Somalia: LRPS-EMU-2016-9123324- Education Sector Analysis & Strategic Plan Development

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 125 country offices 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 PURPOSE OF THE RFP

The purpose of this RFP is to invite proposals from qualified institutions to undertake a Sector analysis and development of an Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP) for the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS).

1.3 FORECAST SCHEDULE

The schedule of the contractual process is as follows:

a) Closing date and time for submission of full proposal: 12/02/2016 at 10.00am Nairobi Time

b) Award Notice: to be determined

c) Signature of contract: to be determined

1.4 RFP CHANGE POLICY

All requests for formal clarification or queries on this RFP must be submitted in writing via email to somsupply@unicef.org. 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 RFP 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 Proposals may be withdrawn on written request received from bidders prior to the opening time and date.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 RFP RESPONSE FORMAT

Full proposals should be submitted in ENGLISH and must be received not later 12/02/2016 at 10.00 am Nairobi Time] in three (**03**) original copies, duly signed and dated. Bidders must submit a sealed proposal, with two separate sealed envelopes inside for a) the Technical Proposal and b) the Price Proposal.

Sealed proposals must be securely closed in suitable envelopes and dispatched to arrive at the UNICEF office indicated no later than the closing time and date. They must be clearly marked as follows:

· Outer envelope: Name of company

RFP number

UNICEF Somalia Support Centre

Address

· Inner envelope – technical proposal: Name of company, RFP number - technical proposal

· Inner envelope - price proposal: Name of company, RFP number - price proposal

NOTE: bidders should provide details of person delivering bids a day in advance to facilitate entry to the UNICEF Somalia Office located at UN Gigiri Complex in Nairobi, Block Q, Ground Floor.

Proposals received in any other manner will be invalidated.

Sealed proposals received prior to the stated closing time and date will be kept unopened. The responsible officers will open technical proposals when the specified time has arrived and no proposal received thereafter will be considered. UNICEF will accept no responsibility for the premature opening of a proposal not properly addressed or identified. Any delays encountered in the mail delivery will be at the risk of the bidder.

Offers delivered at a different address or in a different form than prescribed in this RFP, or which do not respect the required confidentiality, or received after the designated time and date, will be rejected.

All references to descriptive materials should be included in the appropriate response paragraph, though the material/documents themselves may be provided as annexes to the proposal/response.

The bidder must also provide sufficient information in the proposal to address each area of the Proposal Evaluation contained in 1.10 to allow the evaluation team to make a fair assessment of the candidates and their proposal.

1.6BIDDER RESPONSE

1.6.1Formal submission requirements

The formal submission requirements as outlined in this Request for Proposal must be followed, e.g. regarding form and timing of submission, marking of the envelopes, no price information in the technical proposal, etc.

1.6.2Bid Form

The completed and signed bid form must be submitted together with the proposal.

1.6.3Mandatory criteria

All mandatory (i.e. must/have to/shall/should/will) criteria mentioned throughout this Request for Proposal have to be addressed and met in your proposal.

1.6.4Technical Proposal

The technical proposal should address all aspects and criteria outlined in this Request for Proposal, especially in its statement of work, terms of reference and paragraph 1.10 of this Request for Proposal. However, all these requirements represent a wish list from UNICEF. The bidders are free to suggest/ propose any other solution. UNICEF welcomes new ideas and innovative approaches.

No price information should be contained in the technical proposal.

1.6.5Price Proposal

The price proposal should be as per but not limited to paragraph 1.10 and as per scoring criteria of this Request for Proposal.

1.6.6Checklist for submission of proposals

Bid form filled in and signed

Envelope for technical proposal

o Technical proposal

o Technical proposal does not contain prices

o Envelope is sealed

o Envelope is marked as follows:

Name of company, RFP number - technical proposal

Envelope for price proposal

o Price proposal

o Envelope is sealed

o Envelope is marked as follows:

Name of company, RFP number - price proposal

1 outer enveloped

o Containing bid form, envelope for technical proposal, and envelope for price proposal

o Envelope is sealed

o Envelope is marked as follows

Name of company

RFP number

UNICEF XXX

Address

1.7CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Information, which the bidder considers proprietary, should be clearly marked "proprietary", if any, next to the relevant part of the text, and UNICEF will treat such information accordingly.

