The Provision of a Data Analytics Capability as a Service (DACaaS) (DInfoCom/0184)

Tender description

Summary of the work The Provision of a cost effective, flexible and scalable Data Analytics Capability Managed Service that enables the exploitation of data including data from in-house and external applications under-pining effective decision making and planning. Expected Contract Length 2 years Latest start date Saturday 1 October 2022 Why the Work is Being Done The Army Data Analytics Team (ADAT) is the Army HQ's centre of specialism for producing analytics to the Army TLB. The Data Analytics Capability (DAC) contract is key in supporting the growing need for analytical projects and change programmes, utilising new data and data quality tools and plays a significant contribution in meeting the demand for high end MI and BI, and analytical innovation. Problem to Be Solved Operating large data sets integrated from multiple sources to provide single authoritative data sets which enables interrogation, comparison, and analysis and exploitation, through reports, models and dashboards. The service will be required to provide support in maintaining existing services whilst developing new requirements directed by ADAT. Copies of the Statement of Requirement and and Written Proposal Template are available from james.racheter100@mod.gov.uk Who Are the Users The users of this these are split in to 3 types: Specialist users trained with skills in data wrangling and mining to produce data analysis using predictive, forecasting, modelling, and statistical techniques. Self Service users, creating and producing their own reports and dashboards under the guidance and support of ADAT. Consumers of reports and dashboards through a single sign on mechanism through MODNET used to answer day to day questions. Early Market Engagement Not applicable Work Already Done The current service providers use SAS, OBIEE and Power BI Software Suite of tools providing the appropriate number of trained and skilled resources to meet specific requirements as directed by ADAT. The service is provided between the hours of 0900 and 1700hrs Monday to Friday (excluding Bank Holidays). Existing Team The current service provides a core team which flexes between 4 and 6 analysts dependant on the skills required to deliver the outputs embedded within ADAT. This service works closely with a very small mixed team of civilian and military personnel, but interacts with customers across the Army. Surge resource will be embedded in individual project teams. Current Phase Live Skills & Experience • Demonstrate experience of delivering Data Analytics and technically supporting a wide range of tools including SAS 9, SAS VIYA, Power BI and OBIEE within last 3 years (with dates). (2%) • Demonstrate depth of skills capability across major Analytics platforms to support the Authority on platforms that may be used in the future (i.e. SAS, Palantir, Salesforce, Tableau, Qlikview, etc.). (1%) • Experience of Level 1-4 platform administration of SAS 9 and SAS VIYA on both Microsoft and Linux. (1%) • Holding of a SAS Platform Administration 9 certification within last 3 years (with dates). (1%) • Experience within last 3 years of successfully building secure analytical requirements that collect/manage personal and/or sensitive information with appropriate controls and protection in-line with sector security regulations (e.g, JSP440). (1%) • Demonstrate experience of developing and supporting the release of analytics using tooling including technologies such as Git, Azure DevOps, Oracle Data Integrator. (1%) • Experience deploying suitably skilled, security cleared experienced personnel to assist the Authority for roles which they are employed against the SFIA framework within last 3 years (with dates). (1%) • Demonstrate extensive knowledge, skills experience with the SAS tool suite ie. Enterprise Guide, Visual Analytics, Visual Forecasting, Text Analytics, Data Mining within last 3 years (with dates). (2%) • Experience providing documentation to Authority standards, policies, processes; demonstrating business rules, processes and standardisation across MI and BI providing the Authority with transparency within last 5 years (with dates). (1%) • Experience in conducting assessments and cataloguing of the as-is data, system and reporting landscape to inform future reporting capabilities. (1%) • Experience in supporting responses to Freedom of Information Requests submitted to the Authority. (1%) • Experience or working with Data Analytics using Open-Source languages such as Python and R. (1%) • Experience of data science, machine learning and the of APIs with last 2 years. (1%) • Completion of a Supplier Assurance Questionnaire (SAQ) to demonstrate compliance with the Cyber Risk Profile against Risk Assessment Reference: RAR-805585789 (Threat Level: