PCD 1272 External Training 'Content Library'

Executive Summary:  

Policing the capital is a unique challenge and this work is becoming increasingly complex. As the nature of crime changes, so must the skills of the MPS workforce if they are to deliver against the challenges faced and strengthen the trust and confidence of the public.  

Pillar 6 of Met Direction makes clear the Met’s commitment to “Learn from experience, from others and constantly strive to improve”. A key enabler to achieving this is embracing the opportunities provided by modern technology, building a blended approach to learning and continuous professional development across the organisation. This work is being driven through the Met’s Learning Transformation Programme (P8).  

Building critical infrastructure for the Met, the new corporate Learning Management System (Cornerstone On Demand) will go live in the Summer of 2022. Ahead of this, in December 2019, approval was given to procure corporate-wide access to an external content library in the form of Microsoft’s LinkedIn Learning (LiL). This gave the full workforce access to a wide range of new external digital training assets, socialising the organisation to a more blended learning approach.    

The existing contract with LinkedIn Learning expires in December 2022. The Met considers providing officers and staff with continued access to an external training content library a key aspect of its wider approach to learning transformation and fundamental to a modern, growth centred, organisation. Therefore, a range of options for continuing to provide a digital learning library have been explored focused on achieving best value for money in line with business requirements.  

This decision recommends that the current digital content library (LinkedIn Learning) is replaced with Cornerstone Content Anytime (CCA) Software as a Service. This can be managed as change control against the existing contract for the Learning Management System (LMS).  

Recommendation:  

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to:   

1. Approve a change in scope to the existing contract for the corporate Learning Management System (Cornerstone On Demand) to add in the provision of the integrated digital content library Cornerstone ‘Content Anytime’. Associated costs total £1.63m over the 4 + 1.5 year contract term. The contract term has been set to align with the contract term for the Learning Management System.  

2. Approve an increase in the total value of our existing contract with Accenture of £1.63m (from £9.46m to £11.09m) to incorporate the addition of Cornerstone Content Anytime.  

PART I - NON-CONFIDENTIAL FACTS AND ADVICE TO THE DMPC 

1. Introduction and background  

1. The Met’s 2025 vision is to build a professional capability fit for the 21st century so that officers and staff can protect London’s communities and keep them safe from harm. The evolving nature of operational demand, the changes to the national agenda and the expectations of the workforce call for rapid, thoughtful and professional changes to learning and development in the Met. 

2. Through Pillar 6 of Met Direction “Learn from experience, from others and constantly strive to improve”  the Met are committed to developing a learning culture where officers and staff are equipped with the skills and capabilities they need to meet current and future requirements of policing London. A key enabler to achieving this is embracing the opportunities provided by modern technology, building a blended approach to learning and making the most of the enhancements in technology. 

3. In addition, access to a digital content library enables the achievement of a number of Learning Transformation Programme objectives including: 

• A more diverse, profession-based workforce will have a broader set of development needs, and will take on more responsibility for self-development; 

• Blending new ‘bite sized’ learning accessible to staff at the point of need with traditional methods can drive efficiencies (e.g. lower abstraction rates), offer the learner choice and improve their overall experience. 

4. This initiative also strategically aligns to various core areas detailed in the Met’s Digital Strategy (2021-2025), and specifically follows Digital Policing’s principles of “Cloud first” and “Buy, not build”. 

5. This proposal underpins the organisational need to future proof digital learning and continue with a digital Content Library / eLearning tool, available for all Met staff providing value-for-money and quality course content supporting Met officers and staff in their continued professional development.  

2. Issues for consideration  

1. The existing contract expires in December 2022.  The Met considers providing officers and staff with continued access to an external training content library a key aspect of its wider approach to learning transformation and fundamental to a modern, growth centred, organisation.  Therefore, options were explored focused on achieving best value for money in line with business requirements resulting in the recommendation made.  This can be managed as a change control against the existing contract for Learning.  Costs will be met from within existing MPS budgets. 

3. Financial Comments  

1. The cost for Cornerstone Content Anytime is £1.63m over the 4 + 1.5 years of the contract term. These costs will be met from current MPS budgets. 

4. Legal Comments  

1. The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (“MOPAC”) is a contracting authority as defined in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (“the Regulations”).  All awards of, and modifications to, public contracts for goods and/or services valued at £213,477 or above shall be procured in accordance with the Regulations. This report confirms both the value of the original contract and the proposed modification exceeds this threshold. 

2. Regulation 72 permits MOPAC to modify a contract in limited circumstances.  Specifically, regulation 72(1)(b) provides MOPAC may modify a contract where:  

• It is not possible to change contractor due to technical or economic reasons; and  

• To change contractor would cause MOPAC to suffer significant inconvenience or substantial costs duplication   

Provided the value of the modification does not exceed 50% of the value of the original contract.   

3. This report confirms the value of the proposed modification does not exceed 50% and that Commercial Services are confident no other provider can provide a learning content solution other than CCA or LiL at the same price or less than Cornerstone. 

4. Paragraph 4.8 of the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent provides the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime has delegated authority to approve business cases for revenue or capital expenditure of £500,000 and above. 

5. Paragraph 4.13 of the MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent provides the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime has delegated authority to approve all unforeseen variations and extensions to contracts with an original value of £500,000 or above, when the variation or extension is greater than 10% of the original value and/or is for a period of more than 12 months.  

5. Commercial Issues  

1. The cost for Cornerstone Content Anytime is £1.62m over the 4 + 1.5 years of the contract term. This period, including a contract extension option, allows for full alignment with the existing LMS contract that was awarded through the Learning Operating Model FBC in December 2020.  

2. All costs are for licensing given sufficient coverage for the full workforce. There are no additional upfront costs to configure CCA, as it forms part of the same Cornerstone platform that has been setup for the new Met Learning Management System. 

3. This contributes to delivering the London Anchor Institutions’ Charter, to work together to help restore confidence in the city; minimise the impacts on communities; and build back better the city’s economy and society, following the pandemic. Specifically this focuses on supporting communities through engagement. 

4. The Content Library can also be used to create bespoke Met-content via the Grovo tool, where communities’ insight and learning will be included within Met-created digital content, bringing to life learning and experience.  

6. GDPR and Data Privacy  

1. The MPS is subject to the requirements and conditions placed on it as a 'State' body to comply with the European Convention of Human Rights and the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018. Both legislative requirements place an obligation on the MPS to process personal data fairly and lawfully in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of individuals. 

2. Under Article 35 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Section 57 of the DPA 2018, Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA) become mandatory for organisations with technologies and processes that are likely to result in a high risk to the rights of the data subjects. 

3. The Information Assurance and Information Rights units within MPS will continue to be consulted at all stages to ensure the programme / project meets its compliance requirements. 

4. A DPIA has been completed.  Any data processing will be compliant with Article 8 and the Data Protection Principles.  Data handling has been confirmed as OFFICIAL – SENSITIVE. There are no additional legal concerns.   

5. The programme will ensure a privacy by design approach, which will allow the MPS to find and fix problems at the early stages of any project, ensuring compliance with GDPR. DPIAs support the accountability principle, as they will ensure the MPS complies with the requirements of GDPR and they demonstrate that appropriate measures have been taken to ensure compliance. 

7. Equality Comments  

1. An Equality Impact Assessment has been completed. There are no Equality Act issues regarding the proposed project.  The proposed CCA SaaS solution supports and is compatible with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1).  

2. There are no Health and Safety implications from the proposed project. 

8. Background/supporting papers 

1. Report