Department picks Capgemini for contract lasting up to three years, in which the supplier will be tasked with supporting ‘improvements in our resourcing approach and better alignment to the profession’
The Home Office has signed a potential £14m-plus deal to boost its capability in the area of user-centred design and enable it to meet departmental demand for this expertise.
Newly released commercial documents reveal that, on 7 October, the department entered into an initial two-year agreement with Capgemini. The tech consultancy has been contracted to serve as “a strategic partner to provide user-centred design services to support us in building a DDaT-wide (digital, data and technology) capability on top of our successful delivery model, [which is] a hybrid of waterfall and agile”.
While the department specifies that it “owns and directs its user-centred design (UCD) through civil servant professionals… the variety and fluctuation in demand is such that the flexibility afforded by supplementary service arrangements are invaluable”.
The Capgemini engagement will be the “key component” in providing this additional capability, “there may be occasions where the Home Office looks outside of this contract for similar services”, the text of the agreement states.
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The Home Office’s careers site claims that over 250 people are currently employed in the department in UCD roles.
“User-centred design at the Home Office is about designing our products and services in collaboration with the people who will use them,” the site adds. “We aim to create simple, clear and joined-up user experiences that help people achieve their goals.”
The deal with Capgemini outlines that the use of user-centred design “is an element in our long-term change programme, which is leading the transformation [of] DDaT in support of our digital future”.
“This work specifically supports improvements in our resourcing approach and better alignment of user centred design work to the DDaT profession and preferred methodologies,” the contract adds. “These changes are being put in place to provide technology which: is accessible and aligned to user needs; can be built and maintained more cost effectively; enables a data-driven organisation; [and] allows more rapid iteration. This work must contribute to the evolution of our delivery against these goals.”
The deal, which can be extended for a further term of 12 months, is expected to be worth up to £14.4m, once VAT is included.
The ‘DDaT’ profession as referred to in the contract was rebranded as Digital and Data in November 2023.
