Procurement details: DDaT Capability

• Term or acronym:

  NHSBSA

• Definition:

  NHS Business Services Authority

• Term or acronym:

  DDaT

• Definition:

  Digital , Data and Technology

• Summary of work:

  The NHSBSA is looking for a partner to provide additional capability and capacity to work alongside the Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) directorate to build and maintain products and services. Core capabilities for this contract will be: - Delivery Manager - Business Analyst - Technical Architect - Frontend Developer - Software Developer - Test Engineer - Development Operations (DevOps) Engineer This contract will provide teams onto a product or service with outcomes agreed with the NHSBSA Delivery Manager and Product/Service Owner.

• Where the supplied staff will work:

  North East England

• Where the supplied staff will work:

  No specific location (for example they can work remotely)

• Why the work is being done:

  The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is responsible for the delivery and continuous improvement of a number of Digital Services. We have a strong internal delivery capability with Architecture, Software and Platform Engineering skills. We currently have a contract which suppprts this this requirment. It expires in May 2024. Via this contract there are currently a number of teams delivering outcomes amounting to approximately 80 people. These teams would need to be migrated over to the new contract aver a period of 6 months. Core capabilities for this contract would be: - Delivery Manager - Business Analyst - Technical Architect - Frontend Developer - Software Developer - Test Engineer - Development Operations (DevOps) Engineer References: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/digital-data-and-technology-profession-capability-framework

• The business problem:

  The NHSBSA requires a partner who will provide addition resource to support the delivery of Digital Services across the NHSBSA portfolio. Service delivery may span Beta and Live phases. This will include the delivery of features on a product or service roadmap and the ongoing live operations of a specified products or services.

• User type:

  Citizen

• Definition:

  Resident of the UK accessing NHS services

• User type:

  Primary Care

• Definition:

  Primary care users can be GPs, Pharmacists, Dentists, Optometrists

• User type:

  Workforce

• Definition:

  NHS employees and employers.

• Any pre-market engagement done:

  An existing contract covering similar work is already in place, but is due to end in May 2024. Pre Market engagement was undertaken to help refine the requirements in relation to Data Protection and use of devices. An RFI was issued to gather information to benefit a number of NHSBSA contract. The RFI document has been included for reference. The RFI enabled the business to assess what standards and criteria were possible to successfully build into requirements without risking a failed procurement.

• Which phase the project is in:

  Not applicable

• Existing team:

  The supplier will work with the existing NHSBSA Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) department and may work with other NHSBSA suppliers. Work will include roles from a range of disciplines, including architecture, security, policy, service and product management, finance, and delivery management. The NHSBSA or its other suppliers will provide User Centred Design skills to the supplier including User Research, Service Design, Interaction Design and Content Design. Knowledge transfer back into NHSBSA will be required to enable NHSBSA to improve internal capability to build and support the services. There is an incumbent supplier. Transition of existing services from this supplier will be required. Where required collaboration with other suppliers may be necessary. This contract will not prevent us from using other commercial arrangements, including using capability contracts, to pull together a team from a range of suppliers

• Address where the work will be done:

  Stella House Goldcrest Way Newburn Riverside Newcastle NE15 8NY At suppliers office / remote It is anticipated that some of this contact may be delivered offshore.

• Working arrangements:

  The Supplier will work as a part of a delivery team, they will be viewed as part of the overall NHSBSA Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) department with a one team ethos. The team will work following UK Government principles including agile ways of working, and adherance to UK Gov, NHS and NCSC guidance and standards. It is expected that the successful supplier's people will work in this way. The supplier should engage with and contribute to the NHSBSA's DDaT professional Communities of Practice. The successful supplier must comply with relevant NHSBSA policies, standards and DDaT ways of working. The majority of this work is expected to be delivered remotely. It is anticipated that offshore teams may be used for some of the work. Occasional attendance may be required at our Stella House office in Newcastle.

