Internet Connectivity for Seafarers

Tender description

Summary of the work A discovery that identifies across all user groups: • The current range and pattern of usage. • User barriers and future constraints. • Metrics and measures of success. • A baseline for current user experience. • User needs in a form that can drive future solutions. • Relevant emerging technology. Expected Contract Length Approximately 8 weeks Latest start date Monday 12 December 2022 Budget Range Between £80k and £110k Why the Work is Being Done At the Fourth Meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006 at the International Labour Organisation in May 2022 members agreed that to improve social connectivity and, in turn, seafarer wellbeing, internet connectivity should be a requirement onboard vessels whether docked or at sea at a reasonable cost or free of charge, and that this requirement would come into force internationally in December 2024. Maritime 2050 also identified that internet connectivity for seafarers is “neither widely available, highly functioning, nor always offered at an accessible price.”, and that the UK is, and will continue to be, a global leader in setting the standards for seafarer welfare. The urgency of the agreement made at the ILO and the issues set out in Maritime 2050 have been accelerated by a commitment set out under Goal 8 of the Nine-Point Plan for seafarers, to improve the long-term working conditions for seafarers. Problem to Be Solved Seafarers reportedly have extremely limited access to internet connectivity for the purposes of social connectivity. Evidence gathered to date indicates this is due to the quality and cost of the connectivity provided. Seafarers are most likely to access internet connectivity from their accommodation on board vessels whilst anchored at a port or nearby anchorage, however they are unlikely to access it whilst on a voyage at sea, even if just whilst sailing in UK waters. We are looking to address a market failure in the lack of market competition in the wireless connectivity services provided by satellite connectivity to the consumer (seafarers), as well as infrastructure barriers for mobile network operators. Action is needed to address existing commitments in international law (to meet a commitment agreed to in May 2022 to amend the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 for implementation by December 2024), and to link up with strategic priorities, focussing on issues such as seafarer welfare and recruitment/retention. Who Are the Users Main users UK Government has a responsibility as a flag and a port state to facilitate the provision of free or low-cost internet connectivity to the following primary users: seafarers who regularly dock at UK ports (e.g. once every two weeks) and seafarers onboard vessels flagged with the UK. The users need to be able to primarily access internet connectivity for the purposes of modern social interaction (video calls), however they should also be able to access it for other recreational and personal uses. Secondary users Shipowners need to be able to ensure internet connectivity is provided to seafarers who work for them in a way that avoids significantly impacting their business model or their operational requirements. Use cases for shipowners should be considered from an operational and strategic perspective. UK ports need to be able to support the deployment of connectivity infrastructure in and around their estate, without it impacting their business model or their operational requirements. Use cases for ports should be considered from an operational and strategic perspective, including any associated or co-located businesses/contractors. General consumers need to be able to benefit from any excess connectivity provided to seafarers for social, recreational and personal purposes. Early Market Engagement Limited engagement has taken place with the primary market responsible for the provision of connectivity to seafarers with trade bodies representing the UK’s mobile network operators and satellite connectivity providers. Engagement has also taken place with the trade bodies representing the UK shipping industry and UK ports, as well as trade unions representing seafarers. All are supportive of the broad objective of providing free or low-cost internet connectivity for seafarers. Work Already Done N/A Existing Team Head of Seafarer Protections Head of Seafarers Protections Delivery and Legislation Delivery Lead, Seafarer Protections Current Phase Discovery Skills & Experience • Provide demonstrable evidence of delivery of a digital discovery • Demonstrable experience of the Maritime digital and/or telecommunications sector • Demonstrable evidence of drawing up recommendations and options where successful digital projects have been delivered. • Demonstrable experience in conducting stakeholder analysis with a wide range of stakeholders • Demonstrable experience of drawing up recommendations and options from multiple data sources, both existing and still to be defined. • Demonstrable experience of using a range of research methods • NOTE for advisory purposes: Special characters, commas and punctuation marks must only be used in accordance with standard English. • Any bidder that uses any form of non-standard English or internet web links to circumnavigate word limits: • shall be non-compliant and shall be excluded from further consideration. Nice to Haves • Provide demonstrable experience of delivery discovery work that complies with the GDS service manual approach. • Experience of working with teams with no or limited experience of digital projects • Recent (within 5 years) experience of working within the maritime industry or with maritime stakeholders. • NOTE for advisory purposes: Special characters, commas and punctuation marks must only be used in accordance with standard English. • Any bidder that uses any form of non-standard English or internet web links to circumnavigate word limits: • shall be non-compliant and shall be excluded from further consideration. Work Location Remotely– primary research may need to be collected at ports and/or onboard shipping vessels. Analysis would be expected to be conducted at a remote location (e.g. at home or in an existing office location) Working Arrangments The supplier is expected to be available and contactable during core hours of 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. We expect the supplier to suggest a team that can complete the discovery phase in 8 weeks. This can include scaling the team up and down and part-time working when appropriate. Detailed working arrangements will be provided upon appointment of the supplier but will include, for example, adherence to DfT processes and standards. Security Clearance All contract personnel should, as a minimum, be cleared to authority security clearance level of BPSS and must be available to begin work with immediate effect following contract award. CVs, including security clearance evidence required for resource to be assigned to project will be evidenced at written proposal stage. Additional T&Cs Expenses must align with the DfT Travel and Subsistence policy, with proposed travel approved by the buyer before mobilisation. