Procurement details: DDaT23599 /Prj_ 2969- ICS, User Research Participants

• Term or acronym:

  ICS

• Definition:

  Integrated Corporate Services

• Term or acronym:

  DESZN

• Definition:

  Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

• Term or acronym:

  DSIT

• Definition:

  Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

• Summary of work:

  Integrated Corporate Services, Digital requires a partner to recruit research participants from diverse backgrounds to take part in ICS Digital user research events as and when they arise, to contribute to the delivery of government services. ICS Digital work in an agile, user focused way to ensure quality services are delivered. No commitment to spend two year call-off contract to recruit participants for user research sessions for Integrated Corporate Services, Digital. With the option to extend the contract for 1 year.

• Where the research will take place:

  North East England

  North West England

  Yorkshire and the Humber

  East Midlands

  West Midlands

  East of England

  London

  South East England

  South West England

  Scotland

  Wales

  Northern Ireland

• Who the organisation using the products or services is:

  Integrated Corporate Services (ICS), Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESZN) and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)

• Any pre-market engagement done:

  Not Applicable

• Number of research rounds:

  This is a Call-Off Contract. There will not be a set number of rounds.

• Number of participants per round:

  The size of rounds will vary depending upon the research projects however most will involve a minimum of 5 participants.

• Research dates:

  Call Off Contract to cover research between October 2024- October 2025

• How often research will happen:

  On average every 2 weeks. This may change dependent upon the individual project requirements.

• Research location:

  Remote user research will be predominantly required. This will be conducted by the use of Microsoft Teams. In exceptional circumstances where in-person research is required this would be confirmed via a work package.

• Access restrictions at location:

  This will be communicated for each site/user research setting as defined and agreed via a work package. Accessibility needs will be considered when booking interviews

• Description of participants:

  ICS Digital will require a representative sample of participants which will vary depending on the specific requirements of each project. For each project ICS Digital will produce a brief which will define the skills, behaviour or attributes a participant should/should not have. In ICS we work across both DSIT and DESNZ, our requirement for user researchers will be ongoing as an essential business need. We’ve previously required user research participants when designing nationwide energy schemes. One of which was the Energy Bill Support Scheme (EBSS) in which we required a specific use group, such as care home managers, those who live off-grid and continuous cruisers (living on boats). We will require a range of both citizens and businesses to help us with the development of support products. Participants will not only help with the development of products designed to help them but to also shape future policy. The ability to recruit people from a wide range of social economic backgrounds across the whole of the UK is essential. Representatives from disadvantaged groups especially those with disabilities are particularly welcomed. We also may require users with low digital skills. Businesses, especially SMEs are difficult to engage so, we would welcome bids from suppliers that have any experience of supplying candidates in that area. We also, depending on project requirements seek users who have not participated in research within the past 3-6 months, sometimes we would require to record the sessions.

• Describe accessibility requirements:

  1/10 users recruited should have either low digital skills or accessibility requirements. The recruiter should be able to recruit the full range of users with accessibility requirements (visual, hearing, cognitive, mobility, etc) depending on the requirements of the project.

• Research plan:

  The Contract will cover multiple research plans. The recruiter will be expected to adapt to new requirements as new plans emerge.

• special term or condition:

  Not Applicable

• Indicative maximum:

  £337500

• Indicative minimum:

  The contract value is not specified by the buyer

• Further information:

  Maximum budget is £225,000.00 excluding VAT over the initial period of 2 years Then additional value for optional extension 1 year is estimated as 112,500 excluding VAT, with no commitment to spend the entire value. The overall opportunity value is £337,500 excluding VAT ( £405,000 including VAT)

• How many suppliers to evaluate:

  3

• Technical Competence:

  55%

• Availability:

  10%

• Social values:

  10%

• Price:

  25%

• Essential skills and experience:

  15%

• Nice-to-have skills and experience:

  0%

• Technical questions:

  85%

• Description:

  1. Demonstrate experience of responding to new briefs and additional requirements for existing briefs for participants at short-notice (i.e. 5 working days)

• Weighting:

  25%

• Description:

  2. Demonstrate experience that you have fulfilled user participant requirements where all participants meet the brief given by the Buyer

• Weighting:

  25%

• Description:

  3. Demonstrable experience of successfully recruiting participants within a short deadline (i.e. 5 working days), with a minimal no-show ratio. Please include experience from within the last 2 years.

