School
Community Partnerships for Education SMS Reporting System
Terms
of Reference
of Reference
SMS
DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING SYSTEM
DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING SYSTEM
BACKGROUND
The
Rwandan government, through the R
Rwandan government, through the R
wanda Education Board (REB) and the Ministry
of Education, is committed to improve students’ reading outcomes by creating
and rolling out a unique comprehensive partnership model between schools and
the community to complement efforts towards improved reading and writing
instruction delivered by teachers in schools. The partnership model will
support children to learn to read better and create a supportive community and
a friendly home-learning environment for children as well as foster a reading
culture amongst all children. The School-Community Partnerships for Education
(SCOPE), a USAID-funded project implemented by Save the Children (SC) Rwanda,
will contribute towards the achievement of this goal.
The
SCOPE project will help to improve students’ literacy through school-community
partnerships, increase effective involvement of parents to improve children’s
literacy skills, as well as foster a reading culture among all children. The
project will also strategically strengthen the Rwandan publishing industry by
stimulating the demand and supply for high quality, low cost Kinyarwanda
language reading materials and increasing their access to communities with low
purchasing power. Some of the strategies to achieve this will be refresher
trainings to publishers, authors, and illustrators, literacy forums, book
review committees, booksellers and literacy market research, as closing the gap
between publishers and local market-stall operators.
SCOPE project will help to improve students’ literacy through school-community
partnerships, increase effective involvement of parents to improve children’s
literacy skills, as well as foster a reading culture among all children. The
project will also strategically strengthen the Rwandan publishing industry by
stimulating the demand and supply for high quality, low cost Kinyarwanda
language reading materials and increasing their access to communities with low
purchasing power. Some of the strategies to achieve this will be refresher
trainings to publishers, authors, and illustrators, literacy forums, book
review committees, booksellers and literacy market research, as closing the gap
between publishers and local market-stall operators.
In
order to monitor and improve communication channels between SCOPE project with
Sector Education officers (SEOs), SCOPE will pilot a SMS data collection
platform, automatically combining all SMS information into one single database
at SC’s office in Kigali, to explore efficient nation-wide data collection.
SEOs will be responsible to report quarterly using a simple SMS system. The
system will send questions to the SEO, and he/she will text back a response. Data
will be automatically aggregated into an exported spreadsheet to be easily
viewed and analysed. SEOs will also report on community literacy-related events
as they happen by sending, through text messaging such details as the event
name, the number of schools represented, and information on attendees.
order to monitor and improve communication channels between SCOPE project with
Sector Education officers (SEOs), SCOPE will pilot a SMS data collection
platform, automatically combining all SMS information into one single database
at SC’s office in Kigali, to explore efficient nation-wide data collection.
SEOs will be responsible to report quarterly using a simple SMS system. The
system will send questions to the SEO, and he/she will text back a response. Data
will be automatically aggregated into an exported spreadsheet to be easily
viewed and analysed. SEOs will also report on community literacy-related events
as they happen by sending, through text messaging such details as the event
name, the number of schools represented, and information on attendees.
OBJECTIVE
The
objective of the system is to help monitor and improve communication channels
between SCOPE project with the beneficiaries. The system should allow rapid
communication between the project and stakeholders and should allow easy
analysis of information gathered via the SMS.
objective of the system is to help monitor and improve communication channels
between SCOPE project with the beneficiaries. The system should allow rapid
communication between the project and stakeholders and should allow easy
analysis of information gathered via the SMS.
Scope
of Services:
of Services:
With
the technical support of mobile-based IT firm, SC Rwanda MEAL team will develop
a SMS-based reporting System.
the technical support of mobile-based IT firm, SC Rwanda MEAL team will develop
a SMS-based reporting System.