N/A). Interim Supplier Cyber Protection process: https://www.supplier-cyber-protection.service.gov.uk/ (1%) Nice to Haves • Experience and understanding of how algorithms are designed, optimised and applied at scale to enable the selection of appropriate statistical methods for sampling, distribution assessment, bias and error. (1%) • Recognises/exploits business opportunities ensuring more efficient/effective ways to use data science and the use of data science tools to tackle business/organisational challenges within last 3 years (with dates). (1%) • Demonstrate a user centric design solution to meet user needs while taking account of agreed cross-government ethics standards. (1%) • Demonstrate experience working with other contractors, technologists, analysts integrating/separating data feeds to map, produce, transform, test new scalable data products meeting user needs within last 3 years (with dates). (1%) Work Location Army Headquarters is located on the outskirts of Andover in Hampshire, SP11 8HJ Working Arrangments Provide a managed service in support of the Army HQ Data Analytical Capability as directed by the ADAT. Work must be completed working collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders consisting of civilian and military personnel and other suppliers and consultancy providers. The authority expects the resources to work in Army HQ Andover with occasional site visits in the UK . Remote working is permitted by exception, subject to security constraints and the need to access stakeholders and MoD systems. Security Clearance All those individuals that fulfil this requirement will need to hold a minimum level of Security Clearance (SC) for the duration of the contract and be subject to vetting. The service supplier also warrants that staff are willing and eligible to obtain higher clearance levels if required. Additional T&Cs DEFCON 5J (Edn 18/11/16) Unique Identifiers DEFCON 76 (Edn 06/21) Contractor's Personnel DEFCON 129J (Edn 18/11/16) Business Delivery Form DEFCON 513 (Edn 04/22) Value Added Tax (VAT) DEFCON 516 (Edn 04/12) Equality DEFCON 518 (Edn 02/17) Transfer DEFCON 531 (Edn 09/21) Disclosure of Information DEFCON 534 (Edn 06/21) Subcontracting and Prompt Payment DEFCON 537 (Edn 12/21) Rights Of Third Parties DEFCON 550 (Edn 02/14) Child Labour and Employment Law DEFCON 566 (Edn 10/20) Change Of Control Of Contractor DEFCON 642 (Edn 07/21) Progress Meetings DEFCON 658 (Edn 09/21) Cyber DEFCON 694 (Edn 07/21) Accounting For Property Of The Authority No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • Approach and methodology and how the solution meets the users’ needs. (5%) • Commitment to quality of the deliverables, outcomes and experience of the resources, and rapid remediation / replacement if an issue occurs. (5%) • Provide core team structure and CVs of those who could be part of the service and their experience relevant to this requirement. (5%) • Ability to flex up and down resources to meet the demand of the project during different phases, whilst ensuring quality and consistency. (5%) • Value for money. (5%) • Provide two referenceable client-focused case studies where your company have provided the desired service similar to this requirement. (5%) • How the approach or solution meets your organisation's policy or goal. (3%) • How risks and dependencies have been identified and approaches to manage them. (2%) Cultural Fit Criteria • Ability to communicate effectively with staff, technical SMEs and senior management to identify pragmatic solutions to problems within resource constrained environment. (2%) • Recent proven experience of an open, transparent and collaborative working relationship at all levels with excellent communication and co-ordination skills when conducting daily stand-ups, team meetings, presentation and demonstrations. (1%) • Ability and willingness to work collaboratively within a multi-vendor delivery environment to achieve outcomes working as one team. (1%) • Willingness to challenge the status-quo with a no blame culture and encourage people to learn from their mistakes. (1%) • Social Value (Fighting Climate Change): Describe the commitment your organisation will make to ensure that opportunities under the contract deliver effective stewardship of the environment. (5%) • Social Value (Equal Opportunity): Describe the commitment your organisation will make to ensure that opportunities under the contract deliver a reduction in the disability employment gap. (5%) Payment Approach Capped time and materials Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 55% Cultural fit 15% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers 1. Please can you confirm where documentation for this opportunity can be found? The Digital Marketplace does not have the facility to upload documents.Copies of the Statement of Requirement and and Written Proposal Template are available upon request from: james.racheter100@mod.gov.uk 2. Please can you confirm the budget for this work? The Authority has approved funding to cover the requirement, based upon historic data and projected tasking. However, to ensure we obtain Value for Money, the Authority is not in a position to divulge the budget. 