REQUEST FOR CONSULTANTS’ QUALIFICATIONS …

1 REQUEST FOR CONSULTANTS' QUALIFICATIONS OF THE. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION. DEVELOPMENT (NIED) WITH POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING IN. THE TEXTBOOK REFORM PROCESS. MCAN/COM/RCQ/1C01004-B. MCA Namibia (MCA-N) requires the services of an individual consultant (hereinafter referred to as the Consultant ) to provide the following services: Summary of Services The objective of this REQUEST for Consultants' QUALIFICATIONS is to procure the services of an experienced Consultant to assist the National Institute for Educational Development (NIED). with Policy Development, Training and overseeing the first steps in the implementation of the Curriculum and Textbook Reform Process. The consultancy service will develop the policy on the curriculum reform cycle; revise the policy on the evaluation of learning support materials (LSMs); and review the purpose, design and functionality of the annual textbook catalogue.

2 This document sets out the application procedure and the Terms of Reference for the above assignment. Location: Okahandja and Home Office Anticipated Start Date: 05 September 2011. Duration of Assignment: The Consultancy will be for 130 working/business days (26 weeks). over a period of 19 months between 5 September 2011 and 31 March 2013, of which 17. weeks will be for full time site work at the NIED offices in Okahandja, Namibia and 9 weeks for part time home office work. Application Procedure and Selection Before applying, interested Consultants shall review the Terms of Reference (Attachment 2), which provides a detailed description of the assignment and the QUALIFICATIONS and experience required of the Consultant. Interested Consultants shall send their responses, which shall include an Expression of Interest (EOI) to be considered for the assignment including the date of availability, up-to- date CV demonstrating that the Consultant fulfils the minimum requirements described in the TOR, contact details ( , address, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address, website, etc.)

3 , at least three references that can comment on the Consultant's related work experience, and any other relevant information. The selection shall be carried out in accordance with the procedures for Selection based on the Consultants' QUALIFICATIONS method set forth in Annex VI, Section of the MCA. Namibia Procurement Rules (see the Procurement page on website for the Procurement Rules). The selected Consultant will be requested to submit combined technical and financial proposals for the assignment, which, together with the Consultant's EOI and the attached Form of Contract (Attachment 3), will be used for the negotiation of a fixed-price contract between the Consultant and MCA Namibia. Interested Consultants shall submit their responses in the standard MCA-N EOI format (Attachment 1) to: The Procurement Manager, MCA Namibia, Atlas House, 3rd Floor Room 13. 117 Sam Nujoma Drive Windhoek, Namibia Alternatively they can send their responses electronically to the following e-mail address: Deadline for the submission of responses: 13h00 on 28 July 2011.

4 2. Attachment 1: Expression of Interest Forms Expression of Interest: Form 1. [Location, Date]. Mr. Johann Botha Director Procurement MCA Namibia Dear Sir, Re: TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT. (NIED) WITH POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING IN THE TEXTBOOK REFORM PROCESS. MCAN/COM/RCQ/1C01004-B. I, the undersigned, offer to provide the consulting services for the abovementioned assignment in accordance with your REQUEST for Consultant's QUALIFICATIONS dated [Insert Date] and this Expression of Interest. I hereby submit my Expression of Interest, which will be open for acceptance for a period of 60 (sixty) days. I hereby declare that all the information and statements made in this Expression of Interest are true and accept that any misrepresentation contained in it may lead to my disqualification. If negotiations are held during the initial period of validity of the Expression of Interest, I. undertake to negotiate on the basis of the availability of the proposed team members for the assignment.

5 My Expression of Interest is binding upon myself and subject to the modifications resulting from Contract negotiations, and I undertake, if my proposal is accepted, to initiate the consulting services related to the assignment not later than [insert the date on which you will be available to commence with the assignment]. I understand you are not bound to accept any proposal that you may receive. Yours sincerely, Name and title of Signatory Address of Consultant 3. Attachment 1: Expression of Interest Forms Expression of Interest: Form 2. Team Composition and Task Assignments Not Used 4. Attachment 1: Expression of Interest Forms Expression of Interest: Form 3. Curriculum Vitae (CV). 1. Name [Insert full name]. 2. Date of Birth [Insert birth date]. 3. Nationality [Insert nationality]. 4. Education [Indicate college/university and other specialized education, giving names of institutions, degrees obtained, and dates of obtainment].

