CONSULTANCY SERVICES TO CARRY OUT ASSESSMENT OF ANNUAL STATE OF CAPACITY BUILDING IN RWANDA 2014/2015

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1 REPUBLIC OF RWANDA NATIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING SECRETARIAT- NCBS P. O. Box 7367 Kigali Rwanda Web site: REQUEST FOR THE EXPRESSION: N O. 012/S/NCBS-BTC/ CONSULTANCY SERVICES TO CARRY OUT ASSESSMENT OF ANNUAL STATE OF CAPACITY BUILDING IN RWANDA 2014/ BACK GROUND AND CONTEXT Rwanda aspires to become a middle-income economy by Its main development focus is to transform the country from a predominantly agrarian to a knowledge-based, service driven and private sector-led economy. The Government of Rwanda (GoR) is investing in developing the capacity of state and non-state actors to ensure effective and efficient service delivery and has put in place appropriate institutional arrangements to coordinate capacity development, initially in the public sector and more recently for the private sector and civil society. This has been achieved by expanding the mandate of the Public Sector Capacity Building Secretariat (PSCBS) and re-designating it to the National Capacity Building Secretariat (NCBS) in June The mission of NCBS is to contribute to the development of a strong national workforce and organizations that deliver quality services and thereby contribute to the achievement of the national development agenda. NCBS coordinates capacity development interventions and provides CB support at institutional and organizational levels and ensures that capacity development interventions are integrated in the national planning framework. Despite remarkable achievements from a number of capacity development initiatives, major capacity challenges still exist and hence the need for an annual assessment of capacity building in the country. A major challenge in both the public and private sectors is inadequate information/data to provide input for planning, policy design, capacity building investments, monitoring as well as assessment of the impact of various initiatives. A key responsibility assigned to NCBS by the Government of Rwanda is to develop an Annual State of Capacity Building Report to provide a strategic outlook on the state of capacity building in the public and private sectors as well as civil society. 1

2 It is against this background that NCBS with the support of the Strategic Approach to Capacity Building project, funded by the Belgian Government through BTC, seeks the services of a highly qualified and experienced international Research Firm to conduct the Annual State of Capacity Building Assessment GENERAL OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT The overall objective of the research study on the Annual State of Capacity Building is to gather CB information that will enhance accountability through improved monitoring and evaluation of the impact of current sector specific CB initiatives, support policy and planning processes and ensure that new CB investments and initiatives match sector and national priorities. The study will highlight updates on critical skills development in line with these priorities, showcase sector specific CB achievements and best practices, and indicate trends and investments in the development of capacity, including their impact and challenges faced. It will serve as a flagship CB knowledge resource providing an overall country outlook on capacity building in the sectors. 3. SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT The scope of the Annual State of Capacity Building study covers the priority sectors as defined by the EDPRS-2: Agriculture, Infrastructure, Trade, Investment and Industry, ICT, Mining, Education, Health and Natural Resources. It includes capacity gaps and areas in which short-to-medium term interventions are needed to guide responses and achieve results. Given the enormous scope of covering the public and private sector and civil society, the assignment will span identified sub sectors in the priority sectors. The period under review for this report shall cover the state of capacity building of fiscal year 2014/ KEY TASKS The research firm with the required profile is sought to carry out the following specific research tasks Desk research Review existing national and sector specific documents and reports on capacity building activities undertaken by government or donor funded projects / programs as well as major relevant public policy developments and frameworks Data collection The selected research firm will conduct sector specific consultations to benchmark the data sets with relevant data to be collected. It will collect data from individual development partners, relevant government institutions, private businesses and international/national NGOs that have a key stake in capacity building projects and programs in the selected sectors Data analysis 2

