Contract award notice
Results of the procurement procedure
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
100 Parliament Street
London
SW1A 2BQ
UK
Contact person: DCMS Commercial
Telephone: +44 2072116000
E-mail: commercial@dcms.gov.uk
NUTS: UKI
Internet address(es)
Main address: www.gov.uk/dcms
Address of the buyer profile: www.gov.uk/dcms
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local subdivisions
I.5) Main activity
Recreation, culture and religion
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
Online Harms Data Transformation
Reference number: 102155
II.1.2) Main CPV code
73220000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
This project will explore how best to remove these data barriers in order to support the development of technologies that keep users safe online.
We will contract a provider to work with public and private sector stakeholders to gather existing information and explore/test innovative ways of addressing these barriers. Work will fall into two main phases:
• Phase 1 — Data infrastructure discovery. To produce a report outlining the current data landscape, and the economic and social benefits of opening up online harms data. The report will set out how online harms data can be made available to a wider number of companies for the purposes of developing innovative online safety technologies.
• Phase 2 — Prototype development and testing. The provider will work with stakeholders to trial and evaluate a set of practical and innovative data and social science projects, based on the shortlist developed in phase 1.
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Value excluding VAT:
2 380 490.00
GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
79400000
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UK
Main site or place of performance:
UNITED KINGDOM.
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The lack of adequate data infrastructure is hindering the emergence of a competitive UK market in innovative products and services that detect and address online harms. There is an urgent need to support the development of a more mature safety tech market, in which organisations of all sizes have access to the tools they need to keep users safe online. This will help to ensure companies are able to comply with the new statutory duty of care with the lowest possible burden.
The sector, however, remains at an early stage of development. Multiple interviews and consultations with stakeholders have consistently underlined that lack of access to high-quality data is among the most significant constraints to the growth of a mature and competitive market.
This project will explore how best to overcome the barriers outlined above and better enable the innovative use of data to support the development of technologies that keep users safe online. It will help move us from a data landscape where data is not shared effectively to one that supports competition, innovation and improved online safety for UK citizens.
It will primarily do this by appointing a provider to work with public and private sector stakeholders to gather together existing information, and explore and test innovative ways of addressing these barriers. Work will fall into two main phases:
• Phase 1 — Data infrastructure discovery. To produce a report outlining the current data landscape, and the economic and social benefits of opening up online harms data. The report will set out how online harms data can be made available to a wider number of companies for the purposes of developing innovative online safety technologies. It will develop a longlist of SMART projects in which enhanced cross-sector working could have most impact, and then work with stakeholders to develop a shortlist of projects which the provider will deliver in Phase 2.
• Phase 2 — Prototype development and testing. The provider will work with stakeholders to trial and evaluate a set of practical and innovative data and social science projects, based on the shortlist developed in phase 1. This may include testing the feasibility of the two most promising solutions we are currently aware of: the use of common data taxonomies to help data interoperability, and the use of data trusts and federated learning to address issues of data sharing. The output of this work will be a series of open-source prototypes, a report setting out the findings and conclusions, and a set of practical pathways to scale successful approaches beyond the end of this project.
The provider will be required to deliver its work through a multidisciplinary project team, including deep data science and social science expertise. It will be essential to consult with a variety of UK-based and international stakeholders to deliver the project, including commercial ‘Safety Tech’ companies and wider public sector organisations, to ensure that all solutions developed will be based around a deep understanding of stakeholders’ needs, and will be ready for implementation in the real world.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Cost criterion: Case study
/ Weighting: 5
Cost criterion: Skills, expertise and capacity
/ Weighting: 20
Cost criterion: Methodology
/ Weighting: 25
Cost criterion: Project management and delivery
/ Weighting: 15
Cost criterion: Understanding of the sector
/ Weighting: 15
Cost criterion: Pricing
/ Weighting: 20
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
No
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Open procedure
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
Yes
IV.2) Administrative information
IV.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number in the OJ S:
2020/S 219-539058
Section V: Award of contract
Contract No: 102155
Title: Online Harms Data Transformation
A contract/lot is awarded:
Yes
V.2 Award of contract
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
11/01/2021
V.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 8
Number of tenders received by electronic means: 8
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Faculty Science Ltd
08873131
54 Welbeck Street
London
W1G 9XS
UK
NUTS: UKI
The contractor is an SME:
No
V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot:
Total value of the contract/lot:
: 2 380 490.00
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional information
To view this notice, please click here:
https://www.delta-esourcing.com/delta/viewNotice.html?noticeId=567917184
GO Reference: GO-202125-PRO-17752346
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
100 Parliament Street
London
SW1A 2BQ
UK
Telephone: +44 207212088
E-mail: commercial@culture.gov.uk
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
05/02/2021