1.8RIGHTS OF UNICEF

UNICEF reserves the right to accept any proposal, in whole or in part; or, to reject any or all proposals. UNICEF reserves the right to invalidate any Proposal received from a Bidder who has previously failed to perform properly or complete contracts on time, or a Proposal received from a Bidder who, in the opinion of UNICEF, is not in a position to perform the contract. UNICEF shall not be held responsible for any cost incurred by the Bidder in preparing the response to this Request for Proposal. The Bidder agrees to be bound by the decision of UNICEF as to whether her/his proposal meets the requirements stated in this Request for Proposal. Specifically, UNICEF reserves the right to:

• contact any or all references supplied by the bidder(s);

• request additional supporting or supplementary data (from the bidder(s));

• arrange interviews with the bidder(s);

• reject any or all proposals submitted;

• accept any proposals in whole or in part;

• negotiate with the service provider(s) who has/have attained the best rating/ranking, i.e. the one(s) providing the overall best value proposal(s);

• contract any number of candidates as required to achieve the overall evaluation objectives.

1.9 PROPOSAL OPENING

Due to the nature of this RFP, there will be no public opening of proposals.

1.10PROPOSAL EVALUATION PROCESS & METHODS

Each proposal will be assessed first on its technical merits (including by reference to legal requirements) and subsequently on its price. The proposal obtaining the overall highest score after adding the scores for the technical and financial proposals is the proposal that offers best value for money and will be recommended for award of the contract. UNICEF will set up an evaluation panel composed of technical UNICEF staff and their conclusions will be forwarded to the internal UNICEF Contracts Review Committee.

The evaluation panel will first evaluate each response for compliance with requirement of the RFP. Responses deemed not to meet all of the mandatory requirements will be considered non-compliant and rejected at this stage without further consideration. Failure to comply with any of the terms and conditions contained in this RFP, including provision of all required information may result in a response or proposal being disqualified from further consideration

Evaluation of the Proposal

In making the final decision, UNICEF considers both technical and financial aspects. The Evaluation Team first reviews the technical aspect of the offer followed by the review of the financial offer of the technically compliant vendors.

The proposals will be evaluated against the following elements:

a. Technical Proposal

The technical proposal should address all aspects and criteria outlined in this Request for Proposal. The total amount of points allocated for the technical component is 70. Only proposals which receive a minimum of 60 points for the entire Technical Proposal (i.e. Desk Review plus Presentation if applicable) will be considered for the commercial proposal evaluation.

Please note for all the bidders invited to present after the desk review, they will be responsible for all travel and associated cost with coming to and from the UNICEF Somalia Office in Nairobi.

(i) Structure of the Technical Proposal

The Technical Proposal should include but not limited to the following:

• Detailed understanding of UNICEF requirements
• Detailed Methodology/Approach to project demonstrating how you meet or exceed UNICEF requirements for this assignment
• Proposed timeline and milestones
• Project dependencies and assumptions
• Expertise/experience of Company detailing general and specific experience with similar assignments in the past ten years. Bidders are requested to back up their submissions by providing:

-Evidence in the form of job completion certificate, contracts and/or references.

-Case studies containing the following information:

• Name of Client
• Title of the Project
• Year and duration of the project
• Scope of the Projects/Requirements
• Proposed Solutions and Outcome
• Team members on each of the project and their specific roles
• Project timelines (start and end date year, and any other information necessary)
• Reference /Contact person details

• Details of the Proposed Team for the assignment including the following information:

• Title/Designation of each team member on the project

• Educational qualifications and professional experiences

• Past experience in working on similar project and assignment – List all similar projects they worked on and their roles on the project.

• Project implementation and work plan showing the detailed sequence and timeline for each activity and man days of the of each proposed team as necessary

• Quality assurance mechanism and risk mitigation measures put in place

(ii) UNICEF General Terms and Conditions

UNICEF’s general terms and conditions will apply to the contract awarded to the vendor. Please note that, in the evaluation of the technical merits of each proposal, UNICEF will take into consideration any proposed amendments to the UNICEF General Terms and Conditions. Proposed amendments to the UNICEF general terms and conditions may negatively affect the evaluation of the technical merits of the proposal.

(iii) Evaluation Criteria

The RFP will be evaluated against the specified criteria in the table below. In addition, clarity and completeness of presentation will be considered during the evaluation.

Technical Criteria

Description of Technical Sub-criteria

Maximum
Points %

1. OVERALL RESPONSE

Overall concord between UNICEF requirements and the proposals of the candidate organization

5

Understanding of, and responsiveness to the requirements of the assignment in terms of technical and expert services as per the attached ToR

Detail and thoroughness of the proposal in respect of the requirements of the ToR and assignment

5

Maximum Points

10

2. STRATEGY/METHODOLOGY OF ASSIGNMENT

The Technical Offer including Work Plan and Approach comprising of:

Proposed design of the process, methodology, preparations and implementation of the analysis and program design process and description of how the institution or company is intending to carry out the tasks (e.g. How to organize the required staff/experts and support their activities at MOECHE, schedule of planned activities, proposed implementation of the required work, etc.)

