GLA Back Office System

Description

Summary of the work The new back-office-system shall provide: (i) a portal/website for submission of referred applications/pre-applications/stopping-up orders (ii) a tool for managing the workflow of each of the work-streams (iii) space for collection of data about each application together with amendments to that data (iv) reporting-tools for analysis of workloads/data-trends (v) Electronic-Document-Management-System Expected Contract Length 2 years (plus 1 years extension) Latest start date Wednesday 31 July 2019 Why the Work is Being Done Planning is core business to the GLA As part of this the ability to workflow and performance manage the work has become increasingly important. This includes the need to be able to analyse trends in the developments being permitted and assessing the impact that the service is having on the lives of Londoners. At present the GLA operates an inhouse built back office system which it has concluded is not fit for purpose. Moving to being an Agile Service, it is key that the software used is able to flex with the needs of the service. Problem to Be Solved • currently has no consistent mechanism for receiving referrals, pre-apps and StoppingUp requests (no way of ensuring everything is received and recorded in a timely-way) • No automated processes have been adopted = resource hungry • GLA needs to record/monitor more data about referrals received in the planning process to assess impact • GLA currently has no workflow-tools in place meaning there is limited visibility of where applications are in the process, correct protocols have been followed and workloads managed • need to-be-able-to extract data • need to-be-able-to access related-documents, and scale from them where appropriate using an electronic-measuring-tool. Who Are the Users • As a Local Planning Authority I need to be able to submit information about a application together with supporting documents to the GLA and be satisfied that the information has all been uploaded and receive an a receipt to confirm the request has been submitted. • As a Customer I need to be able to submit a pre-application request including supporting documents and be taken to the payment tool. I need to receive a receipt to confirm the request has been submitted. - more info in the Request for Proposal document. Link to RfP: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WYPPPA0ob0TV0kTKo7lLnWAngYNB8x21NTbNjmJxwRQ/edit?usp=sharing Early Market Engagement None Work Already Done We have scoped out the options of updating the current system, however concluded a replacement system is the best option. This will need to be hosted externally to the GLAs network. We are not intending to undertake a data transfer, but will use existing resources to manually populate the database. Existing Team TBC Current Phase Not started Skills & Experience • Have demonstrable experience delivering a successful back office system • Have successful experience of maintaining a back office system • Have an off-the-shelf back office system (some customisation expected) that meets the criteria set out in the Overview section • Be able to commence work end of July Nice to Haves Previous experience of working in a public sector organisation, preferably a central, regional or local government organisation. Work Location City Hall, London SE1 Working Arrangments To be agreed with the successful Supplier Additional T&Cs Standard Digital Marketplace contract No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • Technical methodology - does the solution meet the GLAs technical needs as set out in the User personas (detailed in the RfP) • Value for money Cultural Fit Criteria • Work in a collaborative manner • Be willing to share knowledge with GLA staff Payment Approach Fixed price Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 55% Cultural fit 5% Price 40% Questions from Suppliers 1. "Additional terms and conditions Standard Digital Marketplace contract" – as this does not exist, which terms do you believe you are referring to, and why are they in addition to the standard terms? For clarification, Digital Outcomes and Specialist 3 T&Cs will be utilised. There are no 'additional' T&Cs. 2. Proposal criteria – what are the weightings of the proposal criteria and how can suppliers be assured that you are not going to determine the waitings after you have seen supplier responses? The weighting are included in the the Request for Proposal document. Everything has been published and is fully transparent. 3. Your RfP states "Any contract awarded as a result of this RFP shall be placed in accordance with the terms and conditions of Crown Commercial Service Digital Marketplace" but you also state that the Digital Market place terms are additional – so in addition to the Market Place terms, you have the market place terms – neither actually exist Understood. A mistake was made when entering this info - DOS 3 T&Cs will be used. There are no 'additional' T&Cs. 4. "2 years (plus 1 years extension)" – as the maximum extension for a DOS Call-Off is 6 months, explain how you believe you can form a valid contract on the term you propose? That is, how would you defend a challenge that this breaches the terms of the Framework. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. The potential extension will be six (6) months. 5. What is the anticipated budget for the project? There is no defined budget expectation for this project. 6. Support is not specifically mentioned in the RfP, is this to be covered under a separate agreement, or is this to be included in the same contract? We would like to include support in the same contract. 7. What is the approximate size of the Authority planning community who would be users of the system? The planning service has 75 team members, made up of 5 Planning Support and 30 officers involved in Development Management. These are the only two areas of the service that will need access to the software. 