Call for Expression of interest for organization to conduct a Research on Instructional Time in Jordan -USAID-TAP

Call for Expressions of Interest

Issue date: February 19, 2023

Closing date: March5, 2023

Service(s):

Organizations to conduct a Research on Instructional Time in Jordan

Expression of Interest No.:

USAID/TAP- EOI-001

Response Deadline:

4:00 PM Jordan Time, March 5, 2023

Response Email

[email protected]

Country

Jordan

Purchaser

Creative Associates International

Contract Name

USAID-Technical Assistance Program (TAP)

APPLICATION FORM

1) Name of the organization/ Company

2) Address of Registered Office with Telephone No., E-mail, and Name of Contact Person

3)History and Organizational Structure of Organization of Firm/ Company (Company Profile)

To be attached.

COMMERCIAL DETAILS

4)Commercial registration Certificate, Vocational (Business) License and Tax Registration, Trade Name Registration Certificate (if any)

copy to be attached

TECHNICAL DETAILS

5)Previous experience for similar work

Please provide a list of similar jobs performed in the last three years, including the location of this work. This will demonstrate the bidder’s depth of experience and capacity to perform this work. reference table 1 below

6)Performance & Completion Certificates

To be attached

8)Conflict of Interest – do you Have any conflict in working with Ministry of Education, and/or USAID

Y/N.

If yes, please provide details

10) Certificate, Payment Evidence for previous consultancy agreements with USAID or any other entities relevant to scope of work

To be attached

Overview

The Expressions of Interest (EOI) is issued for the purpose to offer the opportunity for interested organizations wishing to be pre-registered to tender for the above-mentioned services. Note that this is a brief overview of the proposed scope of work. More details will be included in the solicitation documents provided to organization that are invited to submit tenders as a result of this EOI process.

Background

USAID/ Technical Assistance Program (TAP), funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is a five-year education and youth project that seeks to transform the organizational culture and improve the abilities within the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Ministry of Youth (MoY) to ensure officials can implement desired reforms. Creative and its partners will provide technical assistance in the development, roll-out, and tracking of policies and procedures to incorporate international best practices for public education and youth programming. Among the many activities in the USAID/ Technical Assistance Program, it will support curriculum development, promote inclusive learning techniques, improve the skills of teachers and school managers, and other tangible activities that ultimately support changing the organizational culture within the two ministries and relevant agencies. The program will further support Jordan’s outreach and behavioral change communications initiatives that are aimed at creating a culture of reading, the inclusion of vulnerable children, and increased youth engagement.

This EOI is being conducted in a “full and open” manner , welcoming all capable firms, both commercial (for-profit) and non-profit organizations, of any size, that are able to work in Jordan to apply. The EOI will determine the firms with the required capacity for the consultancy service. In the EOI response, organizations will be required to indicate the specific resources they want to be considered for. Organizations will be required to submit relevant documentation to support their capacity in the required field.

Firms determined to be qualified will be notified and invited to submit EOIs under subsequent Requests for Proposals (RFPs) on a limited competition basis.

Expression of interest will be reviewed and selected based on applicant’s provision of past performance in the required field.

Expression of Interest should be sent to the following email address [email protected] by March 5, 2023. Shortlisted organizations will receive invitations to respond to Request for Proposal subsequently.

Questions:

Any questions should be submitted in writing and emailed to [email protected] no later than February 25, 2023. No questions will be entertained if they are received by means other than the specified email address, and any communications to alternate e-mail addresses may result in the disqualification of the organization. The EOI number listed above should be stated in the Subject line.

Answers to Questions:

Answers will be compiled and distributed on February 27, 2023.

* This Expression of Interest is not a Request for Quotation or a request for proposal, and in no way constitutes a commitment by Creative to execute any agreement or to pay any costs incurred by applicants that respond to this request.

Scope of Work

This EOI is issued for the purpose to offer the opportunity for interested organizations to undertake a collaborative process to identify research priorities and provide information and recommendations on approaches for the implementation of a consultative research activity to address the investment in instructional time. Responses should focus on methodologies to addressing proposed research questions through research and consultations with the Ministry of Education, National Center for Curriculum Development (NCCD) and key stakeholders and ensure their ownership and buy-in to the process, and it includes the provision of the following.