The
tasks of the consultancy firm will include but not be limited to the following:
tasks of the consultancy firm will include but not be limited to the following:
- Prepare
and present an inception report, and sign confidentiality agreement - Development
of the SMS-based reporting & communication system and produce a
web-based dashboard functionality; - Compile
a database of phone contacts of all SEOs in Rwanda. - Developing
the mobile interface/s for reporting (and feedback) through SMS, including
the connection between the recipient entity and the database. - Programming
to connect database with the web interface, hosting the application is a
reliable and secure environment - Piloting
and deployment of the SMS-based reporting & communication system - Developers
will also create a detailed security plan and risk mitigation strategy to
ensure that all data and user records are kept confidential and secure at
all times. - Build
in-depth capacity of the SCOPE team and SEOS on the use of the system - Carry
out site visit to train SEOs on system management - Maintaining
and managing the system for the period of piloting - Provide
remote technical support for an agreed time.
DELIVERABLES
- Functional
reporting of SEOs and community literacy activities - Quarterly
reports aggregating progress on SCOPE indicators - Functional
SMS-based reporting & communication system between SCOPE staff and
SEOs. - End-of-pilot
assessment report on the SMS-based reporting & communication system
DEVELOPMENT
OF THE SYSTEM
OF THE SYSTEM
The
system to be developed must be user-friendly and easy to use. It should allow
sending and receiving SMS to a large number of people. At the beginning it
should be allowed to send SMS to at least 416 people (SEOs) but this number
could increase as the project may bring onboard additional implementation
staff. It should be able to manage more than 416 messages per day.
system to be developed must be user-friendly and easy to use. It should allow
sending and receiving SMS to a large number of people. At the beginning it
should be allowed to send SMS to at least 416 people (SEOs) but this number
could increase as the project may bring onboard additional implementation
staff. It should be able to manage more than 416 messages per day.
The
system should allow easy reporting and analysis of data gathered based on
commonly used tools such as Excel. This reporting should be available on-line
(web-based). The information on the dashboard should provide a clear overview
of the data. In all cases, confidentiality of data should be ensured through
secure access to data. SCOPE project will be paying the fee to mobile companies
for the text messages sent through their network.
system should allow easy reporting and analysis of data gathered based on
commonly used tools such as Excel. This reporting should be available on-line
(web-based). The information on the dashboard should provide a clear overview
of the data. In all cases, confidentiality of data should be ensured through
secure access to data. SCOPE project will be paying the fee to mobile companies
for the text messages sent through their network.
QUALIFICATION:
- Experience
of using SMS messaging in Rwanda and elsewhere in Africa. - The
potential provider should be able to provide a detailed listing of how
their SMS system will cover the whole of Rwanda, i.e. their network
coverage. - It
should be able provide reliable proof of the quality of their SMS gateway
platform. - It
should provide mechanisms for testing their SMS services before signing
contract. - It
should be able to provide assurance of SMS fail safes/backup routes in
case of service failures on primary route.
FEES
AND TERMS OF PAYMENT
AND TERMS OF PAYMENT
Proposed
contractual terms
contractual terms
Payments
will be made on a monthly basis upon delivery and verification of agreed work
deliverables. At the end of the assignment, the consultant/firm shall not claim
any right of authorship or design patent on the content of the reports
submitted during the assignment. It is estimated that the pilot work will end
by December 2016. If successful, the SMS system will be deployed nationwide
from January 2017 to January 2020.
will be made on a monthly basis upon delivery and verification of agreed work
deliverables. At the end of the assignment, the consultant/firm shall not claim
any right of authorship or design patent on the content of the reports
submitted during the assignment. It is estimated that the pilot work will end
by December 2016. If successful, the SMS system will be deployed nationwide
from January 2017 to January 2020.
Application
specifications
specifications
Candidates
interested in the consultancy work will be expected to provide the following
documentation:
interested in the consultancy work will be expected to provide the following
documentation:
- To
register interest in this consultancy, please send the following
documentation to HR-Rwanda@savethechildren.org - Please
mention National Consultant – School Community Partnerships for
Education SMS Reporting System as subject of your mail. - The
deadline for receiving applications is 4th August 2016.
