HMPPS Intelligence Management Service (IMS)

Tender description

Summary of the work The MoJ is seeking a managed service provider to complete the beta build of an Intelligence Management Service for prisons and then to continue to develop the service to meet the needs for probation. Expected Contract Length 2 years Latest start date Monday 31 October 2022 Budget Range up to £4.5m Why the Work is Being Done HMPPS requires a new intelligence management service that can support the secure processing and handling of intelligence reports originating from prisons and probation, as well as the secure handling of partner shared intelligence. The existing system, provided under licence from a third-party supplier, is approaching the end of its shelf-life and we require a more flexible solution to meet the needs of the wider justice system. The new service will support delivery of our strategic objectives to reduce reliance on legacy systems, be driven by data and led by users. We have completed a discovery and alpha and commenced a beta to prove that we can build a new intelligence management service for prisons. Details on the previous work will be provided to suppliers short-listed for stage 2. We are now seeking a managed service provider to continue this work on a new service for prisons so we can decommission the existing third-party system and then to continue development to deliver a joined-up intelligence management service across HMPPS. This will enable us to fully address the findings and recommendations in recent independent reviews such as the Jonathan Hall QC Counter Terrorism review and the Joseph McCann MAPPA review. Problem to Be Solved The new service will: ● Improve the way staff populate intelligence reports, ensuring that correct and meaningful data is provided. ● Ensure decision makers have access to timely and relevant intelligence. ● Implement layer-based access removing the risk of departments/people having access to every report on the system. ● Fuse intelligence data with other data sets, including Policing data, to gain a better insight into behaviour and threats. ● Reduce the burden on security staff by creating efficient and robust processes ● Make intelligence available to probation staff so that they are more informed on the risk of an offender. Historical data contained in the existing system will also need to be extracted and made available to users of the new service. The new service must also be built to MOJ’s technology standards: ● front-end server-side applications in Typescript/Node.js using the GOV.UK Design System ● back-end services in kotlin/java (integrated with authority systems via existing internal APIs) ● Use of AWS service i.e RDS (postgres), S3 and SQS ● Github to store and manage our code and CircleCI to build our software ● Kubernetes and Docker to schedule and run our services hosted in MoJ Cloud platform (built on AWS). Who Are the Users Users are: ● HMPPS staff - to submit intelligence reports ● Intelligence Analysts - to analyse reports, assess and act on risks and threats ● Security Managers – review and direct action from intelligence ● Headquarters – submit and review intelligence on national threats and risks Early Market Engagement N/A Work Already Done An internal team has completed a discovery, alpha and commenced a beta as proof of concept. Details on the previous work will be provided to suppliers short-listed for stage 2. Existing Team There is no existing team to develop the internal service. Current Phase Beta Skills & Experience • Proven track record of designing and developing beta services that meet both user needs and strategic business objectives and adhere to the Digital Service Standard • Evidence capability in data management, providing an example where you have successfully implemented a strategy to migrate or extract data between systems • Proven experience of collaborating and knowledge sharing across teams and taking ownership for a product where the design and development was commenced by a different team • Demonstrate an ability to communicate with a range of stakeholders, managing expectations and conflicting views, recognising where the approach needs to be adapted • ● Evidence of ability to promptly scale up a team, providing strong technical capability in Typescript(Node-Express UIs), Kotlin(spring-boot APIs). And strong cloud experience with AWS (RDS (Postgres) / Elasticsearch/SQS/Elasticache/S3 Nice to Haves • Experience within the probation and prison environment • Knowledge of technical and security standards aligned with the Technology Code of Practice, Digital Service Standard and MoJ/HMPPS requirements • Experience of designing, delivering, or operating an intelligence related, case management system, and ability to support innovation and evolution of our approach to intelligence management Work Location Working remotely although occasional travel may be required to either: - MoJ Digital Studio, 32 Scotland Street, Sheffield, S3 7BS - MoJ, 102 Petty France, London, SW1H 9AJ Working Arrangments The majority of work can be completed remotely i.e. homeworking. However there may be a requirement to work with MoJ Digital or business stakeholders who are predominantly based