invitation to tender tender specification …landex.org.uk/materials/1536678402.pdf · commercial...

Commercial and Confidential Reference No. 2018/06

INVITATION TO TENDER

TENDER SPECIFICATION DOCUMENT

Moodle Platform Development and Enhancement

Reference No. 2018/06

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Table of Contents

1. General Instructions............................................................................................. 3

1.1 Confidentiality................................................................................................ 4

1.2 Costs and Expenses ..................................................................................... 4

2. Landex Land Based Colleges Aspiring to Excellence ........................................5 2.1 Background ................................................................................................... 5

2.2 Requirements of the Moodle Platform…………………………………………..6

3. Executive Summary ..............................................................................................6 3.1 Aims and Performance Indicators of the Project ........................................... 7

3.2 Target Audience ............................................................................................ 7

3.3 System Volumes ........................................................................................... 7

3.4 Outputs ......................................................................................................... 7

4. Organisation capability and functional and non-functional requirements ........... 9

4.1 Critical functionality ........................................................................................9

4.1.1 Digital Badging……………………………………………………………..9

4.1.2 Extensibility…………………………………………………………………9

5. Duration and Value of Contract.......................................................................... 10

6. Tender Timelines ............................................................................................... 11

7. TUPE ................................................................................................................. 11

8. Assessment Criteria........................................................................................... 12

9. Legal Terms & Conditions .................................................................................12 9.1 Basis of Contract…………………………………………………………………12 9.2 Acceptance of Tenders………………………………………………………….12 9.3 Tupe……………………………………………………………………………….13 9.4 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………..13

10. Appendix A: Tender Assessment Criteria .......................................................14

11. Appendix B: Tender Response Document .....................................................17

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1. General Instructions This document is designed to ensure that all proposals are given equal and fair consideration. It is important that tenderers provide all the information asked for. Tenderers should ensure that they understand and are content with the terms and conditions included in Landex’s Standard Contract prior to submitting their tender.

This procurement is for education services and for the purposes of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (“Regulations”) falls into the below threshold category. The procedure that Landex is following is set out in this Invitation to Tender (ITT)

In line with the UK Data Protection Act 1998 and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which replaces the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC, the Landex follows strict security procedures in the storage and disclosure of information which tenderers have given us as part of the submission to this ITT. We will only use the information provided to inform the evaluation and contract award process for this ITT. We may share your tender (excluding any financial information submitted as part of the response) with a third party as part of the evaluation process, which we strive to ensure is open, fair and transparent. Queries regarding Data Protection should be directed to [email protected].

In accordance with government guidelines on transparency as a mainly publicly funded body, and in line with our commitments to being open, transparent and accountable, Landex publishes details of contract awards, contract values and suppliers on our website.

Landex reserves the right to publish all data, deliverables and outputs that result from this contract. Decisions on what will be published, when, and through what mechanisms will be determined at a later date, which maybe within or beyond the contracting period.

Landex is an eligible body as defined in Note 1 to Group 6 of Schedule 9 of the VAT Act. Therefore any Invitation to Tender (ITT) that includes the delivery of examination services (defined by Item 3 of Group 6 as “setting and marking of examinations, the setting of educational or training standards, the marking of assessments and other services provided with a view to ensuring educational or training standards are maintained”) will not require Landex to pay VAT on that element.

It is Landex’s aim that all aspects of our work, including the Programmes/Projects we commission and manage, are consistently quality assured to ensure that they are delivered to the highest possible standard and are continuously improved to achieve the best outcomes for learners, employers and the wider communities they serve.

Landex will do this through Quality Policy and Quality Assurance. Landex Programme Officers will be allocated to selected programmes/projects to undertake this work.

It is Landex’s aim that all aspects of our work are consistently reviewed to ensure all

Programmes/Projects we commission embrace diversity and promote equality of opportunity.

Landex strives for excellence in everything we do. Occasionally we will fall short of the high expectations customers and partners have for us. When that happens, we want to know. This allows us to look into what has happened and have a chance to rectify any mistakes we may have made. A thorough and transparent complaints procedure helps us do this.

Landex operates a single policy which covers all types of complaint, to ensure that all complaints are treated with due consideration, fairness and equitability. It covers all services and products which we deliver directly, or are delivered by third parties on our

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behalf; and, the behaviour and conduct of Landex staff, and that of those contracted to work on behalf of Landex. Tenderers should note that Programmes/Projects that are tendered may be subject to TUPE liability; please see Section 4 for further information. Landex manages its tender activity through the mytenders portal and all tenderers should

acquaint themselves with this portal to ensure that they have an understanding of how the site

works. Tenderers should submit a response to this ITT to Landex via mytenders no later than

12 noon on Monday 1st October 2018. Tenders should be completed using the Tender Response Document (available through mytenders) together with the required appendices. Please ensure that all documents are sent in .pdf format and uploaded through mytenders.

