CON 1354 Software solution to support the management of Ofsted's internal regulatory casework activities

Description

Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills. We regulate and inspect services that care for children and young people, and services providing education and skills for learners of all ages. Every week, we carry out hundreds of inspections and regulatory visits throughout England and publish the results online. We also report on standards across the country and are accountable directly to Parliament. Ofsted's inspections are independent and impartial. Ofsted regulates over 87,000 children's social care and childcare services throughout England. This includes a range of early years and children's social care services, making sure they're suitable for children and potentially vulnerable young people. We have a wide range of enforcement powers to keep children safe, which includes suspension, cancellation and prosecution. Ofsted is issuing this Prior Information Notice (PIN) as a Request for Information (RFI) from suppliers regarding possible software solutions that can support Ofsted's regulatory activities, including casework. This will help Ofsted understand the capacity and appetite within the market. As a constantly evolving regulator, we are seeking a flexible and responsive solution which meets our core regulatory needs. This involves presenting complex data, management of multiple workflows and enabling professional oversight. The PIN is also to alert the market to a potential tender opportunity. It should be noted that this PIN/RFI invites organisations to express an interest in this RFI exercise only. It is being conducted by Ofsted and is intended as an awareness, communication, and information gathering exercise. It is NOT a pre-qualification questionnaire and is NOT part of any pre-qualification or selection process. Please note Ofsted is seeking to engage with suppliers with a proven track record of delivering established regulatory casework software. This market engagement is not addressed to or seeking views from software developers who are looking to build a case management system to meet our requirements. Suppliers should express an interest in this RFI / market engagement process by emailing info-contracts@ofsted.gov.uk by 16th June 4pm. All suppliers will then be provided with a more detailed briefing pack, supplier questionnaire and details of an upcoming webinar. The supplier webinar will be held on 21st June 2023 using Microsoft Teams. It will enable Ofsted to set out its needs and vision to suppliers, as well as sharing details of the tender process. Participants will have the opportunity to ask any questions. Lot 1: Regulation Services is part of what we refer to as our Application and Data Modernisation (ADM) portfolio of work. Ofsted's aim is to modernise its services, moving away from reliance on a single system into modular digital products and services. In future Ofsted plans to store its data in a common data platform, which is currently being developed by Ofsted as part of our digital transformation program. We expect this to improve the visibility of critical information to inspectors and other decision makers, and meet business and user needs. We have undertaken significant engagement and research with internal regulatory stakeholders to determine key strategic functions of a future regulatory system. We are now looking for a solution that provides the following outcomes: - Regulatory decisions and rationale are recorded in a clear, structured and consistent manner. - Historic information is easily accessible and understandable to support dynamic assessment of risk. - Links, patterns and trends are flagged to ensure relevant information is reviewed. - Intelligence can be extracted to provide management, corporate and strategic oversight and insight. - Capability and capacity to implement changes that keep pace with policy and operational developments. - An intuitive system that makes it as easy and efficient as possible to complete tasks with minimum errors. Ofsted is issuing this Prior Information Notice (PIN) as a Request for Information (RFI) from suppliers regarding possible software solutions that can support Ofsted's regulatory activities, including casework. This will help Ofsted understand the capacity and appetite within the market. As a constantly evolving regulator, we are seeking a flexible and responsive solution which meets our core regulatory needs. This involves presenting complex data, management of multiple workflows and enabling professional oversight. Ofsted is keen to understand the systems that are readily available in the marketplace and suppliers are invited to express an interest in this RFI / market engagement process by emailing info-contracts@ofsted.gov.uk. They will then be provided with a more detailed briefing pack, supplier questionnaire, and details of an upcoming webinar. Information received as part of this market engagement exercise may be used to shape Ofsted's final specification of requirements, and scope any resulting procurement process. The objectives of the RFI / Pre-Market Engagement Process are: - To ensure the broadest possible participation in any future competition by the market. - For the market to find out more about Ofsted's requirements - To explore what suppliers are present in this sector, and how their services are/can be delivered and supported - To understand if there is any existing solution that can deliver the scale, flexibility and interoperability that is required - To help determine the most appropriate route to market - To obtain any relevant market insight from suppliers Suppliers are invited to express an interest in this RFI / market engagement process by emailing info-contracts@ofsted.gov.uk. They will then be provided with a more detailed briefing pack and supplier questionnaire. The briefing document provides detail of the background and technical requirements. It also sets out several considerations on which Ofsted is seeking market views. The webinar session will be held virtually via MS Teams on 21st June 2023 at 11am. Ofsted will explain and discuss our considerations further at the webinar. Additional information: Expressions of interest in this RFI / market engagement process should be sent to info-contracts@ofsted.gov.uk by 12pm on 16th June 2023. You will then be provided with the briefing pack / supplier questionnaire and details of the upcoming webinar. There is a limit of three attendees per organisation. Ofsted is committed to ensuring fairness, openness and transparency, and to following the Public Contract Regulations 2015. This Prior Information Notice (PIN) is issued solely for the purpose of conducting supplier pre-market engagement. This pre-market engagement event is not part of a formal procurement process and Ofsted is not committing, at this stage, to carrying out such a process. While we strongly advise anyone who has an interest in being considered as a potential supplier to engage with this exercise, participation or non-participation in the market engagement exercise shall not prevent any supplier participating in a potential future procurement, nor is it intended that any information supplied as part of the market engagement exercise shall place any supplier at an advantage in a potential procurement process. Interested parties will not be prejudiced or advantaged by any response or lack thereof to this PIN or attendance to the supplier pre-market engagement event and a response to this PIN, or the event, does not guarantee any invitation to participate in any future procurement. Participation in the market engagement exercise will be at each organisation's own cost. No expense in responding to this market engagement exercise will be reimbursed by Ofsted. No decision has been taken on the route to market for this opportunity. Ofsted reserves the right to not proceed to tender. Expressions of interest in this RFI / market engagement process should be sent to info-contracts@ofsted.gov.uk. You will then be provided with the briefing pack / supplier questionnaire and details of the upcoming webinar. The webinar session will be held virtually via MS Teams on 21st June 2023 at 11am. Suppliers are welcome to complete the supplier questionnaire before the webinar, but we would recommend that this is completed afterwards. Any requests for clarification relating to this exercise must be communicated using the email address above. Responses to requests for clarification will then be communicated back to all interested suppliers. Any correspondence should be emailed using the reference: CON 1354 Software solution to support the management of Ofsted's internal regulatory casework activities. The deadline for expressions of interests in the RFI is 4pm on 16th June 2023. Completed questionnaires should be sent through by 4pm on 5th July.