Warm Home Discount Eligibility Checker - Continuous Improvement

Description

Summary of work To Deliver continuous improvement to the Warm Home Discount eligibility checker which is currently in live state and is due to be taken offline end of April (https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme). The tool requires further scoping to improve user journeys by adding further data sources by building bulk APIs to improve the accuracy of outputs. The work will require iterative improvements using agile methodology that will need to be completed by 16th October 2023. In addition to this there are outstanding findings from the previous development phases which were outside the scope of the MVP; these should be investigated and implemented alongside this piece of work. Where the supplied staff will work No specific location (for example they can work remotely) Why the work is being done The Warm Home Discount (WHD) Scheme is available to citizens who meet either of the following criteria: in receipt of a low-income pension benefit; or in receipt of a means-tested benefit or tax credit below a certain income threshold and living in a property considered to be high cost which is determined by using an algorithm developed by DESNZ. The majority of households who are eligible for a rebate are automatically matched using government data and are informed by letter – for these, no action is needed. A minority of potentially eligible households are requested to call the helpline to confirm their eligibility, or are informed they are currently ineligible and they may wish to check the gov.uk information about the scheme. The digital tool was developed to help households self-assess their eligibility instead of or prior to calling the helpline, for instance if they have not received a letter or where there has been missing information about their benefits or property. The initial digital service launched in November 2022, with the aim of providing information regarding someone’s eligibility, and was updated in December 2022 through integration with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) API. We require an update that will improve user journeys and outcomes while servicing as many users through the online tool and limit the volume of general enquiries to the WHD helpline. The WHD team require more users using the digital tool to reduce the volume of speculative calls from ineligible households and general enquiries being made to the helpline. The tool should provide a single point of access for users to check their eligibility without needing helpline support on general matters. The next scheme year’s helpline is expected to open on 16th October 2023, by which date the improvements to WHD eligibility checker should be complete and live for citizens to use. (https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme) Some of the areas the supplier will be expected to research into: • Integrating data sources to define an outcome • Building APIs to bulk data • How helpline and digital tool can work together to improve UX • MI capturing The business problem The WHD Digital tool has been operating since November 2022 and had over 620,000 user activities as of December 2022. The current solution uses EPC data to establish if the individual’s property is considered to be high or low cost. Where there is no EPC, a user can manually input the characteristics of their property, if known. The tool takes the user through a set journey to establish if they are entitled to a rebate and directs them for any further action. Potential improvements • Generating user IDs/references that the helpline can use to retrieve information and speed up call handling • Other communication methods with online tool users. E.g. confirmation emails, texts, alerts • Using additional government bulk data to improve service outcome The eligibility checker currently does not reduce enough general enquiries and calls for speculative eligibility checks to the helpline. Outcomes should be accurate with easy-to-navigate user flow and meet accessibility needs. Adding additional government bulk data sources to improve accuracy, testing and developing use of APIs to improve data security and connectivity for helpline and online tool. Reducing average handling time (AHT) for the helpline by off-loading a portion of the journey to the digital tool Streamlining and improving user journeys on digital tool and helpline Management information data, measuring/tracking user activities, automatic daily, weekly and monthly reporting, The people who will use the product or service User type: As a user, Definition: I need to have a user-friendly online tool to self-assess my eligibility for the Warm Home Discount Scheme, So that I don’t need to call the helpline for general matters. I need to understand if I am eligible for a rebate I need to find out if I may receive a letter, So that I can understand if I need to take any further action I need to not have to redo my eligibility check if I call the helpline So that I’m not repeating the process twice I need to keep a record of the information I completed. So that I can revisit the information if I need to at a later date I need to revisit my session, amend or edit using a code or reference. So that I am not having redo my eligibility each time I need to be able to provide a reference or code when calling the helpline so that they can retrieve my information and process by application faster I need to receive clear and concise information on my eligibility for the Warm Home Discount Scheme. So that I can be notified promptly if I am eligible for a rebate on my energy bill. User type: As a department, Definition: I need to improve the user journeys and outcomes of the Warm Home Discount Scheme by increasing the uptake of users using the digital tool and limiting the volume of general enquiries being made to the helpline. I need to see usage data and which path users are spending most time I need to receive daily reports on user activities and other metrics I need to monitor the effectiveness of the digital tool I need to ensure data being stored is UK GDPR compliant and secure I need to prevent the tool from being misused I need to understand how many users are calling the helpline following using the digital tool I need the tool to manage high volume of customers during peak times User type: As a helpline agent, Definition: I need to process calls faster by seeing what the customer has already completed using the online tool I need to pull in the data from the online tool into our system so that I don’t need to redo the eligibility check again if the customer has done it once User type: As a helpline supplier, Definition: I need both systems to communicate with each other, the CRM and digital tool I need to ensure my staff are confident that the information provided by the customer is accurate and reliable. I need to reduce call volumes and AHT of queries Work done so far An MVP has been developed through an agile process through discovery, Alpha, Beta