Export Digital Support Bench

Description

Summary of the work The Buyer's Digital, Data and Technology team requires support in delivering against DIT’s export promotion priorities. The supplier should provide teams to deliver outcomes such as discoveries, alphas and betas. In some circumstances, the outcome may be to deliver an outcome and/or to support live services. Expected Contract Length 24 months duration, (plus an optional extension period of up to 6 months). Latest start date Tuesday 4 April 2023 Budget Range A maximum budget of £5,000,000.00 for a 24-month duration, exclusive of VAT. Why the Work is Being Done The Buyer (DIT) is a global organisation with representatives in over 100 countries globally. It operates across about 50 industrial sectors across every region in the UK. The Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) directorate works to build new services, and iterate those already in existence, to promote international trade. These services provide advice, support and end-to-end services for businesses in the UK and overseas looking to trade. DIT also provides a range of services to allow staff to support businesses and enable efficiencies. DDaT is a growing function and requires support to help it deliver its work during this time. Problem to Be Solved We are looking for a supplier to help our Digital, Data and Technology team deliver against its export priorities. DDaT is a growing function and requires support to help it deliver its work during the duration of the spending review (SR) period (2022-2025). We need extra capacity to deliver new projects and transform existing services, identify gaps and build departmental capability as we help the Buyer to deliver against its priorities. The appointed supplier (working on a Call-Off Contract basis) shall provide teams to deliver outcomes such as discoveries, alphas and betas. In some circumstances, the outcome may be to deliver an outcome and/or to support live services. The teams will sometimes work independently and sometimes fit in as part of established product teams. Who Are the Users Our services include both staff-facing and public-facing products. Staff-facing products are used by around 4,000 of the Buyer’s staff and partners around the world, enabling the Buyer to support UK export and overseas investors and to inform UK trade policy. Public-facing products, such as those hosted on great.gov.uk, are used by UK businesses and overseas investors to support them in their international trade journey. Early Market Engagement Not applicable. Work Already Done Not applicable. Existing Team The Buyer's DDaT team consists of a range of multi-disciplinary teams, working across all areas. It is a fast-growing team. The supplier will support DDaT during this phase to deliver departmental priorities either by supplementing existing product teams or by taking forward new Discoveries, Alphas and Betas independently, under the leadership of the programme team. Documenting the work and handing over is a critical part of the contract to ensure that DDaT owns and retains the knowledge created during the work. Current Phase Not applicable Skills & Experience • Demonstrate experience working on user-centred, agile projects, following the Government Service Standard and Technology Code of Practice. (4%) • Demonstrate experience of a hypothesis-driven iterative & explorative approach to meeting user needs. (4%) • Demonstrate experience working as a strategic supplier for another organisation to improve their use of data. (3%) • Demonstrate experience delivering as part of a wider product team, under the leadership of a programme team, as part of a wider portfolio. (3%) • Demonstrate the ability to work with stakeholders to refine and validate their ideas. (2%) Nice to Haves • Demonstrate experience of developing digital services or staff-facing digital tools to support transnational business activity. (2%) • Demonstrate experience in linking multiple loosely coupled systems, with different data models and data quality, as part of a production service. (2%) Work Location Department for International Trade Old Admiralty Building Westminster London SW1A 2BL Working Arrangments The specifics of working arrangements will be agreed in each Statement of Work, but resource supplied must work from inside the UK. A substantial portion of the work will be performed on-site at DIT’s premises in Westminster, London, unless otherwise agreed. Some work - such as occasionally attending meetings or conducting user research - may need to be conducted outside of core UK working hours to accommodate users living outside the UK. Security Clearance All-supplier-staff-will-be-required-to have BPSS clearance, with a baseline personnel security standard verification record provided as evidence, prior to commencement of work. The majority of roles will require SC. It is the responsibility of the supplier to ensure clearance is received. All SC required roles can be sponsored at the supplier’s expense. Additional T&Cs The Call-Off contract terms and conditions cannot be changed. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • Detail-how-much-resource-you-will-be-able-to-provide, to-meet-multiple-statement-of-work-requests-under-this-contract, inc. the-volume of parallel SoW’s you could meet, within a short timeframe of SOW approval (c.2-4 weeks). Please demonstrate this by providing 2 client focused case studies. (8%) • Detail your approach to sourcing, on-boarding and retaining key resources within changing market conditions and how this will be managed under this contract. (8%) • Explain-how-you-would-meet-DIT's-need-for-appropriately-skilled-individuals, including-your-access-to SC-cleared staff. What internal tests and processes will you undertake to ensure these specialists meet DIT requirements to ensure this contract is delivered to a high standard? (4%) • Explain how you will measure and monitor the quality and speed of delivery of your resources for this contract? (4%) • Please-demonstrate your ability to take a policy concept from discovery to live, and how you achieved the desired client outcome, with reference to 2 client focused case studies. (6%) • Explain-how-you-will-ensure-DIT-staff-are-ready-to-take on operational control and support upon the completion of SoW. How will you minimise the off-boarding risk, so it does not impact DIT’s ability to deliver digital services. (5%) • Social Value • Demonstrate how you would commit to supporting employment or training opportunities to help people, including those from disadvantaged or minority groups, to transition into or progress within DDaT roles. (5%) • Demonstrate