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SERVICE DESCRIPTION CONTENTS 1. BACKGROUND TO GOVERNMENT DIGITAL SERVICE 6. service levels and performance 1.
BACKGROUND TO GOVERNMENT DIGITAL SERVICE
1.1
The Government Digital Service (GDS/the Authority)
is a new organisation that has been created through a merger of the
Cabinet Office Digital Delivery and Digital Engagement teams with Directgov,
the "one-stop shop" for online government. It is the aim of
GDS to be the centre for digital government in the UK, building and
championing a 'digital culture' that puts the user first and delivers
the best, low-cost public services possible.
1.2
GDS is responsible for implementing the recommendations
set out in the 2010 review of Directgov, undertaken by Martha Lane Fox.
These recommendations called for the overhaul of 750 separate government
websites, to be replaced by a single Internet "front-door"
to public services on the web.
2.
OVERVIEW
2.1
When members of the public transact with government
online – for example when applying for a provisional driving licence
or completing their tax self assessment - they need to prove their identity for the transaction to be successful. This relies
on accurate and up-to-date back end systems (which verify an individual’s
personal details) and an easy to use interface that supports the user
task at hand.
2.2
Registration and authentication with government currently
deters customers from accessing services online. This has been attributed
to factors such as:
2.2.1
The effort required of the user to go through the
initial registration and subsequent login procedure, which are known
to be complex and counter-intuitive;
2.2.2
The fact that this process might have to be repeated
at an individual service level – even though the customer might perceive
all government services as being provided by the “one government”;
and
2.2.3
The burden of responsibility placed on the user to
remember complex user IDs, passwords and activation codes.
2.3
From an internal perspective, citizens tend to update
their personal details with government as and when they need
to. It is not a priority for citizens and as a result it is common for
government records to be out of date. This presents an issue for digital
verification as the input from the user (e.g. new home address) does
not match the record held by government (e.g. old home address) and
therefore the system returns a data mis-match. From a user’s perspective
this means that they cannot move forward with their online task as the
back end system doesn’t recognise their details.
2.4
As a result GDS is leading on a project to investigate
a new model for online authentication,
which is intended to improve the overall user experience. The core focus
of this research project is to understand the current landscape e.g.
how people authenticate themselves online, explore how the new model
might work in the future, how well the concept is received by citizens
and in particular to investigate how the customer experience can be
optimised.
3.
scope of requirement
3.1
New identity assurance model
3.1.1
In the proposed new model government will not own
an individual’s data. Instead government will work with trusted identity
assurance providers that have current data sets and greater expertise
in data management. This is explained by the illustration below:
Figure 1 – Illustration of new identity assurance
concept 3.1.2
In this model citizens navigate through GOV.UK to
access a particular government service/transaction. The user will arrive
at a page on GOV.UK and will be asked to log-in to an identity provider”. The user will then be asked to select a trusted
provider, such as their bank, to verify their identity. It is the identity
provider’s role to check and verify the individual’s identity on behalf
of government. The user has a
choice of identity provider. Once a user’s identity has been confirmed,
the user is able to move through the process and complete the transaction.
The “identity provider” acts as the doorway into the transaction.
3.1.3
It is accepted that this is a new concept for most
mainstream users of Government services. To date several high profile
private sector companies have agreed to work with major Government Departments
to develop the scheme. It is important to note that this is not a government
only solution. The concept
of ‘open identity’ is already being used in the market place and this
project reflects current industry thinking and future advancements.
3.1.4
However it is not a concept
that will be familiar to the average UK citizen. Most people will
not have experienced this type of mechanism before and it is therefore
essential to test the concept and its execution to understand how it
can best be optimised.
3.2
Benefits of the new model
3.2.1
Internally it is believed that there are several key
benefits to adopting this approach. It is not however known whether
these benefits will resonate with members of the public. The key benefits
are described below:
3.2.1.1 Only one digital identityCitizens
will be able to use and re-use registration details that they have set
up elsewhere (e.g. with their bank) to transact with government. This
means that they will have fewer log-in details to recall. It also means
that they won’t have to keep re-registering with different Government
Departments;
3.2.1.2 Higher success ratesThe
identity providers will have more up to date records than those held
by government. This means that a higher proportion of people’s details
will be recognised and verified online. In addition, the quality of
authentication given by the identity provider will remove the need for
government to verify citizens in a face-to-face context. This will enable
the end-to-end transactions to take place digitally;
3.2.1.3 Control & choiceCitizens
will be in control of their own data. They will get to decide which
identity providers vouch for their identity; and
3.2.1.4 Personal data storesData
is a valuable commodity. Traditionally data is held by large organisations
and these organisations are constantly under threat from hackers who
want to steal people’s identities. To increase security the industry
is moving towards a concept of distributed personal data stores. This
means that everyone will have their own personal data store, which is
held separately from everyone else’s data. It is believed that a structure
of this nature will deter criminals from committing identity theft.
For example, if a hacker manages to access a large database then they
will have access to thousands of people’s identities. In a world of
personal data stores the hacker would have to use the same amount of
energy to hack into one personal data store, but if successful, they
would only acquire one identity. The
incentive to commit identity fraud is therefore greatly reduced.
3.3
Business Objectives
3.3.1
This project aims to address the points discussed
in section 2 and thus define a customer experience for accessing public
services that will overcome (or at least aim to address) the current
deterrents. The proposed solution will:
3.3.1.1
Empower the customer by allowing them the choice to
use the accredited identity provider service of their choice, as appropriate
for the transaction;
3.3.1.2
Be simple and intuitive for ALL users: such as negating
the need to register with each digital service; negating the need for
a customer to remember login details for each and every digital service;
3.3.1.3
Build trust with the customer by providing a suitably
secure mechanism for accessing public services; and
3.3.1.4
Encourage the customer to conduct further transactions
online.
