RM1043.8-3- UKHSA LSRS286 Research participant Recruitment Service

Tender description

Summary of work The User-Centred Design (UCD) Division of the UK Health Security Agency has an ongoing requirement for a supplier of individual participants for research within user-centred design work. The UCD Division provides operational research and design support to other teams conducting UCD work across the Agency. UCD requires a supplier to provide participants that meet specific requirements (outlined in Section 5.5 of the Statement of Requirements), which will be uniquely defined by expert UCD professionals at each use of the contract. The UCD professionals will be either from the UCD Division or from elsewhere in the Agency. The UCD Division is working to embed UCD principles and practices across UKHSA and therefore it is critical that we have access to a supplier who will enable delivery of UCD work. This means that we are embedding GDS and NHS standards in all our work and conducting research with a wide range of participants from different background and with different accessibility needs. As part of the operational research support provides to other UCD teams, we also encourage other UCD work to embed those same standards. The role of the supplier will be to provide participants to enable the delivery of user research conducted by the UCD Division or by other UCD teams in the organisation. The Supplier would be required to: Provide research participants that meet the needs of the UCD Division and other UCD teams when building/testing services, policies and products in government, being able to meet the supply need based on our predicted volumes of participants. Provide research participants in line with enabling GSS and NHSSS, meaning participants that may be harder to reach, as well as from a range of socio-economic background, religions, ethnicities and access needs. Provide research participants in line with enabling GSS and NHSSS, from a range of user groups such as members of the public and patients, as well as other professional groups such as GPs, nurses, health and care workers, teachers and many other core user groups. This could include more complex or niche roles (e.g., those working with poisons in the UK) where a supplier may still need to support teams in finding participants. Partnering with other organisations where the suppliers own recruitment channels have been exhausted. Remaining flexible in supplying participants within our predicted volumes by working with the UCD Division to keep abreast of upcoming projects and demands. Projects can often occur in parallel, or demand may increase or decrease at different times. Delivering research participants in line with timelines typically associated with an agile delivery framework where discovery, alpha and beta phases are delivered in sprints with short turnaround times See Statement of requirement for further details Where the research will take place North East England North West England Yorkshire and the Humber East Midlands West Midlands East of England London South East England South West England Who the organisation using the products or services is The User-Centred Design (UCD) Division of the UK Health Security Agency providers operational research support to other UCD teams in the organisation, including suppliers and other affiliated or collaborating organisations, to support user research practices. Any pre-market engagement done Not Used Number of research rounds The pipeline of research projects will be developed, and the Supplier will be given sight of this. The pipeline, however, remains flexible and there will be times of increased and decreased demand. The nature of this contract is that the requirement for research participants is ongoing, so the Supplier is expected to be available for multiple uses of a call-off contract or similar. The Supplier must also be able to handle concurrent research programmes and understand that there may be periods with no research activity. The exact number of UCD projects and, therefore, the number of research rounds per year is difficult to predict due to the flexible nature of agile and UCD teams in UKHSA. It is, therefore, important for the Supplier to be flexible in line with our needs. To support an understanding of the fluctuation in demand and volume, the following example of research demand in 2023 has been provided but should only be used indicatively: Jan-March 2023 Limited to no research taking place Apr-June 2023 Pipeline of projects developed 1 live project – GP participants required inc. access needs Jul-Aug 2023 5 live projects all requiring a range of diverse participants including access needs, including: - Environmental Health Officers, Local Authorities - GPs - Care workers - School staff dealing with outbreaks - Staff in poisons industry Sept-Dec 2023 5 projects from previous quarter ongoing Additional 4 live projects all requiring a range of diverse participants including access needs, including: - People that have had measles - Lab staff Expectation of 2-3 more projects go live this quarter See Statement of requirement for further details Number of participants per round Within each project, there may be several sprints/rounds of research which could be as low as one but as many as five. Each round will contain small numbers of participants, usually 5-15 individuals per user group as the majority of research would be qualitative. Some projects may require a much greater number of users, which would be discussed at the point of use of the contract. It is possible that in certain scenarios, a quantitative approach would be taken using surveys. In these cases, the volume would be higher, but the level of effort required of the participant would be lower, so we would anticipate that these instances may be easier to recruit for. See Statement of requirement for further details Research dates See examples in Number of Rounds information and See Statement of requirement for further details How often research will happen As each project begins, a UCD squad will form, and the user researchers will develop a research plan for that work. This will not happen in advance of a project going live. The research plans will determine the research questions and the sampling of participants required to meet the goals of the project. Research plans should detail: - User groups to be targeted for the research - Number of participants required - Any characteristics required (e.g., socio-economic background, ethnicity, disability, access needs etc.) - Timeline for research The Supplier would be provided with a recruitment brief once the research plan has been produced and would be required to provide a list of participants that meet that brief. The Supplier will be required to meet the timelines of UCD agile projects which are conducted in sprint formats and often require short lead times. On average, many UCD agile projects are delivered in 6–16-week timelines and, within this, there may be a 2-4 week lead in time for conducting research. The Supplier will be required to support short lead in times for the supply of research participants, including being able to flexibly adapt to the project’s needs. This could include the Supplier providing access to participants as they recruit individuals, rather than providing a final list of participants after one longer recruitment drive. The Supplier will be provided with a recruitment brief, and, on receipt of that brief, we expect that discussions may be needed to ensure recruitment needs are fully understood and communicated correctly. The Supplier is expected to supply a list of participants that will meet that brief, including any relevant data regarding specific characteristics. Regular checkpoints with the Supplier will be scheduled for each project to ensure recruitment is on track and ensure there is a chance for any risks or challenges in recruitment to be identified early. There may be projects that require