prj_10636 Research and Evaluation Database-closed

Tender description

About adding context and requirements test Work done so far We have completed a Discovery phase, working with internal user groups to understand their needs, generate support for the database, and build the list of fields that we will need the database to capture. We have also worked with an external supplier, Kainos Plc., to develop a proof-of-concept tool. The purpose of the proof-of-concept work was to assess the technical capabilities of Microsoft Power Platform and whether it would meet our requirements. The PoC will not be used as the basis for the final tool, we expect development to begin from scratch. Which phase the project is in Alpha Existing team The existing team consists of one project manager plus two business experts. We are supported by a business case manager and a technical delivery manager, whose role is to ensure the MPP solution is consistent with MoJ's IT strategy. Finally, we have a number of in-situ user testers, who we expect to be involved in the iterative development of the tool. Address where the work will be done Work will be done remotely. The supplier is expected to maintain regular contact with the project team through video conferencing software. Where an in-person meeting would be useful, these can take place in any Ministry of Justice Satellite Office or Collaboration Centre. Working arrangements The supplier will be expected to be available during MoJ's core hours of 10:30 til 3:30, Monday to Friday, but can fulfil their working hours flexibly around this. The supplier will be working remotely, however we expect regular contact (approx. twice per week) and updates, including by email and video call. Where face-to-face meetings would be of value, these will be arranged by the MoJ team in one of our offices (nationwide). Travel and subsistence expenses will require prior approval. Provide more information about your security requirements: Security Check (SC) Latest start date 2023-10-09 Enter the expected contract length: 2 years Extension period: 1 year Write the term or acronym: MoJ HQ Write the term or acronym: HMPPS Write the term or acronym: HMCTS Write the term or acronym: MPP Write the term or acronym: EPH Write the term or acronym: NRC Explain the term or acronym: Ministry of Justice Headquarters Explain the term or acronym: His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service Explain the term or acronym: His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service Explain the term or acronym: Microsoft Power Platform Explain the term or acronym: Evaluation and Prototyping Hub Explain the term or acronym: National Research Committee Are you prepared to show your budget details?: Yes Indicative maximum: 150000 Provide further information: £150,000 budget is for the required scope as agreed in the Statement of Work. The Call Off Contract value will include contingency sums for possible additional Statements of Work that will be subject to requirements being approved, the availability of budget and internal governance. 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 A partner to design, develop and iterate a case management system for research and evaluation in the Ministry of Justice. We are seeking an out-of-the-box Microsoft Power Platform solution, to meet operational data management and reporting needs. Once delivered, the partner will be expected to document the tool and upskill MoJ colleagues to maintain it in the future. Where the supplied staff will work No specific location (for example they can work remotely) Who the organisation using the products or services is Ministry of Justice Why the work is being done Our work at the Ministry of Justice helps to change lives, makes society safer and more just, and supports better life opportunities for all citizens. To achieve all of that, we need a clear sense of what works in cutting crime and reoffending, with a robust evidence base so that we can target limited public resources where they have the biggest impact. Evaluation helps to show us when our interventions are working well; where we can scale them up or down to improve their impact and value for money; and where we can improve their impact – for example by changing their design or targeting them better on people most likely to benefit from them. We are creating a new Research and Evaluation Database, to capture management information on research and evaluation projects led by the MoJ, HMPPS and HMCTS. This will allow us to monitor the coverage and quality of our research programme, to address any challenges, and to ensure transparency in our reporting against our evaluation commitments. We have publicly committed to creating the Database in our recently published Evaluation and Prototyping Strategy. It must be launched by the end of the 2023/24 financial year. The business problem you need to solve Currently there is no process for systematically tracking research and evaluation across the Ministry of Justice and its Executive Agencies. This means we are unable to: - Respond to regular information requests from internal senior management, Ministers, HM Treasury, the Cabinet Office, the National Audit Office, and others, regarding the coverage and cost of our evaluations. - Prioritise our key evaluations, leading to under-resourced, poor-quality research. - Deliver Value for Money, as we continue to invest in evaluation research that will not provide the evidence required for decision making. The Department has committed to creating a new database in our Evaluation and Prototyping Strategy. The Evaluation and Prototyping Hub (EPH) and the National Research Committee (NRC) are working together to create the new tool, which will: - Provide a systematic view of ongoing research and evaluation activity across the Department. This will enable us to respond promptly to the information requests discussed above, whilst reducing burden on individual evaluation teams.  - Enable prioritisation to ensure the appropriate resource is assigned to key evaluations. This will also enable us to align the Department’s research programme with our evidence gaps and our Areas of Research Interest. - Align the AQA and NRC approval processes, making the day-to-day handling more efficient and ensuring consistent quality. A single route of entry will minimise the burden on frontline research gatekeepers from misaligned requests. - Increase awareness of ongoing research and evaluation, minimising duplication and contamination, and enabling knowledge sharing to improve research outcomes. Our requirement is for a supplier to use "out of the box" functionality in Microsoft Power Platform to create a service which will meet our data collection, storage, and management information needs. We will also require the provision of training and guidance for MoJ staff in the team, allowing the team to be self-sufficient in maintaining and amending the service to meet any future requirements. First user type: Internal researcher First user type: External researcher First user type: Evaluation and Prototyping Hub First user type: National Research Committee team First user type: NRC regional research leads First user type: Internal process lead (e.g., Procurement and Publication leads) First user type: Internal senior analyst Enter more details about this user type: As a research analyst in MoJ, I can enter the details of my project in an intuitive and minimally burdensome way, so that I can provide data alongside my day job. I can update specific fields for projects that I own, but not for projects owned by others, so that I can keep information for my project up to date, without affecting the fidelity of the dataset. I can filter and search all rows in the database, to find the details of other people/projects with similar topics/methodologies/locations. Enter more details about this user type: As an external researcher, I can submit all the information required for my NRC application through an MoJ form, including providing supporting documentation, so that I can provide all the information required by the NRC in a minimally burdensome way. I cannot access the database itself, to ensure internal information remains secure. Because I cannot access the database to update my projects, I can submit an amendment through a separate, shorter process, that is stored alongside my original project data. Enter more details about this user type: As a member of the E&P Hub, I can update any data field for projects provided by MoJ analysts, to ensure data is up-to-date and reflects the multiple data sources that are available to me. I can easily see where analysts have updated information, and can compare the previous and current rows, so that I can identify projects that are overrunning or previously planned RCTs that have been scaled down. I can quickly obtain management information, such as the number of process/impact/economic evaluations ongoing, the number at each project phase, etc., so that I can easily respond to requests for such information. As a member of the E&P Hub, I can access AQA documents uploaded by any MoJ-owned projects, to ensure a high level of quality is maintained. Enter more details about this user type: As a member of the NRC core team, I am notified when new applications and amendment requests are received, so that I can manage the monthly caseload and ensure all actions have been taken for each submission. I can easily extract all information and documents relevant to a project into an accessible format, to be sent alongside a feedback form to relevant consultees (manually selected from a list). I can update any data field for projects provided by researchers, including assigning decision outcomes and providing additional information, to ensure it is up-to-date and reflects the multiple data sources that are available to me at each step of the application process. As a member of the NRC core team, I get notified when a study has reached its end date and an auto-email is sent to the lead researcher on my behalf, so that I can remind researchers to submit their summary report without administrative burden. Enter more details about this user type: As a regional research lead, I can access all documentation for applications that have been assigned to me, and can provide my feedback in a minimally burdensome way, so that I can efficiently manage research in my area. I can update some additional information for single site applications, without impacting the original data provided by the researcher or altering rows that are not my responsibility. This allows me to provide the information required for my projects, without affecting the fidelity of the dataset. I can quickly extract management information for my area/region such as the number of current/closed applications, location, subject matter, etc., so that I can efficiently manage the research in my area. Enter more details about this user type: As an internal process lead, I can quickly access the fields relevant to my process, to give a granular view of projects that need my support. I can quickly obtain management information on projects going through my process, so that I can manage my caseload and provide support where necessary. I can update specific data fields for relevant projects, including some fields that only I can alter, to ensure data is up-to-date and reflects the multiple data sources that are available to me. Enter more details about this user type: As a Senior Analyst in D&A, I can filter and search all rows in the database, so that I can see all the projects that I am responsible for. I can easily see where projects I am responsible for have out-of-date information, so that I can encourage my team to provide an update. I can quickly find the contact details for a given project, so that I can obtain further information at short notice for a high-profile meeting or briefing. As a Senior Analyst in D&A, I can easily use this data for my standard project tracking requirements, so that my teams are not required to duplicate this information on other trackers. Questions and Clarifications 1. 