Request for Proposal - DRAFT

Sustainability reporting online tool for the health and care system

This proposal is sought by the Sustainable Development Unit on behalf of the NHS, public health and social care system

Please note - The “health and care system” is used as short hand for the “NHS, public health and social care system”.

Project Specification – Sustainability reporting online tool for the health and care system

1.Aim

1.1.To produce an online tool for use by organisations in the health and care system to create a standard output for including in their annual report and re-use data for example Sustainable Development Management Plan and benchmarking.

2.Outputs:

2.1.An online tool for users to enter information and which creates a standard sustainability reporting output for inclusion in their annual reportand provides a minimum standard for reporting as well as other outputs
2.2.The tool should feed back to users a range of validation including inputs, checking of outputs and guiding users to confirm all outputs.
2.3.A range of benchmarking and other data outputs will be available including for users of the system, for data re-use including import into other systems, user analysis for Sustainable Development Management Plans etc.
2.4.A back end administration interface for managing users including companies, passwords etc. see Appendix 1.
2.5.A back end administration interface and support for updating the tool to latest legal and policy requirements for sustainability reporting including carbon factors, reporting format and new input information on an annual basis
2.6.Export of all information entered by users including calculated values seen on report outputs and benchmarks.
2.7.A brief summary of any services that would be available alongside the standard free outpute.g. guides for data collection methods, support for data quality and validation, monthly monitoring dashboard options

3.Expected Outcomes for the tool:

3.1.There should be a straightforward and intuitive user interface which minimises the number of screens, clicks etc. Users of the tool should be keen to recommend the tool to others and use the tool again in future years
3.2.The outputs from the tool should be easy to understand and it should be straightforward to use the outputs in an annual report.
3.3.It remains up to date with the latest requirements, carbon factors, organisations and outputs.
3.4.It provides outputs which are appropriate for a number of different types of organisation in the NHS, public health and social care system, providers and CCGs as a minimum.
3.5.Users will receive a fast turnaround for any bugs or issues identified, particularly between March and June due to reporting deadlines.
3.6.It models the carbon footprint of the organisation in a way that is aligned with SDU footprint work and latest carbon factors.
3.7.The calculations and any assumptions are transparent enough to be credible.

4.Context:

4.1.Sustainability reporting for providers and CCGs is completed each year. It is expected under the NHS Standard Contract (Service Conditions, Clause18) and encouraged or required through the accounting guidelines provided to Trusts and commissioners.

4.2.This brief is to create an online version of the current excel sustainability reporting template here:

4.3.An updated version for 2016/17 reporting can be produced as the template for creating the online version.

4.4.All 450 NHS organisations are encouraged to use the SDU template and guidelines for reporting. The central excel tool was developed by the Sustainable Development Unit to help guide and support NHS organisations, simplifying the process of collecting and processing data in a consistent and comparable way. Currently completed copies of the tool are sent by email to the SDU each year for analysis.

4.5.We are looking move to an online portal style tool that saves organisations data year on year and has more functionality, sense checking and benchmarking capacity. Once complete, users should be able to opt to make their data available for to the SDU to make public if they wish.

4.6.We are looking for the tool to be owned by the SDU and free to use for health sector clients. The SDUs tool development partner will operate and support the tool under free licence for a period of at least 3 years and as such be able to promote and market their services on the tool and tool page.

4.7.The development and support for the tool is likely to provide the partner with a high profile in the area of health sector sustainability.

4.8.As identified in the “Sustainable Development in the health and care system Healthy Returns report” 2016[1] the significant majority, but not all, NHS organisations are reporting on sustainability. Quality of reporting is variable. The Climate Change Act (2008) requires the UK to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. The health and care system is responsible for 38% of public sector emissions and 3.6% of UK emissions.

4.9.In a non target-driven NHS, a significant lever available to encourage desirable behaviours is the use of public reporting requirements. These reporting requirements for sustainability information further the goals of having an NHS which is both environmentally and financially sustainable, and that meets its commitment to reduce carbon emissions.

4.10.The project could be more costly than the limited budget affordable by the SDU. The development should be seen as an investment by the developer with return in terms of marketing, visibility and the potential to secure future work in the sector.

4.11.The developer will commit to maintaining and operating the tool, for 3 years benefiting from the profile and marketing opportunities offered, but cannot charge health sector users for its use.

4.12.After 3 years the relationship with the licence holder will be reviewed, user experience and feedback assessed and if mutually agreed, potentially extended. All data in the system at this point will be available to export in a standard, non-proprietary machine readable format, eg excel or accessfor re-use in another system if required.

5.Project Steps:

5.1.Please outline what you think are the key project steps.