• Security and vetting requirements:

  No security clearance needed

• More information about the Security requirements:

  BPSS will be required as a minimum. Further security requirements may be required on individual statements of work

• Latest start date:

  14 November 2023

• Contract length:

  2 years 0 months 0 days

• Optional extension:

  1 years 0 months 0 days

• special term or condition:

  Please refer to the standard framework terms and conditions. In addition to this we may have additional special terms and conditions and a requirement to work in line with the NHS BSA Playbook which will be detailed within stage 2 of this opportunity

• Indicative maximum:

  £19500000

• Indicative minimum:

  The contract value is not specified by the buyer

• Further information:

  here is no minimum committed spend over the term of this contract. To clarify the NHSBSA makes no commitment to any particular level of spend (actual spend agreed in SOWs) nor does it grant exclusivity to the selected supplier in respect of the services described in this opportunity.

• Contracted out service or supply of resource?:

  Contracted out service: the off-payroll rules do not apply

• How many suppliers to evaluate:

  5

• Technical Competence:

  65%

• Cultural fit:

  5%

• Social values:

  10%

• Price:

  20%

• Essential skills and experience:

  31%

• Nice-to-have skills and experience:

  8%

• Technical questions:

  61%

• Description:

  NHSBSA use the following core languages, technologies and techniques: - Git - Gitlab CI (or similar) - AWS with Terraform, including S3, RDS (Postgres/DynamoDB), API Gateway, Lambda, ECS/Docker - Web applications/Web Services using Java/SpringBoot/JUnit - Web applications/Lambdas using Node/Javascript/Typescript/Jest - Persistence using Postgres/Liquibase, Oracle, DynamoDB - Acceptance testing (Java and Ruby) Cucumber, Selenium, Serenity - A11y testing with Wave, Axe, Lighthouse, Dragon - Compatibility testing with Saucelabs - Performance testing with JMeter Please can you confirm that you have the skillset in these core languages, technologies and techniques as a minimum. This will be treated as a pass / fail question References: https://nhsbsa.github.io/nhsbsa-digital-playbook/technologies/ https://nhsbsa.github.io/nhsbsa-digital-playbook/testing/test-frameworks/

• Weighting:

  5%

• Description:

  Demonstrate your knowledge and experience (with in the last 7 years) where you have delivered services using the NHSBSA toolset in development, testing and platform.

• Weighting:

  12%

• Description:

  Demonstrate your knowledge and experience (within the last 7 years) in delivering digital services compliant to GDPR.

• Weighting:

  8%

• Description:

  Demonstrate your knowledge and experience (within the last 7 years) in delivering digital services compliant to UK Public Sector Accessibility law

• Weighting:

  8%

• Description:

  Demonstrate your knowledge and experience (within the last 7 years) in delivering digital services compliant to UK tax rules and regulations including IR35

• Weighting:

  8%

• Description:

  Demonstrate your experience of providing remote delivery resource capable of agile service delivery adhering to UK Gov or NHS service standards, spanning Beta and Live phases or equivalent References: https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/service-standard https://service-manual.nhs.uk/standards-and-technology/service-standard https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/agile-delivery

• Weighting:

  12%

• Description:

  Demonstrate your knowledge and experience of assessing your team performance and assuring the team continue to be fit for purpose.

• Weighting:

  11%

• Description:

  Demonstrate your knowledge and experience of having passed a GDS assessment

• Weighting:

  10%

• Description:

  Confirm that your company is not subject to any ongoing investigations or charges in relation to modern slavery and human rights abuses in respect of the workers and supply chain that will deliver the contract.

• Weighting:

  5%

• Description:

  As an organisation we require suppliers to comply with the NCSC guidelines on secure system administration https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/secure-system-administration . This must include the use of customer supplied devices or hardened thin terminals in a dedicated secure environment for the customer combined with a customer supplied VDI environment. Demonstrate your knowledge and experience of meeting these requirements.