1. In relation to Q E1 - Can MoJ please confirm what they define as an end to end development process and provide minimum indicators/measures of what we should provide details on of "a project of a similar scale"? Can Moj also provide information on which systems and data sources they expect this platform to connect to? 2. In relation to Q E7 - Can MoJ please provide definition of 'client's infrastructure". Will this platform infrastructure be in the cloud, deployed as hybrid or on premise? Will the solution need to integrate with any other systems in the cloud or on premise Will MoJ build this platform off of the existing PoC or not? As Kainos are mentioned as the supplier who helped deliver this bid, will they be included or excluded in this procurement? 3. In relation to Q E8 - Can Moj please confirm if SC will be required for all project delivery roles - on page 8 of attachment 1, table labelled "work setup" there is a "not specified" tag under SC. If not all roles require SC clearance, can MoJ please advise minimum security clearance levels or how it will be managed? 4. In relation to Q N1 - Can MoJ please provide specific details on what level of Gold or silver certifications they require a partner to have as a minimum to deliver this work, Can MoJ also provide details on the levels of experience (number of projects/size/number of users). If the certification falls into an "in the process of receiving this status", when will MoJ require this to be obtained by in relation to their procurement and project timelines. 5. In relation to Q N2 - How does MoJ define remote delivery and does this make reference to any digital project or specifically Microsoft Power platforms? 1. End to end development process means the process from beginning to end to deploy a complete functional solution. The scale of the project is set out in the DOS6 notice. The user numbers have been provided in response to another clarification question. Typical volumes at a steady state will be 30 new records from external users and 10 new records from internal users per month. When the tool is launched, we anticipate around 200 records for pre-existing projects to be loaded into the database. No integrations of external products required for the creation of the solution. Only M365 out of the box required. 2. The client infrastructure is in the cloud and this infrastructure is managed by the Buyer. No integration is required with other systems for the build of the product. The proof of concept was a short and limited exercise that outlined the Power Platform functionality and will not be used to build the platform. The 3rd party supplier support was limited to assisting an in-house technical team with the proof of concept – the supplier will not be excluded from the process if the supplier chooses to participate in the procurement exercise. 3. SC clearance is required for all project delivery roles that will have access to the MoJ infrastructure. 4. The Gold or Silver certification equivalent sought is a Solutions Partner in either Business Applications or Digital & App Innovation (Azure/ Power Platform). The Low Code Application Development specialisation is desirable. If the Supplier is in the process of achieving this status, please provide evidence on progress (e.g. number of customers, number of successfully developed applications) and the likely achievement date. 5. Remote delivery is the supplier delivery team working from the supplier’s site or working from home, i.e. not working from the Buyer’s site. Any digital project examples are acceptable. Last Updated: 31 July 2023, 14:49 2. 1. How many users will need training on the Power Platform solution? 2. Can you give rough estimates (or exact if available) of the number of users in each of your named user persona’s please? 3. Do external researchers have logins to M365? Or do they need a web based form in order to submit their projects? 4. Is a support contract required as part of the established budget and estimate, or are you looking to support in-house through knowledge transfer and end of project handover? 5. Are there any other key integrations desired or anticipated with non M365 applications in order to create this solution, if so please name the technology and product names 1. 6. 2. Internal researchers: approx. 100, with broadly the same users using the database repeatedly. External researchers: approx. 150 per year, with each user typically submitting one application and not returning. Evaluation and Prototyping Hub team: 8 members, 4 to be fully trained to maintain the database. National Research Committee team: 3 members, all to be fully trained to maintain the database. NRC consultees: 150 users, of whom approx. 40 are regular users. NRC regional research leads: 35, the group is consistent over time. Internal process leads: 6 users, consistent over time. Internal senior analysts: 6 users, consistent over time. 3. No, external researchers will not have logins to MoJ’s M365. They currently use a downloadable Excel form. It will be for the supplier to propose a solution for the external researchers. 4. Support will move in-house. 