The National Democratic Institute (NDI) will engage a firm specializing in online course development and design to develop two online courses: 1) on women’s leadership and political participation, and 2) on gender responsive governance. The courses would be based on the existing curricula that were developed and piloted in both online and offline modes in the framework of the USAID-funded “Decentralization Offering Better Results and Efficiency”program and GAC-funded project “Supporting emerging women leaders in Ukraine.” The courses would aim to reach a wider audience than targeted by the above mentioned programs in order to empower more women to assume leadership positions and to educate a broader cohort of local officials on gender mainstreaming in local governance. 

BACKGROUND

Women’s Leadership and Political Participation 

Based on NDI’s 2018 national survey, 77% of Ukrainians consider equality between men and women important and/or very important. According to December 2020 NDI’s national poll, 64% of the Ukrainians would like to see a greater balance of women and men in political life. In the 2020 local elections women, on average, received 38% of seats in councils of consolidated communities and 28% of seats in oblast councils and  made up only 17% of heads of the consolidated communities. These numbers do not reflect the demand of Ukrainians for equal representation of women and men in political life. 

To ensure increased opportunities and representation of women in local decision making and to make more women electorally competitive, NDI together with the Ukrainian Women’s Fund (UWF) developed a training program for women leaders from a variety of sectors - including elected and appointed officials from local administrations, members of civil society, women in business and media, named Women’s Leadership Academy (WLA), which provides comprehensive assistance to women from amalgamated communities across Ukraine. The training curriculum of the WLA includes modules on women’s leadership, gender equality and gender responsive governance, communication strategies and media outreach, mechanisms of participation in local governance and political participation, coalition building,  advocacy and community mobilization, project design, implementation, and management. The WLA curriculum will form the basis for the online course curriculum on women’s leadership and political participation.

Gender Responsive Governance 

Decentralization reform represents an opportunity to improve how Ukrainian local governments deliver services and respond to citizen priorities and concerns. To build local authorities’ capacity in developing inclusive budgets and policies that reflect the priorities of all citizens and applying a gender lens to decision-making and planning, NDI launched Gender Responsive Governance Academy (GRGA), a course for budget officers, local councilors and members of civil society aimed to prepare dedicated specialists to serve as GRB experts and proactively work on gender mainstreaming in local government and beyond.

The training curriculum of the GRGA includes the following modules: gender equality and community development; gender-sensitive service delivery; gender-sensitive policy development; and gender-sensitive monitoring and evaluation. During the Academy, participants build on the theoretical knowledge on the above-mentioned topics through practical experience completing homework tasks in between the training modules. The GRGA curriculum will form the basis for the online course curriculum on gender responsive governance.

OBJECTIVE

NDI seeks proposals from a company with demonstrated experience in online learning, to design and develop the online training courses on the following topics:

1) Women’s leadership and political participation

The goal of the online course is to help potential and acting women leaders from different sectors - elected and executive office, civil society, business and media, gain knowledge and skills to become efficient leaders and influence decision making in their communities.

2) Gender responsive governance

The online course aims to increase the awareness and skills of local councilors, civil servants and local government officials in applying gender approach to decision-making, including development of policies and programs.

In close cooperation with NDI, the selected company will design, develop, test and launch two online courses, disseminate targeted information about them through different channels of communication to target audiences, and will provide technical and user support for the online courses. 

SCOPE OF WORK AND DELIVERABLES

The vendor is expected to:

1. Engage in preparatory work. This will include, but not be limited to, research and analysis of available online courses on women’s leadership and gender responsive governance and defining the target audience.

2. Design and develop two online courses in close coordination with NDI based on the curricula and training materials provided by NDI. 

The online courses may include, but not limited to:

●     Video lectures and interactive presentation of the concepts through text, animation, audio narration and video clips;

●      Interactive examples and exercises throughout the course for conceptual clarity;

●     Quizzes, tests and scenario based exercises for testing the knowledge of the users to receive certification upon completion of the course.

3.  Pilot delivery and testing. The vendor will be expected to test the first version of the e-courses with potential users through focus groups or other similar methods. The vendor should be prepared to undertake any subsequent changes and enhancements of the course, within the scope of the contract, based on the feedback collected through this process.

4.  Design and implement an information campaign for the online courses. The vendor is expected to work with NDI to design and implement a campaign aimed at increasing the awareness of the online courses within the target group to increase the interest and participation in the course.

5.  User support and course maintenance. The vendor is expected to provide user support, including the technical maintenance of the courses on its educational platform.

6. Collect metadata and engagement metrics. Provide NDI with the courses metadata and engagement metrics. The metrics will be developed in coordination with NDI by the successful bidder.

TIMELINE

The overall anticipated timeline is:

March 15, 2021            Proposals received

March 29, 2021            The implementing partner is selected

April, 2021                    Preparation stage

April - June, 2021        Design and development stage

June - July, 2021          Pilot delivery and testing

August, 2021                Information campaign

                                        Final delivery of the online course

September, 2021         Collection of analytics and metrics

                                        User support and technical maintenance

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Bidder must have a minimum of three years of proven experience in online education. Experience of creating online courses for the international organization in Ukraine will be considered an advantage.

The proposal must be submitted in English and include the following:

1. Background analysis of similar online courses available for Ukrainian users and analysis of the target audiences;

2. Concepts of the courses based on the scope of work and deliverables according to the timeline. 

3. Implementation plan (including information campaign) and detailed timeframe of proposed activities.

4. Budget proposal with all costs, including account fees, staff time and any associated expenses and taxes, in U.S. dollars.

5. A list of prior relevant work/projects. The list should include the name of the organization/company, a brief description of the work performed, period of performance, reference.

6. CVs for all technical and management staff who will be assigned to this project.

Evaluation Criteria

●       Past experience in implementation of similar projects.

●       Experience and competency of the bidder’s team.

●       Creative approach demonstrated in the proposal.

●       Adequacy of the calendar and timeframe.

•   Cost effectiveness 

The budget ceiling for this work (including regional travel if required) is USD $60,000 for the course on women’s leadership and political participation and USD $40,000 for the course on gender responsive governance inclusive of VAT.  Proposals are not required to reach the ceiling, and cost effectiveness will be a significant component of the proposal review process. Applicants can apply for the development of one course only and/or two courses simultaneously. 

Please submit proposals to NDI/Ukraine at [email protected] by close of business on Wednesday, March 15, 2021 (early submissions welcomed). NDI will contact the applicants with the results by March 29, 2021.

In case you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Mariia Kovaliova at +38096 087 54 14 or [email protected].

TERMS & CONDITIONS

NDI reserves the right to require any prospective contractor to enter into a non-disclosure agreement. All information provided by NDI in this RFP is subject to change at any time.

NDI reserves the right to reject any and all bids. NDI reserves the right to consider bids for modification at any time before a contract is awarded. NDI shall not be liable for any costs associated with the preparation, transmittal, or presentation of any materials submitted in response to the RFP.