3 Review the collected data sets and raw data on capacity building including existing approaches and methodologies on how best to capture sectoral information and data in the priority sectors for the annual state of capacity building report Communication, consultation and validation Design a communication plan to consult, prepare, inform and regularly update key stakeholders on purpose of the research, methodology, process and draft results. Facilitate a series of consultative workshops in the each sector to validate a summary draft report for each Sector. Facilitate a wider stakeholder consultation workshop to review and validate the consolidated final draft report. 5. DURATION OF THE RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT The estimated duration of the assignment will be 105 calendar days, which equals to about three and a half months (or 15 weeks), with an estimate of 198 person days (an estimated break down in the TORs). 6. THE REQUIRED PROFILE OF THE RESEARCH FIRM The research firm being sought to undertake this assignment should be an internationally renowned research firm that possesses at least 10 years of experience in conducting capacity building research studies similar to this assignment in development context. Experience in capacity building evaluations is an advantage. The firm has a proven track record of collaboration / partnerships with research firms / researchers in Rwanda, to collectively undertake this assignment. The firm shall provide official Certificates of Completion of at least 4 similar assignments. 7. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE OF THE RESEARCH TEAM 7.1. One Lead Consultant/Team Leader (international expertise) The lead consultant should have international experience of leading researches or evaluation in in similar assignments, context and magnitude. He/she should have: Master s degree or higher in any of the following or equivalent in Social Science, Public Administration, Economics or Development Studies. Relevant experience of not less than 10 years in research based assignments (with work certificate and references) (i.e. in mapping capacity building activities in various sectors; assessing and analyzing capacity building initiatives; capacity profiling; diagnosis of capacity assets; etc.) and provide evidence of having produced similar documents; Proven experience (with work certificate and references) in working with the public sector especially in capacity building related matters 3

4 Previous experience (with work certificate and references) in developing countries with a context similar to Rwanda is highly desirable. The lead consultant should be familiar with statistical packages like SPSS, Epi Info, and other related modern data collection tools. Fluency in English. A working knowledge of French shall be an added advantage. 7b. One Research expert / Statistician (international expertise) Master s degree in Economics, Statistics or Applied Mathematics or related field. Relevant experience (with work certificate and references) of not less than 7 years with proven relevant research based work experience in similar assignments that include data collection, data analysis and capacity assessments. Relevant experience in applying statistical packages like SPSS, Epi Info, and other related modern data collection tools. Demonstrable work experience in a development context is essential (with work certificate and references) and previous experience in Sub-Saharan Africa, ideally in Rwanda, is highly desirable. He/she should have very good analytical and reporting skills of similar reports. 7c. One Research Data Analyst (international expertise) At least a Master s degree in any of the following or equivalent: Statistics, Economics, Econometrics, Data Management/Analysis with five years relevant work experience. Or: a Bachelor s degree in any of the following or equivalent: Statistics, Economics, Econometrics, and Data Management/Analysis with ten years relevant work experience. At least five years work experience in similar assignments, contexts and scope; Demonstrable work experience in a development context is essential (with work certificate and references) and previous experience in Sub-Saharan Africa, ideally in Rwanda, is highly desirable. He/she should have very good analytical and reporting skills of similar reports. 7d. Five Research Experts (national expertise) With Master s degree in Human Resources, Economics, Social Sciences or equivalent with proven relevant work experience of not less than 5 years. Work experience in sector specific capacity building assignments/initiatives and institutional building/organizational development. Work experience in a development context is essential. He/she should have proven research experience as well as analytical and reporting skills of similar reports. 4

5 The NCBS now invites eligible consulting firms to show their interests in providing the services. The Expressions of Interest shall include, but not limited to a) Letter of expressions of interest; b) Firm s profile including experience in performing similar assignments, Qualifications for the key personnel, phone number and addresses. Expression of interest must addressed to the Executive Secretary of NCBS, attention Procurement Management Unit and delivered by attachment as a single Microsoft Word or PDF file not later than 25 th June 2015 to the following address procurement@ncbs.gov.rw; cassian.mugume@ncbs.gov.rw The Terms of reference shall be accessed on the following websites: Antonia MUTORO The Executive Secretary National Capacity Building Secretariat (NCBS) 5