Sydney council issues digital transformation tender

One of Sydney's largest local government areas, the Canterbury-Bankstown Council (CBCity) is embarking on a significant digital transformation and is calling for tenders from qualified consultants to help shape its future technology and data architecture.

The council, formed in 2016 from the merger of Bankstown and Canterbury councils, is looking to modernise its systems and enhance its digital service delivery for both the community and its staff.

To that purpose, CBCity has issued a tender and is seeking proposals for strategic recommendations and a roadmap for its Future State Technology and Data Architecture.

The tender is split into two separable portions, allowing consultants to bid for one or both:

• Future State Technology Architecture (FSTA): this aims to create a scalable, secure, and innovative technology framework to support CBCity's digital transformation. it includes the council's "Digital Front Door'"(customer portal) and "Digital Back Door" (staff enablement platform).
• Future State Data Architecture (FSDA): this portion seeks to develop a centralised and efficient data ecosystem that can drive insights, personalisation and innovation, including the creation of a unified data architecture for a data lake.

The council's goals include moving towards more customer-centric digital experiences, streamlining service delivery and improving overall efficiency.

CBCity envisions the digital transformation ias a three-phased approach, with the first one focusing on strategy, encompassing a comprehensive assessment of current systems and processes, developing a strategic roadmap, and identifying priorities and risks.

The first phase is the focus of the current tender.

Meanwhile, phase 2 will involve detailed system design, technical specifications and prototyping.

Phase 3 for the execution of proposed solutions, system integration and deployment.

While vendors selected for Phase 1 are not guaranteed involvement in later phases, they are eligible to apply for Phases 2 and 3 as well.

Chosen consultants will need to demonstrate proven experience, strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills, and the ability to produce clear and actionable documentation.

The project is slated to commence in early March 2025, with a proposed duration of 12 weeks, although the council is open to alternative options. 

The closing date for submissions is 3pm on Tuesday 25th February 2025.

A compulsory briefing for potential tenderers is scheduled for 2 PM to 3 PM on Tuesday February 4 via Microsoft Teams.