Public Liaison Unit Correspondence System

Description

Summary of the work This request for tender covers a short discovery piece, procurement consultation, system configuration, team training and initial annual support for a new system to manage the PLU team’s correspondence processes. Expected Contract Length 18 months (6 month build and 1 year 2nd-line support) Latest start date Tuesday 2 January 2018 Budget Range Maximum contract budget £300,000. Proposals are expected to offer savings against the budget. Why the Work is Being Done To replace the no longer fit for purpose correspondence handling software used by the PLU team with a best in class cloud-hosted Software as a Service (SaaS) solution configured to support the new ways of working. The system will be used by the PLU team and other key stakeholders in the GLA to manage the flow of all kinds of correspondence to and from City Hall. It is not planned to be a citizen facing system but may in the future be integrated with web forms to allow direct creation of cases. Problem to Be Solved Current system is outdated. Who Are the Users The Public Liaison Unit (PLU) team delivers a high quality frontline public information service representing the entire Greater London Authority (GLA). This includes management of calls from the public, handling written correspondence and responding to social media. In addition they also own freedom of information requests and complaints. They work closely with the offices of The Mayor and The London Assembly in addition to a number of other key stakeholders in the organisation. The team processes approximately 4,000 cases a month of varying priority. Early Market Engagement None Work Already Done None Existing Team The supplier will be working with members of Greater London Authority (GLA) Current Phase Not started Skills & Experience • Have demonstratable experience delivering a successful correspondence management system • Demonstratable experience of delivering work according to the Local Government Digital Service Standard • Demonstrable experience of Agile working techniques • Demonstratable experience of planning and leading discovery investigations and providing clear recommendations based on the users needs • Demonstratable experience of delivering training to user's staff to perform admin-level capabilities • Demonstratable experience in offering off-site 2nd-line support Nice to Haves Demonstrable experience of knowledge transfer in similar projects Work Location Can be remote but the successful supplier will be expected to visit GLA offices on a regular basis during implementation and mobilisation. Working Arrangments To be agreed with the successful supplier. Security Clearance To be confirmed. Additional T&Cs Standard Crown Commercial Service terms and conditions (Digital Outcomes and Specialist 2) will be used. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 7 Proposal Criteria • The shortlisted suppliers will need to complete and send to vikramgudra@tfl.gov.uk, by 12:00 6th December, a proposal based on the following document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18dGOEuNiVRWD-8i6oaycFekIa2fwsCrSbttFz3YawTk/edit?usp=sharing • Value for Money • The suggested immediate solution, and how it meets the Programme's needs • The ability to maintain quality and speed of delivery Cultural Fit Criteria Ways of working. This will evaluated in the presentation stage Payment Approach Capped time and materials Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 65% Cultural fit 5% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers 1. Do you have a preferred technology platform or stack? No, one of the main outcomes of the initial discovery piece undertaken by the successful vendor will to recommend a cloud based technology platform based on user needs collected from the PLU team. 2. Does the budget include subscription / license cost for SaaS service or is it just for the professional services? It's just for professional services. SaaS licenses will be procured separately by the GLA. 3. This requirement is a little unusual in that it comprises a discovery of which SaaS product to purchase, based on "based on a balance of evidence of technical capability of a shortlist of systems against the collected user needs", but also configuration and support for that product - work which is normally done by the SaaS vendor. A) Are you looking for an independent third party to do both of these things? B) Similarly is there a reason why this has been published on DOS and not G-Cloud which is the usual framework for SaaS products? A) We are looking for a Supplier to fulfil the requirement as set out in the RfP document.B) How the GLA chooses to engage the market is entirely at its discretion. 4. This question has 3 parts: A.) Are the authority looking for a COTS product or a bespoke solution? B) If COTS, does the authorities anticipated budget also encapsulate licensing costs and if so for what period (1 year, or more?) C.) If YES, how many users does the authority require to be licensed for the system A) We are looking for COTs SaaS cloud product that is initialy configured for the PLU team by the successful vendor.B) SaaS licenses will be procured separately by the GLA. 5. Has the authority conducted any soft market testing or prior supplier engagement activity ahead of the DOS publication? Yes, we have spoken to a small number of vendors in the space. However, we are not limited to any group in terms of choosing which product to move forward with. 6. Please can you tell us if the budget includes the cost of SaaS subscriptions and the cost of 1st line support for those subscriptions? It's just for professional services. SaaS licenses will be procured separately by the GLA. 7. How many GLA system users will there be for the system once it is deployed ? Approximately 40 8. Please can you share the results of the Initial Discovery refereed to in the tender document Unfortunately not during procurement as it contains some sensitive information not related to this piece of work. It will be shared with the successful vendor under a the standard NDA. 9. Please can you share any service level agreement (SLA) considerations that you have eg office hours support, response times etc. We would only expect office hours support. Response times can be negotiated. 10. Could you clarify how long the contract is? 4 weeks for discovery and 12 weeks for initial configuration, training, etc. Once this 16 week period is complete we are looking for a further 12 months of remote support during which GLA staff will be able to contact the vendor (call, email, etc) in order to be able to raise questions and issues that are responded to under an agreed SLA. 11. Will suppliers be penalised for presenting their credentials based upon the past delivery of a particular technical solution, inlight of the fact that the supplier is expected to produce a recommendation for which SaaS product the GLA should purchase licences for? No - we're happy to accept submission from vendors that specialise in one product, although they would need to remain flexible to other options that come up in discovery. 12. Please can you confirm the device, browser and software version requirements? We're looking to make use of a SaaS cloud service that will work on all modern desktops, laptops and mobile devices. 13. Security clearance states “to be confirmed".Would BPSS be considered an acceptable level of security clearance for the project? I have been unable to confirm this. 14. Please can you provide information about thecurrent Correspondence System? WriteOn is a bespoke system written for the GLA in 2007 by Pivotal Solutions. It's used in conjunction with separate DB and reporting systems. We would expect the cloud SaaS system to replace all of these. 15. Please can you advise the number of users and roles anticipated? Approximately 40 16. "Is there a requirement for this to integratewith your telephony system?" No, but it is a strong "nice to have". 17. "What are the requirements for reporting andManagement Information?" These will be derived during the discovery period. 18. Would you expect the successful bidder to host the solution as well as support it? If not, on what platform will it be hosted? We're looking for a cloud SaaS solution. 19. "There are SaaS products available throughG-Cloud that would appear to fit your requirement. Given that this procurement seems to include the purchasing of the SaaS licences, is there a reason why G-Cloud is not being used for this procurement?" How the GLA chooses to engage the market is entirely at its discretion. 20. We are a SaaS provider of a solution that may fit your requirement and we are also a Digital Services provider capable of meeting your outcomes. Can you confirm that if we bid, we will not be conflicted from using our SaaS product if it turns out to best meet your needs. No, but we would expect to see solid evidence based rational as to why it was better than other similar products that are considered during discovery after comparing to collected user needs.