Acas17209 - DOS Assisted Notification

Description

Summary of the work Acas require a multidisciplinary team to assist with an alpha looking at how we can better help claimants to submit employment tribunal cases using our Drupal form, enabling improved resolution rates and a better experience for users. If the Alpha phase is successful, we will move to Private Beta phase. Expected Contract Length 18 months with the option to extend by 4.5 months Latest start date Monday 6 September 2021 Budget Range Alpha - up to £250k Private beta - up to £1m Why the Work is Being Done "Tell Acas about an employment tribunal claim" is a statutory service that allows employees and employers with an employment dispute to access early conciliation and/or a referral to the employment tribunal ("notification") The notification service can be found at https://tell.acas.org.uk The service is built in Drupal 8 with integration into Dynamics - used as a case management system by Acas conciliators who seek to resolve cases at this stage or following formal submission of the case at the Employment tribunal. This worksteam seeks to improve the users' experience of submitting their claim to Acas, ensuring that the correct information is provided and reducing the number of invalid cases and employment tribunal referrals as well as tracking case details. Discovery has shown that users need more support to accurately complete the notification process with relevant details. Notification is a two part process including ‘form 1’ – statutory prescribed information that cannot be changed and ‘form 2’ optional additional case details that assist successful conciliation. Problem to Be Solved How can we offer our users the simplest and most accessible journey to help them resolve their employment dispute at the earliest point possible, and ensure that they experience a high-quality, value-added service that leads to an appropriate outcome for their case. The alpha will explore targeted microguidance and other notification form interventions that will help users notify successfully, reduce invalid or out of time cases and improve the quality of the information provided to conciliators to help them resolve cases faster and more often. Who Are the Users As a claimant I need to understand what information I need to provide so that a concialiator can effectively handle my case As a conciliator I need parties to provide correct legal and representation details (e.g. legal identity of employer, own details, representation details), so that I can avoid jeopardising their case, progress the case swiftly and reduce the risk of running out of time Work Already Done A discovery was completed in Spring 2021 to map the entire end to end service. The discovery has resulted in a programme of work to transform the individual dispute resolution service, incuding the notification element which can be found at https://tell.acas.org.uk. You can read the discovery documents here https://www.acas.org.uk/sites/default/files/2021-07/IDR%20Discovery%20-%20Final%20Report%202021_1.pdf. This procurement relates to Option B and there is another outcome requirement <link> published on this framework for Option D. Existing Team The existing team includes a delivery manager, user researcher and service/ux designer and support from technical and devops roles, subject expertise, content strategist as well as associate roles. Current Phase Alpha Skills & Experience • 3 years' + expertise in iteratively, prototyping, designing and building services which meet both user needs and the GOV.UK guidelines for content design, service design and accessibility • 1 years' + experience of developing a user-facing service in Drupal • 1 years' + experience of integrating a service with Dynamics CRM • Evidence of successfully developing a large scale multi-channel user-facing service through alpha and beta phase • Proven track record of service delivery in a complex multi-supplier environment Work Location Remote/Windsor House, Victoria St, London SW1H 0TL Working Arrangments The supplier team will work 36 hours per week during normal office hours. Acas will supply Office accounts and multi factor authentication to be used on supplier devices. The project will be remote with regular travel (up to 2 days a week) to London. Security Clearance All must have BPSS as a minimum. Additional T&Cs Acas will pay travel expenses to locations outside London. All expenses must be pre-agreed between the parties and must comply with the Acas Travel and Subsistence (T&S) Policy. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 5 Proposal Criteria • Delivery approach and methodology - including use of agile and user centred design (30%) • A plan for alpha that will meet user needs and deliver on workstream objectives (15%) • Evidence of managing a workstream within a larger programme - identifying risks and dependencies and working with other suppliers and internal colleagues (15%) • Understanding of working within a legal framework with associated constraints (10%) • Proposed team structure and team CVs (20%) • Value for money (10%) Cultural Fit Criteria • Ability to drive own work, providing direction, coaching and support to other specialists (15%) • Leads by example, creating a supportive environment which allows all the team to participate to their fullest (15%) • Collaborative and open approach where mistakes are taken as an opportunity to learn (15%) • Excellent stakeholder management (15%) • Focus on development of Acas team, identifying opportunities for others to participate and learn (20%) • Committed to whole programme success including collaborating to ensure coherence of the whole service design and helping on other workstreams if required (10 %) • Committed to inclusivity including in own hiring practices (10%) Payment Approach Capped time and materials Assessment Method • Case study • Work history • Reference • Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 20% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers 1. Who from your team will be scoring applications for this opportunity and what positions do they hold? Kate McCaul - Head of digital services Samantha Clark – Director of Individual Dispute Services and/or Stewart Gee – programme manager/product manager 2. Could you please advise who conducted the Discovery work? Deloitte 3. Can you please advise the timelines of this procurement (e.g. shortlisted companies notified, anticipated contract award)? Also, can you confirm if shortlisted suppliers will have the opportunity to present? Issue Stage 1 Requirement: 16/07/2021 Deadline for supplier Response: 30/07/2021 Shortlist Evaluation: 2nd – 3rd August 2021   Issue stage 2 Invitation to Tender: 4th August 2021 Deadline for Tender Response: 18th August 2021 Presentation: 23rd to 26th August Final Evaluation 27th August  Award wc30th August NB these date may be subject to slight change. 4. Could you elaborate on multi-channel please. What channels do you expect to be used? Most notifications are completed using our digital service, but there is still a way to complete and send paper forms. Conciliation is carried out mainly by phone supported by email and occasionally using digital tools to meet face to face. Some formal communications are sent using Gov Notify. Other channels may be appropriate and considered during alpha including static video, video calls, and document collaboration. 5. Are suppliers able to bid for this work package and the work under Acas17210 – DOS Optimised Distribution and be selected to deliver both? Yes