Somalia: Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) Capacity Building

LRPS-EMU-2015-9120296: REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR CONSULTANCY SERVICES

UNICEF Somalia Country Office is seeking proposals from qualified institutions to provide training in support of Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) capacity building in the Ministries of Education in Puntland, Somaliland and Central South Zone, Somalia.

NOTE: Interested companies are advised to send an email address to somsupply@unicef.org receive the full set of RFP documents.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

1. Background

UNICEF Somalia has been providing technical assistance for the establishment and setup of the Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) units in the Ministries of Education (MoEs) of Somaliland, Puntland and in Central South Somalia since 2010. Alongside the establishment of the units, EMIS Technical Working Groups were constituted under each ministry with a coordinator appointed by each ministry to be in charge of data collection from the schools, data entry into the software and analysis of the same. In October 2011, the Education Ministries in Somaliland and Puntland conducted the very first ministry-led 2011/2012 Primary School Census with technical and financial support from UNICEF and the European Union. EMIS software (Pineapple) was donated by Australian Aid program, AusAID. The ministries’ staff took the lead in collecting data from formal primary schools and Alternative Basic Education centers. The EMIS unit in the Central South Somalia became fully operational for the Banadir region at the end of December 2012.

UNICEF Somalia is working with the three ministries of Education on strengthening of Education Management Information System (EMIS) to ensure that education stakeholders at all levels can have access to reliable and analyzed information; and that policy makers, education managers and planners use accurate and timely information to effectively operate and develop the education system.

A critical challenge of the Ministries activities is the effective management of education data and information. EMIS officers have been trained on the EMIS questionnaires, the collection of the data from the regional level back to the central Ministry level and the data entry onto the Pineapple software. The EMIS units in all three zones have now come a long way since their initial establishment and the officers are competent and confident in data collection and data entry. The next step for the EMIS staff is to take their skills beyond collecting and entering data into the system to being able to perform the much more advanced functionalities of analysis, interpretation and management of education information.

It is against this challenge that UNICEF Somalia and Ministries of Education with funding from GIZ/BACKUP Education is seeking to procure a training firm to train EMIS staff of the Ministries on EMIS data analysis, interpretation and management of education information.

2. Objectives of the Training

Despite this challenge, all three Ministries remain committed to the functioning of the EMIS units. Therefore, it was decided to organize an EMIS training to address the following capacity gaps identified in the EMIS units.

i. Capacity building of education officers/managers to understand how to analyze and interpret EMIS data and information;

ii. Capacity building of officers in 'on demand' data reporting, user data analysis, user data interpretation and information management abilities;

iii. Capacity building of officers in the use of data analysis;

iv. Capacity building of officers/managers in the consistent use of EMIS data for planning, policy formulation and decision making.

In addition, the central Ministries are very keen on rolling out the EMIS system to the regional and district levels, decentralization of EMIS. However, this is not possible without addressing the capacity gaps at the central Ministries first. Once these are addressed then the system can be rolled out to the regions.

3. Specific Duties and Responsibilities

The specific tasks to be undertaken by the consulting firm include the following:

i. Prepare and submit an inception report which incorporates, amongst others, a brief description of the methodological approaches to effectively undertake the assignment, the overall purpose and key activities of the assignment; the overall philosophy of the firm in view of the assignment; the strategies to be followed in accomplishing the task in due time; major duties and responsibilities of the firm; details of the firm’s understanding of its assignment; clear indication of who will do what and when with clear work plan and number of deliverables,

ii. Prepare and publish of hardcopy and soft copy training manuals and practical exercises,

iii. Conduct the training for 10 days,

iv. Issue certificate of completion for the participants,

v. Prepare and submit the completion report

4. Training Time and Participants

The training is expected to be held from August 2015 in either Nairobi or most appropriate location considering political sensitivity among the three governments (potentially, if not Nairobi, Addis Ababa). The total number of trainees is expected to be 12 in which 4 trainees will be participating from each ministry.