in London and Sheffield or to visit users at HMPPS locations. Security Clearance Security Check (SC) clearance is required. Ideally this will be in place in advance of the contract starting. Additional T&Cs N/A No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • Approach and methodology to complete the build and rollout of a public beta IMS • Demonstrating approach to data migration • Team structure including skills, experience, responsibilities and relevance of individuals • Identifying and taking ownership of risks, issues, and dependencies • Delivering value for money • Effective hand over Cultural Fit Criteria • Is innovative and forward thinking, shares knowledge, experience and honest feedback with clients and takes responsibility for the quality of their work • Able to demonstrate the value of their approach and understands the value of data and analytics • Encourages new entries to their digital professions and upskills and develops their workforce • Encourages diverse representation in their workforce Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 20% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers 1. Can you provide some time scales for: -Notifying successful suppliers of the next phase? -Timescales for asking questions in the next phase of the procurement? -How long shortlisted suppliers will need to respond with their proposal? -When presentations are likely to be conducted? We are working to the following timeline: Notify short-listed suppliers for stage 2 and provide additional briefing – 30.08.22 Stage 2 Clarification deadline – 06.09.22 Proposal Submission deadline – 13.09.22 Stage 2 Presentations – 19.09.22 Stage 2 Evaluation period – 13.09.22 to 03.10.22 Award Notification – 03.10.22 2. Can you provide some details of the work to date including: When the Discovery was conducted? When the Alpha was conducted? When the initial Beta work you described started? Was the delivery of the Discover/Alpha and current Beta work conducted using an HMPPS team or were they supported by a supplier? Additional briefing will be provided to suppliers short-listed for stage 2 covering the context and requirements for the beta. The previous work was completed by an in-house MoJ digital team, with no support from an external supplier. 3. It notes that an internal team completed a “discovery, alpha and commenced a beta as proof of concept” – Were any suppliers or contractors involved in this? If so, who? No supplier has been involved in the previous work; it was completed by an in-house MoJ digital team. 4. Has any external supplier been involved in the initial scoping work? If so, who? No external supplier has been involved in the previous work; it was completed by an in-house MoJ digital team. 5. Can you confirm if shortlisted suppliers will have the opportunity to present? Shortlisted suppliers that progress to Stage 2 will be asked to present their proposal on 19 September 2022. 6. Can you please provide an anticipated timeline for this procurement that includes dates for: 1) Shortlisting Notification for Stage 2 2) Submission Deadline for Stage 2 3) Presentation 4) Evaluation period 5) Award Notification We are working to the following timeline: Notify short-listed suppliers for stage 2 and provide additional briefing – 30.08.22 Stage 2 Clarification deadline – 06.09.22 Proposal Submission deadline – 13.09.22 Stage 2 Presentations – 19.09.22 Stage 2 Evaluation period – 13.09.22 – 03.10.22 Award Notification – 03.10.22 7. Who is the incumbent and how long they have been the incumbent? There is no incumbent supplier. Previous work has been completed by an in-house team. 8. Who from your team will be scoring applications for this opportunity and what positions do they hold? This information will not be shared with bidding organisations 9. Have any other suppliers/incumbents been involved with the work to date? There is no incumbent supplier. Previous work has been completed by an in-house digital team. 10. Please can you confirm who has performed the Discovery and Alpha for the prisons phase of the Intelligence Management Service? Previous work has been completed by an in-house MoJ digital team. 11. Please may you advise at which stage of Beta you are currently at We are at the beta build stage 12. Is the Authority looking for a resource augmentation/individuals or outcome based? This an outcome-based contract. 13. Are you able to arrange access to stakeholders and users for the purposes of workshopping and user research? Yes, as part of the beta the managed service team will have access to subject matter experts and users. 