Proposals may be rejected if the information asked for in the tender is not given at the time of tendering. Tenders should submit their tender using the templates provided in Appendix B. Tender responses should be in font Arial size 12. Please also check for Word Limits on particular sections of the Tender Response as information in excess of the Word Limits will not be evaluated. Any queries or questions relating to this tender should be submitted to Landex via mytenders by no later than 5pm on Wednesday 26th September 2018.

All responses to questions will be posted on mytenders and will be available for all tenderers to view before the deadline for ITT responses (see Section 3.4 below).

1.1 Confidentiality This tender documentation should be regarded as confidential and as such should not be shared with others.

Tenderers should not:

• attempt to obtain any information about other tenderer’s submissions before the submission date;

• make any arrangements with other organisation(s) about whether or not they should

apply, or about their or your proposal (unless planning to tender as a consortium)

Failure to comply with these conditions may disqualify your proposal.

1.2 Costs and Expenses Tenderers are not entitled to claim any costs or expenses that may be incurred in preparing the tender whether or not your proposal is successful.

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2. Landex – Land Based Colleges Aspiring to Excellence (‘the Company’)

For a general overview of the work of the Company please visit the website at www.landex.org.uk

2.1 Background Landex successfully applied for funding from the Department of Education, Flexible Learning Fund and are now seeking to appoint a Moodle specialist to develop and enhance our existing Moodle platform. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE FLEXIBLE LEARNING FUND The aim of the Fund is to develop and expand the evidence and insight into the effectiveness of scalable learning delivery methods that make learning more attractive and easier to access for adults. This evidence will be used to develop future Government policy and will provide examples of best practice that can be drawn upon by the adult learning sector. There are three key instrumental objectives of the pilot: 1. To encourage flexible and accessible learning delivery to maximise adult participation

and attainment – especially by:

• Learning providers who have the inclination, but lack some of the resource, to design and test new or novel approaches to delivery are able to do so with Government support.

• Employers with a low-to-intermediate skilled workforce and/or who will benefit from an upskilled labour market supply and are actively involved in designing ways to support the skills needs of their local economy alongside internally upskilling their workers.

2. To encourage collaboration between providers, employers, and other relevant

organisations in meeting national and local skills needs:

• Local links and relationships between organisations are strengthened by working together on projects that support the Government’s career learning ambitions.

• New relationships can develop through a collaborative approach to projects, which could be facilitated by membership organisations or local Government bodies such as LEPs.

3. To evaluate projects to understand which are effective and create examples of best

practice:

• Evaluation results will be collected and made available to a wide range of interested parties, as stimulus for similar activities.

• Government, providers and other organisations are able to learn from and build on the evidence generated about the effectiveness of delivery methods tested using this fund.

TARGET GROUPS The aims of the fund are to support a range of projects that will improve the way learning is delivered to adults who: • Are either in paid work, or are looking to return to the labour market following an absence, AND • Hold Level 2, 3 or 4 technical skills (or equivalent) and/or have yet to secure basic skills in English, maths or digital, up to and including Level 2.

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CATEGORIES OF INTEREST The Fund has four broad categories of interest. Project proposals should clearly demonstrate that they correspond to one or more of these categories. 1. Delivery on a more flexible or convenient timetable 2. Making online and blended learning work for adults 3. Delivery outside the classroom The Landex application focused on two of the required categories: Delivery on a more flexible or convenient timetable; and Making online or blended learning work for adults. Two qualifications were submitted for development: 1. City and Guilds - Level 2 Certificate of Competence in the Safe and Responsible Use of

Veterinary Medicines

2. Royal Horticultural Society - Level 3 Certificate in Practical Horticulture Rational/Proposition Land Based employees receive a below average amount of training. This indicates that there are barriers to adults accessing learning. Our proposal aims to provide learning on a more flexible, convenient timetable.

