Unified Infection Dataset (UID) Systems Development

Tender description

Why the Work is Being Done There is no single national dataset that gathers data on all clinically-significant infections with their corresponding antimicrobial susceptibilities, healthcare pre-exposure and clinical correlates. Creating a link between national microbiological and clinical datasets will establish a Unified Infection Dataset (UID). The UID will assist PHE strategies in executing its health protection function, including the investigation of incidents and outbreaks, and monitoring antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The epidemiological intelligence will allow us to identify potential targeted interventions and to assist in prioritising clinical and public health resources by monitoring long-term trends and assessing the impact of any outbreak or incident. Problem to Be Solved Large surveillance datasets are stored separately by PHE on multiple servers and are not routinely linked. We cannot duplicate the stored data; therefore, we wish to create a virtual environment whereby we can perform linkage dynamically on an ad hoc basis and/or routinely, subject to end-user queries. The system will perform standard analysis of the linked data at a patient level. Information Governance must comply with strict organisational standards. An API will need to be developed to allow external users to access the data in the future. Who Are the Users Internal PHE scientific staff: • Users need to be able to query the system routinely or ad hoc • Users will have the ability to customise and save queries, or to use pre-prepared data views • Patient level and aggregate data will be extracted for surveillance and research purposes Early Market Engagement None Work Already Done An internal proof-of-concept phase is being conducted to explore system and performance parameters, to determine end-user needs (Use Cases) and to define the functional and non-functional requirements of the UID. Existing Team The successful supplier will be working mainly with the project team, comprising: Project Manager, Epidemiological Lead, Project Support Officer, Data Architect. The project has senior staff oversight and an Advisory Group of senior internal and external stakeholders. Current Phase Discovery Work Location The work can be performed from any location and will be coordinated by staff based at PHE’s Colindale (London NW9) site. Working Arrangments Work may be carried out from multiple locations, including the Supplier’s offices. Attendance at PHE Offices in London may be required for meetings. Supplier staff are expected to be on-site at PHE locations often enough to manage relationships with the project team, end-users and stakeholders from other organisations. Security Clearance Not required Additional T&Cs None Skills & Experience Recent (within 3 years) and demonstrable experience of conducting the discovery phase relating to the use of digital solutions and technology, using data from large databases. Recent (within 3 years) and demonstrable experience of designing and implementing systems that perform data linkage between Recent (within 3 years) and demonstrable experience of applying the principles of user-centred design to the development of digital solutions for a range of users. Recent (within 3 years) and demonstrable experience of designing systems to manage personally identifying information under General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Recent (within 3 years) and demonstrable experience of designing systems able to work with high performance cluster computing. Nice to Haves Recent (within 3 years) experience of working with public sector organisations, particularly relating to public health and/or health care. Recent (within 3 years) experience of working with a range of users and stakeholders including scientific experts, technical and digital development team. Recent (within 3 years) experience of working with interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary project teams including clinical and scientific project members. Recent (within 3 years) experience of exploring system architecture, hardware platform and open source software options to meet performance and scalability requirements. Recent (within 3 years) experience of advanced methods for data linkage such as machine learning. Recent (within 3 years) experience of working in a Linux environment. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria Proposed approach to conducting the Discovery phase of a public health big data linkage project including working within the constraints of existing organisational services and technologies. (max score 15) Proposed approach to applying the principles of user-centred design/user insights to assess the needs of scientific users for all phases of the project (max score 15) Proposed approach to working with information governance and system performance requirements for all phases of the project. (max score 15) Proposed approach to conducting the Alpha, Beta and Live phases including open source solutions for linking and handling large volumes of data (max score 15) Cultural Fit Criteria Working with the project team and stakeholders who have varying experience of Agile methods (max score 4) Flexible working arrangements and knowledge sharing (max score 4) Transparent and collaborative approach when making decisions (max score 4) Demonstrating approach to knowledge transfer throughout the duration of the project (max score 4) Examples of previous experience of working with UK Government, local authorities or large organisations with a range of different stakeholders (max score 4) 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 £1,000,000 (excluding vat) for all phases (discovery to live) up to £75,000 (excluding vat) for discovery phase