5.2.Please provide an outline of what you would do in each step (including costings and timeframes).

6.Challenges:

6.1.The financing for this project will be very tight and will require a compromise between cost, user testing and ease of updating each year.

  • Please outline how you would propose to tackle this

6.2.Sustainability reporting standards are evolving meaning the template for input and output will need to be flexible for future data requirements. Where information is not supplied by user’s, the calculationsmodel using the latest standard information available. For example the full carbon footprint information uses a set of calculations based on a range of data entered by the user and default information. Users should be provided with transparency on which figures are derived from user entered or default information including the calculations as appropriate. Amendments to the reporting will take place each year to support this evolution and users will need rapid support with any bugs identified between March and June.

  • Please outline how you would propose to tackle this

6.3.The form and format of output provided to users should provide flexibility to be able to include in the pdf of the annual report providing both a standard output and additional graphics and information.

  • Please outline how you would propose to tackle this

6.4.Users enter information each year for a time series of at least three years. This input should be based on the information from previous years and updated with organisational changes and validation of information. Information should be of the highest possible quality while bringing clarity in changes to data entered. Data for each year and changes year and year should be readily available.

  • Please outline how you would propose to tackle this

6.5.Users will be entering information into a number of existing systems and documents. Duplication of data entry should be minimised.

  • Please outline how you would propose to tackle this

7.Project Timescales

7.1.Two phases are proposed to provide a pilot version for 2016/17 for use by a number of test users followed by a full release in 2017/18.

7.2.Phase 1 of the tool will be signed off for testing by users by 1 February 2017

7.3.Phase 2 with completed user testing and 2017/18 version will be signed off by the Sustainable Development Unit by 5pm on Thursday 3 August 2017

8.Project financing

8.1.The maximum budget available from the Sustainable Development Unit is £10kand we would welcome partnership working or joint investment of resources to maximise the impact of this work.

9.Provider Selection criteria

The following criteria will be used to evaluate the proposals. (Please note that the criteria are not necessarily in order of importance).

9.1.Vision for project output

There should be a clear credible vision of the project output with a clear statement of what will be included within the scope with reasons explaining why. This specifically applies to a vision for managing information and calculations.

There should be a clear project plan.

9.2.Experience

There should be evidence of past experience of delivering this type of project including complex economic or mathematical modelling.

9.3.Ability to meet timescales

There should be the capacity and capability to meet the proposed timescales.

9.4.Value for money

Cost of provision will be a key consideration although the relationship between cost and quality will be important.

10.Intellectual Property

10.1.The tool will be put into the public domain for use across the health and care system and the data outputs must be readily available for use in research and as the basis for future publications.

11.Responding to the Specification

Please ensure your response includes the following:

·Details of your organisation, and any organisations you will partner with to deliver this project.

·The proposed approach to meeting our requirements

·The capacity of the organisation to meet the requirements within the specified timescale.

·The cost, broken down into different elements of the project.

·Some evidence of past experience in delivering this type of work

12.Submit Proposal To:

0113 825 3220

  • Potential providers should note that the submission of proposals and quotations and attendance at presentation meetings are at the provider’s risk and that the Sustainable Development Unit reserves the right not to accept or award any contract as a result of its consideration process.

These must be received by 5.00pm on Monday 3 October2016

13.Appendix - Functionality

Full functionality will need to be defined during the development phase. Below is a draft list of minimum functionality for update.

User interface:

  • Registering user and associated organisation or multiple organisations
  • Retrieve information previously entered for current and previous years including data saved for the organisation by this user or other users
  • Enter and select information from historical data and external data sources including:
  • ODS
  • ERIC
  • HES
  • MHMDS
  • Workforce statistics
  • Save information entered
  • Feedback of quality and completeness of data entered
  • Amend current and historical data through standard interface including calculations and references to other information
  • Provisional calculated carbon footprint information displayed on screen in editable format
  • Export or copy version of text, numbers and graphics for inclusion in organisation annual report
  • Additional benchmarking, and alternative charts available for users to copy or export separately
  • For each year data can be entered by the user and stored for each of the following statuses:
  • Draft
  • Provisional
  • Approved
  • Updated post approval
  • Login and password resets, manage organisations to see historical information entered etc.
  • Access instructions, frequently asked questions etc.

Administration:

  • User registration
  • Viewing or exporting data entered by users
  • Viewing or exporting text, numbers and graphics seen by users
  • Maintenance of carbon conversion factors, modelled spend for organisation types and carbon footprint profile with breakdown of spend
  • Amendment of output – text, numbers and graphics produced for organisations

[1] Available at: