Explore Education Statistics further development during public beta

Description

About adding context and requirements test Pre-market engagement N/A Work done so far Discovery report is available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/721729/HiveIT_-_DfE_dissemination_discovery.pdf. The public beta service is available at - https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk To see existing code, our GitHub repository is available at https://github.com/dfe-analytical-services/explore-education-statistics The main technologies used are ● C# and .NET 6 including EF Core, Identity, and Azure SDKs ● IdentityServer and Azure AD integration ● React and Typescript ● Next.js ● Azure services including Azure Web App, Azure Storage, Azure SQL Database, Data Factory and DevOps ● Robot Framework, and K6 (performance testing) Which phase the project is in Beta Existing team The supplier will be working with the DfE Statistics Development team comprising of subject matter experts, one of which will be a product owner. The team we need will likely include (at varying levels): • Developers (front & back end) • Data architecture knowledge • Microsoft Azure expertise • Quality Assurance • User Researcher • Designer (UX and content design) • Delivery Manager We may require access to people with different skill sets at different times throughout the project. As such, we would require any supplier to be able to scale and flex as quickly as required to ensure the work can maintain momentum. Address where the work will be done Remote working. The DfE team are usually based in Sheffield & Darlington. Travel to those offices and various locations throughout the UK may be required. Working arrangements Detailed working arrangements will be contained within each statement of work. Day to day delivery will be governed by standard agile delivery techniques. These could be either a Kanban or a scrum approach (depending on the work) but the standard agile ceremonies appropriate to those should be undertaken. Scope and prioritisation of work is decided by the product owner with input from the SRO and wider governance when appropriate Provide more information about your security requirements: Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) Latest start date 2023-07-03 Enter the expected contract length: 2 years Extension period: 6 months Special terms and conditions Bidders must respond to the opportunity using the response template found within the project attachments. Only essential and nice to have criteria require responses at stage 1. Special terms and conditions In order to participate in this opportunity, DOS6 awarded suppliers should have followed all necessary registration steps through the Public Procurement Gateway, operated by Crown Commercial Service (CCS). Please follow instructions sent to you at the email address supplied during the DOS6 application process. Special terms and conditions The Supplier shall ensure that no Supplier Staff who discloses that they have a Relevant Conviction, or who is found to have any Relevant Convictions (whether as a result of a police check or through the vetting procedure of HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard or through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) or otherwise), is employed or engaged in any part of the provision of the Services without the prior written approval of the Buyer. Subject to the Data Protection Legislation, the Supplier shall disclose the results of their vetting process, immediately to the Buyer. The decision as to whether any of the Supplier’s Staff are allowed to perform activities in relation to the Call Off Contract, is entirely at the Buyer’s sole discretion. The Supplier shall be required to undertake annual periodic checks during the Call Off Contract Period of its Staff, in accordance with HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard so as to determine the Supplier Staff suitability to continue to Framework Schedule 6 (Order Form Template, Statement of Work Template and Call-Off Schedules) 5 provide Services under the Call Off Contract. The Supplier shall ensure that any Supplier Staff who discloses a Relevant Conviction (either spent or unspent) or is found by the Supplier to have a Relevant Conviction through standard national vetting procedures or otherwise, is immediately disclosed to the Buyer. The Supplier shall ensure that the individual staff member immediately ceases all activity in relation to the Call Off Contract, until the Buyer has reviewed the case, on an individual basis, and has made a final decision. Where the Buyer decides that a Supplier Staff should be removed from performing activities, as a result of obtaining information in relation to the Call Off Contract, or for any other reason, the Supplier shall promptly and diligently replace any individual identified. Special terms and conditions Expenses will not be paid for the monthly meet ups. The primary location of work will be specified in each Statement of Work (SoW) and expenses cannot be claimed for travel to that location. Expenses can be claimed for travel to any secondary location of work as required and agreed. Expenses are capped to the value specified in the SoW. When travel to secondary DfE sites is required, all costs incurred must comply with the prevailing DfE Travel and Subsistence policy. Parking is not available on DfE sites. Should base location vary it will be outlined and agreed upon the individual statements of work. Special terms and conditions The latest start date will be outlined in each individual statement of work. Except for in exceptional circumstances, and as agreed with the buyer Special terms and conditions Service provider resources must work within the United Kingdom unless agreed by the Department on an individual basis. Departmental equipment must not be taken abroad or access the departmental network whilst outside the United Kingdom unless agreed by the Department on