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DHSC: ASC - DiSC Digital Support Platform
AI Summary
The Department of Health and Social Care, in partnership with the Digitising Social Care programme of NHS Transformation Directorate, is seeking a supplier to maintain and host the DiSC Digital Support Platform at beta.digitisingsocialcare.co.uk once the existing contract expires. The platform functions as a central hub for national policy delivery, offering a comprehensive information and advice centre for care providers and digital system suppliers, a venue for interactive tools that promote best‑practice technology implementation within social care, a technical repository that houses system and supplier data alongside functionality standards, and a communications channel that publishes news, case studies and provider interviews to showcase sector progress. Additionally, it hosts an assured supplier list that identifies care technologies meeting minimum standards, supporting regulators and purchasers in their procurement decisions.
Beyond day‑to‑day hosting and maintenance, the assignment requires the contractor to sustain GDS compliance for the medium term and to support the Department’s public commitments. The platform is intended to remain active while the organisation aligns its broader digital strategy, including the cross‑domain channel plan for the ASC group, through a series of internal strategic tasks. These tasks involve evaluating alternative delivery mechanisms for the assured supplier tool and list, determining which content should be migrated to GOV.UK or other appropriate channels, and assessing whether the NHS website or an ASC‑specific site could serve as a suitable venue for content that does not fit within the GOV.UK proposition.
The contractor must therefore ensure the website remains fully compliant with Government Digital Service (GDS) standards and provides secure, reliable hosting and ongoing maintenance.
Description
The DiSC website is used as:
• A source of information and advice to deliver national policy in digitising social care to care providers and digital system suppliers;
• A place to host interactive tools to support good practice tech implementation within social care;
• A technical repository for system and supplier data and functionality standards, and as a link to tools that support implementation of DSCR system standards;
• A communications and engagement channel where we communicate news about our work and highlight case studies and interviews from care providers about their digitisation journey to share sector good practice.
• A place to host an assured supplier list for care technologies that are meeting minimum standards.
The business need is to continue the above activity, to support ministerial public commitments and to ensure the website remains GDS compliant in the medium term to support key DSHC public commitments.
It is important to call out the complex environment that DHSC and NHS England are operating in, and the recently started work on a cross-domain channel strategy for ASC group. It is intended that the DiSC website continues while we look to align with these wider strategic decisions and complete the following strategic work in house:
• Understand delivery options for assured supplier tool and assured supplier list outside of the DiSC website;
• Map what content should be migrated on to GOV.UK or other channels if there is a clear remit and rationale as to why it cannot be included on GOV.UK (including blogs and engagement posts);
• Understand whether the NHS website or a corresponding ASC website is a suitable channel for some of our work that does not fit in the GOV.UK proposition.
Location of contract: SW1H 0EU
Value of contract: £192,500
Contract start date: 17 September 2025
Contract end date: 30 September 2025
Contract is suitable for SMEs?: Yes
Contract is suitable for VCSEs?: No