• Weighting:

  10%

• Description:

  4. Demonstrate how you would recruit participants within a two-week sprint cycle; Provide an outline of processing and rescheduling fees

• Weighting:

  10%

• Description:

  5. Demonstrate how your organisation works in line with the agile methodology and is flexible in the research methods and contexts you can recruit for

• Weighting:

  10%

• Description:

  6. Detail how your organisation checks participants including how you replace dropouts and how you cover unsuitable participants

• Weighting:

  10%

• Description:

  7. Describe how and when participant profiles are provided for review by the researcher in advance of the research session.

• Weighting:

  10%

• Question:

  1. Demonstrate how you will recruit a round of research participants all of whom should be junior and senior members of staff from companies with low digital skills

• Weighting:

  20%

• Question:

  2. Demonstrate how you will manage the expectations of multiple researchers, to recruit participants across the country, for both remote and face to face sessions

• Weighting:

  20%

• Question:

  3. Outline how your organisation will communicate any recruitment challenges to the research teams e.g. hard to find participants and outline the actions you will take to mitigate the challenges.

• Weighting:

  20%

• Question:

  In case of a multiple research projects running in parallel, with projects conducting multiple rounds of research and requiring participants from different groups, please describe how you will handle concurrent projects. Please provide examples from previous work you may have undertaken. Please describe your approach to sourcing participants from diverse groups for multiple rounds of research and for multiple projects running in parallel

• Weighting:

  20%

• Question:

  Scenario response

• Weighting:

  20%

• Question:

  MAC 2.3 Tackling economic inequality Sub-criteria: Education and training Demonstrate activities in your workplace that are underway or planned that support: - Understanding of employment and skills issues, and the education and training in your workplace. Illustrative examples: demographics, skills shortages, new opportunities in relevant high growth sectors, groups-underrepresented in the workforce (e.g. prison leavers, disabled people), geographic/ local community and skills/employment challenges. - Support of educational attainment, including training schemes within your organisation, that result in recognised qualifications - Activities relevant to your sector that support sustainability and skills growth. Illustrative examples: career talks, curriculum support, literacy support, safety talks and volunteering. - Delivery of apprenticeships, traineeships and T Level industry placement opportunities (Level 2, 3 and 4+) during the period of this contract, across your organisation.

• Weighting:

  100%

• Additional assessment methods:

  Scenario or test

• Question and answer session details:

  Please submit your clarification questions via Contract Award Service Portal and we will respond to all questions from all suppliers and distribute to all interested parties/ publish on the CAS Portal.

• Level:

  Not met

• Score:

  0

• Description:

  The Question is not answered, or the response is completely unacceptable.

• Level:

  Partially met

• Score:

  1

• Description:

  The response has met some, but not all elements of the requirement, which poses risk that the proposal will not meet the deliverables required. The response does not demonstrate a full understanding of the requirement posing major concerns.

• Level:

  Not Acceptable

• Score:

  1

• Description:

  Very poor response and not acceptable. Only partially answers the requirement, with major deficiencies and little relevant detail proposed. Requires major revision to the response to make it acceptable.

• Level:

  Met

• Score:

  2

• Description:

  The response is acceptable and meets all the basic requirements. However, the response is not sufficiently detailed to minimise risk and / or the proposed approach may require additional support (in addition to that outlined in the Statement of Requirements) from the Contracting Authority to meet its deliverables.

• Level:

  Met Requirements

• Score:

  2

• Description:

  Poor response, but response is technically acceptable. The response remains basic and could be expanded upon with further evidence from the bidder regarding their knowledge, expertise and capabilities. The bidder’s response falls short of expectations and does not provide required levels of assurance of being a capable supplier.

• Level:

  Exceeded

• Score:

  3

• Description:

  The response exceeds requirements, providing detail that minimises risks to delivery. The response is comprehensive and unambiguous, demonstrating a thorough understanding of the requirements and providing details of how the requirement will be met in full without additional support from the Contracting Authority, other than that outlined within the Statement of Requirements.

• Level:

  Good Quality

• Score:

  3

• Description:

  Good response which describes their capabilities in detail which provides sufficient levels of assurance consistent with a quality provider. The response includes a full description of techniques and measurements currently employed.

• Level:

  Exceeded Expectations

• Score:

  4

• Description:

  Response is exceptional and clearly demonstrates they are capable of meeting the requirement. No significant weaknesses noted. The response is compelling in its description of techniques and measurements currently employed, providing full assurance consistent with a quality provider

• Publication of stage 1:

  06/08/2024

• Clarification period closes:

  13/08/2024 11:00

• Deadline for suppliers to submit their stage 1 responses:

  21/08/2024 11:00

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