Technical capability to develop new and existing services for academies & free schools

Tender description

Summary of the work We’re looking for a technical delivery partner to help us develop and deliver new and existing services for academies and free schools. We have a range of services at multiple phases, from Discovery to Beta continuous improvement. We use Azure Data Factory 2.0, MS Dynamics 365 and .net core technologies. Expected Contract Length 2 years. Latest start date Tuesday 5 January 2021 Budget Range The indicative budget for the capability is £980,000, but this could expand or contract up to £3.4m over the contract period. Our ‘front-load’ budget until 31 March 2021 is £255,500. Budget approval is subject to Cabinet Office spending controls, service assessments and DfE governance. The department reserves the right to use any of the DOS pricing methodologies in any SoW (fixed price, capped T&M, or T&M). Each SoW will outline the work required and the associated budget, suppliers will need to provide clear costs to enable tracking. DfE does not commit to any minimum or maximum spend at this point. Why the Work is Being Done DfE and ESFA directly manage a growing number of academies and free schools. Our ultimate goal is that every child in England has access to a good or outstanding school. ‘We are transforming administration of the sector by developing a suite of external services for Trusts and Academies and an integrated internal service for the Department to manage them. . These services will enable Academies and Trusts to carry out certain administrative tasks easily and quickly. They replace 3 existing systems and bring together information held on 10 other systems, covering at least 50 business processes, to deliver a single version of truth of information and core processes to over 1,000 internal users. Problem to Be Solved We are seeking a flexible partner to support to develop and continuously improve our suite of services. We work in an agile way and currently our workload is high volume and fast paced, although this may scale up or scale down in future years. We are working on a range of 5 interconnected services at multiple service stages, including Beta, Alpha, Discovery, with plans to develop further services to integrate into the whole. Some of the problems to be solved are: Developing user centred services which are efficient and effective Automate and digitise services where possible ‘Configure first’ in Dynamics 365 Manage data transition, solve data proliferation and disconnected system problems Solve technical problems and bugs quickly Enable decommissioning of legacy systems Ensure solutions are accessible and DfE/GDS compliant Strong reporting and analytics Strong knowledge management and transfer We are currently using Azure stack, Dynamics 365, DevOps, CICD framework, Azure Data Factory 2.0,.net core and restful APIs. Who Are the Users As a project lead, I need to analyse accurate 'one version of the truth' data and information and process cases so that I can effectively manage academies and free schools. As Minister responsible for academies, I need to receive and understand accurate data so that I can make transparent, effective decisions and manage risk. As a school looking to open an academy, I need to be able to submit and manage my application securely and track its progress. As Service Owner, I need to ensure my service is monitored and available to all that need to use it with bugs resolved quickly and sustainably. Early Market Engagement None Work Already Done Previous suppliers include Sopra Steria and Deloitte who delivered specified outcomes during Discovery and Alpha stages. Currently Fujitsu are delivering outcomes for the subsequent Alpha and Beta phases. We are also working with other suppliers who provide 'front end' user research, delivery and design services. Our core d365 platform 'TRAMS' is in public beta. An external .net core service 'Apply to become an academy' is in public beta and is loosely coupled to TRAMS. Other products in development are in Alpha and Beta. We have planned to start further discoveries and decommissioning our first legacy services. Existing Team An agile, collaborative, multi-disciplinary, user-centred team working across DfE sites with a common purpose to deliver the programme. Existing civil service roles include Product Managers, Senior Responsible Owner, Programme Delivery Manager, User Researchers, Service Designers, Interaction Designers, Content Designers, Business Analysts, Business Change and Communications staff. We also work with other vendors who are providing additional front-end roles including Delivery Management. The successful supplier will provide flexible technical capability to achieve outcomes. The supplier will be required to supply any of the back end multi-disciplinary capabilities to deliver the project, which may include short-term increased capability or longer-term partial needs. Current Phase Not applicable Skills & Experience • Evidence of delivering sustainable data/technical architecture design for end-to-end digital services using modern standard industry patterns and practices • Evidence of delivering solutions which align with rigorous technology code of practices, security standards, accessibility standards and GDPR • Experience of providing flexible resource to deliver similar back-end data and digital services to meet user needs • Demonstrable experience of end to end Microsoft Dynamics 365 delivery including delivering processes using 'configure first' • Demonstrable experience of developing and continuously improving .net core services for external users • Experience of integrated Azure development and delivery • Experience of delivering complex systems with data integration and continuous improvement • Demonstrable experience of gracefully decommissioning services and transferring data from them • Experience of delivering in the context of a flexible inter-organisational multi-site Agile team • Experience of CICD and DevOps practice in a similar scenario • Working with key stakeholders to delivery outcomes and to pass GDS assessments or similar Nice to Haves • Demonstrate experience of knowledge transfer to the buyer’s organisation to build permanent back-end capability • Communicate progress effectively to engage a wide set of users across government audiences including senior level stakeholders in Show and Tells and key meetings • Be a Microsoft certified partner Work Location The project teams are based in Sheffield and Manchester but for the duration of restrictions on movement due to COVID-19, collaboration is expected to work remotely. When appropriate, travel may be required to other DfE offices nationwide. We see the development of an effective inter-organisation and multi-site team as crucial to success. Technology will need to be used optimally including TEAMS and Azure Devops boards. Currently all our ceremonies are remote but we do expect to work face to face within this contract. Working Arrangments The project