Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Consultant

BACKGROUND

The Government of Rwanda (GoR), through the Ministry of Education, has partnered with Dalberg Advisors and Hempel Foundation to set up Elimu-Soko Rwanda – an initiative to serve as a stimulant and a clearinghouse for innovative solutions in the public education system. Through this initiative, GoR is committed to co-designing innovative solutions with education entrepreneurs, enabling their success through effective policy and procurement procedures, and providing them with technical expertise and financing to scale. Additionally, this will enable entrepreneurs to align their priorities with those of the government, increasing chances of uptake and scaling.

For its inaugural project, Elimu-Soko Rwanda will select, pilot, and support the scaling of 1-2 innovations that address challenges in foundational learning. Elimu-Soko Rwanda will provide technical and financial support over a 6–12-month period to pilot these solutions, and successful solutions will be scaled nationwide. The pilot will be co-designed by the Ministry of Education, the funder and the innovators to ensure alignment and ownership.

WHAT WE NEED

A consulting firm with relevant monitoring and evaluation expertise, to support the design and implementation of a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework that cuts across both the systems level (i.e., pilot) and the individual level (i.e., innovation). The consultant will work closely with Elimu-Soko on the design of the pilot program to ensure the right M&E foundations (impact and results framework) are laid from the get-go and the pilot has an ambitious theory of change, the right set of KPIs to measure outcomes, track progress, and quantify impact, as well as well-defined milestones – which will ultimately inform the selection of innovators.

Once the innovators are selected, the consultant will work with them to design evidence-based experiments, tailor the results framework to their individual solutions, as well as identifying tools and systems to be used to carry out the pilot. Additionally, the consultant will ensure the innovators are adequately equipped to collect, store, and analyze data feeding into the overall pilot MEL framework. While the innovators will be expected to have adequate capabilities to carry out the M&E, the consultant will accompany them, providing oversight support to ensure that impact is measured, and learnings are captured, disseminated and acted upon.

To Elimu-Soko partners, the consultant will play the role of an objective voice constantly interrogating their thinking and shaping the pilot.

WHO WE WANT

We are looking for a leader in Monitoring and Evaluation as well as innovation experimentation and validation, with deep knowledge of the Rwandan education sector. You should have a track record of designing systems to gather and analyze both quantitative and qualitative data to generate credible outcomes from multiple projects and effect systemic change. You should also have experience designing agile methodologies to pilot innovations with rigorous experimentation allowing for fast learning and adapting. Additionally, you should possess strong facilitation skills to support learning processes that enhance individual and group capacity. Excellent writing skills and spoken English and Kinyarwanda is essential.

Opportunity Structure

Key Tasks

1. Lead the design of an impact and results framework for the Elimu-Soko Rwanda initiative, which will inform the selection of innovations (i.e., Theory of Change, Key Performance Indicators, etc.)
2. Assist in co-creating the pilot initiative including the designing of an approach and methodology for conducting the pilot
3. Assist developing innovation-specific MEL approaches to feed into overall learning framework
4. Support innovators to carry out MEL in a consistent, ethical and analytical way
5. Support pilot implementation by using data to identify needed iterations
6. Support the development of learning resources and tools for, and with innovators and support them in using those tools to capture impact and lessons
7. Support the production of a post pilot report with evidence-based findings and recommendations on whether or not to scale the innovations; lessons learned, etc.

TIMELINES

The consultant is expected to work for six months spread over October 2022 to March 2023.

Competitive Scope

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

To evaluate the proposals, a selection committee comprised of officials from the Ministry of Education Rwanda, Dalberg, and the Hempel Foundation will use a comprehensive framework to select the successful MEL partner. The judging criteria are as per the below:

Criteria – Description

MEL Framework – A robust and comprehensive MEL framework that looks at both systems level (the pilot) and the individual level i.e. the innovation

Experience and expertise – Proven MEL expertise with minimum 5 years’ experience

Execution capacity – The consultant’s proven track record of designing robust MEL systems as well as deep knowledge of the Rwandan education sector

APPLICATION PROCESS

We invite you to submit your technical proposal highlighting your understanding of the education sector in Rwanda, approach to developing the MEL framework, work plan, relevant past experience, and proposed team. The technical proposal should be a PowerPoint document with not more than 15 slides excluding annexes. Additionally, bidders should submit a financial proposal detailing costs including disbursement schedules.

Bidders are encouraged to consider the following:

• Proposals (technical and financial) must be sent as separate files in a folder to recruiting@dalberg.com by July 30^th, 2022. The email subject line should be “MEL proposal for Elimu-Soko Rwanda initiative”
• All documents must be saved as PDF
• MEL consultants must not mention price anywhere in the technical proposal
• All costs in the financial proposal must be in USD, and VAT inclusive
• MEL Consultants should disclose any actual or apparent conflict of interest that may exist between Elimu-Soko or its partners and any of their team members or any party that the MEL consultant seeks to engage in the provision of services and/or materials for the pilot

All inquiries and communications regarding these ToRs shall be directed to recruiting@dalberg.com. If the question is prompted by an item in these ToRs, the bidder must cite the section and page number for each question. Every attempt will be made to answer all inquiries from each bidder. To ensure consistent interpretation of the ToRs, a consolidated written response will outline each question/clarification and Elimu-Soko’s response and be communicated to all bidders.

Tagged as: Dalberg, MEL, Rwanda