4.
Research Objectives
The Authority is looking to commission two pieces
of research.
4.1
Phase 1
4.1.1 The key objectives of the first phase of research are to provide evidence based research answering the following questions:4.1.1.1 Overall reaction to the concept(a) What language / models enable people to understand the concept?(b) What are their first impressions?(c) Which services do they feel more/less comfortable using it on?(d) What are the perceived benefits?(i) listen out for any financial benefits for government and tax payers(e) How motivating are the perceived benefits?(f) Would the idea encourage people to do more transactions online?(g) What are the potential barriers to use?(h) What are people’s key concerns? 4.1.1.2
What identity verification mechanisms
do they use are the moment? E.G Verify by Visa, Post Office, Paypal,
Facebook, Twitter etc.
(a) How do they feel about these types of identity providers?(b) Do they trust some more than others? Why etc(c) Which ones would they use to verify themselves with government?(d) Would some services be more suitable than others?(e) What do they understand about where their data is stored? Does this matter?(f) Understand general feelings towards security?4.1.1.3
Communicating/educating the user
(a) How do we educate people about the potential change in authentication for online government services?(b) How can they be encouraged to use the service?(c) What messages should be used?(d) What methods should be used to communicate the messages (vox pops, avitars, leaflets, mail shots, point of sale etc).(e) At what point should methods be employed e.g. avatars, vox pops on screen, leaflets at Post Offices etc.(f) Is it appropriate for partners to help educate on the change?(g) Which partners would be suitable/which would not?4.1.1.4
Please note that in addition to this
research the Authority will also conduct usability testing, to be carried
out in parallel with this piece of work.
4.2 Methodology Phase 14.2.1.1 Given the nature of this research, the Authority would anticipate a qualitative approach.4.2.1.2 The Authority is keen to hear the Potential Provider’s thinking on the most suitable methodology or combination of methodologies for confidently answering the research questions outlined above.4.2.1.3 The overall approach will need to be agreed with the project team.4.2.2
Test Stimulus Phase 1
4.2.2.1 The Authority would like the Potential Provider to support them with the production of test stimulus for this project. This is likely to be a difficult concept for respondents to grasp, particularly as they won’t have had much/any exposure to this type of mechanisms in real life.4.2.2.2 The Authority will lead on the production of a clickable prototype to test reactions to the customer experience, but will look to the Potential Provider to support and advise on the best way to structure any other test material.4.2.2.3 The Potential Provider shall recommend how any test materials can be most usefully employed to help us achieve our objectives.4.2.2.4 The project team believes that the success of this project will partly hinge on the use of creative and compelling stimulus, which will help to convey the idea to the public. The project team is open-minded about the type and nature of test stimulus and will look to the competing agencies to recommend suggestions.4.2.3 Recruitment Phase 14.2.3.1 The Potential Provider should recommend an approach to recruitment and sourcing of a sample with characteristics they feel would be appropriate to include in the study given the research questions outlined in Section 6. Initial thinking suggests the following characteristics would be of interest in this study:(a) Representative spread of the population >16 in the UK to enable testing on a number government services.(b) Spread on exposure/awareness to verification providers.(c) Spread of attitudes to online data security, and confidence in data sharing online.(d) They do not reject the idea of authenticating/transacting online.(e) Customers that have a footprint with the government now and will do so in the future e.g. benefit claiming customers and customers applying for car tax.(f) Those people who may find it difficult to use online services, for whatever reason.4.2.3.2 Potential Providers Capability Profile / Skills and experience Phase 1(a)
The Potential Provider must have research
expertise and experience in:
(i) Eliciting people’s needs, motivations and goals(ii) Knowledge of authentication processes(iii) Concept development expertise, particularly navigational concepts and early designs(iv) Ability to apply this insight to the design of successful online user journeys4.2.4 The Potential Provider shall complete Phase 1 by 31 December 2012.4.3
Phase
2
4.3.1 Secondly, a quantitative survey is required to measure the outputs of the qualitative work and to get a picture of the UK’s usage of identity verification and their attitudes towards it.4.3.2 It is proposed that this second phase will be carried out by an omnibus survey, covering a representative sample of the UK.5.
TIMESCALES
5.1
Upon Contract Award, the successful Supplier shall
ensure that the Contract is signed and returned to the Government Procurement
Service (working on behalf of the Authority) by Tuesday, 20 November
2012.
5.2
It is the intention of the Authority that the deliverables
of the Contract will be completed over a 6 month period, with Phase
1 being completed by 31 December 2012.
6.
service levels and performance
6.1
The Authority will measure the quality of the delivery
by:
6.1.1
Authority satisfaction – the successful completion
of the key deliverables to the satisfaction of the Authority; and
6.1.2
Timeliness – i.e. the degree of the success or otherwise
of meeting the deadlines for the key deliverable and any other agreed
thereafter.
6.2
All deadlines and deliverables will be finalised and
agreed with the successful Supplier on Commencement of the Contract.
7.
lOCATION
7.1 Occasional working at Aviation House, WC2A, London will be necessary.7.2 No travel expenses will be paid.8.
Budget
8.1
The maximum budget for this Contract for both phases
is £80,000 excluding VAT.
8.2
Potential Providers should ensure that their Tender
Response reflects all the requirements of the Contract and that value
is added at each stage.
8.3
Any Tenders received with prices exceeding this budget
will be deemed non-compliant and will not be evaluated.
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