On-site and Online – ensuring equality of access for local communities to their local museums

Tender description

Summary of the work The supplier will be contractually required to provide the following outcomes. - Business case - User research report - Prototype - Learning delivery - Report and communication with relevant stakeholders. More detail is available upon request. Expected Contract Length 4 (Four) Months. Work to completed by 25 March 2022. Latest start date Monday 13 December 2021 Budget Range £116,800 Excluding VAT (Max). Why the Work is Being Done This project is being funded by the Welsh Government's Digital Transforamtion programme. The three main partners in the project are the museum services of Ceredigion, Ynys Môn and Caramarthenshire County Council's but the resulting digital platform will be available to all Welsh local authority museums. The need for the project was identified by the Welsh Museums who have struggled to solve barriers to using commercially available platforms to meet their needs due to security, capacity, financial management, language etc. regulations inherent in local authorities. The Digital Transformations project presented an opportunity to work across LAs with experienced consultants to find affordable solutions. This Alpha phase of the project must be completed by the end of March 2022. Problem to Be Solved Before the Discovery, we observed that Covid-19 had brought into sharp focus inequalities of virtual public access to museums services, with a gulf between those museums with more resource (ie. National Museum Wales) and local museums. We thought that there is a danger that, in a world increasingly reliant on mainstreaming digital access to services, if local museums are not able to keep up, their communities will lose access to their stories and heritage, museums will lose key markets for selling their art, crafts and bespoke products, and that they will lose their social wellbeing anchors for everyone from toddlers to dementia sufferers. The Discovery research with 12 Local Authority museum stakeholders, Local Authority IT teams as well as individual users and community groups unequivocally confirmed our beliefs. We are looking to develop and test the specific Discovery finding that there is a gap and opportunity around a shared marketplace (events, subscriptions, premium content and gifts), that a pilot group should test in an Alpha, to measure engagement, income generation opportunities and audience participation. Who Are the Users In-person and/or digital visitors to museums, need to be able to book a visit, shop for museum products, buy a ticket to an event, attend a live streamed event etc. using a platform that caters for my language preference (English/Welsh). They need all these services to be available in a 'one stop shop'. Early Market Engagement N/A. Work Already Done The discovery phase for this project was completed in March 2021 (the discovery report is available on request). One of the recommendations from the discovery was to take forward this piece of work - On-site and Online (ensuring equality of access for local communities to their local museum). Existing Team Curator of Ceredigion Museum, Senior Manager of Oriel Môn, Museums Development Manager for Carmarthenshire Museums. Current Phase Alpha Skills & Experience • Demonstrate your experience in researching user needs around content and accessibility. • Demonstrate your experience of creating user-focused content that supports needs, journeys and behaviours of users. • Proven content design experience and paired/collaborative writing experience. • Demonstrate an understanding of the public sector accessibility regulations. • Experience of working in partnership with both in-house teams and other suppliers to achieve a shared outcome • Recent examples of delivery managing content discoveries • Proven experience using a range of agile tools and techniques • Demonstrable experience of challenging and removing barriers to content design Nice to Haves • Professional-level fluency in Welsh language • Demonstrable experience of working in the open • Demonstrable experience of working in the Welsh Public Sector • Proven knowledge and experience of delivering within the Cultural Sector. Work Location This is a pan Wales project therefore the successful supplier will need to be able to work remotely and share learning remotely using virtual meeting environments. There may be the need for occasional visits to Ceredigion, Anglesey, Carmarthenshire. Working Arrangments This is a pan Wales project therefore the successful supplier will need to be able to work remotely and share learning remotely using virtual meeting environments. There may be the need for occasional visits to Ceredigion, Anglesey, Carmarthenshire. Security Clearance N/A. Additional T&Cs A report must be completed by 12 March 2022. The successful supplier must adhere to this guidance https://gov.wales/bilingual-technology-toolkit-good-user-experience. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • Your proposed team, including individuals and their roles • Your proposed approach to conducting the beta phase, including timescales • Your understanding of the Welsh Cultural Sector • Your risk management approach, including dependencies and mitigation • Your approach to value for money including how you can ensure social value • How you will work in the open with us, the rituals and what you will need from us Cultural Fit Criteria • Demonstrate how you will work transparently, collaboratively and share your approach with the project team and stakeholders • Demonstrate understanding of Local Authority security, data, financial and access requirements • Can work with clients with low technical expertise • Has design and build skills in similar cultural environment • Demonstrate shared understanding of the importance of building accessible services for all • Awareness of Welsh language legislation and its impact on delivering bilingual services in Wales Payment Approach Fixed price Assessment Method • Case study • Work history • Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 20% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers No questions have been answered yet.