Design, implement, and support southwark.gov.uk using the LocalGov Drupal platform

Tender description

About adding context and requirements test Describe any pre-market engagement done We have carried out soft market testing on other CMS' on the market and made a decision to move to the LGD platform. As part of our discovery, we have met with the LGD product owner, as well as other local authorities and partners who currently work with LGD. Work done so far We have appointed an agency to carry out a content audit, review and rewrite of the southwark.gov.uk website. Our ideal plan would be for the new LocalGov Drupal platform to be stood up in time for any new content to be rewritten into the new platform. Our current platform has limited content templates when compared to LGD. We have worked with our incumbent website development partner to develop new designs for the website, closely aligned to GDS standards. These will be used to 'reskin' the current website to update the look and feel and provide a more modern council website whilst we transition to the new platform. We are targeting a go live date of June 2023 for the 'reskinned' website. We intend for these designs to be used for the new LGD website, however some tweaks may be required. Which phase the project is in Live Existing team - Programme Lead - Delivery Project Manager - Digital Content Officer - Web Systems Manager - Enterprise Architect There is likely to be some interaction required with our current CMS supplier, our IT shared service, as well as the agency working on the content rewrite. Address where the work will be done The council offices are in Tooley Street, London Bridge. We anticipate the work can take place remotely. Working arrangements The supplier will work remotely. Provide more information about your security requirements: No security clearance needed Latest start date 2023-07-03 Enter the expected contract length: 2 years Are you prepared to show your budget details?: No Confirm if you require a contracted out service or supply of resource Contracted out service: the off-payroll rules do not apply Summary of work Design, build and develop a new Southwark Council website on the LocalGov Drupal platform, making use of the templates and modules available, and building additional functionality and tailoring as required. Work with us to migrate existing content and train the existing team to edit the website. Provide maintenance, support and hosting for 2 years. Where the supplied staff will work London Why the work is being done Southwark Council is migrating to the LocalGov Drupal platform so that it can better meet the needs of its users. Southwark Council’s ambition is to ‘ensure that Southwark is recognised as one of the leading digital boroughs in London’ over the next two years. It’s Technology & Digital Inclusion Strategy 2022-25 looks to meet this ambition by focusing on five pillars. Pillar 4 commits to improving resident experiences. ‘We will review our services and online experiences to enable our residents to find the information and guidance they require, with an easy-to-use website that works on any device, to provide convenient digital services and personalised information.' In 2020 a report by an external organisation identified a series of challenges which ultimately led to a poor user experience for residents on the website. In 2022, a follow up independent review was commissioned which provided a detailed assessment of the council’s web content model and the underpinning technologies which support the southwark.gov.uk website. A key recommendation of the report was to replace the CMS with a new opensource CMS. The business problem you need to solve Our current Content Management System is a bespoke CMS that acts as a Content Management System for the public website content; handles user accounts for our customer portal; and provides the backend for a host of bespoke applications. The platform is missing basic functionality that comes as standard in most CMS platforms, including LGD. Any new features require custom development which costs money and uses up council resource. This means we cannot respond quickly to the changing needs of our users or introduce new features quickly. The Council needs more mature and capable web systems and a CMS that require less customization and support. The current CMS has grown organically rather than being designed therefore the interface is unintuitive and difficult for web editors to navigate. Residents cannot use the search effectively to find what they need. The content on the southwark.gov.uk site is not well managed and is going through a significant auditing process. The goal is to provide an accessible website, which transforms the user interface with high quality content and design, enabling a great user experience. The council is in the process of issuing new brand guidelines and the design of the existing website will need to be adjusted in line with these. The council is implementing digital transformation across its services. The website is an important part of our digital offering and needs a reliable and robust platform to underpin it. First user type: Resident/Business/Visitor First user type: Content Publisher First user type: Marketing and Communications Professional Enter more details about this user type: As a resident/business/visitor, I need to quickly access the right information and services online, so that I can meet my needs. I need a seamless experience when I access certain bespoke applications that are part of the incumbent CMS. Enter more details about this user type: As a content publisher, I need a simple and intuitive interface, so that I can create and manage useful content. Enter more details about this user type: As a marketing and communications professional, I need to easily create subsites with their own look and feel, so that we can effectively market our services.