• Weighting:

  8%

• Description:

  1 What mechanisms do you currently use to facilitate international transfers of data? Your response must be against one of the following: a. 2021 version of EU Standard Contract Clauses and ICO Addendum to this. b. International Data Transfer Agreements. c. Binding Corporate Rules. d. We only process personal data in the UK or EEA e We only use anonymised data GIve an example of where this has been done successful

• Weighting:

  8%

• Description:

  If the UK were to no longer be deemed to have adequate data protection laws by the EU which of the following would you use to enable the continuation of data flow a. 2021 version of EU Standard Contract Clauses and ICO Addendum to this. b. International Data Transfer Agreements. c. Binding Corporate Rules. d. We only process personal data in the UK or EEA e We only use anonymised data

• Weighting:

  5%

• Description:

  Demonstrate your experience of participation in, and enhancement of, client based professional communities of practice Guidance: Describe your approach and how it meets the following criteria: - Metrics on attendance levels amongst your people - Presentations made to architecture, development, test and platform engineering Communities of Practice - Provide evidence of approaches relevant to the requirement, through examples/experience from within the last 7 years

• Weighting:

  50%

• Description:

  Demonstrate your experience providing specialist capabilities and hands-on expertise in response to high priority issues including: - Non-functional testing - Security testing (DAST) - Elastic Search - Database administration and optimisation Guidance: Describe your approach and how it meets the following criteria: - Ability to source capabilities for exceptional requirements - Ability to provide niche expertise - Provide evidence of approaches relevant to the requirement, through examples/experience from within the last 7 years

• Weighting:

  50%

• Question:

  Demonstrate how you will deliver and manage successful capability for a contract of this scale and skills/teams required, as part of a standard offering. Guidance: Describe your approach and how it meets the following criteria: - Detail any offshore capability that can be part of your standard offering - Describe typical lead times covering internal assignment, and potential hiring process - How you successfully embed the right people in the right roles with the correct skill levels. - How you will onboard and induct new people into teams - Detail any lessons learned from previous contracts that have helped form your approach. - Provide evidence of approaches relevant to the requirement, through examples/experience from within the last 7 years

• Weighting:

  12%

• Question:

  Demonstrate how you will provide the right skill set / teams to deliver services spanning, Beta and Live phases. Guidance: Describe your approach and how it meets the following criteria: - Your understanding of the different roles and their skills and responsibilities - Your recommended team composition, considering different roles and levels of experience - How team composition changes across phases - How you can achieve this in a public sector environment - Provide evidence of approaches relevant to the requirement, through examples/experience from within the last 7 years

• Weighting:

  12%

• Question:

  Demonstrate how you deliver on outcomes based contracts according to buyer requirements and user needs, in an agile environment, while working in mixed supplier/buyer teams. Guidance: Describe your approach and how it meets the following criteria: - Managing buyer architectural and service design decisions and impacts on outcomes - Managing other external influences that impact an outcome - Detail how you will work with other suppliers as well as NHSBSA staff - Key challenges previously experienced and how these were overcome. - Provide evidence of approaches relevant to the requirement, through examples/experience from within the last 7 years

• Weighting:

  12%

• Question:

  Explain how you comply with UK Government guidance on secure development practices. Guidance: Describe your approach and how it meets the following criteria: - Securing end user devices - Segregation of working environments between different clients - Securing access to sensitive data - Tools and practices to facilitate DevSecOps - Training of staff to increase awareness and encourage expertise in secure development - Provide evidence of approaches relevant to the requirement, through examples/experience from within the last 7 years References https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/developers-collection/principles https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/device-security-guidance/platform-guides https://www.security.gov.uk/guidance/secure-by-design/principles/ https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/digital-service-security

• Weighting:

  8%

• Question:

  Describe your experience and methodology of how you will transition the current workload of an incumbant delivery squad to yourselves with minimum disruption to the existing program of work. What is your approach to prepare for the subsequent transfer of your project outputs, deliverables and knowledge back to the NHSBSA or a new supplier? Guidance: Describe your approach and how it meets the following criteria: - Typical artifacts and knowledge base required to adopt an existing service - Techniques to maintain delivery during transition - Method, approach and experience of transitioning a team - Managing timescales and expectations to ensure a swift transition - Provide evidence of approaches relevant to the requirement, through examples/experience from within the last 7 years

