There’s going to be some big changes when it comes to the Digital Outcomes and Specialists 6 framework. With the 5th iteration carrying on until April 2023, Crown Commercial Service (CCS) planned some edits to the Digital Marketplace.
One of these changes is to update the DOS framework, in an attempt to make it better for buyers and suppliers. But what are we expecting? After some supplier and buyer engagement events held by CCS, here’s what we know…
Will there be a Digital Outcomes and Specialists 6?
Well, the big news is that CCS have announced that Lot 2 within Digital Outcomes & Specialists will be removed. Lot 2 is for the procurement of digital specialists within the framework. This means that there will be a new separate framework for this provision called Digital Specialists & Programmes (RM6263). Leaving Digital Outcomes as a standalone framework too.
So, rather than getting a 6th iteration of DOS, we got two individual routes to market.
What will Digital Specialists & Programmes look like?
As we said, this new framework is for the procurement of specialists, programmes and teams. It isn’t held on the Digital Marketplace, so it will be it’s own £4bn valued beast! CCS have outlined the scope of this provision to be in 5 key areas:
- DevOps
- Digital Definition Services
- Build and Transition Services
- End-to-end Development Services
- Data Management Services
It features two main Lots too: Digital Specialists (shorter call-offs around 2 years), and Digital Programmes (longer larger scale contracts of 4 years and over).
This Digital Specialists and Programmes framework is capped to 50 suppliers and is now closed for applications.
What will Digital Outcomes look like?
Digital Outcomes & Specialists 6 may not be a thing moving forward, but we will be seeing a similar framework maintaining its place. Digital Outcomes is now held on the Public Procurement Gateway alongside G-Cloud 13, unlike Digital Specialists & Programmes which is held separately.
The biggest change is the obvious reduction in scope, with Lot 2 now being removed to build on a focus on the original Lot 1: Digital Outcomes. The big change here though, is that it is expected that suppliers will have to provide pricing on application. It’s also been stated that both frameworks will run for a minimum of 2 years!
That’s some big changes but it’s all down to CCS attempting to make the process better. For suppliers AND buyers. The public sector need an easier way to procure solutions to their outcomes, and after feedback from both parties have settled on this.
When will it open?
As we stated above, both frameworks went Live in 2022. With both frameworks now closed for applications, we’re predicting a Digital Outcomes 7 and a new version of Digital Specialists and Programmes to arrive for applications towards end of 2023.
Digital Outcomes and Specialists 5 is still successfully ticking along until Jan 2023 due to an extension, so there’s work still to be done there (if you’re listed). If you’d like to know more about how these frameworks work, then do get in touch, we know it can be quite confusing to get to grips with these changes!
