Request for Information (RFI) Introducing Standards for Case Management Systems (ASC)

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has spoken to a wide range of Local Authorities (LAs) and IT suppliers about the challenges and opportunities they face in the Adult Social Care sector. A consistent theme came up – that the Case Management System (CMS) market was not functioning effectively; systems were not performing as expected, LAs were finding procurement excessively difficult, and suppliers were facing major cost pressures. DHSC decided to explore this market in more detail and provide greater support. This is to enable the market to sustainably innovate and produce efficient and effective systems that best serve the needs of people requiring care. <br/><br/>The Department is developing a programme to deliver this support focusing on finalising a Foundational Specification (details in annexe) and identifying opportunities to for more direct intervention in the market. However, as part of informal consultation on the Foundational Specification ‘Part 1’ both suppliers and LAs noted that, while this guidance was helpful, they would also benefit from standards that set out clear processes that govern priority use cases and promote greater standardisation and performance across the market.<br/>The Department is therefore seeking a partner with experience developing, testing, and implementing standards across the social care and/or digital systems market.<br/><br/>Objective:<br/>The Department is exploring procuring a partner to identify opportunities in current English CMSs for clear and definitive standards, focusing either on data, functionality, or interoperability, to be developed and introduced. From this longlist of opportunities, this partner would develop a prioritised shortlist of standards and identify their implementation requirements. These would then be sequenced into a delivery strategy and roadmap. To test the validity of the approach, the first of these standards would then be developed as a pilot. The final deliverable would be a long-term strategy for delivering priority standards to the CMS market validated through the development of an initial pilot standard. We aim to develop both this overall strategy by the end of this FY (24/25) and the initial pilot standard by the end of the next FY (25/26). As such we expect the programme will be conducted in two phases, the first lasting 4 months and the second 12 months with a break-clause between them.<br/>Questionnaire:<br/>Please complete:<br/>Supplier Name <br/>Supplier Address <br/>Supplier Company Registration Number <br/>Key Contact Name <br/>Email Address <br/>Telephone Number <br/><br/>

• How would you propose delivering a project of this type to best achieve our objectives?<br/>500 words max.<br/><br/>
• What experience do you have in the developing standards for social care systems or other relevant markets? What specific experience do you have in ensuring these standards are adopted by the market e.g. commercial routes?<br/>750 words max.<br/><br/>
• What existing relationships do you have across LAs, UK CMS providers, and relevant expert bodies to effectively create and test these standards as they are developed?<br/>500 words max.<br/><br/>
• What level of resourcing would you propose you need to deliver this work effectively? What skills will be needed across the project team?<br/>300 words max.<br/><br/>
• How long would you require to deliver this work given your proposed level of resource?<br/>300 words max.<br/><br/>
• What would be the cost of this level of resource for this time?<br/>300 words max.<br/><br/><br/><br/>Annexe - Foundational Specification Overview<br/><br/>To date the key focus of work to support the CMS market has been the development of a Foundational Specification – a set of technical guidance that sets out what CMSs must, could, and should do. In discussion with a LA Reference Group, DHSC and supporting organisations (NHSE and Local Government), it was decided to tackle the lack of clarity in the CMS market. In concert with the LA Reference Group, supporting departments, experts, and CMS suppliers we have developed the first part of the Foundational Specification. This document will provide LAs and suppliers, for the first time, with an agreed and cohesive vision of what the future of CMSs should look like. The intention is that this will raise standards by setting out minimum requirements, especially around interoperability, which will improve the functionality of systems and enable wider transformation. In addition, it will lower costs for both LAs and suppliers by promoting greater standardisation. This specification is not being introduced as mandatory, instead the Department is working closely with LAs and suppliers to co-develop the specification and ensure it is fit for purpose to promote adoption.<br/>The specification is planned to be delivered over two publications, as the LA Reference Group requested the topic of ‘Continuous Improvement’ was published sooner so that they can begin to effect change more quickly. We have developed Part 1 of this specification and received positive feedback from across the market. We are currently assessing our options for developing Part 2 which will focus on core ‘Procurement’ topics as detailed below.<br/>Part 1 – ‘Continuous Improvement’:<br/>
• ASC Core Record – a core data standard and set for consistently and accurately recording a person’s key information<br/>
• Interoperability – the ability for CMSs to connect to external health and social care information systems<br/>
• Self-service and Portals – options for supporting greater choice and control when accessing social care<br/>
• Data, Analytics and Reporting – how data can be managed used to support operational, performance and strategic activities<br/>
• Non-functional requirements – attributes that determine how well an application should perform, meet quality standards, and service and user expectations as they relate to ‘Continuous Improvement’<br/><br/>Part 2 – ‘Procurement’:…