8. Have any integration requirements with other GLA systems been identified? It is not intended that there would be any integration requirements, unless those are requires to generate documents etc (such as Microsoft) 9. Other than the personas described, are there any other research outputs that could be shared with bidders at the next stage? We are happy to engage with bidders to identify and undertake any more research required, 10. Will the Authority assist with access to or recruitment of users for testing prototypes? Yes. 11. Is there a target go-live date for the system? Because there will be no data transfer as part of the project, we would want as earlier a go live date as possible. 12. What are the roles of the GLA team that we would be working with? Planning Change Manager – Overseeing the projectDelivery Manager – Project Managing the workHead of Development Management (and his Management Team) – Key ClientsDevelopment Management Officers – UsersPlanning Support Manager – In Charge of Local ConfigurationPlanning Support Officers – UsersTechnology Group Representatives. 13. Is their a plan with the GLA to integrate the new back-office system with other office productivity tools, specifically Office 365, as no mention of this is detailed within the opportunity or RFP? If required. Otherwise this should be a stand alone tool 14. Is there a preference between SaaS & On-Premise solutions? The solution should be fully cloud hosted. 15. Can you please explain how the contract will work over the stated 2 year length of the contract? Your requirements state “To implement a new fully hosted back office system that meets the GLAs technical needs as set out in the User personas”. It does not mention any ongoing support. Do you require services, such as support and change, beyond the implementation? We would like to include support in the same contract 16. Part 1 QuestionWhat is the total number of users – internal and external broken down by:• Local Planning Authorities• Customers submitting a pre-application request• Planning Support Officers• Planning Support Managers• Planning Officer• Managers• Team Leaders• Service Managers• GLA finance officers Part 1 responseLocal Planning Authorities35 LPAs need to submit referrals to the GLA. All of these are external to the organisationCustomers submitting a pre-application requestThese are predominantly planning consultants submitting on behalf of high profile major developers. 17. Part 2 QuestionWhat is the total number of users – internal and external broken down by:• Local Planning Authorities• Customers submitting a pre-application request• Planning Support Officers• Planning Support Managers• Planning Officer• Managers• Team Leaders• Service Managers• GLA finance officers Part_2_ResponsePlanning_Support_Officers5 members of the team, who focus on ensuring applications are registered and allocated to the right team member, and any consultations carried out and meeting agendas producedPlanning_Support_ManagersOne, who oversees the work of planning support and produces performance reportsPlanning_Officerup to 30 planning officers who need to access the software as a workflow tool and producing reports. Managers/Team Leaders/Service Managers7 team leaders, 2 team managers and 2 service managers who will be using the system to monitor workloads and workflows.GLA finance officersRelated finance work is carried out by the planning support team. 18. Will the GLA gather all the requirements for the reports or do you expect the supplier to undertake the discovery exercise as part of the project? In principle no. However, we recognise that there are things that we currently do not know. We are happy to undertake local configuration based on our own business process needs. 19. Are all user requirements clearly identified or does the supplier need to undertake a discovery? Might you wish to take advantage of this project to review and streamline business processes to map into the new solution? In principle we are very happy to review processes to suit the needs 20. You state that you require an “off-the-shelf back office system (some customisation expected)”. How much customisation might you require? Do you have requirements for business processes that vary significantly from other local authorities, and/or do you have any special requirements. If so please state them. Customisation will be required both internally for codelists etc, but also to customise the information submitted and data held. These requirements can be made available at this stage if required. 21. What payment system do you plan to use This is currently out for procurement. 22. · Number of cases/applications per week· Number of documents per case/applications· Average size of document Cases per week – average 20Documents per case – Average 10Size of documents – These vary and should be uncapped, as in future 3D models will be required. 23. Will the new solution need to integrate with other GLA, or 3rd party systems? If so, what is the current integration platform?Or is the expectation that the new solution includes integration too? It is not intended that there would be any integration requirements, unless those are requires to generate documents etc (such as Microsoft) 24. Can you please confirm the expected number of users (For each potential type):· Local Planning Authority?· Customer?· Planning Support Officer?· Planning Support Manager?· GLA Finance Officer? · Local Planning Authority? - 35· Customer? - Unknown· Planning Support Officer? – 30 - 35· Planning Support Manager? – ½ · GLA Finance Officer? - none 25. Will the new solution need to integrate with other GLA, or 3rd party systems? If so, what is the current integration platform?Or is the expectation that the new solution includes integration too? It is not intended that there would be any integration requirements, unless those are requires to generate documents etc (such as Microsoft) 26. I just want to clarify that in the first instance we respond to this opportunity via this portal (Digital Marketplace) and then, should we successfully make the shortlist, we go on to complete the Request for Proposal document. Many thanks in advance. Yes, this is correct. Only shortlisted Suppliers will be asked to complete the RfP.