how you would commit to work with staff, suppliers, customers and communities through the delivery of the contract to support health and wellbeing, including physical and mental health. (5%) Cultural Fit Criteria • Demonstrate your ability to work with multiple teams on the same platform, sharing components, reviewing each other's work and promoting a collaborative working environment. (7%) • Demonstrate how you will undertake evidence-led and risk-based decision making around feature ideas and prioritisation. (5%) • Demonstrate your ability to ensure that relevant accessibility regulatory standards are met (e.g., Web Content Accessibility Guidelines WCAG 2.1). (3%) Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method • Case study • Work history Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 65% Cultural fit 15% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers 1. Is there an incumbent providing this work? No 2. Will you accept SC cleared people who need their clearance to be transferred or is this tender limited to List X companies who can provide SC clearance for their consultants? The majority of roles will require SC. It is the responsibility of the supplier to ensure clearance is received. All SC required roles can be sponsored at the supplier’s expense.It is possible for DIT to accept SC cleared people who need their clearance to be transferred. 3. What are the job titles of the people who will make up the tender assessment panel for this bid? The evaluation panel will be made up of colleagues from the Export and Digital Data and Technology teams. 4. Can you please advise why the previous “DIT Export Development Team” in April was cancelled? DIT has operated in a very uncertain environment over the last couple of years, which impacted on our ability to progress. Given the time that has passed, we have decided to publish a new opportunity to meet our needs. 5. Have DIT engaged any suppliers previously to provide a digital support partner role? And if so which organisation(s)? DIT have not engaged with suppliers, with regards to this opportunity; ‘Export Digital Support Bench’. 6. Is there an incumbent supplier? No 7. Could you give more detail on the timescales for this procurement? The contract start date is scheduled for early April 2023, with an anticipated date of mid Jan 2023 in notifying suppliers of the outcome of Stage 1. 8. Could you give more detail on upcoming projects that the supplier would support? The nature of projects will vary as priorities evolve throughout the spending review period. This will involve work on both internal and external facing services, such as those hosted on great.gov.uk. 9. Could you give more detail on preferred technology and tooling? Our technology stack is:Language: python (django)CMS: wagtailHosting: gov.uk PaaSdb: postgresqlSessions: redisSearch: elasticsearchTools: github, circle-ci, Jenkins 10. Will the winning supplier be expected to undertake structured Disco, Alpha, and Beta work, for which they will own the outcome? Or, will they be expected to provide team members for established teams, and move from project to project?In the event that it will be a combination of the two, could you please confirm what you expect the likely split to be between the two types of requirement? As stated in the opportunity, a combination of the two. DIT is unable to confirm the likely split at this stage in the process, as this is dependent on our commitments and civil service headcount across the length of the contract.For either requirement, documenting the work and handing over is a critical part of the contract, to ensure that the Buyer owns and retains the knowledge created during the work. 11. Could you please confirm the technology stack that the successful supplier would be expected to work with? Our technology stack is:Language: python (django)CMS: wagtailHosting: gov.uk PaaSdb: postgresqlSessions: redisSearch: elasticsearchTools: github, circle-ci, Jenkins 12. May we ask the authority, is there an incumbent supplier on this opportunity? There is no incumbent supplier. 13. Is there an incumbent supplier? No 14. Demonstrate experience of developing digital services or staff-facing digital tools to support transnational business activity”, please could you indicate the sort of experience you are seeking beyond existing experience working with Department for International Trade? Experience could relate to services that support business transactions that cross national borders. 15. Are you content for suppliers to cite multiple examples against questions where more than one example project would best demonstrate their experience? Yes, all relevant experience would be considered. 16. Are you content for suppliers to cite private sector examples where they are relevant to the question? Yes, all relevant experience would be considered. 17. Who is the incumbent supplier? There is no incumbent supplier. 18. There is no mention of a pricing structure in the tender, just an overall amount. Please could the buyer clarify how they would like the supplier to detail pricing in the proposal. Would including a standard rate card suffice? It is at Stage 2 that a SFIA day rate card is required, (which includes various roles). 19. Please could the buyer clarify the types of specialists needed, including skill-set, qualifications and experience level. ie referring to government DDaT capability framework. It will vary depending on the Statements of Work, which will outline each requirement. Roles likely to be needed include delivery manager, product manager, developer, user researcher and service designer. 20. Please could the buyer clarify when the award date will be announced. Notification of the contract decision is scheduled be announced to Stage 2 suppliers in late March 2023. 21. Conscious of the Christmas holidays, is there any indication as to when the written proposal will be due? There is an anticipated date of the end of Jan 2023, for suppliers of stage 2 to submit their written proposal. 22. What is the technology stack used for your data infrastructure? Our technology stack is: Language: python (django) CMS: wagtail Hosting: gov.uk PaaS db: postgresql Sessions: redis Search: elasticsearch Tools: github, circle-ci, Jenkins 23. As the previous “DIT Export Development Team” in April was cancelled, how can buyers be assured that this procurement will be successfully completed? The ‘DIT Export Development Team’ was an ‘exception’, when looking at the number of successful DOS opportunities published by DIT. We are confident in the procurement process of Export Digital Support Bench, which has a contract start date of early April 2023.