Apprenticeship Service - User Centred Design projects

Description

Summary of the work Apprenticeships are looking for an end to end user centred design agency to deliver against a range of projects. Many projects will run concurrently. There may be a need to handover from existing suppliers/other teams already running projects. Supporting knowledge transfer to in-house resource within ESFA. Expected Contract Length 2 years Latest start date Tuesday 31 May 2022 Budget Range These capability services, covering discovery, alpha, beta and live phases, are to be delivered over a contract period of 2 years, and with an indicative contract value of approximately £4.44m for the full 2-year service delivery. Why the Work is Being Done The Government has committed to increasing the quality and quantity of apprenticeships in England. To support the delivery of this ambition we need to ensure our digital services are user-centred and meet user needs, ensuring a simple and great apprenticeship experience. The requirement is for ongoing development of the existing service based on user needs. Problem to Be Solved The successful supplier is required to ensure the needs of the service users in the apprenticeship marketplace are identified and met. This should support an increase in the quality and quantity of successful apprenticeships. Outcomes to be delivered through designing user centred digital services include improving existing services as well as the introduction of new features and capabilities to be added in line with programme objectives. Significant user volumes interact with the services (millions of citizens, over 100,000 employers etc). This will include: • Introduce further flexibility in apprenticeship training to meet unmet needs of key employment sectors; • Increasing the quality of apprenticeships so we continue to deliver benefits for UK productivity; • Growing the number of apprentices in recovery following the pandemic. This is delivered through: • Orchestrated user journeys with easy to use digital transactional systems, • Scaled and secure services with high levels of availability during core processing times, • Internal scaled capability to deliver excellent service; and, • Increased transparency of demand and supply to the market for greater evidence-based decision making. Who Are the Users Our users are both external (employers, training providers, end-point assessment organisations and apprentices) and government, for example: As a student, I need to easily access impartial information to understand and access apprenticeships, and to receive timely information on how I progress with my apprenticeship. As a non-levy employer, I need to understand the funding for hiring an apprentice, find and recruit the right apprentice. As a training provider, I need to understand how I receive funding for apprenticeships from government. As an end-point assessment organisation, I need to understand the registration process for operating in the marketplace. As ESFA, I need to oversee effective delivery of Apprenticeships, including sharing information with stakeholders, directly managing the issue of certificates. Work Already Done A minimum viable service was introduced in 2017, and we continue to develop significant capability as we move towards the agreed vision whereby all employers take greater control of apprenticeship funding to drive up quality in the market place. Since that time, we have continued to add new services/capabilities as we build out towards a great end to end experience for our users. These capabilities are connected through a personalised user-outcome, AI based, real time data model. An example of the services included are https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk/ Existing Team Our build-test-run delivery model is underpinned by an agile at scale build capability. Existing teams are comprised of multi-disciplinary agile delivery skills. These teams are involved in service development for providing brand new digital services, going through the standard GDS phases. Typical team size is up to 10, with a skills mix such as product/service managers, delivery managers, business analysts, user research and design professionals, developers and testers. Solutions and Technical architects support delivery through setting strategic technology direction as well as supporting build team decision making. Teams are co-located in Coventry and comprise digital service suppliers and permanent staff. Current Phase Not applicable Skills & Experience • Provide evidence of successful service design, user research, user experience and content design to deliver an end-end user centred service/product to GDS standards or similar. • Provide evidence of content designers, user researchers, and interaction designers working collaboratively in a multi discipline agile team to successfully deliver user centric capability. • Provide demonstrable evidence of working transparently to drive best practice user centred design techniques across a digital service (e.g. regular content crits and sharing ways of working). • Provide evidence of advocating and applying UCD best practice in their work with non-user centred design stakeholders. • Provide evidence of using different best practice prototyping techniques to design user centred capability successfully in a high transaction service. • Provide evidence of building empathy with all users of the service and advocating for them throughout design and development. • Demonstrate evidence of using quantitative and qualitative data to improve the service. • Explain experience of understanding the whole user journey from a user centred design perspective. Nice to Haves • Show experience of successfully working with development teams and bringing multiple services under one programme using the Government design principles and Government Digital Service (GDS) style guide or similar. • Experience of successfully working on a large, high transaction volume programme with end-to-end capabilities utilising user centred design to support digital product build through to operations and user support. Work Location The primary location is Cheylesmore House, Quinton Road, Coventry, CV1 2WT or remote working arrangements subject to agreements for in-office working which will comply with the relevant and prevailing Government guidance on restrictions to movement. Occasional travel to the DfE sites in London and travel across England for user research may be required. Primary location will be detailed in each Statement of Work (SoW) and expenses will not form part of the cost unless the supplier is asked to work from a secondary location e.g. If SoW primary base is in Coventry, then no expenses will be paid for Coventry. Working Arrangments Working arrangements, including team location, size and make-up, will be contained within each statement of work. Day to day delivery will be governed by standard agile delivery techniques. It is likely that each team may be required to be on site for around 4 or more days per month per team to contribute to key agile ceremonies. Security Clearance Enhanced DBS and BPSS checks required Additional T&Cs Expenses must be pre-agreed and comply with DfE Travel and Subsistence (T&S) Policy. Any expenses shall be submitted in line with DfE standard T&S policy. Primary work locations stated in any SoW will not attract expenses. No parking is available on site. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria • Ability to successfully drive innovation to transform services into modern customer centric solutions. • Technical competence in user centred design (what does good look like, exemplify). • Ability to successfully and promptly mobilise expertise to scale up teams and flex resource, outside of IR35, when needed, and to respond to fluctuating requirements. • Able to successfully provide a service that has the capability to deliver outcomes on time, to a high standard, and recognise where approach needs to be adapted when not working. • Evidence of working with users to understand their needs, operating context and constraints. Using this information to identify and implement adaptations/improvements. • Experience of advocating for inclusive practices and helping teams design and deliver accessible services that work for all users. • Demonstrate understanding of the challenges of implementing user centred design in a multi-stakeholder environment. • Demonstrating effective approaches for ensuring team membership continuity, effective handover from other teams and knowledge sharing. Cultural Fit Criteria • Demonstrate how you have successfully promoted diversity and inclusion adhered to a buyers’ code of practice or adopted their organisational behaviours to ensure cultural fit. • Evidence of driving best practice in community of practice and demonstrate knowledge sharing to build capability successfully whilst operating a no-blame culture, encouraging people to learn from their mistakes. • Evidence of tackling economic inequality and educational attainment through promotion of apprenticeships or other industry engagements. • Demonstrate how you will influence and develop others through the successful delivery of the contract to support in work progression and skills opportunities and tackle inequality in the workplace. Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method • Case study • Work history • Reference • Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 45% Cultural fit 10% Price 45% Questions from Suppliers 1. Is there an incumbent supplier? If so, who? Apprenticeships has utilised a wider organisational resourcing contract to date but are now looking for a dedicated resource to support UCD. This is a new requirement. 2. Is there an incumbent supplier(s)? Please see previous related response. 3. Please could you confirm what roles you are looking to fulfil this contract? In the last criterion, you ask for ‘end-to-end capabilities’ – please could you clarify what is meant by that? The successful supplier will need to be flexible and able to cover all the capabilities within the User Centred Design profession as defined at Digital, Data and Technology Profession Capability Framework - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). 4. Given the expenditure profile of £4.44mln over 2 years, is it correct to assume you are looking for a partner who has a large bench of immediately available resource? Are you as happy with employed (but not utilised staff), which would imply a partner that was larger than an SME, as with a smaller partner with a large pool of associates called upon as varying needs arise? This contract is not for one specific project that will commence once the contract is signed. The contract will be used for numerous projects at any time and called off as appropriate. Each SoW will be assessed on a case-by-case basis depending on the needs of the business. Typically, we would expect a response to SOWs and a team on the ground within 7-10 working days of receipt of the SOW. However, please note, we would normally pre-engage and alert the supplier of the upcoming work to allow more lead in time. 5. Are Digi2al Ltd still providing services the the Apprenticeships team? This is a new requirement. Digi2al do not provide services to the Apprenticeship Service which this requirement will support. 6. What supplier(s) currently provide content design services? There are a number of suppliers across DfE that have contributed resources to the Apprenticeships portfolio. This is not a like-for-like replacement of existing resources. The successful supplier will be dedicated to the Apprenticeship portfolio, and will need to be flexible to cover all the capabilities within the User Centred Design profession. 7. Question 1 is states this is a “new requirement” and question 6 that “this is not a like-for-like replacement of existing resources” however in the Overview “There may be a need to handover from existing suppliers/other teams already running projects” Please can you confirm:a) If TUPE applies, please provide a redacted copy of the contract(s) with the incumbent supplier(s) so that we can identify the relevant contractual obligations on, warranties / indemnities given by the incumbent, with regard to TUPE, including any rights granted to third parties under the contract to enforce the TUPE related provisions. TUPE will not apply.This is a new requirement for a supplier to deliver outcomes. Handover in this instance is considered knowledge transfer of outcomes, which is part of the statement of work process with a range of Suppliers that deliver across the Apprenticeship Service portfolio. 8. Please can you clarify if the work can be carried out remotely, or what percentage of work will be required to be carried out on site? It will be down to the successful supplier to determine the most appropriate way of working to meet the buyers needs. Our expectation is that around 4 or more days per month per team may be necessary to contribute to key agile ceremonies. 9. With regards to the second question, can you confirm our understanding that by “deliver user centric capability” is intended delivery of user centric solutions/services? Yes. 10. What would you class as a high transaction volume programme in terms of daily transactions? In the last 12 months there have been 0.7 billion transactions completed on the Apprenticeships service. We would consider this a high transaction volume. 11. Will all the supplier’s personnel be required to be on site in Coventry full time, or would weekly or fortnightly co-location suffice? It will be down to the successful supplier to determine the most appropriate way of working to meet the buyers needs. Our expectation is that around 4 or more days per month per team may be necessary to contribute to key agile ceremonies. 12. Could you please set out the specific roles you are looking for from the supplier? And, if possible, provide an indication of the rough profile of resources – e.g. are they equally equally spread across the 2 years or are things are likely to be front-loaded? The successful supplier will need to be flexible to cover all the capabilities within the User Centred Design profession. Please see UCD roles family as defined at Digital, Data and Technology Profession Capability Framework - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Our expectation is that the throughput of various projects will be broadly consistent across the duration of the contract.