Beta development of a Regulated Professions Register (RPR)

Tender description

Summary of the work The Department for Business,Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) requires a highly skilled, collaborative team with expertise to deliver service in Beta aligned with Digital Service Standards working from a prioritised backlog of user stories (MVP), pass Beta assessment, provide early life support for a period of 8 weeks. Expected Contract Length 24 weeks to include Private Beta Assessment and 8 - 12 weeks of early life support Latest start date Monday 11 October 2021 Budget Range Maximum budget is £500,000 excluding VAT Why the Work is Being Done BEIS is looking to develop a UK version of the European Commission’s Regulated Professions Database (RPD) – an online register for collecting details and data on professions regulated across the European Economic Area and their jurisdictions. The UK’s new Regulated Professions Register (RPR) needs to be scalable, efficient and secure. It will display information on regulated professions to support the recognition of professional qualifications of regulated professions. The priority outcome is to maintain and build on the key functionalities currently provided by the RPD. The service needs to be easily accessible for those inputting data into the database (for example regulators, government officials and the UK Centre for Professional Qualifications), and to display information in a clear and accessible way for those seeking information on UK and overseas regulated professions. It needs to be built in a way to allow the collection of relevant data to inform policy decisions and to monitor the effectiveness of Government policies. The service is expected to be built on the Gov.Pass platform based on the outputs from its Discovery and Alpha phases. It will deliver a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) working from a prioritised backlog of user stories. Problem to Be Solved UK authorities, regulators, and agencies lost access to the Regulated Professions Database (RPD) at the end of the transition period following the UK’s departure from the EU. Therefore, the UK Government and public require:  A comprehensive register of regulated professions A platform to collect and analyse data on recognition decisions by regulatory authorities captured by (i) year the recognition decision was granted and (ii) the applicants’ qualification origin A platform to display content on professional qualification requirements and regulatory authority information for those seeking to practise a regulated profession in the UK, or part of the UK. The service needs to be built to address any commitments from the new Professional Qualifications Bill and any Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), as well as current policies. It needs to be designed as flexible enough to enable development of additional functionalities in the future in line with new policy developments. Who Are the Users As a UK Regulatory Authority user, I need to enter recognition decision data for professions and update information including practice and qualification requirements easily so that I can meet Government reporting obligations. As UK CPQ (UK Centre for Professional Qualifications) user, I need to support regulators with entering their annual recognition decisions data and updating their details or information easily so that I can assist them. I need to check their submissions so that it can be published on the register. As a UK CPQ user, I need to create records and user accounts for new regulators so that I can ensure their details, information and data are entered, published and accessed. As a UK CPQ user, I need to quickly check information from the register so that I can assist enquiries from the public about regulated professions and regulators. As a Policy Advisor/Analyst, I need to access, download and filter data from the register so that I can conduct analysis and create reports. As a Professional user, I need to search on the register so that I can see if my qualification is accepted to work in the UK. Work Already Done The Regulated Professions Register has been through Discovery, Discovery+, and Alpha. The Beta phase will be focused on delivering an MVP of the service. Existing Team The following roles will be provided by internal BEIS resource and the supplier team will work closely with BEIS team. BEIS team: Service Owner BEIS Digital Lead/RPR Delivery Manager 2 x BEIS Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) UK Centre for Professional Qualifications SME Proposed minimum resource requirements from potential suppliers; Delivery Manager Product Manager Business Analysis UX/Service Designer Content Designer User Researcher Technical/Data Architect Developer Senior Developer Security Expert Tester Current Phase Alpha Skills & Experience • Team experience that has delivered a similar service and demonstrate at least 2-years’ experience of working successfully in a central government environment • Have evidence of iteratively delivering complex transactional digital services in accordance with agile development project phases from Discovery/Alpha to Live in government • Have evidence of effective user research, design and development; and creating digital services that have met the Government Digital Service Standard • Have evidence of iteratively delivering internal casework systems • Have evidence of iteratively delivering complex user interfaces and tools • Have evidence of creating modern, modular software platforms • Evidence of delivering digital services using modern software development technologies and demonstrated understanding of applying appropriate security controls • Have evidence of using data to enable the delivery of digital services • Have evidence of creating data products • Have evidence of building capability in client departments and leaving a self-sufficient, sustainable internal capability Nice to Haves Have evidence of working on digital transformation programmes with a dependency on legacy applications with limited access. Work Location Remotely, with travel to BEIS offices as required. Working Arrangments Team members will be allowed to work remotely. We anticipate requiring the supplier to work on site weekly dependent on HMG guidelines surrounding Covid. Security Clearance A minimum of Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) clearance is required. Additional T&Cs The standard terms and conditions of a DOS framework agreement call-off contract apply. Any claim for travel and subsistence will be made in accordance with BEIS’ travel and subsistence policy. Travel and subsistence will not be paid for travel to the "home" office which will be London and specified in the Statement of Work. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 4 Proposal Criteria • Proposed approach and methodology – including technical proposal • Demonstrating an understanding of our requirements • Project plan for the work • Team structure, including skills and experience of individuals and their relevance • Identifying risks and dependencies, and offering approaches to manage them • Demonstrating value for money • How the approach or solution meets user needs Cultural Fit Criteria • Work collaboratively with our organisation and other suppliers • Be open, honest and transparent when making decisions including having a no-blame culture and encouraging people to learn from their mistakes • Share knowledge, participate in skills transfer and can work with clients with low technical expertise • Be flexible in adapting to meet changing priorities and business requirements Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method • Case study • Work history • Reference • Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 10% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers 1. Are the outputs from the alpha phase available for suppliers to see? (And if so, where?) Yes, relevant set of slides have been put together from the outputs, details will be shared with sifted suppliers. 2. Other than running on GOV.UK PaaS, are there any other expectations or recommendations re technologies that should or should not be used when building the beta service? Yes, details of technology/platform choices and recommendations will shared with sifted suppliers. 3. As the service is expected to be based on the outputs from its Discovery and Alpha phases, are we able to see any of those outputs? Yes, relevant set of slides have been put together from the outputs, details will be shared with sifted suppliers. 4. Can you share what was developed/prototyped during Alpha and if any technology directions have been pursued or recommended? Yes, relevant set of slides have been put together from the outputs, details will be shared with sifted suppliers 5. Please can you clarify which supplier worked on the Disco/Alpha? Discovery - CloudX Consulting + QuickCase Alpha - BJSS 6. Please can you clarify if you would consider nearshore resources for this contract? Resources in the same time zone, if outside UK.