2.2 Requirements of the Moodle Platform Landex has raised a separate tender for the online learning materials required for the Flexible Learning Fund project. This tender if for the provision of a Learner Management System and Virtual Learning Environment which will host the materials being developed. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Land Based Learning Ltd, Landex already has a Moodle platform which it would like to upgrade for the purpose of hosting the new learning materials. The upgraded platform should include the following features

• Exceptional presentation, which involve reskinning the current skinning the current platform

• Learner dashboard – displaying progress and module achievements. • Course management dashboard – Learner/cohort management. • Webinar and course delivery software installed • 2nd Line support secured • Bulk emailing solution installed • Learner progress tracking • Online solution for assignment submittal, grading and anti-plagiarism installed • Collaborative e-learning authoring tool installed • Digital Badging (licenses procured by Landex).

3. Executive Summary

Landex seeks to appoint a Moodle developer to aid the development of a sector leading Learner Management System and Virtual Learning Environment. As part of the Flexible Learning Fund, Landex are part of an exciting pilot project to inspire people into work and to improve their existing skills through training.

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We are seeking a Moodle developer to provide a unique online platform that meets the expectations of leading employers and inspires learners to engage with the platform through a professional user interface and faultless experience in accessing their training.

Using innovative and bespoke Moodle design and leading knowledge in the field of Moodle accessibility and course design the chosen suppliers will use the project funding to change the game in terms of speed of delivery and quality of learner experience from blended learning.

We are keen to see elements of game design and social media interactivity within the platform design and a proven track record in research and development of Moodle platforms is essential.

3.1 Aims and Performance Indicators of the Project The aim of this service is to improve the capability of practitioner’s in the FE and training workforce to use digital technology to enhance the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. It also aims to support organisation in better managing their staff digital capability and supporting them using self-directed learning. The service will provide a responsive digital solution targeted at teachers and trainers in the further education and skills sector. Organisation may also be interested in using the platform as a CPD tool to track their staff digital development. Its aim is to remove barriers to development and facilitate 24/7 access to training content.

3.2 Target Audience The target audience includes a full range of practitioners and their learners across the FE and training sector (including FE colleges, independent training providers, workplaces, community learning, third sector, employers, SEND and offender learning). The platform functionality will respond to different target audience needs. We distinguish four distinct target audience groups:

• Learners • Employers

• Individual practitioners • Training organisations

3.3 System Volumes We anticipate the system will have between 10,000 and 20,000 user accounts within the life of the project, accessing 500 micro courses. Most, if not all the courses will contain video content. The system however should be able to scale to 100,000 user accounts. The system will need to be capable of accommodating 5,000 concurrent users while maintaining an acceptable user experience1. The proposed system will need to be fully adaptive and responsive capable of being accessed equally well on mobile devices, tablets, laptops and PC’s.

3.4 Outputs The anticipated outcomes are as follows: An outstanding and intuitive user experience that is:

• Responsive the system to automatically adjust its render when accessed from a mobile or tablet device

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• Performant - all pages to render in less than 5 seconds as an upper limit when

measured from an uncontended network and device

• Accessible

• Highly available - the service will exceed 99.9% availability (excluding agreed outages)

• Searchable – the service should have functionality that allows users to search for content and course ware, be optimised for google search and have content hosted on persistent URL’s

• Personalised. – has functionality that allows users to add details and content, as well as select preferences on how the system works for them.

The above outputs will be consolidated and further refined during Work Package1 to form a Service Level Agreement. Individual users will have a free individual account that:

• allows them to participate as a member of a learning community

• supports digital learning using digital media including video, images and text that is SCORM2 / XAPI3 compliant

• integrates with or provides a digital badging solution • displays their progress

Further Education and Training organisations who subscribe will have access to a learner dashboard that:

• Set learner developmental target

• Displays their progress, activities completed, badges awarded and competency level

• Report on activities and resources accessed The wider project has 5 key outputs:

1. The service engages significant numbers of the FE&T learners by providing flexible access to skills demanded by employers.

2. The service issues digital badges during the life of the service to enable users to track and evidence their achievements.

3. The user community values the service and content as measured using survey

instruments and user centred design process

4. The FE&T sector adopts and promotes the service as part of its strategy to improve the skills of people entering the sector

5. The service is highly available, is perceived to function well across all modern digital platforms.

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4. Organisation capability and functional and non-functional requirements Appendix B and Annex 1 list our high level functional and non-functional requirements together with the organisational and system capability we expect of both the system and Tenderers. Tenderers are asked to complete all tabs of the Annex 1 spreadsheet, indicating in column D (Table 2 requirements) how well their solution matches the requirements stated using the following codes:

• Fully compliant

• Partially compliant

• Non-compliant Where a solution is partially compliant we have provided column E (Annex 1, Table 2 requirements tab) for the tenderer to explain the gap.

