Economic inclusion of young women and men through improved access to high quality dual education and training in Egypt

Location: Egypt
Business sector: Other
Project number: 70892
Funding source: CHIN00 - SECO SEMED INCLUSION
Contract type: Consultancy Services
Notice type: Invitation for expressions of interest (CSU)
Issue date: 15 Aug 2018
Closing date: 05 Sep 2018 at 17:00 London

Single Stage Open Competitive Selection – Request for Proposals

Project Description:

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the EBRD or the Bank) believes that economic inclusion is integral to development. Based on the concept of equality of opportunity, the Bank measures the extent to which economic institutions, markets and education systems extend economic opportunities to individuals regardless of their specific circumstances, such as their place of birth, gender or, with regard to young adults, social background.

Creating economic opportunities for young women and men and advancing the skills and employability of the local workforce is rapidly becoming an important strategic priority for the EBRD. This is particularly relevant in Egypt, where employers are dissatisfied with the outcomes of education. Recent gains in school enrolment have failed to translate clearly into positive labour market outcomes. The quality of education remains low and is reflected in Egypt’s weak performance on international student assessments. Entrants to the labour market typically lack the sorts of ‘soft skills’ and personal attributes valued by employers.

Assignment Description:

The expected outcome of the Assignment is to support the private sector in addressing operational challenges related to the skills mismatch through the expansion of Elsewedy Technical Academy (“STA”), a vocational training school in Egypt (the “Assignment”).

The selected Consultant is expected to provide the following services:

1) Support STA with curriculum and examination development for a priority discipline such as Industrial Electronics; including training of teachers and support on national accreditation of training

2) Support STA during their expansion, including: supporting the first phase in setting up and administering new demand driven schools, support on communication, strategy and development of new offers for students

3) Support STA to promote and enhance gender mainstreaming, taking into account their already on-going efforts in this area.

More detailed information on the assignment and the deliverables can be found in the Terms of Reference linked below:

https://www.ebrd.com/documents/procurement/tor-70892.pdf

Consultant Selection Procedure: Single stage open competitive selection. Interested firms or groups of firms are invited to submit a Technical and Financial Proposal.

Assignment Start Date and Duration: The Assignment is expected to start in mid- September and has an estimated overall duration of 24 months.

Cost Estimate for the Assignment: up to EUR 275,000.00 (exclusive of VAT).

Funding Source: It is anticipated that the contract will be financed by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). Selection and contracting are subject to the availability of funding.

Eligibility: There are no eligibility restrictions based on the consultant's country of origin.

Consultant Profile: Corporate services are required. The Consultant will be a firm or a group of firms preferably with previous project experience, preferably in Egypt, related to vocational training of the private sector, including the manufacturing sector and international experience working with educational institutional partners on curriculum development. The Consultant's expert team is expected to include the following key experts (the “Key Experts”):

Key Expert 1 – Team Leader:

The Team Leader will be the senior consultant with relevant experience in leading similar assignments. S/he will have the Coordination responsibility and will lead the team of experts (below) to deliver anticipated results. This includes, coordinating working efforts of other experts, coordination with the client (STA), and timely submission of reporting and main focal point for this assignment.

The Team Leader will have the below qualifications:

• A master’s degree in economics, business, management and/or related disciplines,
• Preferably 8 years’ professional experience working with private sector in manufacturing; internationally and/or in Egypt, for the development and management of dual learning training programmes as well as links between industry and vocational education systems.
• Preferably five years’ of international professional experience working with educational institutional partners on curriculum development.
• Substantial knowledge of best international practices and implementation of dual and work-based learning systems.
• Experience in curriculum development and implementation
• Knowledge of the German “learning fields concept” would be an advantage.
• An understanding of engagement of key stakeholders such as qualification standards authorities, chambers of commerce, civil society and employers.
• Familiarity with Quality Criteria for the International Vocational Training of the AHK-IHK-DIHK network would be an asset.
• Demonstrable experience in most or any of the EBRD’s regions with established relationships with regional local expertise or the ability to access the same – and particularly in the country of assignment.

