sudan terms of reference_posting

8/6/2019 Sudan Terms of Reference_posting

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/sudan-terms-of-referenceposting 1/6

Unofficial notes: Level: L-3*Duration of Contract:4 -5 months *Closing Date:

06/24/2011

*Applications should go directly to : [email protected] and should include CV,recent P11 form and cover letter

There is no fixed (physical)location for this consultancy though onsite work in UNICEF

NYHQ or UNICEF Copenhagen is preferred.

Terms of Reference: Mission to Qadarif

1. Background

The UNICEF Education Programme is at a critical juncture in the global efforts to

achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. In many cases the focus on

meeting the MDGs is at the national level in developing countries, leaving out the millions of

most needy children; the poorest, the most vulnerable, the isolated, marginalized,

exploited, and the abused, many of whom are currently beyond the reach of laws,

programmes, research and budgets. It is believed that the most possible way to meet theobligations to this group of children is to approach the challenge head -on using robust and

innovative ideas, and the commitment to follow through.

Appropriate technology interventions can be one way to bridge the digital divide and

ensure that there is fair and standard access to information and opportunity, as well as

being an important means for the preservation and dissemination of local cultures and

contexts. The aim of any intervention is to increase access to quality and relevant basic

education for children in North Sudan.

Country offices in all UNICEF regions (including the Soloman Islands, Suriname,

Uganda, Liberia, Kosovo, Nigeria, Mongolia and China, as well as others) are exploring howappropriate technology can help strengthen flexible alternative pathways to realize the right

to education for the difficult to reach and children out of school. There is clearly a need to

bring together private sector, academia and development professionals to help accelerate

healthy adoptions of systems and innovations. The starting point for this will be to review

the existing e- pilot undertaken with the e-learning desk of local partner Ahfad University

for Women (AUW) and other partners, which is presently concluding its first phase.



In addition, the consultancy will review the exis ting e-learning pilot project

undertaken from 2009 in collaboration with the e -learning department of Ahfad University

for Women (AUW) and with involvement of INGO War Child Holland as well as a range of

(non) State actors. This project, which aims to crea te a non-formal alternative to primary

education, is presently concluding its first phase and is planning for the second phase. The

second phase aims to upscale the pilot to 100,000 children in 230 communities in all States

of northern Sudan. The third ph ase plans to extend it to 1 million children. War Child

Holland, may, at its own cost, add one or two members to the consultancy team.

UNICEF would like to hire a consultant to explore issues related to technology for

education and help prepare a plan fo r piloting and monitoring the use of innovative

technologies for education in North Sudan.

2. Objectives of this Consultancy

We are proposing to look at a pilot population in North Sudan and assess how

innovative programming and use of technology for development purposes can provide

better access to information, reduced drop-outs and higher quality of outputs from the

education process.

The expected start date for the consultant is Q3 with a mission to North Sudan

accompanying a UNICEF team in early to mid-Q3.

Please Note: Because of a rapidly changing political situation, there is a chance that it

will be logistically difficult to complete this precise consultancy in which case the focus of

the project would shift to another, similar, e -learning initiative in East Africa and the Terms

of Reference below would be revised though the essential deliverables would remain the

same.

3. Scope of Work

Several weeks of sensitization to the work UNICEF is doing around innovative

technology for education wou ld lead into a preliminary mission (2-3 weeks), with outputs

being:

y further articulation to a budget package for types of innovative technology

interventions and techniques into the existing education system;

y a project plan with detailed budget for inno vative delivery of services to the

population identified;

y a user-driven set of needs in education (what needs can students and teachers

identify that we can help them adapt);

y documentation of proper monitoring and evaluation especially taking into account

the need in a design-thinking based exploration to expect and highlight fast

failures in a project so as to better learn and adjust for conditions -; and



be a finalized mission Terms of Reference (TOR) and a framework for examining the

end users and their role in the system:

y Further Refined Terms of Reference for Mission and onboarding; and

y Framework for End Users: This would be a pre-trip

anthropological/ethnographic framework for how the team will work with

and assess the needs of the Country Office it can include things such as

description of target population and their environment. Qualitative and

quantitative depiction of the target children and their needs, design

methodologies proposed (Frog or IDEO type investigations, etc.).