4.1 Critical functionality See Annex1 for a list of critical functionalities.

4.1.1 Digital Badging In addition to the normal functions expected from a modern Learning management solution, Landex is looking to introduce a digital badging solution and require the successful tenderer to provide or have full integration with an existing rich digital badge eco system.

We anticipate that badges will be offered at three levels:

• Level one – issued when a participant has completed a course or group of courses and has satisfactorily completed the associated summative assessment.

• Level two – issued when a participant has been able to demonstrate mastery of a subject, the criteria associated how this is demonstrated but is likely to involve additional functionality / peer review / additional assessment.

• Level three – issued when a participant contributes educational resources associated with the digital competencies to an ETF repository for forum.

The digital badging system will therefore ideally:

• be able to associate badge content with learning objects

• be capable of issuing a badge or levelling up an existing badge via an API

• allow participants to construct and add to an existing badge portfolio; • capable of syndication allowing participants to publish their digital badges on third

party sites such as LinkedIn

In addition, we would anticipate the digital badging system will have comprehensive reporting on their usage and awarding.

4.1.2 Extensibility It is intended that the platform will form a significant part of the land-based sector training.

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5. Duration and Value of Contract The contract will be awarded from 24th October 2018 to 25th January 2019 for the delivery of all the Outputs and Deliverable listed in this Tender Specification document.

The budget available for this Project is £80,000 to £90,000 which must include any VAT which you believe will be chargeable.

Competitive tenders are sought that will address all of the points in this specification. Tenderers are invited to show any added value that may be provided at no extra cost to Landex.

6. Tender Timelines The indicative timeline for key milestones and deliverables of the project are set out in the table below. In the project management section of the Tender response, you must indicate how you would manage the project to ensure that these timelines are met.

If you consider it essential to propose changes to any of these timelines, you must indicate those changes and explain your reasons.

Activity Time

Invitation to Tender (ITT) issued 11 September 2018

Tender Response Documents (TRDs) to be received by 01 October 2018

Assessment and appraisal of TRDs 08 October 2018

Interviews with 2 or 3 highest scoring tenderers 13 October 2018

Notification of evaluation outcome 13 October 2018

Contract awarded 24 October 2018

Inception Meeting 24 October 2018

Project Commences 29 October 2018

Review 1 27 November 2018

Review 2 21 December 2018

User centered design process and testing with Microlearning modules and badging

07 January – 08 January

2019

Final outputs 25 January 2019

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7. TUPE TUPE is unlikely to apply to this Programme/Project.

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8. Assessment Criteria Suitability criteria relate to the tenderer and are used to assess the tenderer's suitability to perform the proposed contract. The suitability criteria are listed in the tender response form and include the following:

• Economic and financial standing

• Legal exclusion or rejection The tender submission will be assessed using award criteria which relate to the tender and are used to identify the tender that is the most economically advantageous tender: This takes into account factors other than, or in addition to price, linked to the subject matter of the contract to determine that an offer is the most economically advantageous.

Assessment Criteria

Maximum Score

Weighting

Business Suitability Criteria Pass/Fail

Project Impact and Outcomes 5 5

Approach and Methodology 5 5

Capability, Capacity and Skills 5 5

Organisational experience and capability 5 5

Communications and User centred design process

5 5

Equality and Diversity 5 4

Price and Added value 5 4

Total 165

9. Legal Terms & Conditions The contract associated with this tender will be subject to Landex’s standard terms and conditions. The Standard Contract is available through myTenders.co.uk and tenderers should confirm that they are in agreement with the terms in the contract in their tender response. Please note, we are currently in the process of updating the contract to reflect the changes in GDPR. An updated version will be in place by the time of contracting.

9.1 Basis of the Contract The specifications and requirements detailed in this tender document together with Landex’s

standard contract (available to download from mytenders.co.uk) will form the basis of the

contract.

9.2 Acceptance of Tenders By issuing this invitation to tender, Landex is not bound in any way and does not have to accept the lowest priced tender, or any tender. Landex reserves the right to accept a portion of any tender, unless the tenderer expressly stipulates otherwise within their proposal.

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9.3 TUPE

Landex expects that any TUPE liability that it advises exists, and is specified in the ITT, is the responsibility and liability of the tenderer.

9.4 Conclusion Every endeavour has been made to give applicants an accurate description of the project requirements. However, tenderers should make their own assessments of the methods and resources needed to meet the requirements of this invitation to tender.

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10. Appendix A: Tender Assessment Criteria

Assessments will be made, and scores will be given, on the basis of evidence given against the specific question, not evidence provided elsewhere.

The guide below shows how each section is scored and assessed.

