Participant Recruitment for DWP Digital Modernisation

Tender description

About adding context and requirements test How often research will happen We provide 2 weeks notice ahead of research rounds. We currently average 6-8 rounds of research per month. However the requests for participants may not be at regular intervals and fluctuate, across projects differently. Evening or weekend research Weekday evenings Research location Research activities will be either face to face or remote using video calls or a telephone call. Remote research will predominently be using Microsoft Teams or similar tooling. Face to face research (across England) may be located in research labs, government buildings, businesses, support organisations, participants place of work or home. Locations will be specified in the research brief. The Agency will be responsible for provision of research venues when requested. Including procurement of accessible locations, and provide details to both the researcher and participants. Access restrictions at location There should be no access restricitions at research locations and venues. Information about the accessibility of individual venues will be supplied by the Agency, including any accessibility requirements of participants. Description of your participants The recruitment contract will vary project by project. They will include a range of users and people who interact directly or indirectly with DWP or other Government Departments. Including people eligible for benefits, their supporters, representatives or other professionals. They will include people who encounter universal barriers to engage with government (https://uteschauberger.com/barrierstoaccess.html). Inlcuding those who are excluded from using any specific channel including paper, telephony or online. Digitally exclusion may include limited access online, low digital skills or access needs that restrict digital engagement. Retirement services: - people planning for retirement - people who have taken early or are delaying retirement - people who are retired and over State Pension age Bereavement services: - people who have experienced a death of a close family member or friend - people who have supported someone who has dealt with the death of a close family member or friend - people who have or are eligible to claim benefits due to the death of a close family member or friend Children and family services: - parents or guardians who are eligible for benefits, from pregnancy onwards - parents who should be and/or are receiving child maintenance - parents who are or are not paying the child maintenance they are required to pay Care services: - people who have disabilities and/or care needs - people who care for someone else (unpaid carers) Appeals and policy change: - people who disagree with a DWP decision - people who appeal a DWP decision - people who take a DWP policy to court (for example, a benefit excluding a group of people) A range of businesses and support organisations that cover the services above. These descriptions are not exhaustive. Assisted digital and accessibility requirements Participants with assisted digital or access needs will need to be included in the research as described by the project brief. The recruiters must be able to recruit users across the range of assisted requirements and digitally excluded users, so be able to recruit by using non-digital means. All participants must be recruited ethically and sensitively. Assisted digital and accessibility requirements Accessibility could include (non exhaustive): Users who need alternative formats of documents or use assisted technology to help them use a digital service. The use of assisted tech can be built into a device e.g. zooming in on an ipad, making font large, or using specific software e.g. apple read aloud, Dragon or Jaws. Permanent, temporary and situational access needs (e.g. a person who has one arm (permanent), a person with a broken arm (temporary), a person holding a new born baby (situational). Accessibility can also be fluctuating with certain health conditions. Assisted digital and accessibility requirements Assisted digital Users who struggle with use of a digital service and need support to engage with such. Range from being excluded from digital (for various reasons), have access to digital but struggle with use, are willing to engage but need support. Assisted digital and accessibility requirements Government Digital Services have established 11 Universal Barriers across all interactions, across all channels. These include awareness, interface and interaction skills, time, enthusiasm, access, comprehension skills, evidence, self-confidence, finance, trust and emotional state. Research plan Research plans will vary by project will usually include either usability testing or depth interviews. Most research sessions will involve an element of learning about the participant in terms of their day to day lifestyle (interviews), as well as any functionality being tested as part of usability. There are multiple projects across Digital Modernisation each of which with their own research plan. Each research plan could change based on project priorities. Are you prepared to show your budget details?: No Summary of work DWP Digital Modernisation requires participant recruitment for regular user research activities. These will be a mixture of face-to-face, video calls, telephony and surveys. We are looking for suppliers who can recruit participants who reflect the diverse make-up of people that use or could use DWP services, across paper, telephony and online channels. The services we are focusing on include: Bereavement, Care, Retirement, Appeals, Children and Family services, across paper, telephony and online channels. We are looking for an Agency who is able to complete non-digital recruitment directly to digitally excluded people and through third party organisations. Where the research will take place North East England Where the research will take place North West England Where the research will take place Yorkshire and the Humber Where the research will take place East Midlands Where the research will take place West Midlands Where the research will take place East of England Where the research will take place London Where the research will take place South East England Where the research will take place South West England Where the research will take place Scotland Where the research will take place Wales Pre-market engagement NA Number of research rounds This is a Call-Off Contract. There will not be a set number of rounds. Number of participants per round Each recruitment brief will specify the number of participants required. The size of rounds will vary but typically be between 5 to 8 participants. However when new teams are set up and going through the discovery phase this could be up to 20 participants. It is the responsibility of the provider to replace last minute drop outs or no-shows, so that the required number of participants are provided. DWP will only pay for participants meeting the recruitment brief that attend the research sessions. For harder to reach individuals, there may be a need to engage with individuals outside of a full round of research to support participant recruitment. Research dates Research rounds will predominantly occur 9-5 Monday to Friday excluding Bank Holidays. On exception weekday evening research may be required for hard to reach participants.