5. No, we expect the solution to be buildable entirely within M365. For security reasons, no data can leave MoJ’s tenant, thus there should be no connections to external technologies. Last Updated: 31 July 2023, 14:37 3. Please may we request certainty on the clarification question response regarding 750 characters excluding spaces? In two earlier DOS responses, this was initially stated and then re-clarified that it includes spaces, which was the final position. RM1043.8 Digital Outcomes 6 Buyers Guide page 9 states “Suppliers are requested to provide an individual response against each of your questions. Each response should not exceed 750 characters in length (the equivalent of about 150 words). You have the discretion to exclude any supplier who exceeds this limit, or to evaluate only the first 750 characters of their response”. The Buyers Guide does not explicitly state a position on spaces counting as a character or not. For this project the Ministry of Justice has clarified that the 750 character limit excludes spaces as this is more likely to result in a response of about 150 words. Last Updated: 30 July 2023, 20:21 4. With regard to the previous clarification confirming that there is a requirement for SC cleared resources, can you please confirm if you require the supplier to already have SC cleared staff or if this can be progressed after contract award? The supplier is required to have SC cleared staff or to be a ListX company able to complete their own SC clearance within the published timescales (the Buyer will verify this during onboarding). Last Updated: 30 July 2023, 20:16 5. Security Clearance requires a government department invitation. It appears to be a bit of a chicken and egg situation especially if all work is tendered says "Requires SC". With procurements aims of allowing SME's to bid on government work would you be willing to allow us to get security clearance once the contract starts or sponsor us now for this purpose? Apparently to become a sponsor organisation only takes 5 days. We are all BPSS checked which is the cornerstone of SC. Some of our consultants have achieved SC clearance from past employers but our understanding is it is not transferable. This is a high priority project with tight timescales. Security Clearance is a mandatory Buyer requirement and the Buyer will follow the relevant processes to validate the supplier delivery team members that have existing SC clearance. If the Supplier is a ListX company and will complete their own SC clearance, the Buyer will verify this during onboarding. The Buyer will not be sponsoring the supplier delivery team to obtain SC clearance. Last Updated: 30 July 2023, 20:12 6. Please could you provide a copy of the appendix of functional and non-functional requirements referenced in the first two Technical Criteria questions. Sight of these is also important at stage one to adequately qualify this work. The Buyer will evaluate Stage 1 Shortlisting with the understanding that suppliers have access to the information presented in the DOS6 notice. The Buyer is satisfied that there is sufficient detail in the DOS6 notice for all suppliers to respond to the Essential skills and experience criteria and the Nice-to-have skills and experience criteria. Suppliers may also ask clarification questions on any aspect of the information that has been published. Further information will be made available at Stage 2 Further Assessment. Last Updated: 26 July 2023, 11:12 7. Does the 750 character limit for stage one responses include or exclude spaces? The 750 character limit excludes spaces. Please can you submit your responses to Essential and Nice-to-have skills and experience in MS Word format or MS Word compatible format. Please can you check your response is within the 750 character limit before submitting the response. Last Updated: 26 July 2023, 11:10 8. We are trying to work out the resource requirements based on the contract length. The contract is for 2 years, the Maximum budget £150,000 but you state the resources must be available Monday-Fri in core hours. Can you provide some more information about the resource levels/skills that you think might be required? When you say the resources must be available in core hours, how do you see this working for a resource that is not booked to your project 5 days a week for the contract duration? The DOS6 notice states “£150,000 budget is for the required scope as agreed in the Statement of Work". The Call Off Contract value will include contingency sums for possible additional Statements of Work that will be subject to requirements being approved, the availability of budget and internal governance”. The Call Off Contract value will also include sums for the potential contract extension (12 months, +50% to the Call Off Contract value). The first Statement of Work will be completed by 31 March 2024. Any subsequent Statements of Work will start and end within the contract term. The DOS6 notice states “The supplier will be expected to be available during MoJ's core hours of 10:30 til 3:30, Monday to Friday, but can fulfil their working hours flexibly around this”. To clarify, this is a statement about being available for planned meetings/calls. It is for the Supplier to determine and offer resources. Last Updated: 26 July 2023, 11:03 9. The documents state "implementation of your proposed solution will meet the non-functional requirements set out in the Appendix" We don't see an Appendix. Just to check there are no further requirements that should be attached and just the user stories per user type? Further information will be shared at Stage 2 Further Assessment. Last Updated: 26 July 2023, 10:58 10. Please may we request a copy of the discovery report? The Buyer will share further information in relation to the discovery work carried out at Stage 2 Further Assessment. Last Updated: 26 July 2023, 10:56 11. As the security clearances are 'not specified' as per the bid pack document, please can you confirm whether we can assume this indicates there will be no requirement for security cleared resources? The DOS6 notice states “Security and vetting requirements – Security Check (SC)”. There is a requirement for SC cleared resources. Last Updated: 24 July 2023, 19:12 12. We would expect this project to run from the UK, but with a portion of the delivery to be off-shore. Please can you confirm whether you would accept off-shore remote resources for a portion of this work? The Buyer will not accept off-shore remote resources for this work. Last Updated: 24 July 2023, 19:11