IPIC Business Rules Support Service

Description

Summary of the work The Authority requires a delivery partner to provide application development and Level 3 Support in support of IPIC Business Rules applications. The applications IPIC (Identify and Prioritise Immigration Cases) and PC (Prioritise Cases) allows the Authority to recommend and prioritise interventions which gives the business central oversight whilst delivering efficiencies. Expected Contract Length 2 Years, with option to extend by up-to 6 months Latest start date Monday 23 January 2023 Budget Range £8,500,000 Why the Work is Being Done IPIC gives Immigration Enforcement (IE) the ability to coordinate services needed to deliver a user centric business. We do this by strategically prioritising and streaming recommended interventions to the right internal users at the right time within a framework of embedded safeguards. IPIC has been live with several Immigration Enforcement teams for over 3 years now but the roll out is continuing to other IE teams as well as expanding into other areas of the Home Office. Each new service or team has bespoke requirements for the user interface, business rules and functionality of IPIC. Problem to Be Solved This Services is required in order to meet the demands of the business in terms of development of two applications (IPIC and PC), roll-out speed and ongoing support to new Immigration Enforcement teams. Over the next two years: 1.) the IPIC Programme will complete the roll out to Immigration Enforcement teams currently on the roadmap and transition to BAU support. This Service is to deliver the code development to allow IPIC to be customised and delivered to all required IE areas and to provide Level 3 Support to existing IE teams; and 2.) this Service will deliver PC to a number of new teams or areas of the HO. This Service is to deliver the code development to allow PC to be customised and delivered to all required HO teams and to provide Level 3 Support to existing teams. Who Are the Users IPIC gives Immigration Enforcement the ability to coordinate services needed to deliver a user centric business. We do this by strategically prioritising and streaming recommended interventions to the right internal users at the right time within a framework of embedded safeguards. IPIC has been live with several Immigration Enforcement teams for over 3 years now but the roll out is continuing to other IE teams. The programme is also expanding into other areas of the Home Office via the newer PC application. Each new service or team has bespoke requirements for the user interface, business rules and functionality of IPIC and PC. Work Already Done Internal Home Office capability exists. This service is fulfilled by an incumbent supplier, with a team size of 15 developers over the past 12 months. Existing Team HO's IPIC Support Services is being delivered by a mixture of in-house resources and other suppliers, the successful bidder will need to work with level 1 and level 2 support, other project teams and stakeholders throughout the HO. This team will work with the HO Delivery Manager and Product Owners, and the clients for these services, which are multiple, different teams across the HO. Current Phase Live Skills & Experience • The Supplier’s Service delivery team must have demonstrable experience (statement applicable to question 2-11 below): • of successfully implementing Business Rules based solutions into a technical solution. • of Government standards of UI delivery, especially around casework; • in implementing and maintaining data platforms making best use of PaaS Cloud technologies, explicitly on AWS infrastructure • track record of delivery and going above and beyond the original requirements to deliver cutting edge and transformational business solutions; • track record of using innovation and new ideas to improve an existing solution and delivering through design, development, testing through to production; • in providing advice, guidance and promoting your product to senior leadership teams; • of planning and leading multiple agile deliveries across a portfolio; • working in a Government department; • moving Level 3 Support from supplier control to an in-house HO team in a large and complex environment; • 10. in running a Level 3 Support function, dealing with high priority incidents, working collaboratively with all stakeholders; e.g., customers, Level 1 teams, Level 2 teams, and other technical resources; • The Supplier must have effective approach to knowledge and staff retention throughout the term of the agreement; • The Supplier shall provide confirmation that it is Cyber Essentials certified. Nice to Haves • The Supplier’s service delivery team should have demonstrable experience of working with a wide range of user groups including NCSC and other GCHQ agencies. • The Supplier should provide confirmation that it is Cyber Essentials Plus certified. Work Location Croydon, Greater London. Working Arrangments The principal Home Office locations where the services are expected to be performed is at Croydon, or working from home as applicable and agreed with the Home Office Delivery Manager. No offshore (outside of the UK, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) working will be accepted. Security Clearance Supplier personnel (and sub-contractors) must comply with HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard as a minimum, and CTC clearance to work in HO buildings. Supplier must provide personnel who have obtained SC clearance where they access live data or provide Level 3 Support to the live system in delivering these Services. Additional T&Cs Note: Home Office DDaT are applying target rates to all procurements. Although these are not mandated, it will be factored into the pricing evaluation at written proposal stage. The target daily rates (excluding VAT) are as follows: • Engineering SFIA 3: £730 • Engineering SFIA 4: £895 • Engineering SFIA 5: £990 No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • How you would ensure your approach would deliver a solution that meets HO’s needs. • Team structure, capability and knowledge of the technologies required to deliver the services. • Approach to a flexible and responsive service. • Collaborative behaviours, including knowledge sharing, being transparent and delivering best practice. • Experience and ability to innovate in rules-based technology solutions and case working systems, and providing Level 3 Support services. • Approach to transition, minimising disruption and adding value. • Value for money, achieving Service Levels and how it would be maintained or improved. • Evidence of experience of sharing knowledge and experience with other team members. Cultural Fit Criteria Social Values and commitment to supporting innovation and disruptive technologies through the supply chain. Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 55% Cultural fit 10% Price 35% Questions from Suppliers 1. What PaaS services are used on AWS? The PaaS services are – RDS’s (Relational Database Service), SQS (Simple Queue Service), S3 (Simple Storage Service) and Lambda. 2. What language are the applications built in? "Applications are written in:- Java (back end); and - NodeJs and TypeScript (user interface)." 3. Are there ethical walls obligations in place with the incumbent? Ethical walls have been put in-place with the incumbent supplier currently providing these services. 4. Why did the Authority choose to procure using Digital Outcomes and Specialist 5 (DOS 5) rather than Technology Service 3 (Tech 3) CCS agreement? With the extension of DOS 5 CCS agreement to 19 April 2023, the Authority has identified DOS 5 as the most appropriate route to market. This is based both on the contract term sought, the services under the DOS 5 CCS agreement and the flexibility DOS 5 offers to the Authority under Statements of Work. 5. Please can you confirm whether Stage 1 scores will be carried over and used as part of the evaluation at Stage 2? The scores in Stage 1 will only be utilised to determine the three (3) suppliers that will be invited to Further Competition . The Stage 1 score will have no bearing upon the final contract award recommendation. 6. Please can you provide a timeline indicating the dates on which you intend to notify suppliers they have been shortlisted, the submission deadline for Stage 2, and the date of award, etc.? "The anticipated timelines (subject to change) are:21 November 2022 - Shortlist Notification for Stage 222 November 2022- Publication of the Further Competition Invitation28 November 2022- Clarification period closes (“Tender Clarification Deadline”)5 December 2022- Deadline for submission of a Tender to the Authority Contract (“Tender Submission Deadline”)15 December 2022- Bidder Presentations (subject to invitation and change)11 January 2022- Award notification and start date of 10-day Standstill period23 January 2023- Award/signature process commences23 January 2023- Earliest estimated commencement date for the Contract" 7. Please could you confirm what scoring methodologies will be applied at Stage 1? "The scoring methodology in Stage 1 is subject to CCS guidance (see page 3 in the web-link). https://assets.crowncommercial.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/RM1043.7-DOS-5-Buyer-webinar-shortlisting-and-further-evaluation-with-notes.docxBidders will be evaluated based upon a marking scheme of 'Good', Acceptable-minor concerns', 'Non-Acceptable - Major Concerns', and 'Unsuitable'." 8. Please could you confirm what scoring methodologies will be applied at Stage 2? The scoring methodology in Stage 2 will be shared with short-listed suppliers as part of the further competition. It is not practical, nor possible given the constrains of the digital marketplace system to provide that information here. 9. Regarding the response criteria at Stage 2, please can you confirm that the Presentation and each of the 8 points listed in the Proposal Criteria section will be equally weighted within the 55% allocated to Technical Competence within the evaluation? "The full scoring methodology, including the questions and weighting against each question is contained within the Further Competition documentation. For clarity, the Proposal criteria in the advert provides an indication of the areas which the Further Competition will address. These are not the questions and the questions/presentation are not equally weighted." 10. Essential Q1 simply makes a statement about questions 2-11. What should suppliers submit as part of Q1. Can we assume that will not contribute to the final score? Bidders may respond with 'No response required'. This question will have no impact to the final score, regardless of what text a Bidder provides as a response. 11. Essential Q1 makes reference to questions 2-11 but there are 13 questions in total. Are any supposed to be combined into one? "Question 1 is a modifier statement which applies to questions 2-11. So that question two would read ""The Supplier’s Service delivery team must have demonstrable experience of successfully implementing Business Rules based solutions into a technical solution.""No such modifier is required for questions 12 and 13. " 12. For Essential Q7 re. promotion of a “product”, we assume this means the service/solution the supplier is creating for the client, not necessarily a COTS product? This assumption is correct, it refers to the product built by the bidder team. 13. Re. Stage 2 Proposal criteria 1, will you be providing further specification documents for suppliers to use at Stage 2? "Yes, the Further Competition document will (this list is not comprehensive) include :-instructions to Bidder-information on weighting against each question,-timescales;-marking scheme;-pricing request;-information on presentation;-Home Office requirements, which includes Service Levels and service credits; and-DOS 5 Order Form contract, including terms and Schedules specific to this procurement." 14. Is the £8.5m budget to cover the initial 2 years only, or does it include the optional 6 month extension period too? This budget amount includes the optional 6-month extension period. 15. Can you please clarify the meaning of this question “The Supplier must have effective approach to knowledge and staff retention throughout the term of the agreement” This question is for the bidder to elaborate on their approach and experience of retaining resources and knowledge that has been built up in the team in service delivery. 16. Can you please confirm if this question “The Supplier shall provide confirmation that it is Cyber Essentials certified” is a YES or NO answer? A Yes/No answer should be provided, along with details of when the certification was achieved. The HO may request confirmation by the provision of evidence. 17. Can you please confirm if this question “The Supplier should provide confirmation that it is Cyber Essentials Plus certified” is a YES or NO answer A Yes/No answer should be provided, along with details of when the certification was achieved. The HO may request confirmation by the provision of evidence. 18. Can you please clarify if you require one specific example or multiple examples for the question “Have demonstrable experience in working in a government department” The bidder may provide one or multiple examples. It is important to ensure the example(s) provided are relevant to the requirements (a large, complex environment). 19. Can this question be answered using a non Home Office example: “moving Level 3 Support from supplier control to an in-house HO team in a large and complex environment;” Yes; the emphasis should be on a 'large and complex environment rather than giving a Home Office example. Scoring will not be impact on whether a Home Office example is or isn't given. 20. Who is the incumbent supplier please? The incumbent supplier is BJSS Limited.