must be delivered to GDS service standards. Collaboration with the team to create a strong inter-organisational team is important. We will divide up the work into statements of work with specific outcomes. The first will include handover from current supplier and to draft the exit plan. Using collaborative tools enabling cross-site working including MS Teams and Azure DevOps boards For governance, weekly status reports and meetings. Ability to contribute in show and tells. Meet DfE architectural, technical and security principles, standards and governance. Provide flexible back-end capabilities which may expand or contract. Travel expenses won't be reimbursed. Security Clearance DfE requires all supplier staff to have baseline personnel security standard clearance (BPSS). There may be a requirement to gain higher security clearance checks and / or enhanced DBS checks. This will be detailed in the SOW. The supplier will need to be compliant with the DfE's Security Standards. Additional T&Cs We shall have the right to terminate the Contract at any time, by giving 28 days written notice to the Supplier, and DfE's liability thereto shall be limited to costs reasonably incurred by the Supplier up until the termination date only. Suppliers must confirm acceptance of this term. All IPRs (as defined) in the Project-Specific IPRs and the Deliverables shall vest in the Buyer unconditionally and immediately upon their creation. Annual budget approval for the following business year is due to be confirmed in January of each year. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 4 Proposal Criteria • Demonstrate providing a flexible capability model including the ability to flex up and down (e.g. providing part-time capability for a phase) to achieve GDS (or equivalent) compliant agile development • Experience of Dynamics 365 CRM implementation with 'configure first' methodology and designing innovative solutions to meet user needs • Demonstrate an effective and efficient delivery approach to achieve value for money • Demonstrable Microsoft Azure implementation • Experience of securely connecting external user services to Dynamics 365 CRM • Demonstrable experience of integrating systems in a secure and efficient way using appropriate architectural patterns and technology to ensure systems are loosely coupled and performant • Experience of complex data modelling design and implementation • Suggested team make up and levels of skills and experience of those who would be assigned to the project • Explain how knowledge and experience will be shared with the host team to build capability for sustainable outcomes • Experience of building non-functional requirements (constraints stories) into a digital service e.g. reliability, interoperability, scalability and availability Cultural Fit Criteria • Work as an agile inter-organisational multi-site team with the buyer and other agencies • Demonstrate your user centred approach and how this supports organisational success • Demonstrate how you will work transparently and collaboratively with the DfE architecture and data teams to maintain our standards and complete safe decommissioning of legacy services • Explain how the supplier will onboard people during delivery to ensure little delay to team velocity both before and after they join the team. • Explain how you align to the programme’s objectives and civil service values. Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method • Work history • Reference • Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 50% Cultural fit 10% Price 40% Questions from Suppliers 1. Who's in the incumbent and how long have they been the incumbent We are in the process of revising this opportunity, and will be removing the current advert imminently with a view to republishing by the end of the week. All submitted queries will be considered in the review, and should they not sufficiently answer your clarification then do please resubmit against the updated criteria and timescales. 2. Who's on the panel? We are in the process of revising this opportunity, and will be removing the current advert imminently with a view to republishing by the end of the week. All submitted queries will be considered in the review, and should they not sufficiently answer your clarification then do please resubmit against the updated criteria and timescales. 3. Is there an incumbent? We are in the process of revising this opportunity, and will be removing the current advert imminently with a view to republishing by the end of the week. All submitted queries will be considered in the review, and should they not sufficiently answer your clarification then do please resubmit against the updated criteria and timescales. 4. Will the supplier be responsible for the delivery management of the team and the outcomes required, through their own Delivery Managers? We are in the process of revising this opportunity, and will be removing the current advert imminently with a view to republishing by the end of the week. All submitted queries will be considered in the review, and should they not sufficiently answer your clarification then do please resubmit against the updated criteria and timescales. 5. Within a typical team profile that you envisage, please clarify the types of roles to be fulfilled by the successful supplier and roles that will be fulfilled by other suppliers or DfE. We are in the process of revising this opportunity, and will be removing the current advert imminently with a view to republishing by the end of the week. All submitted queries will be considered in the review, and should they not sufficiently answer your clarification then do please resubmit against the updated criteria and timescales. 6. Is there further information with which incumbent suppliers will be familiar that you will share with the down-selected suppliers, to inform their proposed approach? We are in the process of revising this opportunity, and will be removing the current advert imminently with a view to republishing by the end of the week. All submitted queries will be considered in the review, and should they not sufficiently answer your clarification then do please resubmit against the updated criteria and timescales. 7. What levels of co-located and distributed working are you open to once COVID-19 restrictions have eased? We are in the process of revising this opportunity, and will be removing the current advert imminently with a view to republishing by the end of the week. All submitted queries will be considered in the review, and should they not sufficiently answer your clarification then do please resubmit against the updated criteria and timescales. 8. Is there an incumbent supplier? We are in the process of revising this opportunity, and will be removing the current advert imminently with a view to republishing by the end of the week. All submitted queries will be considered in the review, and should they not sufficiently answer your clarification then do please resubmit against the updated criteria and timescales.