CPD4124221 DLUHC Urgent Requirements for Embedded Capabilities for Digital Service Design and Delivery

Description

Summary of work DLUHC requires a new supplier to support the design and development of new digital tools and services which the department is responsible for. This contract will be used to fund multiple multidisciplinary delivery teams to tackle these problems, and design, build and run modern digital services which meet the Service Standard and Technology Code of Practice. The first service that this will be used for is to undertake a Beta phase for the Privately Rented Property Portal, but will also be expected to be used to design and develop a number of other digital services in the Department through the relevant Service Standard phases. For the initial Beta service team outlined, we’re envisioning to need skills within the service team that enable: Continuous and iterative user research and prototyping and building of services through Beta and Live. Collaboration and driving of delivery momentum across multiple workstreams, using agile frameworks and methods. Coaching of team members and building capability of stakeholders in user centred and digital principles, including agile, user centred design, the Service Standard, the technology code of practice. Design and build of a modern digital service, meeting the above standards, with optimised key performance indicators to know their supporting their intended service outcomes. Use of modern software development and cloud hosting practices that fit the context of DLUHC’s technology landscape, and meet the Technology Code of Practice, including the use of hosting providers such as AWS and Azure, and programming languages such as Ruby and Python. We would aim to fill the first service team as soon as the procurement exercise is completed, with additional teams expected to be required soon afterwards. Where the supplied staff will work West Midlands Where the supplied staff will work London Where the supplied staff will work No specific location (for example they can work remotely) Who the organisation using the products or services is Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Why the work is being done DLUHC requires additional digital capabilities to design and deliver digital services. Specifically, for the PRPP Beta, the Government is legislating through the Renters (Reform) Bill for a new private rented sector database that will support the new Privately Rented Property Portal service. The new service aims to drive improvements in standards in privately rented accommodation, help private landlords understand their obligations, give private renters the information they need to make informed choices, and support local authorities to conduct well targeted, effective enforcement that drives out criminal landlords. We require a supplier to provide user-centred design, technical and agile product delivery skillsets to take forward the development of the service. The business problem The first service that this will be used for is to undertake a Beta phase for the Privately Rented Property Portal, but will also be expected to be used to design and develop a number of other digital services in the Department through the relevant Service Standard phases. There are an estimated 2.3 million private landlords and 4.6 million households in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) in England. Local authorities lack consistent intelligence on PRS properties and their ownership arrangements. Private landlords have a complex regulatory environment to operate in and need clarity on how to meet legal requirements. Current/prospective private renters lack ways to check information about a PRS property or their landlord. The service aims to provide local authorities with a new consistent data-source on PRS properties which will enable them to better enforce health and safety standards in non-compliant properties. The Government intends to require all private landlords to register on the new service and we intend for the new service to help improve awareness amongst private landlords about the legal requirements for letting property. The Government intends to make parts of the records collected on the service publicly searchable so that private renters will have a new information source about properties they rent and the ownership arrangements of the properties. The people who will use the product or service User type: Private Landlords Definition: • As a private landlord, I need to make sure that the property I privately let is safe and compliant with health and safety standards so that my tenants have a safe home and I can operate legally. • As a private landlord, I need an easy registration process so that I am not burdened with technology I don’t understand, and so that I am able to focus on meeting the legal requirements for letting property. User type: Local Authorities Definition: • As a local authority officer, I need to know who the private landlords are in my area so that I don’t waste my resources tracking down this information when investigating properties. • As a local authority officer, I need consistent data on the location and compliance status of privately rented properties so that I can better strategize my approach to enforcing health and safety standards in those properties. User type: Current and Prospective Private Renters Definition: • As a private renter, I need to know who my private landlord is and whether they have any convictions for offences related to letting property, so that I can take an informed decision about renting a property. Any pre-market engagement done Not applicable Work done so far For the PRPP project that this will first relate to, the following phases have been undertaken: • Initial Discovery Phase 2021: Joint user research and technical feasibility assessment work which explored the problem space to scope out core user needs and identified potential models for the new service. • Secondary Discovery Phase 2022: Further user research focusing on areas out of scope of the initial discovery phase and exploring how a new service could support those needs. • Alpha Phase 2022-23: Joint user centred design and technical design research phase focusing on riskiest areas of designing the new service. This culminated in a successful Government Digital Service Alpha Assessment. Copies of reports from each of the work phases completed will be made available to the successful supplier. We will provide short-listed suppliers with further contextual material to inform their presentation. Which phase the project is in Beta Existing team For the PRPP Beta, a Product Manager is in post alongside a policy team. The supplier will have access to Subject Matter Experts and will be expected to work closely with the existing team to take forward development of the new service. We are also in the process of hiring some additional internal roles, including a Service Owner, Delivery Manager and Software Developer, which will influence the skills needed from the supplier for the first requirement. Proposed minimum resource requirements from potential suppliers; Delivery Manager Service Designer Interaction Designer Business Analyst Content Designer User Researcher Developer(s) Tech Lead These resources will be at SFIA levels 4-6. This is a contracted-out service so the off-payroll rules are not expected to apply. The IR35 status of the supplier’s staff will be detailed in each Statement of Work. Address where the work will be done The majority of work will be done remotely; however, the supplier may need to attend meetings or workshops at other locations upon request. These are most likely to be in London, Birmingham or Wolverhampton, but could also be in other DLUHC regional offices within the United Kingdom. We would expect the supplier to fund such travel for their staff. Working arrangements The supplier will be expected to support the service during the hours of 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday. This can be home based, however, we would like the opportunity to co-locate with members on occasion where possible. Security and vetting requirements Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) Security and vetting requirements Security Check (SC) More information about the Security requirements: BPSS is essential for all staff. For access to production environments and production data in technical roles, such as developers, SC will be required. Latest start date 28 February 2024 Expected contract length Contract length: 2 years 0 months 0 days Optional extension: 1 years 0 months 0 days Special terms and conditions special term or condition: All outputs will be owned by DLUHC and published openly where appropriate using a suitable open license that supports reuse. special term or condition: All materials/outputs derived from the contract shall be the property of DLUHC. special term or condition: All work will be commissioned as individual Statements of Work (SoW) as follows: • The Authority will issue a statement of requirements to the supplier. • The Supplier will provide a costed proposal outlining how the requirement outcome will be delivered. • The proposal should consider any additional factors related to the requirement, such as Cyber Security, Data Protection, and other relevant considerations. • The Authority will review and then either comment/seek amendments to the proposal or confirm acceptance. Budget Indicative maximum: £19500000 Indicative minimum: £360000 Further information: Budgets for beyond Financial Year 23-24 are still to be confirmed and subject to internal funding approvals, however, over the course of the contract we are confident that we would surpass the minimum indicative budget significantly, due to the pipeline of work expected to utilise this contract. The indicative minimum budget is the expected budget for PRPP this financial year (23-24). Subject to business planning and confirmation for financial years 24-25 and 25-26, the indicative budget for PRPP is likely to reach £4.6M. The maximum overall indicative budget of £19.5M relates to the total maximum that all possible project may reach under this contract Contracted out service or supply of resource? Contracted out service: the off-payroll rules do not apply Terms and acronyms Term or acronym: DLUHC Definition: Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Term or acronym: PRPP Definition: Privately Rented Property Portal Term or acronym: PRS Definition: Private Rented Sector