PS112 - Army HQ LE TacCIS PMO Specialist Resource Support

Tender description

Summary of the work MOD is seeking a partner to provide specialist resource to deliver a PMO managed service under the direction of the LE TacCIS Prog Mgr to support the SRO and Prog Dir in the delivery of the programmes outcomes and objectives. Expected Contract Length 24 months Latest start date Thursday 1 September 2022 Budget Range £2,160,000.00 (ex VAT) for 24 months. (Comprised of £2,145,000.00 plus T&S LOL of £15,000.00 ex vat). Why the Work is Being Done Suitable SQEP required to lead and deliver a managed service Programme Management Office to the LE TacCIS programme, which is focused on military land domain Communication Information Services based on Agile Methodology and User Centred Design principles. This is in response to an identified SQEP shortfall in the following areas: • Programme Management and Support to Programme Leadership • Change and Risk Management. • Stakeholder Management and Engagement. • Benefits Management • Scope Management • Dependencies Management • Assumptions Management • Planning & Schedule Management • Change Control Management • Risk, Issue & Opportunity Management • Business Process Transformation and Intelligent User Support Problem to Be Solved Lack of SQEP in the management, delivery and co-ordination of key PMO & P3M functions to support the LE TacCIS Programme. To deliver programme success and enable Information Superiority for UK commanders in the Land Domain these areas must be filled. This support will also demonstrate mature, effective programme management functions and products to the Programme’s Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) and external review teams. Who Are the Users The SRO and Programme Director requires a mature, proactive and responsive LE TacCIS PMO managing and operating across the suite of P3M functions, delivering both programme and change management functions and products. The LE TacCIS SRO, Prog Director and Programe Manager must be enabled to make timely capability decisions with an engaged stakeholder base based on accurate business information and insightful PMO analysis in order to deliver improved Communications and Information Services (CIS) capabilities to Defence, and to demonstrate continual programme improvement and maturity to the SRO and external review teams. Work Already Done Approximately 4.5 years of support has already been conducted, which has focused on programme governance, development of a programme management plan and project work on future agile organisational constructs. The existing PMO functions now needs to mature and cohere to deliver an evidence based decision making organisation that enables the SRO to deliver against the outputs of this complex Cat A Programme. Existing Team Supplier will be working with MOD military, civil servants, other contractors and industry. Current Phase Live Skills & Experience • Provide example (within last 3 years) of demonstrable experience/knowledge developing, managing/running the construct and functions of a Govt organisation PMO to deliver an agile, transformative CIS delivery programme. 25% • Provide example (within last 3 years) of demonstrable experience implementing/running/improving and cohering programme management functions/processes/products for large MOD CIS programme. 15% • Provide example (within last 3 years) of demonstrable experience and knowledge of MOD and Army HQ organisation and CIS capability and acquisition processes. 2% • Provide example (within last 3 years) of demonstrable experience on developing, mapping and delivering stakeholder engagement activities and products. 5% • Provide example (within last 3 years) of demonstrable experience on developing and maturity development of Business and Enterprise Architecture. 3% • Provide example (within last 3 years) of demonstrable experience on developing and maturity development of Governance, Reporting, Scope Management, Schedule Management, Decision Support and Situational Awareness. 10% • Provide example (within last 3 years) of demonstrable experience on developing and maturity development of Benefits, Dependency and Assumption Management Information and documentation. 15% • Provide an example from within the last 3 years of demonstrable experience of support to Cost & Resource Management. 10% • Provide example (within last 3 years) of demonstrable experience on developing and maturity development of Change Management and Control (including support to ongoing change management activity). 3% • Provide example (within last 3 years) of demonstrable experience on developing and maturity development of Risk, Issue and Opportunity Management. 10% Nice to Haves Provide an example from within the last 3 years of demonstrable experience of progressive knowledge transfer to MOD staff. 2% Work Location Army HQ in Andover, Bristol, supplier’s own facilities (incl remote working) assorted industry and MOD facilities for meetings. All work will be UK based. Working Arrangments Estimated 25% –50% of time at Andover, less than 12% time in Bristol for face-to-face meetings and team reviews. Estimated remainder remote working/supplier’s own facilities for deliverable development. This will vary considerably depending on phase of deliverables and by individual deliverable. Whilst remote working/ at supplier’s own facilities personnel must be contactable by phone and email. Security Clearance Suppliers are expected to hold a valid SC clearance. The Authority will not sponsor SC clearance, it must be in place and remain valid for the duration of the contract. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • Quality/Delivery: How will you provide a high-quality team delivering/managing the required skills/functions of a high performing PMO? Why do you believe your team will be high-performing? 