Проект Learning Together оголошує тендер на розробку онлайн угорсько / румунсько-українського словника для одного предмета. Дедлайн – 19 червня 2020 р.

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF ONLINE HUNGARIAN/ROMANIAN-UKRAINIAN DICTIONARY FOR ONE SUBJECT

These Terms of Reference define the activities that will be provided for the Language Component of the project Finland’s Support to the Ukrainian Education Reform (later: Project), in particular for Cluster 3 Education Environment.

1.     Background info on the project

Learning Together is a four-year collaborative project that started between Ukraine and Finland in July 2018, and was joined by the EU in late 2018. The work scheduled to last until July 2022. The Project is implemented by FCG International.

The project has national coverage and it focuses on supporting the New Ukrainian School (NUS) reform, especially in the primary education, and is designed around three thematic clusters which are inter-linked: Teacher Competence Development, Education Promotion, and New Education Environments.

The total budget is 8 million euros out of which 6 million euros is Finnish funding. In addition, there is a 2-million-euro top-up funding tool for enhancing the quality of instruction in Ukrainian SL/L2 among national minorities, provided by the EU.

2.     Context of Assignment

The new Law on Education was adopted in Ukraine on September 5, 2017. Article 7 of the Law refers to an increase in subjects taught in the Ukrainian language for national minorities at the secondary education level.

In a letter dated September 29, 2017, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine requested the Venice Commission, an advisory body in the field of constitutional law, to conclude on Article 7 of the Law on Education, which regulates the use of the state language, as well as minority languages and other languages of education.

In 2018, the Ministry of Education and Science prepared a Roadmap for minority languages, focusing on the need to improve the quality of teaching Ukrainian among ethnic communities, especially in Zakarpattia and Chernivtsi regions.

Zakarpattia and Chernivtsi are multinational and multicultural regions with Hungarian and Romanian among the minority language groups. The following districts are densely populated by national communities - Hungarians: Berehovе, Vynohradiv, Uzhhorod, and Romanians: Tiachiv, Hertsa, Novoselytsia, Storozhynets, Hlyboka, Chernivtsi. In 2019/2020 school year, in Zakarpattia region, there are 72 schools with the Hungarian language of instruction; and 27 schools with Ukrainian and Hungarian languages of instruction; 12 schools with the Romanian language of instruction and 2 schools with Ukrainian and Romanian languages of instruction. In total, 17192 students receive instruction in Hungarian and 2591 students receive instruction in Romanian in this region. In Chernivtsi region, there are 56 schools with the Romanian language of instruction and 18 – with Ukrainian and Romanian languages of instruction. In total, 13518 students receive instruction in Romanian in this region.

The above-mentioned schools deliver instruction mostly in minority languages, while the Ukrainian language is learned only as a separate subject. These schools do not provide students with enough proficiency in the language to enter tertiary education in Ukraine. A high percentage of the school graduates are failing in independent evaluation tests in the Ukrainian language and literature that is an integral component of their admission to further education.

The language component of the Project aims to improve the current system of school education of national minorities in Ukraine, in particular to enhance students’ capacity to study school subjects in the Ukrainian language and teachers’ capacity to teach school subjects in the Ukrainian language among national minorities.

The concept of the online program ‘Bilingual terminology for school subjects’ is based on the bilingual dictionaries that would facilitate teaching (for teachers) and learning (for students) school subjects in the Ukrainian language in minority schools. The online program could be used by teachers as an additional didactic material at lessons to help students to gradually improve their knowledge of the Ukrainian language and therefore increase their active vocabulary of the terminology.

3.     Objective

The objective of the assignment is to develop an effective tool to assist (through visual and audio aids) the students and teachers in learning/teaching the school subject in the Ukrainian language. 

4.     Scope of work

A detailed concept will be finalized by the Service Provider with guidance by the National Project Director, the Chief Technical Advisor, and the Project’s Language Expert.

The scope of work of the Service Provider under this ToR shall include, but not necessarily be limited to the following:

4.1.        To design a concept for the online bilingual dictionary and mobile application describing the content and technical needs for its implementation

4.2.        To develop the content for the online dictionary and mobile application including but not limited to the following:

4.2.1.     The final product should include scientifically reliable and up-to-date terminology. The terms could consist of one or several words. The minimum quantity of the terms is TBC.

4.2.2.     Online dictionary and mobile application should comprise the terms used in the curriculum of school subjects, namely Math. The terms could be arranged according to the topics within school subject.

4.2.3.     The product should consist of three sections: primary school (1-4 grades), basic school (5-9 grades) and high school (10-11 grades).

4.2.4.     Each term could include the following information: spelling in minority and Ukrainian languages, indicating the stress in Ukrainian version.

4.2.5.     Maximum use of visual (and audio) aids for each term (pictures/diagrams, pronunciation (audio would be considered separately, depending on the costs)).

