Home Office Industry Day

Invitation to Market Engagement: C21170 – Specialist Support & Resource

**Please note that cyber security will not be the only item on the agenda and the other thematic areas on the invitation will also be discussed**

INTRODUCTION

In the Spring/Summer of 2020, the International Strategy and Capabilities (ISC) formerly the International Capabilities and Development Team (ICDT) conducted a Market Engagement exercise to promote and develop a procurement opportunity for the Future Services Framework Agreement, which sought to cover services from Strategic Advice & Programme Delivery and Training Overseas and UK across the following thematic areas: Policing, Civil Defence, Cyber Security, Strategic Intelligence & Threat Assessment, Borders, Migration and Asylum.

The Future Services Framework procurement is still underway with provisional award proceedings due to take place this week (w/c 26th July 2021).

ISC took the decision in April 2021 to withdraw the Strategic Advice & Programme Delivery (Previously named Lot 1 - Specialist Support & Resources in the procurement) from the current Framework Procurement, informing those bidders who were involved. This decision was taken due to the limited number of participants involved and consideration that ISC would in hindsight prefer to re-scope this requirement for greater effect in the longer term.

NEW OPPORTUNITY

As a result of this withdrawal, ISC would now like to invite interested parties to take part in further Market Engagement activity to help develop this potential requirement and promote interest from prospective bidders. The requirement is expected to be a Framework Agreement for Specialist Support & Resources and will explore with the Market, the best way to procure this. ISC would like to engage with experienced suppliers on the following potential structure for this Framework Agreement:

Lot 1 - Turnkey Solution (Encompassing delivery of the full requirements i.e. Delivery of in-country Programme)

Lot 2 - Thematic Experts, potentially broken down into individual themes (Provision of Strategic Advice and Resources)

Lot 3 - Programme and Project Resource (Provision of Programme/Project Managers etc.)

Lot 4 - Operational Support (Provision of programme support overseas, ranging from transport/logistics, security and equipment)

To kick start the engagement, ISC is intending to hold an Industry Day on Wednesday 25th August, 10am to 12pm. This will be a virtual event to ensure accessibility.

INTERESTED IN ATTENDING?

If you are interested in attending, please send an email to [email protected]

The email should be written in the following format:

Subject (title): C21170 - ISC Specialist Support & Resource Market Engagement

FAO: Paul Towers-France

Interested Party (organisation name):

Main Contact name and email address:

Statement of requirements for the cyber security thematic area

An Integrated approach to national cyber security capacity building and National cyber risk assessment training:

Providers must demonstrate a clear understanding of policies, laws and best practice that underpin cyber security in the UK and what effect this may have on working with partner nations, they must also demonstrate with delivery examples a clear understanding of UK and international cyber frameworks that are used to develop capability in both the public and private sector.

Providers will also need to describe how they would support partner countries in developing their own strategies, including working with relevant international bodies to establish strategies in line with international standards, ensuring that best practice is implemented and embedded with realistic measurable outcomes defined. Providers must have extensive experience working with cross government departments to build and improve UK cyber relationships with overseas partners.

Capability and training areas will include but are not limited to the following and providers should list their experience and competencies with each:

• Improving the resilience of government systems;
• Implementing national cyber strategies and policies;
• Advice and guidance on the implementation of national cyber strategies within legal frameworks;
• Improving cyber governance;
• Improving cyber security and resilience of critical systems overseas and by extension improve the security of any dependent UK systems.
• Understanding own infrastructure, interdependencies, vulnerabilities and threats;
• Identifying and categorising CNI assets;
• Ensuring investment in risk management is proportionate to the risks;
• Interpretation of data from cybersecurity capacity maturity model (CMM) and ITU global cyber index (GCI) to implement and improve national cyber strategies
• Improving the sharing of information about risks;
• Improving the security and resilience of a country;
• Developing and implementing e-learning platforms.

Additional training: various training courses (e.g. risk, resilience, standards, threat intelligence, incident response and skills and awareness) to cover the key recommendations that stem from an initial national cyber risk assessment.

Online simulation exercises: providing the tools and training to deliver table top / online cyber exercises focused on enhancing protection of critical national infrastructure.

Providers should have a minimum of 5 years’ experience working with multiple HMG departments and overseas governments to deliver cyber capacity building programmes.

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF ICDT

The International Strategy and Capabilities (ISC) was established in 2019 and sits in the International Directorate of the Home Office (HO). The ISC remit includes the delivery of strategic capability development programmes overseas and the oversight and delivery of Overseas Development Aid (ODA) programmes on behalf of the Home Office. The work focuses on delivering longer-term programmes that support high priority HO and broader HMG (Her Majesty’s Government) international security policy objectives. The ISC is the Home Office’s centre of excellence in delivering programmes overseas.