Empowerment through Skills Program
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
REVIEW AND ENHANCEMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, CLIMATE AND SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES AT PARTNER FOLK DEVELOPMENT COLLEGES
Date RFP Issued: October 24, 2023 Date RFP Closes: November 13, 2023
Bids are to be returned by email to [email protected] on November 13, 2023, at
5.00 PM
Contact for queries on the RFQ:
Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) is implementing the Empowerment through Skills Program (ESP) in Tanzania. The ESP is a 7-year program (2021-2028) implemented by CICan in close collaboration with the Tanzanian Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) through the Department of Technical and Vocational Training (DTVET). The ESP is funded by the Government of Canada.
ESP’s ultimate outcome is: Improved economic participation by women and adolescent girls in Tanzania. Refer to Annex 1 for an overview of the project and the list of partner Folk Development Colleges (FDCs), Community Based Organizations (CBOs), and Canadian colleges & institutes.
A critical component to the success of the ESP is the ability to understand, develop, and deliver gender responsive, environmentally sensitive, demand driven, and competency-based programming and capacity-building activities with Tanzanian partners that lead to meaningful employment, self-employment and/or entrepreneurship for women, adolescent girls, and teenage mothers.
Short-term Consultancy Requirement
ESP has a short-term consultancy requirement for the services of a Consultancy Firm to conduct a review of environment, climate and sustainability practices in its 12 partner Folk Development Colleges (FDCs). The Consultancy Firm will also develop and deliver a resource toolkit and capacity-building Training-of-Trainers (ToT) workshops to FDC and CBO staff.
Note that Kiswahili is the language of instruction in the partner FDCs and CBOs as well as the most common language used in the districts that the project is working in (English is not spoken or understood in many communities, by many students, and by some staff). Hence, the consultancy firm will need to have some local Kiswahili speakers for the field work, and to deliver or co-deliver the workshops.
Applications are invited from suitably qualified Consultancy firms meeting the requirements outlined in the RFP.
Proposals are encouraged from qualified firms owned or led by women.
The RFP is outlined as follows:
- Key Tasks
- Timelines and Deliverables
- Qualifications, Experience and Attributes
- Reporting
- Duration
- Submission Requirements
Key Tasks
NOTE: ESP’s target beneficiaries are women, adolescent girls and teenage mothers and the key focus of each task.
The Consultancy Firm will:
- Conduct a literature review to identify best practices internationally and specifically Tanzania, as related to the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
- SDG 6 – Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
- SDG 7 – Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
- SDG 11- Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
- SDG 12- Ensure sustainable consumption and production pattern.
- SDG 13 – Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
- SDG 14- Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
- SDG 15 – Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
As part of the background review, conduct a review of other agencies and organizations that are involved with environmental, climate and sustainability policies, procedures and practices to assess how these are being implemented in Tanzania as well as other related initiatives being undertaken.
- Carry out detailed environmental scans and situational need assessments with ESP’s partner FDCs, including consultations with the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) to gather data on how relevant SDGs are being implemented as well as other related initiatives are being undertaken.
These detailed scans and assessments will include:
- Detailed site visits / audits to the 12 partner FDCs including workshops, classrooms, student dormitories, student washrooms, cooking facilities, laundry facilities, sports field, gardens, general grounds, water supply and waste disposal, hazardous and bio-hazardous storage and disposal, etc.. The site visits are expected to take 2 to 3 days per FDC / total of 36 days.
- Interviews and focus groups with partner FDC staff and students (FDC staff sample size is estimated at 10 staff per site / total of 120 participants). The students can be interviewed in gender-separate focus group which should include a mix of first and second year students drawn from across the range of programs/courses offered at the respective FDC (estimate 24 Focus Groups total).
- Prepare and submit an interim report (see key task 5 for a report guideline, not all sections are expected in the interim report). The interim report will provide an analysis of the data collected and make recommendations for how ESP’s partner FDCs and MoEST can enhance and improve the implementation of environment, climate and sustainability practices, and the related monitoring and reporting measures.