6 5. Membership in Professional Associations 6. Other Training [Indicate appropriate postgraduate and other training]. 7. Countries of Work [List countries where the consultant has worked in the last ten years]. Experience 8. Languages [For each language indicate proficiency: good, fair, or poor in speaking, reading, and writing]. Language Speaking Reading Writing 9. Employment Record [Starting with present position, list in reverse order every employment held by the consultant since graduation, giving for each employment (see format here below): dates of employment, name of employing organization, positions held.]. From [year]: To [year]: Employer: Position(s) held: 10. Work undertaken [Among the assignments in which the consultant has been involved, that best illustrates indicate the following information for those assignments that best illustrate capability to handle his/her capability to handle the tasks listed in the TOR]. the tasks assigned: Name of assignment or project: Year Location: Client: Main project features: 5.

7 Attachment 1: Expression of Interest Forms Position held: Activities performed: 11. References: [List at least three individual references with substantial knowledge of your work. Include each reference's name, title, phone and e-mail contact information. MCA. Namibia reserves the right to contact other sources as well as to check references, in particular for performance on any relevant MCC-funded projects.]. 12. Task assigned for this consultancy: Not Used 13. Certification: I, the undersigned, certify that to the best of my knowledge and belief, this CV correctly describes me, my QUALIFICATIONS , and my experience. I understand that any wilful misstatement described herein may lead to my disqualification or dismissal, if engaged. I, the undersigned, hereby declare that I agree to participate in the above-mentioned assignment. I. further declare that I am able and willing to work for the period foreseen in the above referenced REQUEST for Consultant's QUALIFICATIONS .

8 Signature Date 6. Attachment 2: Terms of Reference TERMS OF REFERENCE. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT (NIED). WITH POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND TRAINING IN THE TEXTBOOK REFORM PROCESS. 1. SUMMARY. Textbooks, an important component of Learning Support Materials (LSMs), are a cost-effective way to improve learner achievement, particularly in the short to medium term. For many teachers, textbooks are an indispensable resource and without them, many teachers may not be able to teach the curriculum effectively. However, in order to ensure a marked improvement in the quality of teaching and learning, it is critical that textbooks are optimally utilised by the learners. In the Namibian experience, there are four key stages in the LSM supply chain cycle that are critical to improving educational quality, namely; (i) evaluation and selection, (ii) procurement, (iii) delivery and payment, and (iv) coordination, utilisation and management.

9 If any of these components are not fully functional, the quality of teaching and learning can be compromised. It is against this background that MCA-Namibia, as part of its support programme to the National Institute for Educational Development (NIED), is seeking the services of an experienced curriculum policy development and planning expert to develop a policy on the curriculum reform cycle, a policy on the evaluation and selection of learning support materials (LSM), a Training Manual for bid Evaluators and standard bidding documents to solicit the submission of sample LSMs and expressions of interest from prospective bid Evaluators; to provide training for the first cohort of bid Evaluators; and to assist NIED in overseeing the evaluation and selection of LSM's to be included in the 2013 textbook catalogue. The Consultancy will be for 130 working/business days (26 weeks) over a period of 19 months between 5 September 2011 and 31 March 2013, of which 17 weeks will be for full time site work at the NIED offices in Okahandja, Namibia and 9 weeks for part time home office work.

10 2. BACKGROUND. The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC). The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) was established in January 2004 as a United States government corporation to implement the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). MCC's mission is to reduce poverty by supporting sustainable, transformative economic growth in developing countries, which create and maintain sound policy environments. MCC is designed to support innovative strategies and to ensure accountability for measurable results. For additional information on MCC please visit Namibia's Millennium Challenge Compact The Millennium Challenge Account Namibia (MCA-N) Compact, providing grant funding for public investments in Education, Tourism and Agriculture, was signed on 28 July 2008 between the Republic of Namibia and the US Government, acting through the MCC. An amount of US$ million will be available for development in the target sectors, over and above current Government allocations and assistance from other development partners.