the inclusion of health groups, marginalised participants or participants from particularly niche, technical or specialist areas. The Supplier will be expected to identify any risks or challenges in recruitment early and provide appropriate mitigations. We expect that the Supplier have a range of mitigations to fulfil recruitment briefs, which could include sub-contracting to a specialist agency or defining an appropriate timeline on when to default to proxy participants when only a partial profile can be achieved. See Statement of requirement for further details Research location Participants from a range of geographical locations would be required. However the majority of research will be conducted online using Microsoft Teams and so this should be a factor to consider when the Supplier recruits participants. The Supplier should also be able to occasionally provide participants for in-person research in the major cities across England. Any in-person locations in use will be identified by the lead researcher during negotiation of participant requirements at each use of the contract. See Statement of requirement for further details Access restrictions at location For online research, participants should be actively encouraged to share with us any accessibility accommodations that will enable them to participate in the session. See Statement of requirement for further details Description of participants The target participants for each project and round of research will be different and would be defined for each use of the contract at the point at which a recruitment brief is developed with the Supplier. Common research participants required include, but are not limited to: - RMPs & GPs - Nurses - Health and social care professionals - Education professionals, including administrative staff - Members of the public - Disease-specific experts - Local Authority professionals from a range of departments In addition to those common research participants, the nature of UKHSA’s work with the responsibility of protecting again the impact of infectious diseases, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents, means some projects may require niche, complex or specialist participants. To ensure diverse research is being conducted in a way that would meet GSS/NHSSS, the Supplier would need to provide: Participants that factor in the nine protected characteristics. Not all protected characteristics may be relevant for every project, but there will always be a need to ensure our research is representative of the population. Participants with disabilities, that use assistive technology, have access/accessibility needs and those that require digital assistance. Participants from a range of geographical locations and from a range of socio-economic backgrounds. The majority of research will be conducted online using Microsoft Teams and so this should be a factor to consider when the Supplier recruits participants. For online research, participants should be actively encouraged to share with us any accessibility accommodations that will enable them to participate in the session. The Supplier should also be able to occasionally provide participants for in-person research in the major cities across England. Any in-person locations in use will be identified by the lead researcher during negotiation of participant requirements at each use of the contract. The Supplier will need to provide research participants in line with the above requirements. As stated above, the specific requirements for each project will be identified by a recruitment brief, but the factors listed here will always feature within research projects. See Statement of requirement for further details Assisted digital and accessibility requirements Describe accessibility requirements: We are embedding GDS and NHS standards in all our work and conducting research with a wide range of participants from different background and with different accessibility needs. This would include participants with disabilities, that use assistive technology, have access/accessibility needs and those that require digital assistance. See Statement of requirement for further details Research plan As each project begins, a UCD squad will form, and the user researchers will develop a research plan for that work. This will not happen in advance of a project going live. The research plans will determine the research questions and the sampling of participants required to meet the goals of the project. Research plans should detail: - User groups to be targeted for the research - Number of participants required - Any characteristics required (e.g., socio-economic background, ethnicity, disability, access needs etc.) - Timeline for research The Supplier would be provided with a recruitment brief once the research plan has been produced and would be required to provide a list of participants that meet that brief. The Supplier will be required to meet the timelines of UCD agile projects which are conducted in sprint formats and often require short lead times. On average, many UCD agile projects are delivered in 6–16-week timelines and, within this, there may be a 2-4 week lead in time for conducting research. The Supplier will be required to support short lead in times for the supply of research participants, including being able to flexibly adapt to the project’s needs. This could include the Supplier providing access to participants as they recruit individuals, rather than providing a final list of participants after one longer recruitment drive. The Supplier will be provided with a recruitment brief, and, on receipt of that brief, we expect that discussions may be needed to ensure recruitment needs are fully understood and communicated correctly. The Supplier is expected to supply a list of participants that will meet that brief, including any relevant data regarding specific characteristics. Regular checkpoints with the Supplier will be scheduled for each project to ensure recruitment is on track and ensure there is a chance for any risks or challenges in recruitment to be identified early. There may be projects that require the inclusion of health groups, marginalised participants or participants from particularly niche, technical or specialist areas. The Supplier will be expected to identify any risks or challenges in recruitment early and provide appropriate mitigations. We expect that the Supplier have a range of mitigations to fulfil recruitment briefs, which could include sub-contracting to a specialist agency or defining an appropriate timeline on when to default to proxy participants when only a partial profile can be achieved. See Statement of requirement for further details Special terms and conditions special term or condition: Additional Security information added to Joint Schedule 11 (Processing data) - Annex 1B Security See Joint Schedule 11 (Processing data) Budget Indicative maximum: £1200000 Indicative minimum: £0 Further information: The initial contract term is 2 years up until 31st December 2025 with the option for a 1-year extension up until 31ST December 2026. The maximum contract value is £1,200,000 (excluding VAT) However, this is not a commitment to spend. The contract will expire when the maximum term or maximum spend is reached, whichever is the sooner. Budgets for spend by the UCD Division on this contract will be approved on an annual basis based on the pipeline of work. Budget for other teams to spend off this contract will be approved on a case-by-case basis in the relevant divisions. Terms and acronyms Term or acronym: See acronym descriptor below: Definition: Expression or Acronym Definition UR User Research UCD User Centred Design GSS Government Service Standards GDS Government Digital Service UKHSA UK Health Security Agency NHS National Health Service RMP Registered Medical Practitioner CDDO Central Digital and Data Office NHSSS NHS Service Standards RMP Registered Medical Practitioner GP General Practitioner