23% • Flexibility: How will you balance being responsive/flexible to changing work demands (in terms of skills/capacity) as the programme progresses with the benefits of a stable/consistent PMO team.14% • Resourcing Structure: Provide an indicative structure (people/roles in proposed team, main interrelationships), indicative profile (how the team size/roles might change over time) and when they can start.6% • Explain how you will identify/keep the organisation informed of risks/dependencies/issues/considerations relevant to planning. Identifying and managing the connections/dependencies between PMO functions you will perform/communicating the implications is key.22% • Please detail your proposed approach and methodology for managing and delivering Dependency and Assumption Management with Scheduling and Risk Management 13% • Required to work alongside Crown Servant PMO Staff. How will you manage these relationships, and those with Programme Mgr, Programme Dir/SRO to deliver outputs efficiently. 10% • Explain your approach to knowledge management, particularly how the Authority and its partners can maintain the LE TacCIS PMO functionality beyond the end of the contract. 6% • How will you optimise costs for the Authority and deliver value for money though the development and the lifetime of the service (total cost of ownership of the service.) 6% Cultural Fit Criteria • How you communicate effectively with staff, technical SMEs and senior management to identify pragmatic solutions to problems within a resource constrained environment. 22% • Provide example (within last 3 years) of proven success working in an open, transparent/collaborative working relationship at all levels with excellent communication and co-ordination skills when conducting daily stand-ups/meetings/presentations/demonstrations.22% • Provide an example from within the last 3 years of your ability and willingness to work collaboratively within a multi-vendor delivery environment to achieve outcomes.12% • Provide an example from within the last 3 years of your ability to challenge the status-quo with a no blame culture and encourage people to learn from their mistakes 9% • How will you share knowledge, experience and expertise with the Authority and other team members? 13% • How will you take ownership of problems and use initiative to ensure a successful outcome? 22% Payment Approach Capped time and materials Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 15% Price 25% Questions from Suppliers 1. You advise there has been support for the last 4.5 years. Who is the current incumbent, was their one before them, how do you rate their performance and are they eligible to re-bid? The incumbent is TP Group.Yes - TP Group.We would not comment on performance. This supplier would be able to bid. 2. Can you please provide details of the agile methodology that the programme is following? The Programme does not adhere to a specific agile methodology per se. In order to deliver on the Programme principles of Evolutionary capability Development and User Centred design we look to employ agile methods where possible. 3. Is there an incumbent supplier? Yes - TPG Services Limited (note this is the correct supplier name). 4. Would the authority consider an alternative proposal to PMO support? Ie, to pivot from a programme into value streams focused on end users, introducing an Agile Management Office aligned to strategic OKRs with the aim to reduce lead time and improve quality? The requirement is as published.Suppliers will be evaluated on the Evaluation criteria supplied. 5. For the question: Provide example (within last 3 years) of demonstrable experience on developing and maturity development of Business and Enterprise Architecture. 3% Can you please clarify your meaning of Business and Enterprise Architecture. Essentially the Business Enterprise is the processes, operating model etc we are putting in place between Army HQ, TacSys DT and Industry partners, to deliver aspects of the programme. The Enterprise Architecture is the (high level) technical architecture of how all those capabilities are integrated together. The Business Architecture needs to provide a design and delivery solution that supports the generation of the Enterprise Architecture, and allows it’s constituent components to be evolved (patches, upgrades etc) throughout their lifecycle. 6. We note the requirement regarding SC’s: “Suppliers are expected to hold a valid SC clearance. The Authority will not sponsor SC clearance, it must be in place and remain valid for the duration of the contract.” Since only List-X suppliers can hold or sponsor SCs and since the Authority will not sponsor SCs, please can the Authority confirm how any non List-X supplier could successfully apply for this opportunity? The Authority’s expectation is that the winning bidder will hold sufficient SC clearance for its candidates at Contract award to deliver the required outcomes. 7. Please can the Authority confirm whether suppliers will be required to provide a presentation for evaluation purposes before contract award? A presentation is not required. Suppliers going forward to Stage 2 will be required to produce a Proposal. 8. Please can the Authority provide estimates of the number of people to be placed via the contract and a break-down by roles/seniority? The supplier is required to determine the team size to meet the requirement. 9. Please can the Authority confirm if it would sponsor new staff, if required, to come onboard mid-contract for SC clearance? Will any roles required for the contract not require SC clearance? The Authority’s expectation is that the winning bidder will hold sufficient, valid SC clearance for its candidates at Contract award to deliver the required outcomes. All roles must be SC cleared. 