an individual basis Special terms and conditions The Department’s standard approach to pricing mechanism will be ‘Capped Time and Materials’ (CTM) however we reserve the right to use any of the other approaches as listed in the call-off charges section. Special terms and conditions General Information Standard Framework and Call Off Terms and Conditions will apply Suppliers must agree to all DFE security clearance policies and processes. Suppliers must comply with the Regulation (GDPR) Regulation May 2018; the (DPA) Act 2018, the Law Enforcement Directive and any subsequent amendments/changes to date including providing sufficient guarantees to meet the requirements of GDPR in line with Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 02/18 May 2018 which updates PPN 03/17 All Project-Specific IPRs (as defined) and the Deliverables shall vest in the Buyer unconditionally and immediately upon their creation. Special terms and conditions Suppliers will be required to undertake Financial and Security Due Diligence as part of the tender process, prior to award. Special terms and conditions Non-Solicitation Clause: 1.1 The Supplier shall not, either directly or indirectly, by or through itself, its affiliate, its agent or otherwise, or in conjunction with its affiliate, its agent or otherwise, whether for its own benefit or for the benefit of any other person solicit, entice or induce, or endeavour to solicit, entice or induce, any employees of the Buyer who are employed or engaged in the performance of the Services with a view to employing or engaging the employee of the Buyer during the Call-Off Contract Period and for a period of [9 months] thereafter. 1.2. Notwithstanding clause 1.1 the Supplier may employ or engage any employees of the Buyer which have responded directly to a bona fide recruitment drive either through a recruitment agency engaged by the Supplier or via an advertisement placed publicly by the Supplier (either in the press, social media, online or in trade and industry publications). Write the term or acronym: NA Explain the term or acronym: NA Are you prepared to show your budget details?: Yes Indicative maximum: 3540000 Indicative minimum: 0 Provide further information: Contract Value is £3,540,000 incl VAT Confirm if you require a contracted out service or supply of resource Supply of resource: the off-payroll rules may apply Summary of work Explore Education Statistics is aimed at making education statistics easier to find, access, navigate and understand. Public beta launched in 2020 and we're extending this phase to meet additional demands for the service. We need a team to maintain and continue to develop the service in line with user feedback. 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 Education Why the work is being done DfE publishes over 70 national statistics series’ each year, with data being used by the public, schools, and local authorities, the media and central government amongst others. These are used to improve the transparency of the education system, shine a light on education delivery, and facilitate evidence-based departmental and sector decision making. After completing a discovery, alpha and private beta, the Department moved to publishing its statistics via its own ‘Explore Education Statistics’ service (EES) - aimed at making education statistics easier to find, access, navigate and understand. The service is currently in its public beta phase. As more users interact with EES and the demand for efficient data increases, it has become apparent that a longer public beta period is required to cover all the enhancement work that we would like to do – to improve the data infrastructure of the platform and deliver improvements identified through user feedback. This additional development should then bring the platform to a state that can be considered ready for GDS live assessment. The business problem you need to solve We are looking to maintain, optimise and move towards a ‘live-ready’ state. The contract will include: Maintenance: To support maintenance of the service throughout the duration of the contract, including monitoring and optimisation of the service as well as bug fixing. • Development: Researching, designing, and developing enhancements to the service. These developments will be identified during user testing and then prioritised and grouped into distinct SOWs as appropriate. A backlog of features already exists as a starting point. • Infrastructure review: Review and improve the existing data infrastructure to better handle the increased demand for data. • Getting to live: Preparation for and attendance at a GDS live assessment, allowing the service to move into its live phase. All development and solutions will need to be GDS compliant and conform to WCAG 2.1 First user type: The data and statistics published on EES are designed to be used by anyone, though key user groups are the general public, schools and local authorities, the media and central government amongst others. They are used to improve the transparency of the education system and shine a light on education policy and delivery. Enter more details about this user type: User personas and associated user needs have been developed and maintained throughout earlier project phases. For the public site, our user personas can be broadly grouped into the following categories - expert internal; non-expert internal; expert external; non-expert external. A subset of the global needs (for all users) are as follows: - I need DfE data to be easy to navigate so I can find the statistics I’m looking for - I need DfE data to be simple to use so I can analyse without extensive knowledge or training - I need data to be accessible so I can use the data with a disability For internal DfE users who use the admin part of the service to create and publish content to the public site: - I need a service that allows me to efficiently create interactive, accessible, and engaging content for my users.