We’ve issued a prior information notice (PIN) in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).
The notice tells organisations that we plan to start a formal procurement exercise this autumn 2015, and asks them to express their interest.
Government is committed to reducing the number of digitally excluded people in the UK, by removing the barriers presented by lack of access, digital skills or motivation. Currently, 10.5 million people in the UK lack basic digital skills and many either can’t or don’t use digital government services independently.
Buying digital training and support services
Central government departments have committed to embed digital inclusion in policy, programmes and services. This framework gives them a mechanism for buying a wide range of digital training services that meet their customer and own needs.
Government will always offer help to those who can’t independently use government digital services. But not all departments can offer assisted digital support in person. Front line offices may not be set up to deliver help in this way. And our research shows many users currently seek support from different organisations to complete government transactions on paper forms. Many will continue to require support to complete transactions digitally. This framework will enable departments to commission the support their users need.
The framework
The framework (a list of suppliers who’ve been pre-approved to bid for government contracts) will allow central government departments and wider public sector organisations to commission digital training and support. We expect these services to be available from a broad range of providers from the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector, the wider public sector and the private sector.
One central framework will make it easier for these suppliers. They only need to contract in this way with government once, rather than with a range of departments, agencies and other organisations in the public sector.
Supplier event
There will be an event in central London on 26th August this year for interested organisations. We'll be asking the market for advice on our commercial approach and timescales.
If you are interested in attending our supplier engagement event please register your interest by emailing; digitaltraining-procurement1@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk, with the name of your organisation, and the name, job title, and contact details of the lead representative.
Once you have registered, an invitation will be sent to you containing details of the event. Due to the expected interest, access may be limited. We hope to allow two individuals per organisation or group but may need to reduce this to one. Places will be offered in order of registration. In the interest of fairness, we will be sharing event content and findings on our blog after the event.
More information about digital inclusion can be found on the Digital Inclusion blog.
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