MHCLG Programme Mgt & Service Standards for Funding-Roles to complete Alpha+Beta Team CPD4121145

Tender description

Summary of the work MHCLG manages a significant number of funding and grants programmes. We want to develop a modular set of interoperable tools, which collectively provide consistently high quality funding services. This brief is for the alpha of the programme-management module. Expected Contract Length Up to 6 months with an initial 12 week Alpha to be completed by 31/3/21 Latest start date Monday 4 January 2021 Budget Range Up to £180,000 excluding VAT Why the Work is Being Done MHCLG manages a significant number of funding and grants programmes, including the European Regional Development Fund and, in future, its successor fund the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). As of February 2020 we had 95 funded programmes, 27 of which were competitive funds, worth approximately £45bn. As the department prepares to implement successor grants to EU structural funding, there’s an opportunity to build a modern grant management infrastructure that enables automation of processes and reduces duplication of effort across the department by ensuring a common set of tools and service standards that can be reused across the department. Problem to Be Solved Discovery into service design options for the proposed UKSPF identified a common set of user needs, process steps and tooling requirements amongst all competitive funding programmes. Grant programmes in MHCLG either use; general purpose tools (e.g. spreadsheets/outlook) that are time consuming to set-up, labour intensive to maintain, lacking in functionality, present certain security risks we need to manage and are often not fit to deliver funds at the scale MHCLG operates, or they have bespoke systems built that are expensive to develop, time-consuming to design and are not reusable for other funded programmes. As a result the department is working to establish a set of reusable modules (micro-services) for delivering competitive funds and a common service standard to align service design. MHCLG requires a team with expertise in Service Design, Solution Architecture and User Centred Design to join their multi-disciplinary team to help deliver the Alpha and Beta phases of the work. Team is expected to work on a central data store that communicates across modules, tools for Programme Management of Funds & development of Service Standards for funding. Who Are the Users User groups are: (a) people who work for organisations that receive funding (local authorities, local organisations) - need to be able to keep track of funded projects locally and show the delivery body what they are doing so they can continue their work (b) people who work for organisations that manage and deliver funding (MHCLG and third party central and local delivery partners) - need to be able to have oversight of several projects to see how money is being spent and whether outcomes are being met (c) people who work for MHCLG and central government audit, compliance and assurance functions - need to be able to assess the whole program and report centrally to ensure compliance and assurance Early Market Engagement NA Work Already Done A discovery phase has been completed in 2020. Recommendations: - Build on the funding process flows mapped out in the discovery, articulating the interaction experience across touchpoints - Build on and articulate the user roles and improve organisation design thinking for team sizes, structures, etc. - Not build on existing platforms - Take a modular approach to developing new funding tools - embark on alphas for the highest value modules and build the service out iteratively - Create a digital taxonomy to help understand how the service components relate to each other to create a joined up user experience Existing Team The product manager from the discovery will be part of the team along with a Senior User Researcher, Delivery Manager, Agile Business Analyst & Interaction Designer. There will also be two departmental SMEs from key funding teams embedded within the team. Work on other recommendations from the discovery phase will happen concurrently, so there is an expectation that this team will work in partnership with other workstreams delivering modules for the funding service. Team are open to suggestion of roles needed to complete team but were expecting Solutions Architects, Service Designers, Content Designers, Tech Leads and additional User Research. Current Phase Alpha Skills & Experience • Experience of delivering alphas in line with the Government Service Manual. • Evidence of delivering an alpha based on a discovery conducted by another supplier (or a beta based on an alpha by a previous supplier). • Experience of recruiting users for research, including people working for highly regulated organisations (not members of the public). • Experience of exploring, testing and recommending solutions including where there is the option to buy vs build a solution. • Experience of exploring solutions for data management including practical strategies and standards and APIs. • Evidence of meeting skill requirements based on the anticipated composition of the team. Nice to Haves • Experience of working on grant management services. • Experience of delivering within/alongside an organisational change programme. Work Location We expect most of the work to be done remotely, however the successful supplier should be able to work with MHCLG in 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF, including a weekly face to face update meeting in this location, if needed (restrictions permitting). Working Arrangments As above. Travel expenses to the primary site in 2 Marsham Street will not be reimbursed by MHCLG. Security Clearance CTC is desirable so that supplier staff do not need escorting if restrictions allow working on site. A minimum of BPSS clearance is required to access MHCLG's IT systems. Please confirm staff proposed have either BPSS or BPSS/CTC/SC clearance. Additional T&Cs 1. All materials/outputs derived from the contract shall be the property of MHCLG; 2. 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). 3. Continuation into beta will be contingent on alpha findings and subject to a service assessment/spend control including budget approval.  4. A short break should be allowed for between alpha and beta to allow for a review of the alpha phase, including a service assessment and review of findings to confirm the work should proceed to beta. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • Approach and methodology • Team structure • Value for money • Timescales to deliver the project • Technical solution • Flexible approach from supplier • NOTE: Standard price calculation for evaluation purposes assuming a 60 day assignment for 5 roles. • EXAMPLE-Role 1:£600p.d x 60 = £36k: Role 2:£600p.d x60 = £36k:Role3:£600p.d x60= £36k: Role 4: £600p.d x30= £18k: Role 5:£900p.d x60=£54k- total price to evaluate £180k. • If shortlisted, suppliers should provide the following:- • Written proposal to include work history and CVs as per the points above • Proposed team including day rates and duration for each candidate • Presentation (estimated date 17/18 December 2020) • Scoring Criteria for the Written proposal -Technical Competence and Cultural Fit will be scored individually using the following Criteria: • Score 0 = Failed to provide confidence that the proposal will meet the requirements. An unacceptable response with serious reservations. • Score 25 = A Poor response with reservations. The response lacks convincing detail with risk that the proposal will not be successful in meeting all the requirements. • Score 50 = Meets the requirements – the response generally meets the requirements, but lacks sufficient detail to warrant a higher mark. • Score 75= A Good response that meets the requirements with good supporting evidence. Demonstrates good understanding. • Score 100=An Excellent comprehensive response that meets the requirements. Indicates an excellent response with detailed supporting evidence and no weaknesses resulting in a high level of confidence. • In the event of a tie the highest score in the Technical Competence section will be used to award. Cultural Fit Criteria • Provide details (with specific examples) of where you have: • - worked with highly regulated organisations • - managed internal and external stakeholders including difficult stakeholders • - taken responsibility for delivering to clients' requirements • - been transparent and collaborative when making decisions • - challenged the status quo • - put user needs first • - shared knowledge and experience with other teams and organisations Payment Approach Fixed price Assessment Method • Work history • Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 40% Cultural fit 10% Price 50% Questions from Suppliers 1. Q1. Hi Team who did discovery and is it possible to share discovery outcomes? A1. Please use this link to access a summary of our discovery findings produced for this procurement. https://github.com/communitiesuk/funding-service-design-docs/issues/1#issue-750730784 2. The requirements look to align with a DevOps delivery model, would the department consider a product / cloud platform-based approach ? We will be working as a team to work out what the correct solution is. Whatever we choose will align with the Service Standard and Tech Code of Practice. We will use GOV.UK PaaS if building new services as default. 3. In reference to the question "Experience of delivering within/alongside an organisational change programme." Can you please provide some clarity on what elements of organisation change you are referring to? Specifically, people’s jobs are changing and there’s uncertainty not just related to the changes that come from the digital work. You’ll have to be part of a wider governance structure that is talking about other changes and will need to be able to work with people leading those other strands.