10. Please can the Authority clarify what constitutes “demonstrable experience/knowledge” and “demonstrable experience” for the requested examples? For instance, would client names, project names, dates and summaries of work scopes be sufficient? The Authority requires evidence that suppliers have delivered the same or similar PMO functions that we require in similar circumstances. We do not require individual client names, but an indication of project names, the Government Department/Organisation name they were for and the detail of the work performed and the outcomes delivered on their behalf is required to demonstrate how you meet this criteria. 11. Can you provide any details on the extent of Exit Planning conducted by the incumbent and the extent of support you envisage from the incumbent to enable a smooth transition of service to the new provider? All Exit Planning, ensuring a smooth transition, will be shared with the successful Supplier at Contract Award. It will not be shared ahead of this date. 12. We have noted in the tender information that under ‘essential skills and experience’, the authority is asking for experience in cohering programme management functions/processes/products for large MOD CIS programmes. Given that this significantly narrows down the field of potential suppliers to those that are/have recently been incumbent in this space, and reduces the ability to draw on good practice examples of CIS in similar government settings: can the authority please confirm whether they are looking for CIS experience exclusively from within the MoD only? The Authority is seeking a supplier who can work effectively and immediately in an MOD Programme environment. We recognise that suppliers may wish to demonstrate relevant experience from work undertaken elsewhere within the Civil Service or Government and will consider relevant examples. 13. Can you provide an indicative schedule for down-selection to 3 suppliers and the date by which you will then require those suppliers to submit their written proposal (in order to support your 01 Sep 22 start date)? It is planned that the Authority will ask for Proposals on 03.08.22. They will be required by 11.08.22. 14. Exit Arrangement-Current Incumbent: In view of the timescale and the need for maximum transfer of knowledge whilst maintaining continuity, can the Authority confirm that an Exit Plan from the current supplier, endorsed and underwritten by the Authority, will be made available to the new supplier and that this will be available for the next stage? All Exit Planning, ensuring a smooth transition, will be shared with the successful Supplier at Contract Award. It will not be shared ahead of this date. 15. Authority Evaluation and Weighting: Could the authority expand on the evaluation criteria of Proposal, Cultural Fit and Payment Approach proposed for the next stage by providing the methodology and formula (such as Most Economically Advantageous Tender) being applied to weighting, scoring and ranking? The evaluation criteria/weightings are as set out in the advert:Technical: 60%Cultural fit:15%Price: 25% 16. Regarding requested examples that reference the MOD, please can the Authority confirm whether comparable examples for other civil service departments would be considered? If no specific MOD examples are provided, would this reduce the mark or eliminate the bidder? The Authority is seeking a supplier who can work effectively and immediately in an MOD Programme environment. We recognise that suppliers may wish to demonstrate relevant experience from work undertaken elsewhere within the Civil Service or Government and will consider relevant examples. 17. Q11. 14.07.22Regarding the Authority’s earlier clarification: “The Authority’s expectation is that the winning bidder will hold sufficient SC clearance for its candidates at Contract award to deliver the required outcomes.”We note that the Cabinet Office guidance indicates that “advertising for staff that already hold a security clearance is contrary to government policy, unnecessary and potentially discriminatory” (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/united-kingdom-security-vettingreferees-hiring-managers-contractors-and-consultants).Please can the Authority confirm if it considers the requirement under this opportunity for the winning bidder to “hold sufficient SC clearance for its candidates at Contract award” to be in line with this Cabinet Office guidance? The Authority’s expectation is that the winning bidder will hold sufficient, valid SC clearance for its candidates at Contract award to deliver the required outcomes.This is in line with CO guidance - the Authority can request when requirement is short term and needs to be filled urgently. Related Link attached. HMG personnel security controls - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 18. Regarding the Authority’s earlier clarification: “The Authority’s expectation is that the winning bidder will hold sufficient SC clearance for its candidates at Contract award to deliver the required outcomes.”Given that only List-X suppliers can hold SC clearances we presume from the above it is the Authority’s intention to implicitly exclude non List-X suppliers from this procurement. Please can you confirm this is the case? The Authority’s expectation is that the winning bidder will hold sufficient, valid SC clearance for its candidates at Contract award to deliver the required outcomes.This is in line with CO guidance - the Authority can request when requirement is short term and needs to be filled urgently. Related Link attached. HMG personnel security controls - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 19. We understand that we are expected to hold a valid SC clearance for our staff, and that the Authority will not sponsor SC clearances. Would this also apply to the transfer of existing SC clearances? All of our staff have existing and transferrable SC, would The Authority be prepared to hold the transferred clearances? The Authority can transfer clearances if we are requested to do so for contractors.