Intelligent Safeguarding Solution (ISS) - PDSCN-270-2023

Description

Summary of work The Intelligent Safeguarding service managed by the Police Digital Service (PDS) is a central cloud-based solution that helps organisations to protect vulnerable women from harm. The service uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to identify and automatically route court generated Protection Orders to the correct police force intelligence bureau as well as generate real time metrics, alerts and recommendations to help organisations take action to mitigate risks to vulnerable women. The Intelligent Safeguarding Service (ISS) can be used to protect vulnerable Women from a variety of risks but is currently covering Forced Marriage (FM) and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Protection Orders (PO). Service Management Requirements • The ISS is available 24/7/365. The solution must reflect standard cloud-based Service-Level Agreements (for example 99.9% availability as standard), however, availability of support is UK office hours 9am-5pm Mon-Fri (working days). • Performance – pipeline processing must occur as each event (e-mail arrival) occurs, such that end-to-end processing time observed are seconds rather than minutes. • 1st ,2nd and 3rd line application support shall be provided by the supplier, hosting is supported by the authority and Azure. • Service support shall include incident management which includes processes for logging and tracking incidents as well as communicating the status of incidents to customers. • Service shall include IT problem management which identifies and resolves underlying causes. It shall include processes for capturing and analysing problem data as well as corrective action implementation. • Service shall include change management and manage the administration and modifications to the ISS. It should include a process for approving changes and a process for communicating changes to customers. • Service shall include the process of tracking and managing the configuration of IT assets. It must contain a procedure for identifying, documenting, and tracking changes to IT assets. • Service shall include asset management and tackle managing of IT asset ownership and utilisation. It should contain a procedure for identifying, documenting, and tracking the location and utilisation of IT assets. • Service shall include the protection of the ISS and data from unauthorised access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction. It should also include a procedure for identifying and evaluating risks and implementing security controls. • Service shall include Compliance management and the processes must adhere to all applicable laws, regulations, and industry standards. It should include procedures for identifying and evaluating compliance requirements and implementing compliance controls. • Administration – Initial number of users to access dashboards are estimated to be 34. • Continuous Improvements shall enable delivery against an accelerated timeline, the solution must be based on configuration and testing of the existing solution. Suppliers are to refer to the ISS Requirements document for details of the full scope of work Where the supplied staff will work No specific location (for example they can work remotely) Who the organisation using the products or services is PDS are undertaking this Procurement exercise on behalf of the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC). Why the work is being done The current ISS POC ends on 31st October 2023, and this Procurement exercise is being carried out to assure continuation of ISS in Production beyond that juncture. It is therefore important that any potential migration to the successful bidder is completed by then. There is no intent to expand the ISS beyond FM and FGM POs at this point, and the Scope reflects that fact. The business problem Intelligent Safeguarding should provide the following features: • Distributing PO intelligence to front line authorities to improve their situational awareness, decision-making, efficiency, and risk management. o ISS uses data on crime rates, demographics, and other factors to identify areas where crime is most likely to occur. This information can help the police to allocate resources more effectively and to target their efforts in the areas where they are most needed. o ISS uses data on crime to identify patterns of PO related crime, such as the time of day when crimes are most likely to occur, the types of crimes that are most common, and the locations where crimes are most likely to occur. This information can help the police to develop strategies to prevent crime and to respond to crime more effectively. o ISS improves situational awareness and support front line authorities to gain a better understanding of the situation they are facing by receiving intelligence. This can help them to make better decisions and take appropriate actions. o ISS provides data to support the evaluation of the effectiveness of police interventions. Police shall use data on Protection Orders to evaluate the effectiveness of police interventions, such as increased patrols, new crime prevention programs, and changes in sentencing