4.2.6.     Languages of the dictionary: Ukrainian-Hungarian and Hungarian-Ukrainian; Ukrainian-Romanian and Romanian-Ukrainian.

4.3.          To develop and build the online program/dictionary/mobile application taking into account technical issues, e.g. application for both iOS and Android platforms, user-friendly design, etc.

5.     Expected deliverables

The Service Provider will submit the following deliverables:

5.1.  Design and present the concept of the online program/dictionary/mobile application with detailed description of the content and technical components

5.2. Draft an inception report outlining the activities to be undertaken, with an implementation plan and timelines

5.4. Pilot the online program/dictionary/mobile application with a number of beneficiaries (in this case, students of the Hungarian and Romanian national minority groups of a certain age/school grade, teachers of the schools with instruction in the Hungarian and Romanian languages

5.5. Provide a monthly Progress report and three semi-annual reports describing the accomplishments

5.6. Provide a final product (taking into account its sustainability, ownership and possible restructuring and alterations) and technical instructions for using the product

5.7. Provide a final report showing activities undertaken, challenges and successes while piloting, results (planned and unplanned), lessons learned, and future recommendations for possible future owners, as well as at least a one-year warranty on the program/website developed.

6.     Resource Planning and Timeline

The task should be implemented during 2020-2021. The final timeline of the assignment will be agreed with the Project.

The details of the assignment, terms and conditions will be specified in the contract between the FCG International Ltd (Contractor) and a local service provider/agency (Consultant) that provides the local consultancy team of local experts. Payment milestones will be based on the acceptance of the key deliverables by the Project Management Team.

The maximum budget is 23,000 Euro.

Due to COVID-19 pandemic situation, changes to this ToR may be required.

7.     Submission requirements

The Proposal must include the following:

7.1. A technical proposal not exceeding 5 pages in length including the description of the intended content and technical component and the planned activities, the implementation, the management of the undertaking, including an operational work plan with timelines.

7.2. Breakdown of costs. The budget breakdown must include two separate sections: ‘Fees of experts’ and ‘Other costs’. The fees shall be defined on rates based on working days or working month. The other Costs must be broken down to correspond the Technical Proposal and Work Plan. The Budget Breakdown must be in Euros.

7.3. The Curriculum Vitae of each member of the team (if a team approach is used).

7.4. Official documents proving the status of the organisation and the document proving the financial capacity (annual turnover and profit/loss) of the organisation.

Copies of main registration documents.

Other relevant supporting documents may be attached as an annex.

The proposal must be in English.

8.     Evaluation criteria and Selection Procedure

Proposals will be evaluated based on Quality (90% weight) and Price (10% weight).

Eligible service providers are requested to submit a written proposal. The quality of the Proposal will be evaluated based on the following:

8.1. Organisation (10%):
- Previous experience in similar assignments

8.2. Service Provider’s Team experience (30%):
- A Master’s Degree in information technology management or any other relevant field
- Proven experience/portfolio/ in developing similar products
- Solid understanding of the concepts of user experience, user interface design principles and conceptual design
- Experience in developing a prototype program
- Proven technical expertise and track record of developing educational content
- Excellent written, oral and interpersonal skills; excellent communication skills in English, Ukrainian.
- Familiarity with the New Ukrainian School reform will be an asset.

8.3. Technical Proposal (50%):
- The relevance of the approach and implementation concept
- The sustainability of the proposed concept.

Only short-listed candidates will be invited to the interview. The evaluation and selection of the service provider will be carried out by the Project in accordance with the ToR and under supervision of the Steering Committee.

9. Deadline for Proposals

The timeline of the tender is as follows:

9.1. All tenderers are requested to indicate their interest to submit their potential proposal by 02.06.2020 via email at [email protected] .

9.2. In case the tenderers want to have further clarification on the competition, written questions must be sent via email at [email protected] by 09.06.2020.

9.3. All the tenderers will be provided with answers to all clarification requests by 11.06.2020.

9.4. The final application must be submitted by 19.06.2020 via email at [email protected] .

Please note that all written communication must be in English. Further instructions for the tender are given only from the email mentioned above. Any further information or advice obtained from other sources may be disregarded in the tender evaluation.

10.  Guiding principles

Manual for Bilateral Programs by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, revised version 2018 https://um.fi/publications/-/asset_publisher/TVOLgBmLyZvu/content/manual-for-bilateral-programmes is applied in the planning and implementation of this assignment. This manual is applied in all cooperation that has been agreed between Finland and Ukraine.

11.  Mandate

The Consultant is expected and entitled to discuss issues relevant to the assignment with relevant parties, government authorities, and other relevant organizations and individuals. However, the Consultant does not have any mandate to make commitments on behalf of government authorities in Ukraine and Finland, or on behalf of the Contractor, FCG International Ltd, especially.