• Weighting:

  12%

• Question:

  What is your approach to prepare for the subsequent transfer of your project outputs, deliverables and knowledge back to the NHSBSA or a new supplier? Guidance: Describe your approach and how it meets the following criteria: - Detail method and approach - Communication methods and any tooling you might use to support knowledge transfer - Techniques to maintain delivery during transition - Provide evidence of approaches relevant to the requirement, through examples/experience from within the last 7 years

• Weighting:

  8%

• Question:

  Describe/evidence your proposed reporting mechanisms to be used throughout the contract showing how contractual obligations are being met. Evidence how delivery to time/budget will be fully managed and maintained. Guidance: Describe your approach to and how it meets the following criteria: - Methods and approaches used to report how contractual obligation are being met. - Management and delivery of project governance reporting requirements and frequency, project updates, management of risks and issues. - Compliance with buyer delivery KPIs and other assurance measure - How you will manage change in relation to cost. - Provide evidence of approaches relevant to the requirement, through examples/experience from within the last 7 years

• Weighting:

  12%

• Question:

  Provide detail on how the working day will fit with NHSBSA core working hours (10:00-16:00 BST), considering location, and how to provide effective and timely communication in support of key decision making, efficient delivery and use of time. Guidance: Describe your approach and how it meets the following criteria: - Overcoming challenges of remote working - Techniques used to facilitate effective and timely communication - Processes to enable decisions requiring both parties - Provide evidence of approaches relevant to the requirement, through examples/experience from within the last 7 years

• Weighting:

  10%

• Question:

  Shortlisted suppliers will be invited to a presentation. The presentation question will be shared at stage 2 of the process

• Weighting:

  14%

• Question:

  Demonstrate an empowered ‘can do’ squad culture, encouraging constructive feedback and learning.

• Weighting:

  60%

• Question:

  Demonstrate how your organisation works cohesively in meeting clients needs and how this would reflect the NHSBSA values

• Weighting:

  40%

• Question:

  Describe how you tackle workforce inequality and commit to fair working practices for workers engaged in the delivery of the contract (including any agency or sub-contracted workers) Guidance: Describe your approach to and how it meets the following criteria - identify and manage risks of modern slavery in the contract and supply chain - Evidence of compliance with all applicable labour/employment laws in delivering the contract

• Weighting:

  50%

• Question:

  Describe how you proactively promote workforce wellbeing and how these commitments will be implemented and monitored within this contract This can include (as examples): Comminications to promote and encourage good mental and physical wellbeing Cycle to work scheme Mental Health First Aid provision Flexible working policies or initatives to support work/life balance Monitoring the effectiveness of initatives and schemes through staff surveys/feedback Guidance: Please describe your approach to and how it meets the following criteria: - Detail how your organisation will execute the contract to ensure workforce wellbeing is promoted - Detail how and when your commitments will be implemented and monitored. - To supplement the described approach, demonstrate how it works in practice through examples/experience relevant to your proposed solution.

• Weighting:

  50%

• Pricing model:

  Capped time and materials

• Additional assessment methods:

  Presentation

• Level:

  Met

• Score:

  4

• Description:

  Meets the required standard in all respects and demonstrates a thorough understanding of the requirement.

• Level:

  Mostly Met

• Score:

  3

• Description:

  Meets the required standard in most(but not all) material respects

• Level:

  Partially Met

• Score:

  2

• Description:

  Meets a number of required standards but falls short of achieving required standard in a number of identifiable areas

• Level:

  Not Met

• Score:

  1

• Description:

  Significantly fails to meet the standards required, contains significant shortcomings in many areas

• Level:

  Unacceptable

• Score:

  0

• Description:

  Completely fails to meet required standard or does not provide a proposal at al

• Publication of stage 1:

  05/09/2023

• Clarification period closes:

  11/09/2023 16:00

• Deadline for suppliers to submit their stage 1 responses:

  19/09/2023 16:00

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