Proposed overall process and design of the assignment, including timetable and required deliverables - (work plan)

10

Logistical and staff/expert arrangements in MOECHE for efficient implementation

10

Detail and thoroughness of the entire approach / methodology

10

Maximum Points

30

3. TECHNICAL CAPACITY: Organization’s Background, Experience, Expertise and Other Attributes

Institution’s or Company’s Background

· Full address and location of registered offices

· Details of registrations (certificate of incorporation/ documentation as a registered company or institution).

· Evidence of ability to mobilize qualified personnel and experts

· Summary of corporate structure and business area

· Organogram

· Details of infrastructure in office

· Number and type of employees or available experts

· Audited financial statements for previous 2 years

· Incorporation documents

· Financial status/yearly turn over for the last two years → supported with appropriate proof/certificates

5

Experience

· The company should have extensive experience (minimum 10 years) in the relevant field of work as per the ToR

· Proven record and experience in carrying out similar work

· Experience in high quality data collection, analysis and research

· Familiarity with Somalia and specific contexts of FGS; Experience and good knowledge of local Somali social, cultural, political, economic context

· Experience in complex emergencies or conflict-affected contexts preferred

10

Expertise

·The company should provide CVs of leading technical and managerial staff required

·Sufficient human resource capacity, competent staff or experts with suitable experience and expertise as per the assignment and ToR

·Demonstrated managerial capacity to undertake the assignment

10

Other Skills and Attributes Required as per the ToR:

· Able to work in multicultural settings

· Strong analytical and leadership skills

· Excellent interpersonal and team work skills including good judgment and capacity to deal with counterparts of different levels and background

· Setting of high standards for work

· Strong communication, writing and presentation skills

· Necessary language skills in English and Somali

· Proficiency in ICT (MS Word, Excel, Power point, etc.)

5

Maximum Points

30

TotalScore for Technical Proposal

70

Minimum Acceptable Score for Technical Proposal

60

b. Price Proposal

The price should be broken down for each component of the proposed work. The total amount of points allocated for the price component is 30. The maximum number of points will be allotted to the lowest price proposal that is opened and compared among those invited firms/institutions which obtain the threshold points in the evaluation of the technical component. All other price proposals will receive points in inverse proportion to the lowest price; e.g.:

Max. Score for price proposal * Price of lowest priced proposal

Score for price proposal X = ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Price of proposal X

The proposal obtaining the overall highest score after adding the scores for the technical and financial proposals is the proposal that offers best value for money.

UNICEF will award the contract to the vendor whose response is of high quality, clear and meets the project goals. The price/cost of each of the technically compliant proposals shall be considered only upon evaluation of the above technical criteria.

• All prices/rates quoted must be exclusive of all taxes as UNICEF is a tax-exempt organization.

DETAILED FINANCIAL OFFER AND PRICE:

Overall Price and budget covering the entire assignment - both technical and logistical aspects of the assignment as per the ToR

· Unit costs like fee rates, expenses, etc.

· Level of detail of the financial offer and budget

Overall price

10

Completeness and detail of budget and offer

10

Unit costs, rates, etc.

10

Maximum Points

30

ANNEX I: Statement of Works/Terms of Reference

Education Sector Analysis & Education Sector Strategic Plan Development (ESSP)

Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF SOMALIA (FGS)

OBJECTIVE

UNICEF Somalia Education section is seeking an institution to:

· Undertake an education sector analysis for FGS encompassing the entire education spectrum from early childhood development to higher education.

· Provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education (MOECHE) and the Education Sector Committee (ESC) in developing the new Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP) based on the sector analysis

This work will be developed in partnership with the MOECHE and the ESC.

