National Data Library Data Architecture Design - GDS5883

Description

Which phase the project is in Alpha Existing team The Supplier will work closely with a multidisciplinary product team including a Head of Services leading the team (and as service owner for this contract), 2 product managers, 4 user researchers and 2 business analysts. This team has been focusing on understanding the problem space, defining data assets scope, understanding needs around them in use cases and at large. You will also work in a more light-weight capacity with other parts of the NDL team including: 1/ kickstarters team responsible for identifying initial use cases to demonstrate NDL delivery 2/ the strategy team responsible for the whole NDL strategy, as well as policy deliverables within this 3/ the engagement team where external engagement can benefit outcomes. All of these teams are part of the NDL programme led by a Deputy Director as the main escalation point and Director for the NDL. Where outputs have applicability for the delivery of the programme in DSIT, they must be accepted by the NDL programme board and relevant Government Digital Service (GDS) design authority to be considered delivered, unless the contracting Authority agrees otherwise. The supplier will be expected to engage with and lead negotiations of this work with stakeholders (supported by service owner). Where plans impact work done by and plans in other parts of the public sector, including other government departments, arm’s length bodies and local government, the latter should demonstrate support for plans unless the contracting Authority agrees otherwise. Additionally, where deliverables impact delivery in the public sector outside of DSIT, endorsement by the cross-gov Chief Data Officers Council is required, unless the contracting Authority agrees otherwise. The supplier will be expected to engage with and lead negotiations of this work with stakeholders (supported by the contracting Authority’s service owner). Address where the work will be done 2 St Peter's Square, Manchester; the Whitechapel building in London with 2-3 days in office expectation. Manchester preferred. Working arrangements The NDL team operates in a collaborative environment and expects the supplier to align to its values. The team works from their respective office 2-3 days per week and has specified team days, and supplier would be expected to work similarly. The Supplier will be integrated into the NDL team and remain be fully accountable for the delivery of this Requirement. The NDL team will be accountable for the successful delivery of the NDL programme overall and, therefore, will be the decision-maker. The NDL team has developed established relationships with the external organisations and the Supplier will be expected to utilise these existing relationships effectively as a representative of the Authority, working in an open and transparent way with stakeholders. Provide more information about your security requirements: Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) Provide more information about your security requirements: All must have CTC as a minimum. Preference for contractors to already hold CTC clearance, if not, contractors must have this clearance by the contract start date. Latest start date 2025-11-03 Enter the expected contract length: 6 months Extension period: 3 months Special terms and conditions All expenses must be pre-agreed between the parties during the contract duration and must comply with the DSIT Travel and Subsistence (T&S) Policy. Special terms and conditions All suppliers are obliged to provide sufficient guarantees to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures so that the processing meets the requirements of GDPR and ensures the protection of the rights of data subjects. For further information please see the Information Commissioner's Office website https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/data-protection-reform/overview-of-the-gdpr/ Are you prepared to show your budget details?: Yes Indicative maximum: 650000 Provide further information: Indicative maximum budget £650,000 (excl. VAT) for the combined initial duration and extension period. We currently expect to allocate £550,000 for the core duration and £100,000 for the extension. 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 GDS require a supplier with expertise in data architecture for interoperability and alignment as well as sound understanding of making this actionable and setting up for effective delivery.  We are looking for robust knowledge of federated data architecture, understanding of challenges with legacy systems and security and evidence of implementing data transformation across organisational boundaries.   We expect availability as a minimum of:  • 1x Principal (Data) Architect who can lead strategic ownership and engagement of this work alongside service owner  • 2-3x Data architects and 1-2x business analysts who can analyse the existing landscape at pace and develop robust models for ‘to be’ and any transition states. As well as collaborate with product teams to establish effective long-term delivery.  This work seeks to utilise skills and experience not available in the public sector to deliver an actionable architecture which supports the NDL’s long-term vision and can be published by the end of FY25/26, in collaboration with the NDL team and other stakeholders (within and outside of Government). It will be critical to utilise opportunities to align with, learn from and reuse existing Government work. REFER TO THE PROCUREMENT TIMELINE IN THE ATTACHED DOCUMENT. Where the supplied staff will work North West England Where the supplied staff will work London Who is the organisation using the products or services The Government Digital Service (GDS), part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), is the digital centre of government. We are responsible for setting, leading and delivering the vision for a modern digital government. Why the work is being done The National Data Library in the Government Digital Service is seeking to procure expert services to support the design and delivery of a federated data, technical and organisational architecture that enables high value public sector data to be managed, accessed and used in a scalable, AI-ready, secure, and interoperable way. The business problem you need to solve Foundational data across government exists in many places, is not of sufficient quality and not effectively reused. Every time someone needs to use data to deliver a new benefit or a new service that requires a person's address, they spend a lot of effort to get data as a one-off event or collect it anew from citizens. The government now has a strategy to transform this for s subset of high value data assets with high reusability potential. We seek an architecture team to work with existing product teams to design and implement the data, technical and organisational architecture required to deliver an effective cross-public sector architecture centred around making trusted, authoritative high value data assets ready for effective reuse at scale. We would expect a design the ensures the assets are more easily accessible, interoperable, safely, ethically and effectively managed and of sufficient quality to support public service transformation, economic growth, and AI innovation. First user type: For the purposes of this contract, public sector employees working in data teams across government.