guidelines. This information can help the police to improve their strategies and to make better use of their resources. o ISS uses PO related crime mapping to identify areas where crime is most likely to occur. This information can be used to deploy police resources more effectively and to target crime prevention efforts. o ISS uses trend analysis to identify patterns in crime over time. This information can be used to develop strategies to prevent crime and to respond to crime more effectively. o ISS uses comparative analysis to compare PO related crime rates in different areas. This information can be used to identify areas where crime is a particular problem and to target crime prevention efforts. o ISS allows organisations that use the Intelligent Safeguarding service to enhance their reputation by demonstrating their commitment to protecting vulnerable people. • ISS provides intelligence that supports the use of risk assessment to identify individuals who are at risk of becoming victims of crime. This information can be used to develop strategies to prevent crime and to protect vulnerable individuals. • ISS increases compliance with regulations, to allow organisations to take steps to protect vulnerable people. The Intelligent Safeguarding service shall help organisations to comply with these regulations. • ISS provides front line authorities with intelligence to improve their efficiency. This can be done by identifying potential risks and threats early on, and taking steps to mitigate them. The people who will use the product or service User type: Law Enforcement Definition: HM Courts will issue a Protection Order via email to a central ISS system repository. User type: Law Enforcement Definition: A Police Force, or other Law Enforcement Agencies, will act upon the Protection Order issued by the Courts via the ISS system User type: NPCC Representative Definition: The NPCC’s Representative shall provide operational governance oversight to the operation of ISS. User type: PDS Commercial Manager Definition: PDS Commercial Manager shall provide commercial and operational supplier management of the ISS Provider. Any pre-market engagement done No formal Pre-tender Market Engagement has been undertaken for this phase of the project. However, engagement had taken place whilst in a Proof of Concept phase in 2020 by the NPCC. Work done so far A Proof of Concept with an incumbent supplier has been in place since 2020. The attached Specification will provide details for the scope of this procurement exercise. Which phase the project is in Live Existing team Police Digital Service (PDS) Senior Commercial Manager Senior representative from the National Police Chiefs' Council lead on Honour-Based Abuse, Forced Marriage & Female Genital Mutilation For the Supplier, current resources are as follows: • 2 x Level 1 support analysts – responsible for capturing alerts and raising tickets as a result before performing triage and resolving issues where possible. • 1 x Level 2 support consultant – responsible for resolv-ing issues which have been escalated by the level 1 support team, using expertise to identify cause of any issues and identify solutions. • 1 x Level 3 support consultant – responsible for resolv-ing issues that have not been resolved by Level 1 or Level 2 teams. Responsible for implementing any code changes or fixes which require advanced customiza-tion/configuration. • 1 x Team Lead – A point of reference and guidance for the support resources who may look for direction in particular scenarios and offer knowledge/expertise to assistance in incident resolution. Also acts as a point of escalation for the team. • 1 x Service Delivery Manager – Point of escalation for all things support service related. Also responsible for daily comms with support team to ensure services are run-ning without interruption. Carries out periodic report-ing which is shared with client-side counterpart and re-view during service review meetings. Address where the work will be done No specific location (for example they can work remotely) Working arrangements Supplier Staff are expected to work remotely at all times. With no/minimal onsite presence expected. In the unlikely event that onsite presence is required, Pre-approved (by Customer) expenses shall be reimbursed appropriately. Security and vetting requirements Security Check (SC) More information about the Security requirements: All Supplier staff engaged on this contract, whether directly or indirectly, shall be required to hold NPPV3 clearance certification. Latest start date 25 October 2023 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: The successful Supplier will be required to conform and agree to the following additional PDS provisions (attached for reference); 1. Agreement to adhere to PDS Third Party Assurance Programme (TPAP) 2. PDS Security Aspects Letter (SAL) 3.Commit to completion of the NPCC DPIA and resulting required actions arising 4. Agree and sign the NPCC DPC Terms Suppliers not willing to accept or agree to these documents will be disqualified from the procurement exercise. Budget Indicative maximum: £480000 Indicative minimum: £400000 Further information: Indicative budget is a total cost over a full 3 