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 6 Proposal Criteria • The approach and methodology to the discovery, including how priorities will be determined, problems approached, and emerging findings presented (35%) • A broad project plan with proposed timelines for delivery of the discovery (10%) • Value for money (5%) • The structure and high-level discovery report outputs/headings (5%) • The team structure, their technical skills and experience, including the estimated resource (10%). Cultural Fit Criteria • Provide experience of transparent and collaborative working to deliver outcomes (6%) • Experience of taking responsibility for work and resolving problems effectively (4%) • Demonstrate a user-centred approach, using research to present findings that all stakeholders/decision-makers can easily understand (5%). Payment Approach Fixed price Assessment Method • Case study • Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 65% Cultural fit 15% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers 1. Reference to Essential Questions: 7,8,9 and Nice to Have: 4,5,6We note that using incorrect grammar, will result in being excluded, please advise what is the preferred response? should we mention, e,g,: N/A ? We ask that words are not merged into one by using – or / etc in between words resulting in 5-10 words being classed as one, for example 'these/words/are-merged>into-1'. This is seen as an attempt to circumnavigate the required word limit for responses which could exceed the required word count if separated correctly during the evaluation stage. 2. We see that a number of the questions relate to specific instructions on what is and isn’t allowed when complete the answer form. For example, not using hyphenated words etc. We are unsure how to answer these questions, other than to note the instruction and confirm our compliance. Would that be a suitable way to submit a response in these cases? The last 3 bullet points of the essential and nice to have criteria do not need to be answered. They have been added as guidelines to advise what cannot be accepted when questions are answered. 3. Please can you confirm if Stage 1 scores will be carried over to Stage 2 and used as part of the overall evaluation? No, Stage 1 and Stage 2 scores are evaluated separately. 4. Please can you provide a timeline indicating the dates on which you intend to shortlist suppliers, when you will release the Stage 2 documentation and when you intend to award etc.? Our indicative timeline is to shortlist suppliers on the week commencing 7th Nov. Stage 2 documents to be released week commencing 14th Nov. Award week commencing 28th Nov. These may be adjusted accordingly however are near to achieving the anticipated discovery start date of 12th December. 5. Regarding the response criteria at Stage 2, please can you confirm that the Case Study, Presentation and each of the 5 points listed in the Proposal Criteria section will be equally weighted within the 65% allocated to Technical Competence within the evaluation? The 5 points listed in the proposal criteria are given individual weightings but are part of the 65%. Case Studies are considered as part of the 65% weighting whereas presentations are optional and only requested at Stage 2 if the buyer feels the need to do so at a later date. 6. Please could you confirm what scoring methodologies will be applied at Stage 1 and Stage 2? Stage 1 and Stage 2 submissions will be scored on a mark of 0-3:0 Not met or no evidence1 Partially met2 Met3 Exceeded 7. Can you please confirm your understanding of the question below? Demonstrable experience of drawing up recommendations and options from multiple data sources, both existing and still to be defined. The successful vendor should demonstrate experience of using evidence gathered to inform recommendations, including the identification of complete and incomplete data and how such data informs recommendations. 8. Do you have any expectations or requirements for what you’d like the final outputs of the Discovery to be? e.g., Personas, journey maps etc. We are open to proposed outputs from vendors, such as those posed in this question, however they should focus on chartering a solution to the ‘Problem to be solved’. 9. Please could you confirm whether it would be acceptable to get our staff BPSS certification updated if we were successful rather than at submission. As set out in ‘Security clearance’ sub-section, vendors would be expected to have BPSS upon submission of their application in order to begin work with immediate effect following the award of their contract. 10. Is it anticipated that an external supplier will also go on to deliver the subsequent phases of the project, given the existing team listed within the brief, or will an internal digital team be put in place at some stage? The recommendations identified through the successful vendor’s discovery report will be used to support future policy/digital implementation and the resource commitments needed to implement such recommendations. DfT would then take an assessment of the next steps for the programme. 11. 6. Do you anticipate the supplier conducting research across both the Primary and Secondary user groups listed within the brief? Research conducted should focus on the primary user base, with supplementary information gathered on the secondary user base and their interdependence with the primary user base. 12. Please can you confirm if the travel expenses will be covered by Maritime Operations/DfT or whether the supplier will be expected to cover these? Travel and Subsistence would be provided by DfT in line with DfT Travel and Subsistence Policy, however it must be approved by DfT before mobilisation. 13. In relation to the question below, are you looking for examples where Discovery recommendations have been made and gone on to inform the successful delivery of a Live service?Demonstrable evidence of drawing up recommendations and options where successful digital projects have been delivered. Yes, we are looking for an example(s) of where a supplier has taken a problem or requirement in relation to a digital product or service and drawn up recommendations and options which have led to the successful delivery of that product or service. That could be a live digital service or a successful alpha, or it could be delivery of a digital product. It would ideally relate to a discovery however other relevant methods/approaches would be acceptable if they demonstrate your approach to recommendations and options plus how that led to a successful outcome