T0329 TSTR3016 Commercial Technical Support Contract

Tender description

The Department for Transport ('The Department') requires specialist Commercial and Technical Support (CTS) to provide independent advice, constructive challenge and to assist the Department in acting as an increasingly effective client and sponsor. The key objectives for this work are to enhance the DfT RIS-Client team's: - capability to review business case and programme information from National Highways, so that we are better equipped to ask the right questions, correctly interpret the responses, and so secure wider Government support for the project and programmes. This includes understanding of cost estimates/forecasts, delivery schedules and baselines. - access to specialist technical knowledge and expertise that does not reside within the core team or the wider department, focussed on high risk and complex cases, e.g. advice on cost estimation on specific schemes and on technical design and buildability issues, such as tunnelling. - confidence in project delivery and outcomes. For example, allowing us to assure others in Government that the broad scale of infrastructure proposed in major schemes is appropriated to deliver desired outcomes and that all key factors that could reduce costs or enhance the value for money of schemes have been considered; - practices, principles and templates for oversight of the Roads Investment Strategy (RIS) portfolio and Tier 1 schemes, covering areas such as governance, planning, risk management and change management. This will include implementing lessons learned since the start of RIS1 and recommendations from 'Lessons from Transport for the Sponsorship of Major Projects' to ensure consistency of approach and implementation of best practice; - skills, learning and knowledge to undertake its role. We are looking to the CTS to explain and evidence the reasons for their advice, to support capability building and knowledge sharing, and to assist the team in understanding where similar issues and principles could be applicable in other contexts/ schemes.