5. Expected Deliverables

The consulting firm will be responsible for producing the following deliverables:

• Inception report,
• Hardcopy and softcopy training manuals and practical exercises,
• Training Report,
• Certificates of Completion for the trainees,
• Completion Report

6. Reporting and Supervision

Training supervision of the proposed assignment will be undertaken by UNICEF Somalia, education section team. The consultant firm with the training team will meet with and report the status to UNICEF Somalia, education section team. UNICEF Somalia, education section team will be responsible for the approval of all deliverables listed in the terms of reference.

7. Expected background and Experience

The consulting firm must comply with all legal requirements of operation. The consulting firm must have trained at least two EMIS data analysis and management training in the last 3 years, and the necessary qualified staff and other necessary resources to plan and carry out the required consultant services. A combination of the following technical experts and professional staffs are required for effectively undertaking the envisaged assignment.

No. Key staff Required

1. One Training Team Leader with Advanced university degree in education management, education data & statistics analysis, MIS/IT and related fields 7 years of experience of which 5 years extensive experience in team coordination and education data analysis
2. Two EMIS Trainers with University degree in education management, education data & statistics analysis, MIS/IT and related fields 5 years’ experience of which 3 years extensive work experience in education data analysis and management

In addition, the employees or the team members will be required to have:

• Excellent knowledge of the education system, processes and institutions;

• Excellent understanding of decentralized service delivery;

• Fluency in spoken and written English;

• Excellent facilitation and communication skills, including cross-cultural awareness and experience.

8. Administration

The winning bidder/Consultant(s) are expected to bring their own laptop(s).

INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS

1.0 PROCEDURES AND RULES

1.1 ORGANISATIONAL BACKGROUND

UNICEF is the agency of the United Nations mandated to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. Guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child UNICEF strives to establish children’s rights as international standards of behaviour towards children. UNICEF’s role is to mobilise political will and material resources to help countries ensure a “first call for children". UNICEF is committed to ensuring special protection for the most disadvantaged children.

UNICEF carries out its work through its headquarters in New York, 8 regional offices and more than 190 countries and territories world-wide. UNICEF also has a research centre in Florence, a supply operation based in Copenhagen and offices in Tokyo and Brussels. UNICEF’s 37 committees raise funds and spread awareness about the organisations mission and work.

1.2 FORECAST SCHEDULE

The schedule of the contractual process is as follows:

a) Closing date and time for submission of full proposal:**17/08/2015 at 10.00 a.m. Nairobi Time**

b) Award Notice: to be determined

c) Signature of contract: to be determined

1.3 RFP CHANGE POLICY

All requests for formal clarification or queries on this RFP must be submitted in writing to somsupply@unicef.org via e-mail. Please make sure that the e-mail mentions the RFP reference number.

Only written inquiries will be entertained. Please be informed that if the question is of common interest, the answer will be shared with all potential bidders.

Erasures or other corrections in the proposal must be explained and the signature of the applicant shown alongside. All changes to a proposal must be received prior to the closing time and date. It must be clearly indicated that it is a modification and supersedes the earlier proposal, or state the changes from the original proposal. Proposals may be withdrawn on written request received from bidders prior to the opening time and date. Bidders are expected to examine all instructions pertaining to the work. Failure to do so will be at bidder’s own risk and disadvantage.

1.5 RESPONSE FORMAT

Bidders are requested to confirm their intention to submit their proposal, by sending an e-mail to somsupply@unicef.org

Bidders must submit sealed original copies of the Bid duly signed and dated, with envelopes clearly marked with the RFP Number and addressed to UNICEF Somalia Support Centre, P.O. Box 44145-00100, NAIROBI. The bids must be received not later than 17/08/2015 by 10.00 am Nairobi Time at UNICEF SOMALIA SUPPORT CENTRE OFFICE, UN GIGIRI COMPLEX, BLOCK Q, 1^st FLOOR. Proposals received after the stipulated date and time will be invalidated.

Sealed Bids received prior to the stated closing time and date will be kept unopened. UNICEF will accept no responsibility for the premature opening of a bid not properly addressed or identified.

Due to the nature of this RFP, there will be no public opening of proposals and responsible officers will open the bids when the specified time has arrived.