3. How many people would you expect on site in Andover/How many could you host?Would you be accepting of representatives working onsite with development teams working remotely? There is the requirement for all people to be onsite if the project requires it and this is managed by the Army Data Analytics Team (ADAT). There is the option to work remotely, but this is in agreement with the ADAT as there is often a requirement for teams to be onsite. 4. What percentage mix of on-site and off-site work is expected? A percentage of 60% onsite availability is to be expected for the delivery teams. However, this is dependent on the requirement; ADAT are a hybrid working team and there will be an expectation for teams to be onsite when the delivery requires it. 5. Please can the Authority provide an indication of Stage 2 submission timelines? Planned procurement timeline:• 07 July 2022: Deadline of Expressions of Interest (EoI)• 8 & 11-15 July 2022: EoI evaluation• 18 July 2022: Notification to unsuccessful suppliers• 18 July 2022: Invitation to Tender sent to shortlisted suppliers• 25 July 2022: Tender returns• 25-28 July 2022: Evaluation• 29 July 2022: Award Notification to successful TendererThe Authority has opted for the 1 week minimum tender response time to accommodate availability of internal resource. The timeline is indicative and subject to the evaluation of the EoIs. 6. Please can the Authority advise whether standard DOS 5 framework contract terms and conditions are applicable as well as the non-standard terms defined? That is correct. DOS 5 Framework T&Cs apply as well as the DEFCONs detailed on the opportunity listing. 7. Please can the Authority confirm that the 7th July 2022 submission date is only for the Essential/Nice-to-have skills and experience 100 word responses and not the full written proposal? That is correct. The purpose of Stage 1 (Expressions of Interest) is to shortlist suppliers based upon their responses to the Essential and Nice-to-have skills and experience criteria. Suppliers are reminded that their responses will be evaluated using the following scoring scheme detailed at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-shortlist-digital-outcomes-and-specialists-suppliers#before-you-can-shortlistScore Description0 Not met or no evidence1 Partially met2 Met3 ExceededSuppliers scoring less than 2 for any essential skill or experience will be excluded.Shortlisted suppliers will then be invited to tender and will be provided with a full invitation pack (including Pricing Template). 8. Please can the Authority provide a pricing template? This will be provided to shortlisted suppliers at Stage 2. Please refer to the Authority's response to Question 7. 9. With regard to SC Clearances. Given Home Office guidance indicating that government procedures ensure that there is no competitive advantage in holding pre-existing SC clearances (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/united-kingdom-security-vettingreferees-hiring-managers-contractors-and-consultants#contractors), please can the Authority confirm that they will sponsor any SC’s required and will not mandate that the chosen Supplier provide already-SC’ed personnel? Security Clearance (SC) will be required for this contract in most instances and BPSS can be considered, where appropriate. The Authority can sponsor security clearances. 10. Please could we have a copy of the Statement of Requirement? Please refer to the Authority's response to Question 1. 11. Who is the incumbent and why is the Authority moving away from them? The Authority confirm that the incumbent supplier is Deloitte LLP. The following Award Notice refers: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/notice/e68a579f-edc1-4100-b622-cc699dd6cb01?origin=SearchResults&p=1The extant contract is currently in the 6 month Option Period allowable under DOS 4 (no other extensions are permissible). This opportunity is the re-let of that contract. 12. We note the Authority’s earlier answer that 60% on-site availability will be expected.Our experience over the last 2+ years has shown that remote technical work is highly productive and gives access to the widest range of engineers resulting in the highest calibre resources and the lowest cost to the Authority.To maximise value-for-money and ensure access to the best possible technical resources, would the Authority consider a much smaller amount of on-site presence (e.g. one day per month) as a norm? Onsite availability is dependant on the deliverable and is agreed by the Authority, while we operate a hybrid working arrangement as a norm there is the requirement for the supplier to be flexible, teams are often required onsite for block periods during peak activity. 