and Live. This was then updated in December 2022 with additional functions, integrating EPC data via an API to improve the user journey and provide clearer outcomes. We are now looking to use iterative development to improve the tool, both based on findings from the initial development phases, and from research which will be undertaken on the live tool Which phase the project is in Live Existing team Policy leads, Product manager, Service owner, PMO team Address where the work will be done Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET, Supplier will be able to work fully remotely Working arrangements The supplier would be able to work fully remotely - Monday - Friday Security and vetting requirements Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) Latest start date 26 June 2023 Expected contract length Contract length: 0 years 10 months 0 days Special terms and conditions special term or condition: 16 weeks of research and iterative development, with a break clause after 8 weeks to allow for reduced scope based on the outcome of the research. 7 months Maintenance, Hosting and Support, to begin 16th October 2023 Budget Indicative maximum: £450500 Indicative minimum: The contract value is not specified by the buyer Further information: The budget is up to £450,500 for the combined iterative development phases, maintenance, hosting and Support Contracted out service or supply of resource? Contracted out service: the off-payroll rules do not apply Terms and acronyms Term or acronym: AHT Definition: Average Handling Time Term or acronym: DESNZ Definition: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Term or acronym: EPC Definition: Energy Performance Certificate Term or acronym: MI Definition: Management Information Term or acronym: WHD Definition: Warm Home Discount Questions and Clarifications 1. Can you confirm whether the 750 character limit includes or excludes spaces? 750 character limit excludes spaces Last Updated : <strong>10/05/2023</strong> 2. 1) Can you explain more what you mean by the statement in the summary, that the Warm Home Discount eligibility checker is "currently in live state and is due to be taken offline end of April"? 2) Where is the current service hosted and what is the support arrangement? Are you expecting that to continue as is under the new contract? 3) What research into improvements has already been done? 4) Are there user groups already in place? 5) Who the incumbent supplier that delivered the WHD checker up to now? 1). The digital tool has been taken offline as the warm home discount scheme has closed for 2022/2023 support for citizens. The eligibility checker was in operation to users between 14 November 2022 – 30 April 2023. We expect to relaunch the digital tool by 16 October 2023 in time for 2023/2024 scheme. 2). The current service is hosted through Azure where the support arrangement has come to an end, any prospective supplier can either continue or transition the service to another reputable hosting platform. 3). User research has been carried out for any future improvements where a backlog of items has been created along with further feedback throughout the operation of the tool. We expect the supplier to explore solutions for the different users listed in our requirements. 4). Potential supplier is expected to recruit the relevant users to test the product, as the scheme is designed to assist low income consumers living in properties with high heating costs, we would expect the user groups to reflect a similar cohort including vulnerable and assisted digital services users 5). You can find all previously issued government contracts using contracts finder Last Updated : <strong>10/05/2023</strong> 3. Can you state/clarify the current technical architecture for the Warm Home Discount Eligibility Checker, which is requiring support and improvement? The solution is a .NET ASP.NET MVC web application, hosted in Microsoft Azure Last Updated : <strong>10/05/2023</strong> 4. Please confirm a) if required improvements are to be made to the existing live system or a new system to be developed b) the technology stack of any live system to be iterated on c) technology preferences if the system is to be rebuilt from scratch d) if there is an incumbent supplier and why that supplier is not re-engaged for this requirement e) when previous work was concluded f) the current level of support and hosting provision g) what typical data sources are required to be integrated to 'define an outcome' eg income levels, universal credit support etc. h) how the MVP mentioned as existing work relates to what was a live product on https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme Finally, are we able to get screenshots or access the previous system that was live until end April with any commentary on why it has been taken down. a) Improvements will be made to an existing live system to relaunch 16 October 2023 b) C#, .NET, ASP.NET Core MVC, Terraform hosted in Microsoft Azure c) Technology needs to be open source using Government Digital Service designs d) The contract ended with the incumbent supplier, we are sourcing a new supplier using open competition for this next iteration in development cycle e) Development completed December 2022 while support and hosting concluded April 23 f) The tool is only required in the autumn/winter months and therefore it is not currently being hosted. We are procuring new support and hosting provision alongside service improvements g) The main data source will be using Energy Performance Certificate data (EPC), there may be a need to ingest other bulk data sources, we will notify you of these after contract award to deliver a better outcome. Prospective suppliers will research the optimum solution for us. h) The eligibility checker was released as a live MVP where we require further improvements to be made using available and new research and user feedback since the digital launch I’ve attached a PDF which holds screenshots of the different stages available through eSourcing, these are in no particular order. Last Updated : <strong>10/05/2023</strong> 5. For Q9 - Experience of successfully hosting and providing support to a live service with over 300,000 users per month - are you asking suppliers whether we have hosted services ourselves, or whether we have supported a buyer to host a service? Either is relevant of whether suppliers directly hosted or provided support to a live service with over 300,000 users per month without service downtimes Last Updated : <strong>10/05/2023</strong> 6. Can you confirm the marking criteria to be applied to this phase of the tender. Are questions to be scored using marks from 0-3? Scores will be awarded between 0 – 10 as shown in Attachment 1 of the bid pack. Any scores below 6 during stage 1 will be excluded from the competition Last Updated : <strong>10/05/2023</strong> 7. Where can I find details of the existing technology stack? C#, .NET, ASP.NET Core MVC, Terraform hosted in Microsoft Azure Last Updated : <strong>10/05/2023</strong>