Specific tasks

The institution will (but not limited to):

For Sector Analysis:

Based on the “Education Sector Analysis Methodological Guidelines Vol 1 & 2”[1] jointly developed by UNICEF, UNESCO, The World Bank and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Secretariat, the following analyses will be undertaken in concertation with the MOECHE:

· Assist the MOECHE for assessing the current Transitional Education Sector Strategic Plan (TESSP), including strengths and accomplishments and inadequacy as an input to the Sector Analysis as well as guidance for the new ESSP;

· Analysis of the context of the Education Sector in terms of 1) demographic, social, humanitarian context, and 2) macroeconomic and financial context;

· Analysis of enrolments (evolution of indicators, schooling profiles, etc. based on available data and information), internal efficiency (repetition, retention, etc.) and out-of-school children population (supply and demand of education, etc.);

· Cost and financing: analyses of the evolution of public expenditures and/or external funding for education, distribution by sub-sector, contribution from households, detailed analysis on the public recurrent expenditure, analysis of unit costs by sub-sector (with the consideration of developing a unique method of analysing cost and finances due to limited government funding; e.g. mapping of different types of schools based on various funding sources (public, private, umbrella schools, etc.);

· Quality, system capacity (e.g. what role does the government[s] play) and management: analysis of learning assessments, conversion of resources into results, management of teachers, etc.;

· Equity in 1) enrolments and learning achievements, 2) the distribution of resources;

· Facilitate discussion for determining key areas of MOECHE’s upcoming investment to be incorporated into the ESSP;

· Organize a stakeholder consultation workshop to share the findings of the sector analysis and invite feedback from the ESC members prior to finalization;

Resources to be utilized includes (but not limited to):

· Joint-Review of the Education Sector (JRES) Report 2014 & 2015;

· Government Financial Operations Table and other available macroeconomic data;

· School Survey Report/Education Management Information Systems (EMIS) database (2012/2013 and 2013/14);

· Population Estimation Survey (PESS) 2014;

· Any available Financial Reports and Executed Budget Reports;

· Teacher Profile Reports;

· Ministry of Education Human Resources materials;

· A Conflict and Education Analysis of the Somali Context 2014;

· UNDP Somalia Human Development Report 2012

· Somali Education Strategic priorities: 2021 Education Vision documents;

· Any other documents shared by stakeholders;

For developing the ESSP:

· Review the JRES 2015 Reports and materials to acknowledge the deliverables and status of 2015 activities;

· Under the leadership of MOECHE, assist the ministry in developing an ESSP in light of the sector analysis;

· Develop an Education Simulation Model – to be used as a costing tool and to help analyse the dynamics of education systems and ensure coherence in the development of the education sector (this may shape in a non-traditional method due to lack of domestic funding and the depth of the sector analysis).

· Develop a realistic Action Plan for the ESSP;

· Conduct stakeholder consultations (MOECHE, ESC members, cluster partners, CSOs, etc.) on the ESSP to gather information and identify priorities and plans;

· Propose options for MOECHE in ways to overcome the challenge of data gaps and develop a clear data strategy;

Background

In August 2012, after two decades of devastating civil war, Somalia established the Federal Government heralding the start of a new political and socio-economic chapter in its chequered history. The Somalia Federal Parliament was inaugurated in Mogadishu, followed in September with Somali Parliamentarians selecting Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as the country’s President. One of the first tasks for the new administration was to set out a vision for the recovery and development of a country battered by war and inter-clan rivalry in a ‘Six Pillar’ development plan. The Somalia New Deal Compact was endorsed on 16 September 2013 by the Federal Government and the international community, pledged support to enable its implementation and re-commit to the Somali political process. The Compact presents specific priorities drawn from the Six Pillar Programme of the FGS. In it, the Somalis and the international community agreed on the most important priorities in five areas - the Peacebuilding and Statebuilding Goals (PSGs). Under PSG 5, Education is highlighted as one of the priorities under the Go-2-School Initiative: Educating for Resilience (2013-2016) in order to restore the sector. In early 2013, the Initiative was emanated out of direct request by the Minister of Human Development and Public Service in response to the urgent need for a massive expansion of education services to be achieved in part by engaging Somali youth as a resource group. The target beneficiaries are 1 million children and youth who are currently out-of-school in Somalia.

Education sector took a major step in 2012 towards improving this situation with the consultative development of a basic sector plan, supported with EU funding. This “Mini-Plan” was the first attempt to clearly articulate the direction that the Ministry wanted to go over the next three years. It has since evolved into a TESSP (2013-2015), funded through GPE and has been appraised (quality assurance process) and endorsed from the education stakeholders. The Go-2-School Initiative addressed above is aligned with the priorities of this TESSP. Also in 2012, FGS joined the GPE partnership that emphasizes the coordination and partnership with the ESC. UNICEF is the Managing Entity and EU/USAID is the Coordinating Agency for the on-going GPE Programme. Another paramount accomplishment includes the very first Joint Review of the Education Sector (JRES) held in Mogadishu in late 2014. The MOECHE is planning to hold the second JRES in late 2015.