13. Considering the range and complexity of the deliverables under this requirement, the detailed response required and so as not to unfairly favour the current supplier, please could we request a longer time period for the next stage (currently earmarked as one week by the Authority). We feel that a minimum of 3 weeks would be appropriate for the detailed response that has been requested. Unfortunately the Authority is not able to consider a 3 week tender response time due to a tight procurement timetable. The planned contract award date also factors in a 1 month notice which may be required by supplier personnel prior to the commencement of the transition period.However, should the EoI evaluation be concluded earlier than planned, the Authority will use its best endeavours to increase the tender response time where possible. 14. When requesting the SAQ PDF form from the DCPP team(Supplier Cyber Protection service (supplier-cyber-protection.service.gov.uk),they have responded to say “Where the Cyber Risk Profile is N/A there is no further action required.”For the purposes of responding to “Completion of a Supplier Assurance Questionnaire (SAQ) to demonstrate compliance with the Cyber Risk Profile against Risk Assessment Reference:RAR-805585789 (Threat Level: N/A).Interim Supplier Cyber Protection process: https://www.supplier-cyber-protection.service.gov.uk/ (1%)” please can the Authority confirm whether completion of an SAQ is still expected and if so provide a PDF form for completion,or whether no further action is required based upon direction provided by the DCPP team? The Authority is content with the DCPP team's direction that an SAQ is not required to be completed and advises suppliers to enter a statement on their EoI return to that effect. However, MOD Cyber policy states that whilst no specific cyber control measures are required for a Cyber Risk Profile of N/A, Cyber Essentials accreditation is recommended.The Authority also confirms that DEFCON 658 is removed to comply with Commercial policy. 15. Please can the Authority confirm whether shortlisted suppliers invited to tender will have an opportunity to raise clarification questions following receipt of the full invitation pack on 18th July? Yes, the Authority confirms this will be the case. 16. We note the Authority’s requirement for an Exit Plan in the SoR. We assume the current supplier will also have been required to produce such an Exit Plan. Please could we request a copy of this document as it will enable us to more finely tune our service offering to meet the Authority’s requirement. A copy of an Exit Plan will be requested as mandatory commercial evaluation criteria by the Authority to those suppliers who are shortlisted and invited to participate in the tender assessment stage. Suppliers will be issued a "Special Notice and Information to Suppliers" document which details evaluation criteria & required documents. The intent for the Exit Plan will be for suppliers to outline their approach to transition to another supplier.It would not be appropriate to release the incumbents supplier's Exit Plan. The Authority and Supplier will agree the exit plan during the Call-Off Contract period. 17. We note the Authority distinguishes between Quality Assurance Tester and Tester in page 10 of the SoR. Please can the Authority confirm the difference? • QA Tester would review from a functional testing perspective ensuring the delivery team have achieved the delivery outcome.• Tester develop test scripts raise awareness of and manage defects working with the analysts/developers. 18. We note the Authority distinguishes between Platform Administrator and Platform Engineer in page 10 of the SoR. Please can the Authority confirm the difference? A Platform Engineer has a higher technical skill set and would assist a Platform Administrator with more complex tasks integrating between the platform and the base operating system. 19. We note in SoR bullet point 34 (SoR) that “the supplier…must be free of any commercial ties … to any hardware or software vendors”. We note the current supplier is a SAS business/reseller partner, that SAS are a platinum sponsor of Deloitte (https://www.deloitte.co.uk/experience-analytics/sponsors/), that Deloitte has an “alliance” with the software vendor, SAS (https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/audit/solutions/deloitte-and-sas-join-forces.html) and that they are “collaborating under a recently signed Managed Analytics Service Provider (MASP) agreement”. Please can the Authority confirm the mentioned requirement will apply to all potential suppliers and that any bidders with commercial/business ties to software vendors such as SAS will not progress? The Authority confirms that para 34 of the SoR:"The supplier and the resources it provides must be free of any commercial ties or obligations to any hardware or software vendors." is removed as the winning supplier may need to be able to partner with SAS, if required. 