During Mission ($2,500)

y It is expected that the consultant will be an active communicator of process while on

mission these can be relatively informal, but should be regular and of high quality

and of interest to the general public :

y Blog entries:At least one blog entry per two days, while on trip; one per week

while not on trip: following the format of http://prablog.posterous.com or

http://projectmwana.posterous.com. Supporting photographs, blog pieces or

other experiential narrative to support the report.

Post Mission ($23,750) -Payment will be broken down 40% on first draft, balance on

delivery of final report

y The final and main deliverable is a collection of smaller pieces presumably work on

the individual pieces would be ongoing, but each one is listed separately as they are

all expected to contribute to the main plan.

y Pro ject Plan: A project plan developed after the mission in close

collaboration with Programme Division and Supply Division based on the

needs of the Sudan Country Office; and -addressing, along with the CFT, the

questions in Annex 1 below, as well as an assessment of the current e -learning pilot study underway in Sudan, with recommendations whether to

continue, how to continue, or whether to change;

y Cataloging of specific system interventions: Population's particular problems

(i.e. the problem is not "high dropout" but "high dropout" is a function of

nomadism, child labour, no electricity, etc.) - this is needed because we are

looking at what type of solutions can alleviate certain stresses in the system.

The output for th is would be mapping of systems and identification of failure

points;

y Solution space: A range of solutions and delivery technologies and systems: alayered, open-source connection of hardware and software such as radio,

television, SMS, low -cost computers, virtual learning, mobile libraries, etc.;

y Approach-Specific approaches to moving forward: Description of how the

Country Office can move forward with this project. For example: the focus

on the user and their needs, the ability to use whatever is mos t appropriate

in "layers" (i.e. some places radio only, some places radio+computer, etc.);



y Budget: Budget needs for this project - phased and based on population

numbers; and

y Updated CFT framework: with 6 additional worksheets and refining of the

base categories based on input from the field and further harmonization of

top- and mid-level sections. Particularly answering the questions in Annex 1

below. This should be a visual / graphic support of the project plan .

The consultant(s) would report to: Supply Division.

6. Qualifications

The proposed consultant(s) would have experience with:

y Education, particularly child-centric learning

y Working with children-focused projects

y Sub-Saharan Africa

y Education and technology

y Open source technology

y Project planning and documentation

y Monitoring and evaluation

7. Proposers Profile

y Expertise and Experience (company and/or individual(s))-The proposer shall provide

a minimum of three (3) references to clients for whom the proposer has carried out

similar scope of project. UNICEF may contact references for feedback on

consultants/services provided by the proposer to support similar projects.

y Name and description of client company/organization

y Name of senior individuals in the client comp anies who were involved in the

project (referred to) who are knowledgeable

y Scope and scale of projects

8. Evaluation Criteria

y Expertise and experience of the consultant

y Interviews with shortlisted applicants

y Technical (written) assessment

9. Cost Proposal

y This position will be at a L3 pay grade with exact pay based on experience. It is

expected to take approximately 4-5 months of work to complete (p ayment is based

on deliverables calculated against that rate ).

Note: Travel will be via economy ticket at UNICEF DSA.



Annex 1

These are examples of specific questions that have been raised by stakeholders

this is not the complete set of needs of the project, but it can serve to give some idea of

what will be involved, what types of discussions will need to happen and what elements will

need to be built into the Child Friendly Tech nology framework as well as the supporting

documents for this consultancy in order to ensure its success.

1. How can this project leverage limited staff and resources to help enhance

access to schools and information rather than simply being an injection of

technology into a system?

2. How can work being done in other country offices and contexts demonstrate

increase in access and achievement through similar interventions?

3. How can elements of psycho-social development and social skills be

integrated into this project?

4. How will the costs of this project compare to traditional education

interventions? What are metrics that are used to justify new technology

interventions in education, and how can we build a case for or against this

project in terms of cost efficiencies.

5. How can this project work with existing alternative learning programmes to

reach out of school learners?

6. How can we leverage / integrate the use of solar and alternati ve energy most

effectively?

7. What is needed to take this project to scale (1 million youth )?

8. What instruments are needed to involve ministries? What lessons can be

learned from other post-conflict countries engagements with Information and

Communication T echnology(ICT)?

9. What are the details of training plans for supervisors, teachers, parents? Who

would need to be involved and trained, and how?

10. How can nomadic communities be engaged and involved in this and benefit

from it?

11. How can specific issues of embargo be managed in a context like Sudan?

sudan terms of reference_posting

Documents