​​Using the Government Chief Digital Officer assurance services panel

​​Using this panel

• 1

  Determine your requirements

  Start by defining the specific objectives and scope of the engagement, including key dates and deliverables.

  Figure out what kind of assurance services you need to source from the GCDO sub-panel:

  • Project assurance
  • Programme assurance
  • Portfolio assurance
  • Technical design assurance
  • Technical implementation assurance

  The GCDO website has more detailed information about the assurance services available from this sub-panel.

  GCDO assurance services guide

• 2

  Choose a provider

  Your agency can choose one of the following ways to source a provider:

  • directly from the GCDO sub-panel
  • through a secondary selection process
  • by completing Part A of the Consultancy Services Order (CSO) and issuing this to one or more providers.

  Secondary selection process

  When deciding which to do, consider:

  • budget
  • timeframes
  • the specific nature of the requirements
  • any existing or past relationships
  • any internal financial delegations and processes your agency has.

  The GCDO assurance services providers page lists providers specific to this panel. Use the Consultancy services providers page to get more information, including rates, about these specific providers. 

  GCDO assurance services providers

  Consultancy services providers

  Pay attention to the categories when choosing a provider, as not all providers can deliver all assurance services.

  The provider details accessed from the Consultancy services providers page contain commercially sensitive information, so only agencies participating in the Consultancy Services contract can access it. 

  You may require the provider(s) to send you a proposal or complete a draft Terms of Reference (ToR) to help you choose. You can also ask them to complete Part B of the CSO.

  The GCDO has already completed a robust procurement process to select the providers, so there's no need to test the entire panel each time you have a requirement. You don't need to advertise your requirements on GETS.

  Lead reviewers

  Lead Reviewers are practising subject matter experts who meet the GCDO’s quality criteria. You can specify a Lead Reviewer, or leave this up to the provider. Only approved Lead Reviewers can deliver GCDO assurance services.

  Quality ratings for providers and Lead Reviewers specifically relate to the delivery of GCDO assurance services. The ratings are updated annually.

• 3

  Complete a Consultancy Services Order (CSO)

  Once you’ve chosen a provider, you should complete a CSO to be signed by both your agency and your provider of choice.

  We recommend that you use the CSO as the high-level contract and refer to supporting documents (like the statement of work / ToR) in Parts A and B.

  You can find a template for the CSO in the ‘Contract documents’ section on the main page. 

  GCDO assurance services

• 4

  Review draft assurance report

  The GCDO sub-panel aims to improve the quality of assurance reports provided to agencies.

  Providers must provide assurance reports in a timely manner. Agencies should review these reports to ensure they meet the GCDO’s quality standards. 

  Review the GCDO website for more detailed guidance on what to look for when reviewing the quality of an assurance report, and the GCDO’s report rating system.

  GCDO’s assurance report executive summaries

  GCDO report rating system

  The assurance report must be signed off by the Senior Responsible Officer and the Lead Reviewer. 

• 5

  Complete agency satisfaction survey

  The GCDO regularly issues surveys to measure agency satisfaction with providers. Results are shared with providers and any quality concerns will be worked on collaboratively. 

  Provider and Lead Reviewer quality ratings are updated annually by the GCDO based on the average result of agency satisfaction surveys.

  End of process