20. We note on page 10 of the SoR that table 10 indicates a Core element of, for example, 8 days of Delivery Management and 12 days of SAS Analyst resource. Please can you confirm that the Core element does therefore not require FTEs but rather Part Time equivalents? The Authority confirms that the core element is currently FTE as funding also comes from Adhoc tasking value. This is not guaranteed. 21. Regarding “Experience deploying suitably skilled, security cleared experienced personnel to assist the Authority for roles which they are employed against the SFIA framework within last 3 years (with dates). (1%)”, please can you confirm whether you’re looking for experience deploying skills to just the Army as the Authority, or are you open to demonstration of experience from a breadth of different client examples beyond just the Authority? The Authority confirms that examples do not have to limited to the Army. The main condition is that the example shows the deployment of suitably skilled, security cleared and experienced personnel for roles which they are employed against the SFIA framework within the last 3 years. 22. In relation to the Written Proposal Template where the Authority requests “How the approach or solution meets your organisation’s policy or goal (3%)”, please can the Authority confirm whether “your organisation” is referring to us as bidders or the Authority? The Authority confirms that ‘Your Organisation’ is referring to your organisation as the bidder. 23. Please can the Authority confirm their definition of L1-4 SAS platform administration? The Authority confirms SAS Platform administration includes the following tasks, please note this is not an exhaustive list of tasks: • Management of the SAS Platform• Delivery of the software promotion pipeline within SAS • Responsible for the delivery of hotfixes and patching of the SAS platform• Incident and problem management as per described in ITIL standards• Documentation annotation, as appropriate 24. Can we use multiple evidences for one response?Can we submit a joint bid (with a partner) at this stage? The Authority confirms that multiple evidence is allowable but reminds suppliers that the word count is limited to 100 words for each response.The Authority also confirms that the use of sub-contractors is allowable but the EoI and tender return (if shortlisted) must be submitted by a prime contractor who has been on-boarded onto the DOS 5 framework. 25. Can we submit a joint bid (with a partner) at this stage? To further clarify the Authority's response to Question 24, CCS have confirmed that joint bids are not allowed on DOS 5. A prime supplier would be required. Then any other suppliers could be sub contractors. These Subcontractors would have to be stipulated up front and then how much of the percentage of work the sub contractor will be doing.The prime supplier will still be the supplier that is responsible for delivering the service. If the Authority is not happy with the idea of the subcontractor we have the right to refuse. 26. To ensure a level playing field and not inherently favour the current supplier, can the Authority confirm that any new supplier will not be expected to provide a free-of-charge transition and that any cost that the new supplier has to charge the Authority for the transition will not count against the supplier’s scoring on “Price” (as to do so would be to unfairly penalise any potential new supplier simply for not being the current supplier)? The Authority confirms that shortlisted suppliers will be required to price all resources required to deliver a successful transition service.This may not cost the Authority, if the supplier decides this will be a zero cost transition. However, it will form part of the commercial evaluation. 27. At the next stage of the assessment, we presume it will be necessary to submit CVs to the Authority relating to the proposed team. Will the Authority consider mandating that CVs are anonymised so as not to favour the current supplier (whose personnel will be known to the Authority already). The Authority confirms that anonymised CVs will be accepted, if requested at Stage 2. 28. Could the Authority please elaborate on what is expected to be covered in the response for the Q – ‘Experience in supporting responses to Freedom of Information Requests submitted to the Authority.’? The Authority confirms the response should include examples of where FOIs have been successfully answered within the government time frames of 20 days.