The challenges that Somalia faces are complex, multifaceted and differ according to various political, social and regional contexts. This is especially true for FGS where political and security instability is acute, minimal government budget, low capacity of the MOECHE with the most number of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) and out-of-school children residing in central and southern Somalia. Under these challenging contexts, the education sector continues to progress with the support of both domestic and international development partners. One of the challenges includes the scarcity of education data.

The TESSP is expiring in 2016 and a quality new sector plan is needed in order to boost both access and quality of education, the institutional capacity, as well as clarify the role of the government(s) for enhancing the education sector. The MOECHE is aiming at setting priorities and plans for the coming years by developing an ESSP. The MOECHE and the ESC has agreed to partner with UNICEF for leading the process of the sector analysis and the ESSP development.

Scope of the Work

The bulk of the work will be done in central and southern parts of Somalia including Mogadishu, the capital city, and in the interim administrative regions within Central South Somalia. In this regard the consultancy will involve extensive visits to the said location during the assignment.

Deliverables

· Inception Report/Work Programme;

· Monthly activity memo;

· Draft Sector Analysis Report;

· Final Sector Analysis Report;

· Education simulation model for the costing of the ESSP;

· Draft ESSP including the multi-year implementation/action plan;

· Final ESSP including the multi-year implementation/action plan;

· Power Point Presentation of the ESSP development process

Responsibilities

· Consulting firm – Guide the entire process and take responsibility for producing the requested deliverables;

· MOECHE – Take the lead for the entire process and provide any information/support that are required to the Consultant(s) that would help in completing the work successfully (including establishment of a working modality; e.g. set-up a steering committee, coordinating committee, technical working group, etc.);

· Local Stakeholders – to jointly work with the MOECHE to own the ESSP development process including providing feedback/information as required by the Consultant;

· UNICEF– Management of contract, Monitoring and technical quality assurance;

Timing

The contract is expected to run for a period of 8 months tentatively from February to October 2016

Reporting, Supervision, and other Arrangements

The winning bidder will work closely with the MOECHE and the ESC. While in Mogadishu, the Director General of the MOECHE will be directly responsible for working with and supporting the consultancy to ensure that all necessary staff participation arrangements are made for the expected works. It is expected that the consultancy will contribute to the capacity building of the MOECHE in delivering the requested works. The overall management of this consultancy is UNICEF Somalia whereby the institution is expected to report to UNICEF Somalia. Communication among the related parties (i.e. MOECHE, ESC, and UNICEF) are to be conducted in a transparent and consultative manner.

Payment Schedule

UNICEF will only make milestone payment based on achievement of specific deliverables as listed on the table below. Also note that UNICEF does not make advance payment and UNICEF is exempted from paying VAT and any other form of taxes

Deliverables

% Payment

Upon submission and UNICEF acceptance of draft of Inception Report/Work Programme

20%

Upon submission and UNICEF acceptance of draft sector analysis report

20%

Upon submission and UNICEF acceptance of Final Sector Analysis Report

20%

Upon submission and UNICEF acceptance of Draft ESSP including the multi-year implementation/action plan

20%

Upon submission and UNICEF acceptance of Final ESSP including the multi-year implementation action plan and power point presentation of the ESSP Development process

20%

Qualifications and Experience: The proposed team should include staff members with below competencies

· At least Master’s Degree in Education, Education Policy & Planning, Education Economics or any relevant field with at least ten (10) years’ professional experience, as appropriate to the role they are assigned within the team

· Specific experience and knowledge in the area of education research and data analysis;

· Has prior experience in undertaking education sector plan particularly in fragile contexts;

· Knowledge of the education sector in post-conflict contexts;

· Ability to work effectively with government and donor counterparts;

· Proven ability in preparing reports in English;

· Deliver assignments timely and ensure good quality of work;

· Experience in developing Financial Simulation Models;

· Inclusion of both international and national team members is an advantage.

[1] Available at and

LRPS-EMU-2016-9123324

How to apply:

Sealed Hard copy proposals should be hand-delivered or sent by Courier to reach UNICEF at the below address on 12/02/2016 by 10.00 a.m. Nairobi Time. Bids received later than this date will be disqualified:

Supply & Logistics Section

UNICEF Somalia Support Centre

UN Gigiri Complex, Block Q, First Floor

P.O. Box 44145-00100

Nairobi

NOTE:

1.Bidders are requested to provide details i.e. Name/ID No. of person delivering the bids a day before the deadline to facilitate entry into the complex to:somsupply@unicef.org

2.A printed set of the completed technical and cost proposals should be submitted in three separate sealed envelopes. (Individual envelopes for technical and price proposals) clearly marked with RFP No., Name of Company, Technical Proposal and Financial Proposal