10.1 Suitability Criteria Suitability criteria relate to the tenderer and are used to assess the tenderer's suitability to

perform the proposed contract. The suitability criteria are listed in the Tender Response

Document.

Question Method of assessment

1. Basic Details of the Organisation Not scored

2. Professional Standing Assessment criteria: 2.1 The tenderer answered ‘No’ to all questions 2.2 The tenderer has not answered ‘No’ to all questions but has provide satisfactory evidence to demonstrate its reliability despite the existence of a relevant ground for exclusion. 2.3 The tenderer has not answered ‘No’ to all questions and has not provided satisfactory evidence to demonstrate its reliability despite the existence of a relevant ground for exclusion.

Pass Pass

Fail

3. Financial Information The financial health of all potential tenderers will be assessed by Landex’s finance team. Landex reserves the right to carry out further financial health checks throughout the process, if more up to date information comes to light. Assessment criteria: 3.1 The required evidence has been provided and Landex’s finance team

has passed the tenderer.

Pass

3.2 The required evidence has been provided and the ETF’s finance team has failed the tenderer based on this information.

3.3 The required evidence has not been provided.

Fail

Fail

4. Insurance

Does the tenderer have or is the tenderer prepared to take out the required insurance?

Pass/Fail

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Question Method of

assessment

5. Business Activities

Please ensure the evidence is provided to the correct question. 5.1 Has the tenderer provided details of how their business activity relates to, or can be related to, the requirements of the ETF and the activities set out in this ITT? 5.2 Has the tenderer provided details of any previous delivery either as a contract holder or sub-contractor for the ETF or in the area(s) they are tendering for? 5.3 Has the tenderer provided details of any previous delivery for the ETF undertaken by any of its consortium partners/sub-contractors?

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/No

6. Experience and References

Has the tenderer provided details of up to three contracts delivered within the last three years relevant to the ETF’s requirements and/or relevant to the ITT? If not, has a satisfactory explanation been provided?

Yes/No

7. Declaration Has the declaration been completed and signed?

Yes/No

10.2 Award Criteria Award Criteria relate to the tender and are used to identify the tender that is the most economically advantageous tender. This takes into account factors other than, or in addition to price, linked to the subject matter of the contract to determine that an offer is the most economically advantageous (e.g. quality of services and capacity and capability, experience, references etc.). Criteria are set out in the Tender Response Document and the maximum score and weighting of each criterion is set out in. Scoring is normally given as an exact number.

Score Weighting: The various sections of submissions will be assessed using the scoring criteria shown below. The sections are shown in Section 0 of this Tender Specification, under Assessment Criteria. For all categories 5 is the maximum score. The weightings attributed to each section are also shown in Section 0.

Score of 5: A score of 5 will indicate that tenderers have addressed all of the points under the relevant criterion, as well as demonstrating a deep understanding of the project. All solutions offered are linked directly to project requirements and show how they will be delivered and the impact that they will have on other areas / stakeholders. Proposals will contain novel or creative ideas which are realistic, and which would enhance the service provision. To be awarded a score of 5, tenders would exceed normal expectations and should clearly be seen as offering value added solutions.

Score of 4: A score of 4 will reflect that tenderers have addressed the majority of points listed under the relevant criterion. Evidence will have been provided to show not only what will be provided but will give detail on how this will be achieved. Tenderers should make clear how their proposals relate directly to the aims of the programme and be specific, rather than general, in the way proposed solutions will deliver the desired outcomes.

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Score of 3: A score of 3 will again address the majority of the points under the relevant criterion but will lack some clarity or detail in how the proposed solutions will be achieved. Evidence provided while giving generic or general statements is not specifically directed toward the aims / objectives of this project. Any significant omission of key information as identified under the relevant criterion will point towards a maximum score of 3.

Score of 2: A score of 2 will reflect that the tenderer has addressed some of the points under the relevant criterion as well as demonstrating a partial understanding of the project requirements. Whilst there is some clarity or detail in the response, most of the points remain unanswered.

Score of 1: A score of 1 will reflect that the tenderer has not provided evidence to suggest how they will address most of the points under the evaluation criterion, with little detail given on how they will meet the project requirements. Evidence provided is consistently weak and it is unclear how it relates to desired outcomes.

Score of 0: A score of 0 will result if no response is given and / or if the response is not acceptable and/or does not cover the required criteria.

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11. Appendix B: Tender Response

Document Please see separate attachment. Please note, Annex 1 (Moodle Platform Development and Enhancement Tender Response Spreadsheet) should also be completed as part of this tender response.