we iteratively improve our service via continuous user research. This team of developers will work with our CS team to turn these research insights into technical developments that will enrich the user experience of the service. Who Are the Users There are four core user needs; Citizen Users – Requirement 1 As a citizen user I need to see if I need to get an EPC assessment So that I can sell or lease my property Citizen Users – Requirement 2 As a citizen user I need to find an energy assessor So that I can book the energy assessment I need to sell or lease my property Citizen Users Requirement 3 As a citizen user, I need simple recommendations about energy efficiency So that I can take action to improve the energy performance of my property Energy Assessment Scheme As an Energy Assessment Scheme I need to give my assessors secure access to the register So that they can send XML data to the register to generate an energy assessment certificate Data User As a user of EPBR Data I need simple access to the EPB data So that I can draw insight that will feed into policy around energy use Early Market Engagement The github repository can be found here: https://github.com/communitiesuk Work Already Done The service has been launched to live. This includes; APIs written that allow the energy schemes to create addressing solutions, assessor management and the sending of complete XML documents to be rendered as HTML pages A citizen facing front end for two services; Find-energy-certificate and getting-new-energy-certificate APIs to manage interaction of energy policies managed by BEIS with the EPBR Existing Team Civil Servants fulfilling the following roles: Service Owner, Product Owner, Technical Architect, Developer (2), Delivery Manager, User Researcher We would expect contractors to roll off the project as more civil servant developers are recruited. Current Phase Live Work Location Ministry of Communities and Local Government offices at 2 Marsham Street, with the option of working remotely in line with government guidance, and subject to change as government guidance evolves. Working Arrangments We would prefer a co-located team in 2 Marsham Street, however team members may work remotely 1-2 days a week with agreement and in line with government guidance around the transmission and spread of COVID-19. Travel/expenses to the primary site in 2 Marsham Street cannot be reimbursed by MHCLG. We expect the supplier to work using agile methodology. The supplier will also be expected to work openly. Security Clearance CTC or above is desirable as non-CTC staff require escorting into and around the building. There's no requirement for supplier personnel to be security cleared. BPSS clearance will be required to access MHCLG's ICT systems. Please make it clear whether staff have CTC security clearance or not when submitting responses. Additional T&Cs All materials/outputs derived from the contract shall be the property of MHCLG; GDPR requirements will be discussed and agreed once the successful supplier has been notified (as part of discussions to agree the wording of the call-off contract). Non-disclosure agreement will also be required to deliver this requirement Skills & Experience With examples, provide evidence of your experience in working with a multi-disciplinary team on agile projects of similar size and complexity as outlined in the Government Service Standard. Provide details in supporting a high volume, transactional, web-based service to Digital Service Standard into its continuous running phase, including compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility guidelines and GDPR. Provide details of developing and delivering secure/scalable and robust cloud-based services including a continuous-integration (CI) pipeline, comprehensive test coverage, live service monitoring/alerting, knowledge of system security risks and pragmatic mitigation. Provide evidence of experience of working with the following tools and technologies: Ruby and the Sinatra DSL, managed PostgreSQL, XML including XML schema, JSON APIs and Open API 3.0 specifications. With examples, tell us how you’ve managed the interaction of complex, unstructured data into a modern production environment With examples, provide details of your expertise in working with large XML datasets and transforming them into forms that make reporting and analysis straightforward. With examples, provide details of your understanding of the challenges associated with working with address data and UPRNs, and approaches to overcoming these challenges. Nice to Haves No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria Proposed approach and methodology – including technical proposal Demonstrating an understanding of our requirements Team structure, including skills and experience of individuals and their relevance Demonstrating value for money. How the approach or solution meets user needs. How you will ensure smooth transition and knowledge transfer to the live service team. Cultural Fit Criteria Experience of successful collaborative working as part of a mixed supplier-client delivery team sharing knowledge within the team. Experience of delivering in an open, collaborative way according to the principles of the Government Service Design Manual. Identifying risks and dependencies, and offering approaches to manage them Demonstrate establishing rapport with stakeholders, keeping them informed and managing their expectations. Demonstrate simplicity (e.g. do less but better, explaining complex issues in a clear, simple way, break down and prioritise complex issues). Team structure, including CVs, skills and experience of individual team members. Experience of complex, multi-format, bulk data migration and data cleansing. Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Case study Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 20% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers No questions have been answered yet Budget range up to £121,900 for the initial three month period