year Contract Term (if Contract runs to its full term and therefore extended). Budget is based on Protective Orders (PO) within the workscope. Budgets are subject to internal budget approvals and availability of external NPCC funding. Contracted out service or supply of resource? Contracted out service: the off-payroll rules do not apply Questions and Clarifications 1. We 'd like to ask a clarification on the following nice-to-have skills and experience question: Experience of developing or providing a suitable reporting tool to support the ISS (250 words) Can you please provide some more context what you are looking for here? Are you looking for the chosen partner to have experience in developing using a chosen reporting tool? PDS/NPCC are not prescriptive on the reporting tool to be used. However the supplier should be able to demonstrate their experience in developing/using whichever tool they intend to deploy to support ISS as their basis for selecting that tool. Last Updated : <strong>24/07/2023</strong> 2. What are the respective volumes of users for support, admin, and end-users in the system? Will all these user categories require licenses? Support and admin will be determined by the supplier’s proposed system. End-users can be assumed as one per Force so 43 in total England and Wales, excluding special Forces and PSNI, Police Scotland), plus potentially HM Courts users depending on proposed solution. The licensing model will depend upon the supplier’s proposed system and supporting commercial model Last Updated : <strong>26/07/2023</strong> 3. Will all users, including support, admin, and end-users, have access to Azure Active Directory? No. Only Support and Admin. Last Updated : <strong>26/07/2023</strong> 4. In what format do Protection Orders (PO) come into the ISS? Additionally, approximately how many POs are issued per month? PDF file attachments to emails. Volumes of POs are currently approximately 6 per day, including Notification of Service. Last Updated : <strong>26/07/2023</strong> 5. Could you explain the current process for receiving Protection Orders (POs) in the ISS and how they are distributed to the Force intelligence bureaus/departments? This is set out in the Scope document. Last Updated : <strong>26/07/2023</strong> 6. What is the typical workflow for the police forces once they receive the POs? What actions do they take upon receiving them? Do you require a response and result? Upon receipt a Force shall implement its own processes and procedures to implement a PO. Yes, a confirmatory response is required. Last Updated : <strong>26/07/2023</strong> 7. Are you required to deliver and publish national assessments on POs for the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC)? Yes Last Updated : <strong>26/07/2023</strong> 8. Does the ISS cover England, Wales, and the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PNSI) exclusively, or does it also include Police Scotland and Scottish Courts? The immediate Scope is for the 43 territorial Police Forces in England and Wales, and this is not expected to change. Last Updated : <strong>26/07/2023</strong> 9. Do police forces need full access to view and access all POs issued by the courts the through the solution, or will they only receive their own respective orders? Forces receive only their own respective orders. Last Updated : <strong>26/07/2023</strong> 10. Do police forces and courts require portal access to view the POs and other related information stored in the system? This is not a necessity, though if adopted in their proposed system, suppliers should set out he pros and cons of their approach in this and all other regards. Last Updated : <strong>26/07/2023</strong> 11. Could you provide insights into the outcome of the Proof of Concept (POC) with the incumbent supplier? Were there any notable successes, and are there specific issues or challenges that have been identified and require addressing? The POC considerably reduced the portion of issued POs that were not enforced. Falling from c.1 in 3 to c. 1 in 50. Other benefits were: improved protection of applicants, reduced stress for applicants, faster processing time, and increased reliability. The current system works well currently, with low numbers of incidents/problems occurring which are addressed promptly, though the current system does require occasional manual intervention. Last Updated : <strong>26/07/2023</strong> 12. Can you confirm that Suppliers need to have as a minimum MS Gold accreditation for this project? ISS is a highly secure/sensitive MS Azure based platform and requires Suppliers to have strong Microsoft skills with a breadth of experience and knowledge and therefore PDS/NPCC considers as a minimum MS Gold Accreditation proportionate and relevant for this project. Last Updated : <strong>26/07/2023</strong> 13. In the Nice to have section - refers to a mechanism through which both regular reporting and ad-hoc MI will be made available. Please can you provide further information on this? Will the 43 police force need access to this regular and self-service MI? or will this only be required for PDS/NPCC? MI/Reporting will be intended for PDS/NPCC Only. Last Updated : <strong>26/07/2023</strong>