Key Expert 2 – Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Expert:

The TVET Expert will have extensive knowledge on the local context in Egypt working together and under the supervision of the team leader, and will have the below qualifications:

• University degree in economics, business, management and/or other related disciplines.
• Extensive knowledge of TVET sector in Egypt with extensive knowledge of the local context in Egypt in general.
• Preferably 5 years of direct experience of working with private sector and other related stakeholders (ideally in the manufacturing sector) in Egypt, for the development and management of dual learning training programmes as well as links between industry and vocational education systems.
• Experience in curriculum development and implementation
• Knowledge of the German “learning fields concept” would be an advantage.
• A sound understanding of the link between manufacturing sectors and education systems.
• An understanding of engagement of key stakeholders such as qualification standards authorities, chambers of commerce, civil society and employers.
• Demonstrable experience from one or more similar projects.

Key Expert 3 – Gender Expert:

The Gender expert will ensure incorporation of the Gender aspect as a cross-cutting theme to all the work throughout the assignment.

The gender expert will work together with the team leader and the TVET expert (under the supervision of the team leader) and will have the below qualifications:

• University degree in social science, Gender programme management and/or other related disciplines.
• Preferably 5 years of direct professional experience in Gender equality and gender mainstreaming; ideally with in the TVET sector.
• Extensive work expertise and knowledge of Gender issues in Egypt.
• Formal trainings on Gender issues is an asset.
• Experience in curriculum development and implementation is an asset.

Submission Requirements: The consultants are now invited to submit a completed Technical and Financial Proposal as per the standard templates and instructions available at this link http://www.ebrd.com/documents/procurement/single-stage-package.docx . Interested Consultants should make themselves familiar with these Standard Templates, Standard Instructions and Conditions of Contract in preparation of their proposals.

• The Technical Proposal shall be submitted in English electronically via eSelection not later than the Closing Date, as one single PDF file. The technical proposal should not exceed 15 pages excluding the Declaration Form and CVs (Form 1- TP 1 and Form 1 – TP 6).
• The Financial Proposal (Form 2 – FP 1 and FP2) shall be submitted in English separately by email only to the Bank Contact Person. Consultants are reminded of the requirement to ensure the confidentiality of the Financial Proposals. A Technical Proposal that contains elements of a financial proposal shall be declared non-responsive.

Bank Contact Person:

Sanda Jugo (Ms.)
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
One Exchange Square
London EC2A 2JN
e-mail: JugoS@ebrd.com (technical proposals should be sent through eSelection and NOT to this email address)

Deadline to Submit Clarification Questions: Via e-mail to the Bank Contact Person by 24/08/2018

Selection Method and Evaluation Criteria:

• Technical Proposal Evaluation Criteria

• Firm's previous project experience in implementation of assignments related to vocational training of the private sector, curriculum development and implementation, and dual learning training programmes (20%)
• - Quality of the methodology and approach proposed for the assignment (30%)
• Firm’s previous project experience in implementation of similar assignments in Egypt (10%)
• CVs of Key Expert 1 – Team Leader (20 %).
• CV of Key Expert 2 – TVET Expert (15%)
• CV of Key Expert 3 – Gender Expert (5%)

The minimum technical score (St) required to pass is 70.

• Opening of Financial Proposals

After the technical evaluation is completed, only the submissions which score 70 or above of the total marks available for the technical criteria will be eligible to have their financial proposals opened.

• Combined Technical and Financial Evaluation

The lowest evaluated Financial Proposal (Fm) is given the maximum financial score (Sf) of 100. The formula for determining the financial scores (Sf) of all other Proposals is calculated as follows:

Sf = 100 x Fm/ F, in which “Sf” is the financial score, “Fm” is the lowest evaluated Financial Proposal, and “F” the price of the Proposal under consideration.

Proposals are then ranked according to their combined technical (St) and financial (Sf) scores using the weights (T = 80; F = 20) T + F = 100 as follows: S = St x T% + Sf x F%.

Important Notes:

• The proposal validity period is 120 days from the deadline date for the receipt of submissions. During this period, the Consultant shall maintain its original Proposal without any change, including the availability of the Experts, the proposed rates and the total price.
• The selection will be made from the Proposals received in response to this notification only, on the basis of the submission requirements and selection criteria set out in this Procurement Notice. The highest-ranked Consultant will be selected and invited to negotiate the contract, subject to availability of funding.

Any updates of and clarifications on this procurement notice shall be announced as updates on this notice, without any other notification. In the event of changes consultants will need to download the updated versions. Consultants are required to periodically check the notice for updates. Failure to take the updates into account while preparing the Proposal may result in disqualification or penalties to the scores in the evaluation.