1. Background

2. 1. The Problem

Efforts of the Ministry of Education and its partners to improve the quality of education with the objective of improving learning outcomes were beginning to come to fruition before the pandemic. After school closures, however, these gains are at risk. The World Bank has developed a simulation to estimate potential learning losses. The simulation estimates that “COVID-19 may reduce Learning-Adjusted Years of Schooling (LAYS) by as much as 0.9 years”, due to school dropout and quality shortcomings of distance learning solutions. Even with an optimistic scenario, the World Bank model estimates that “COVID-19 will erase almost the entire progress made by Jordan between PISA 2015 and PISA 2018 [in reading scores]. … [And] an analysis of heterogeneous impact by [socioeconomic status] SES suggests that the achievement gap between the poorest and richest quintile may increase by 11 percent, highlighting the significant negative impact of COVID-19 on equity.”[1]

A key and important condition in improving student learning and outcomes is when allocated instruction time is used effectively. However, there is ample evidence that a significant proportion of allocated instruction time is lost in many OECD countries. According to findings from Jordan’s 2018 National Teacher Survey, benchmarked against data from the OECD’s 2018 there is not enough time being spent on teaching and learning in Jordan’s classrooms; more than 40% of lesson time is being spent on administrative tasks and keeping order in the classroom. Jordan’s students are getting 20% less teaching and learning time per class as OECD students are. When in the classroom, Jordanian teachers reported only spending an average of 58% of the lesson time on teaching and learning, compared to an average of 78% among OECD teachers. Instead of teaching, Jordan’s teachers reported spending one quarter of class time just keeping order in the class (twice the OECD rate), in addition to almost a fifth of lesson time on administrative tasks (twice the OECD rate).[2]

Jordan’s 2018 National Teacher Survey results demonstrate that Jordan’s teachers had among the lowest reported average working hours per week, and the lowest average time spent teaching per week, when compared to OECD countries. The total number of working hours of a teacher in Jordan was 25% less per week compared to OECD teachers (29 working hours compared to 39 hours) but was equivalent to teachers in Saudi Arabia (29 hours) and similar to Turkey (32 hours). The number of hours Jordan’s teachers reported spending on teaching was 15% less per week compared to OECD teachers (18 hours compared to 21 hours). Jordan was also in the bottom 20% of all 48 TALIS participating countries in terms of average time spent on teaching per week. The number of hours Jordan’s teachers reported spending on lesson planning and preparation per week was over 40% less than OECD teachers (4 versus 7 hours).

There is a need to ensure that allocated instruction time is used more effectively. The evidence points to a need to pay adequate attention to classroom management techniques in initial teacher education and professional development activities. This means ensuring that the maximum proportion of instruction time is translated into engaged time. Actual learning time is a complex and individual measure requiring innovative ways to address the learning needs of different students.

1. 1. About TAP

TAP has a robust research agenda designed to support evidence-based planning functions that are grounded in TAP logic model and the overall Theory of Change. The proposed areas of research were determined based on GoJ counterparts’ priorities and interests as well as commitment to co-design and conduct the research efforts. TAP’s role ensures that the research function (a) provides GoJ decision makers with reliable information (b) puts the best available evidence in the heart of education programs’ planning and (c) support research capacities within MoE to enhance Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning functions. As a dynamic process, TAP research efforts were shaped by the findings from the Situational Analysis of systems and policies at MoE and MoY as well as the Situational Analysis of the learning loss (remedial study).

TAP’s Situational Analysis pointed to critical structural issues that impact the work and efficient functioning of the Ministry of Education. Those issues have been articulated in the Human Resource Development Strategy, the Education Strategic Plan and key documents including “Support education in Jordan towards data investment, educational environment, and activities” and the State of the Country Report by the Education and Social Council. A key recommendation was to develop human resource planning policies and systems to improve the investment of teacher efforts and instructional time. Moreover, TAP through its co-creation approach engaged the Ministry of Education and the NCCD in consultations around the design of remedial interventions based on evidence generated from the diagnostic study that pointed to weaknesses of students in the basic subjects of Arabic and Math. Recommendations included studying further the possibility of allocating additional time for learning, increasing the number of basic subject classes, providing class schedule flexibility. Furthermore. The procedural guide issued by the Ministry of Education during the School Year 2022-2023 also pointed to providing more flexibility in the school schedule to accommodate differentiated needs and address the weakness of low performing students.

1. Purpose of the Study

The objectives of the study are to:

1. 1. Provide an evidence base to support Ministry of Education effort’s in addressing the challenges in improving educational time investment, which affect the quality of students’ learning and,
   2. Support the Ministry of Education, NCCD and other concerned stakeholders in identifying best practices in improving educational time investment order for the Ministry to make decisions and allocate resources based on best practice and evidence.

2.1 Research Questions

1. What factors are responsible for teachers’ inability to utilize school’s instructional time effectively?
2. What effective strategies/best practices are available to improve teacher utilization of instructional time?
3. How can the Ministry effectively allocate resources taking into consideration:

• School Calendar
• Number of working days for teaching
• Distribution of Class time
• Distribution of weekly study schedule and study load
• Teachers load (administrative and academic)
• Principals load

1. What policy areas need to be considered to effectively address/improve the use of instructional time. Considering current policies and national and regional best practices.