The interim report will include a discussion of:
- A brief summary of the literature review and how it has informed the data recommendations. Note that the literature review can be submitted separately.
- A summary of the data collected to date and an analysis thereof.
- Initial recommendations for improving, implementing and monitoring environment, climate and sustainability practices (with references to the relevant SDGs) for the consideration of FDCs and MoEST.
- An estimate of the budget required to implement the proposed practices.
- A first draft of the proposed workshop and resource toolkit outlined in key task 4.
- Develop and deliver resource toolkits and deliver capacity-building Training-of-Trainer (ToT) workshops to partner FDCs and MoEST with respect to implementing environment, climate and sustainability practices, as well as other related items that arise in the scans and situational need assessments. The resource toolkit will include a proposed set of policies, procedures and practices for the consideration of MoEST and the FDCs, as well as teaching, learning and assessment resources for staff and students.
Note 1: The workshops will need to be delivered in Kiswahili.
Note 2: ESP will organize and cover the costs of travel for the participants as well as the logistics, venue, etc. The consulting firm will arrange for and bill the travel expenses of their presenters.
Note 3: The workshop materials and resource tool kits can be prepared in English. ESP will arrange for the translation to Swahili.
- Prepare and submit a final report. As a guide, the final report should include the following sections:
- Executive Summary
- A summary of the literature and other documents reviewed (with references) and how this review has informed the recommendations.
- A discussion of best practices and current trends in the environment, climate and sustainability that might be applicable to FDCs.
- A summary of the data collected in the FDC scans and needs assessments of, and the data analysis. Note that the details will be provided in an Annex.
- A discussion of the proposed policies, procedures and practices for FDCs and the implementation and monitoring thereof. Note that the full set of documents will be provided in an Annex.
- A summary of the workshop training, the resource toolkit and participant feedback thereon. Note that the workshop materials and the resource toolkit will be provided in an Annex.
- An estimate of the budget needed to implement the proposed policies, procedures and practices.
- Recommendations and conclusions.
Annexes
- An annex with a summary of the data collected and data analysis, and a list of the individuals and/or organizations contacted.
- An annex with the detailed policies, procedures and practices for the consideration of the FDCs and MOEST.
- An annex with all the workshop materials, supplementary resources, and resource toolkit as outlined in key task #4.
The report will be the property of CICan and can be shared freely with stakeholders at CICan’s discretion.
- Timelines and Deliverables
- Using the list of key tasks as a guide, conduct a literature review, draft a workplan, and draft a survey methodology for completing the activities outlined in Section 1 – Key Tasks. The draft work plan will be submitted to CICan by December 13, 2023.
Note 1 – The literature review is expected to start at the outset of the consultancy.
Note 2 – The survey methodology will include the approach to data collection and data analysis, the interview and focus group questions, and the ethical and consent considerations that will be observed.
- Feedback on draft workplan and draft survey methodology received from CICan by December 21, 2023.
- Final workplan, survey methodology and literature review submitted to CICan by January 10, 2023.
- Submit a first draft of the interim report by February 29, 2024.
A suggested outline for ESP reports provided in Section 1 – Key Task 5. It is not expected that all sections indicated in the guide will be ready in the interim report.
The interim report will contain a proposed plan for developing and delivering the resource toolkit and the capacity building Training-of-Trainer (ToT) workshops outlined in key task 4.
- Feedback from CICan on the interim report by March 7, 2024.
- Develop and deliver the resource toolkit and the capacity building Train-the-Trainer workshops by March 26, 2024.
- Submission of first draft of the final report to CICan by April 17, 2024.
- Feedback on first draft of the final report from CICan by April 24, 2024.
- Submission of the final report to CICan for review by May 1, 2024.
- Submission of regular Consultant / Consultant firm consultancy activity reports, timesheets, and invoices by May 8, 2024.
