Disgrifiad caffael
We are seeking a suitably skilled and experienced supplier to define and deliver a user-led approach to developing Minimum Operating Data Standards (MODS) for social care in Wales. This will involve deep engagement with stakeholders, identification and prioritisation of use cases, and development of a structured Data Catalogue to inform the Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resource (FHIR) framework.
The overall aim of this contract is to design and implement Minimum Operating Data Standards (MODS) for social care in Wales that are ethically governed, practitioner led, technically interoperable (FHIR-aligned), and embedded within the National Data Resource (NDR), enabling better decision making, improve care, and safe, effective data sharing across the health and social care system in Wales.
This contract will be split across the following phases:
Phase 1: Engagement and Discovery.
Budget: £250,000 (inclusive of any applicable VAT).
Duration: Will run until 31 March 2026, with a possibility of being extended into Phase 2.
Phase 2: Further Development and Implementation.
Budget: Yet to be confirmed; suppliers will be asked to provide indicative pricing for information only.
Duration: If extended, will run for a further 12 months from 1 April 2026 – 31 March 2027, up to a total contract period of 18 months.
Aim of Phase 1: is to conduct an in-depth discovery and co-design process with the social care sector to establish the foundational artefacts, governance structures, and stakeholder consensus required to develop and implement MODS.
Requirements for Phase 1: will involve a comprehensive assessment of data currently shared across the social care sector, discovery via direct engagement with key stakeholders, identification of current and future data needs, and development of a standardised data catalogue. The successful supplier will return to the sector to test and validate this proposed standard through a further consensus building process then work with Social Care Wales and FHIR experts to document the results as MODS for Children’s, Adults and the social care workforce and include these on the FHIR framework.
Outputs for Phase 1: The successful supplier will:
~Produce stakeholder engagement summary report
~Develop a Use Case Register
~Develop a Data Catalogue containing proposed data standards
~Produce Minimum Operating Data Standards (MODS) for adult social care, children’s social care, the social care workforce and Integrated Care Record
~Produce a Statement of Intent that strategic partners can sign up to, to demonstrate their commitment toward delivering social care data standards in Wales.
~Support Social Care Wales in the establishment of a Social Care Data Standards Board
~Produce a Phase 1 summary report
~Produce a Phase 2 readiness report
Aim of Phase 2: is to further develop, validate, and implement the MODS and associated governance, interoperability, and technical frameworks, ensuring they are actionable, sustainable, and integrated into national data infrastructure (NDR).
Requirements for Phase 2: will involve the successful supplier leading the development of a strategic roadmap and delivery plan for implementing data standards across social care in Wales. This will include engaging with independent sector partners to assess data needs and digital capabilities, working collaboratively with NDR architects and systems providers to design a suitable digital architecture, and developing a final, consensus-based Minimum Operational Data Set (MODS) for adults’ and children’s social care. The successful supplier must be able to demonstrate strong experience in stakeholder engagement, data standards, and digital transformation within the health and social care context.
Outputs for Phase 2: The successful supplier will:
~Develop a roadmap and delivery plan for the next phase of implementing data standards across social care in Wales.
~Engage with social care partners in the wider independent sector to understand their data requirements and digital capabilities to facilitate electronic data transfer.
~Collaborate with the NDR architects and social care systems providers in Wales to design and develop a suitable digital architecture that supports the needs of local authorities and commissioned providers as data owners.
~Produce a final Minimum Operational Data Set (MODS) for adults’ and children’s social care that is agreed and endorsed by key social care partners including ADSS, WLGA, and CIW.
Context / Background
A key digital and data programme for health and social care in Wales is the National Data Resource (NDR). This programme is designed to bring together health and social care data from several disparate sources so that it can be made available to the right professionals at the right time, leading to better decision making and improved healthcare, and care and support. The NDR has a range of additional benefits such as curating and anonymising data for research within a trusted research environment (TRE) and making anonymous data available to organisations to be able to conduct advanced analytics with the latest tools and technologies. Social Care Wales is a key federated partner in the NDR programme and is committed to delivering the aims and objectives of the programme.
Social Care Wales is committed to human centred approaches of developing our digital and data products. Practitioners of social care should be at the core of this work as they know which data should be portable, when it should be shared and with whom. They know which data would be most beneficial to surface from health systems to enable better decision making and better care and support.
The objectives of this contract are to deliver a co-produced, standards-based data infrastructure for social care that:
~Identifies and prioritises high-value use cases for data sharing
~Defines and standardises key data elements across adult, children’s and workforce domains
~Aligns social care data with the NDR and FHIR interoperability frameworks
~Embeds ethical governance and sustainable sector ownership
~Supports front-line practitioners and provides in navigating and using data effectively.