Waltham Forest’s digital inclusion strategy and delivery plan

Tender description

Summary of the work This is a request for a quotation from suppliers to design a new multi-year digital inclusion strategy and delivery programme which can be funded externally and internally, with specific enhancement to our existing digital skills provision which can be delivered over several years, starting in 2022-23. Expected Contract Length 3 months Latest start date Monday 29 November 2021 Budget Range £25-£35k Why the Work is Being Done The current pandemic has presented many challenges and highlighted a significant gap between those in the community that are digitally included, and those that are not, exacerbating pre-existing inequalities and exclusion. Virtually every aspect of life was transferred online during the pandemic, from work to socialising, and from education to shopping. Thus, those who were not online became more disadvantaged than ever. It is urgent that we tackle this in Waltham Forest – identifying the most disadvantaged cohorts and putting in place short-term and longer-term interventions to enable digital participation will boost a range of other social and economic outcomes. Problem to Be Solved The new strategy and delivery plan should answer the following: o What is the ‘as is’ picture on digital inclusion in Waltham Forest and what problems we need to solve: o How many people lack more than 2 of the basic digital skills and where are they located? What barriers do they face? o What is the full ecosystem of funding, infrastructure and service provision that is currently promoting digital inclusion? o How much of our 2017 Assisted Digital strategy did we achieve and what can we learn from this? o Who should lead the commissioning and coordination of this work? How do we link with other sources of funding? o What are the roles and responsibilities across the council? How do we bring the various departments together in a sustainable way? o How do we make it financially and organisationally sustainable and integrate it into mainstream council service delivery? o What are the measurable benefits to demonstrate a return on this investment and a realistic set of targets over the next 2 years? o What digital skills interventions work best? What coordinated multi-year digital skills programme shall we commission, design and deliver from 2022-23 onwards? Who Are the Users Our users are digitally excluded residents. Our principal user story is: “As a resident, I need it to be able to access and use the internet so that I can get the many social, educational and financial benefits it offers and access online services” Early Market Engagement None Work Already Done In 2017 an Assisted Digital strategy was approved by the council, which can be built upon and updated. More recently, the State of the Borough Report 2021 highlighted digital exclusion as part of its ‘Living in equal communities research’. Our Adult Learning Services offers courses and workshops for complete beginners to learn the basics of using desktop computers, as well as courses to help residents access digital employment. Additional funding has been made available through the Government’s Connecting Communities programme to support residents into employment including the creation of digital champions, and design of this programme is underway. Existing Team The lead officer for this work will be: Head of Strategy in the Strategy & Design team Other key staff are: • Assistant Director Employment Business and Skills • Interim Jobs Recovery Programme Director • Connecting Communities Programme Manager • Director of Digital & ICT • Assistant Director of Digital Innovation & Delivery • Head of Digital Services • Digital and ICT Portfolio Lead • Assistant Director Strategy & Design • Head of Communities and Participation • Head of Customer Service & Business Support • Head of Libraries, Registrars, Facilities Management • Others Current Phase Discovery Skills & Experience • Demonstrate experience and expertise in developing and implementing successful digital inclusion strategies for large and diverse populations • Demonstrate a deep understanding of the social, economic, geographic and cultural factors affecting digital inclusion • Demonstrate experience and expertise in community engagement • Demonstrate experience of successfully engaging senior stakeholders, politicians, community organisations and commercial organisations in the design and implementation of digital inclusion strategies • Demonstrate experience and expertise in working with local and central government • Demonstrate experience and expertise in collecting, analysing and accessibly-presenting quantitative and qualitive data to inform strategic prioritisation and service design • Demonstrate experience and deep understanding of digital skills initiatives and training in local government and the volunteering sector • Good understanding of pedagogical perspectives on skills acquisition as well as a solid understanding of the funding landscape and range of players and skill, education and learning providers involved. Work Location Remote; Waltham Forest Town Hall in Walthamstow; community settings that are currently part of the digital inclusion eco-system. Travel time and expenses must be covered by the supplier. Working Arrangments The chosen supplier will be expected to work in an open and transparent way, with regular meetings and workshops held, both virtual and in person as appropriate. These working arrangements enable the delivery plan to be co-designed with council services. Security Clearance DBS checks are required for relevant staff No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • Your approach and methodology to design and deliver this project as set out in this specification • Your evidence of meeting the essential skills, experience, and your evidence of delivering or enabling a measurable increase in digital inclusion • The team structure you propose, outlining their skills, and how each team member will contribute to solving the problem and meeting the Council’s aims • What assumptions you are making about the Waltham Forest context and stakeholders, and the input you will need from the Council or others to deliver what you are proposing • How you will ensure that the Council gets maximum value for money by engaging your organisation for this work and what sets you apart from other organisations Cultural Fit Criteria • How will you ensure you work collaboratively with the Council , our partners and stakeholders as a single team, and how will you ensure communication is open, honest and constructive? • How will you ensure you deliver the agreed scope to the agreed quality level and timescale • How will you ensure you are deeply engaged with the relevant sectors that can support the success of this project for Waltham Forest Payment Approach Fixed price Assessment Method • Case study • Work history • Reference • Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 10% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers No questions have been answered yet.