2. How does the distribution of the school map and the multiplicity of school types and levels affect the teacher’s burden and educational time?

3. What is the effect of teacher training on topics such as classroom management and pedagogy on improving educational time investment?

4. How can instructional time be expanded for low performing students? What are best practices that can be highlighted

5. How is teacher workload distributed between administrative and teaching tasks? How is this compared to other countries with similar education systems?

6. How is principal workload distributed between administrative tasks and academic/supervision tasks?

7. How can MoE measure time spent on learning in ways that can generate monitoring indicators useful for monitoring institutional performance and accountability.

8. Methodology

TAP is interested in your organization’s review of the proposed research questions presented in this document. Specifically, we would appreciate your feedback on the following:

1. Are the research questions comprehensive enough? Are there missing key issues that need to be considered?
2. What specific research approaches/strategies/methods would you employ to effectively address those research questions?

RFI Format

Interested parties should provide a short Expression of Interest document addressing the issues and considerations discussed. Responses are limited to 4 pages of technical considerations addressing the research questions and additional information can be incorporated in an Annex that includes the following information:

1. Organization name, address, email address, Web site address, telephone number, and size and type of ownership for the organization.
2. Tailored capability statements addressing the organization’s capability and past performance in similar areas.

Do not submit any proposals at this time, only information requested in this RFI will be reviewed. Responses will be treated as confidential. Responses to the Request for Information may be used to help create a short list of potential implementing partners that will receive a subsequent Terms of Reference.

[1] Mid-Term Review Report of the Jordan Education Strategic Plan 2018-2022 , April 2022

[2]https://www.qrf.org/sites/default/files/2021-01/jordans_teachers_and_principals_in_a_global_landscape_-_executive_summary.pdf

How to apply

The Expression of Interest Process

The EOI is the first stage of a multi-stage tender process. The objective of the EOI process is to identify and pre-register organizations that are interested in entering into the proposed contract and have suitable capacity, capability and experience.

An Evaluation Committee comprising representatives of Creative Associates International will evaluate Offerors on the basis of the evaluation criteria set out in this Request for Expressions of Interest.

The Evaluation Committee will identify the Offerors that it considers best satisfy the evaluation criteria and will recommend a minimum of 3 proposals to be pre-registered and invited to submit tenders for the proposed contract.

Creative Associates International will determine which of the Offerors will be pre-registered. Only organizations that are pre-registered through this EOI process will be eligible to submit tenders.

Evaluation Criteria

To be considered to be pre-registered, Offerors must also demonstrate that they meet the following evaluation criteria:

• Registered in Jordan
• More than 8 years of demonstrated experience in the field of education and implementation of relevant research, consultation, and engagement.
• Knowledge of international best practices and emerging evidence on instructional time
• Proven ability to support research for education policies and strategies;
• Extensive knowledge of basic education and the Jordanian education sector is an advantage;
• Understanding of the capacity needed at the central MoE level, regional field directorates, and local school level
• Strong reputation, good understanding of the Jordanian context, and ability to tap into relevant expertise.

The Evaluation Committee will evaluate each proposal in accordance with the evaluation criteria set out in this Request for EOI.

The evaluation will be based on information provided with the application. Any information required by the Request for EOI which is omitted, illegible or unintelligible may be treated as failing to fulfil the relevant requirement.

The Evaluation Committee may request some or all Offerors to provide additional information to clarify aspects of their applications, either in writing or during post-tender interviews. If a written response is requested, it must be provided within 48 hours after the request is received.

The Evaluation Committee may make enquires to establish the past performance of Offerors in respect of similar work.

All information submitted in the application or obtained subsequently by the Evaluation Committee will be treated as confidential.

Any application that does not demonstrate that the applicant meets all the mandatory evaluation criteria listed above will be eliminated from consideration.

Past Performance and Experience

Document and summarize your proven track record of successfully implementing similar activities. Using the exact table format provided below, please list only the projects you have implemented within the past 3 years, a brief description of how each is relevant to this procurement and the contact details for each previous client or donor. You may also include recommendation/appreciation letters and certificates as attachments.

Offerors with past performance with similar projects, in the same geographic area and/or of similar scale to the activity described in this EOI will be scored more favorably than offerors that do not meet these criteria.

Please note that Offerors cannot be evaluated on information that they do not provide. For example, if an Offeror has current/past performance working with Creative, they cannot be positively evaluated on this experience unless it is provided in the Offeror’s proposal.

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