14. Are you able to facilitate SC clearance for suppliers? This would help suppliers who do not have List X status to bid for this opportunity on a level playing field. Yes, we can support SC clearance if required 15. For question “Knowledge of technical and security standards aligned with the Technology Code of Practice, Digital Service Standard and MoJ/HMPPS requirements”, please can you share the MoJ/HMPPS requirements you mention? This question will otherwise be difficult for suppliers to answer unless they work with you already https://technical-guidance.service.justice.gov.uk/ for MoJ (as well as https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-technology-code-of-practice , https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/service-standard more generally). We also have a set of technologies we use here - https://ministryofjustice.github.io/hmpps-digital-tech-radar/docs/index.html - although there are some updates that need to be made. Our default programming languages are Kotlin and NodeJS, and our default hosting option is AWS 16. Are you content for suppliers to respond with multiple project examples against single questions? For example, this question is likely best evidenced with experience across multiple projects to secure coverage against all the required technologies: “Evidence of ability to promptly scale up a team, providing strong technical capability in Typescript(Node-Express UIs), Kotlin(spring-boot APIs). And strong cloud experience with AWS (RDS (Postgres) / Elasticsearch/SQS/Elasticache/S3” Suppliers should provide evidence which best demonstrates their skills and experience to meet each of the criteria listed. This can be one detailed example or a combination of multiple examples. Guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-sell-your-digital-outcomes-and-specialists-services#apply-for-an-outcomes-specialists-or-user-research-participants-opportunity 17. Are you content for suppliers to include private sector examples if they are relevant to the question? Yes, suppliers should provide evidence which best demonstrates their skills and experience to meet each of the criteria listed. 18. For question “Knowledge of technical and security standards aligned with the Technology Code of Practice, Digital Service Standard and MoJ/HMPPS requirements”, are you seeking specific experience with MoJ/HMPPS or experience working with technical and security standards on an equivalent project with another Government Department / Agency? We are asking for evidence of both here. Please submit the best example/examples you have that match both MOJ/HMPPS requirements and general Technology Code of Practise and Digital Service Standards 19. Will the authority sponsor SC clearance? Yes, we can support SC clearance if required 20. Please could you provide clarity to the request for a ‘managed service provider’? Does this cover continued management and maintenance post implementation? This is a two-year contract, during which we expect the successful supplier to complete development and rollout of IMS for prisons, to continue to support and maintain this as a live service and in parallel to design and develop new features so it’s use can be extended to probation as well as prisons. 21. Can you confirm if the requirements and design have been finalised or if that would form part of this scope? We have a set of requirements and a service design prototyped. However, we expect the successful provider to validate requirements, test and iterate the design through user research and testing. 22. Do you see the provider supplying all resources to complete the build or will the MoJ be taking on certain roles? We will provide access to subject matter experts but expect the supplier to provide a team capable of delivering the beta into live and ongoing development of the service 23. Does the solution need to be hosted on MoJ infrastructure/cloud? Yes 24. Are there any existing systems that this service will be dependent on (including user authentication and authorisation)? This service will use the existing authentication for HMPPS digital services and will integrate with other services to share data. 25. Is the expectation for this system or the data managed by this system to depended upon by any other systems? Yes, this service will integrate with other digital services. 26. Is the expectation for this system or the data managed by this system to depended upon by any other systems? Yes, this service will integrate with other digital services. 27. What is expected timeframe to sunset the existing solution? Is there a hard-stop where the existing system will no longer be available for use? The current contract for the existing system ends in December 2023. We are aiming to have IMS for prisons rolled out in order to decommission the existing system by this date 28. Has any work been done to assess ability to extract data from the existing solution? Yes, we will provide further details to short-listed suppliers for stage 2 to assist them in completing their proposals. 29. Are you able to provide an estimation of the number of users under each of the user categories provided (HMPPS staff, Intelligence Analysts, Security Managers, Headquarters)? We will provide this information to short-listed suppliers for stage 2 to assist them in completing their proposals. 30. Are there any specific data security requirements? The system will need to adhere to https://security-guidance.service.justice.gov.uk/#cyber-and-technical-security-guidance . Suppliers should be aware that Counter Terrorism data may need special handling, but in general the data is OFFICIAL SENSITIVE 31. Can any further information be provided about the existing system? We will provide this information to short-listed suppliers for stage 2 to assist them in completing their proposals.