Background
The objective of achieving development targets enshrined in the national Vision 2020, EDPRS and Sector Strategies are impeded by capacity challenges across the public sector.
As one of the strategic responses to tackle the challenges, the Government of Rwanda (GoR) established the Public Sector Capacity Building Secretariat (PSCBS) under a Prime Ministers Order with a mandate of coordinating capacity building activities in the public sector and management of a national Capacity Building —Fund (OM.
One challenge facing PSCBS is that the concepts of capacity, capacity building and capacity development have evoked considerable theoretical as well as practical debate in development literature and forums at a global level over the past 's two decades. The GoR has already adopted its conceptual framework for capacity building that PSCI3S is committed to. This is a framework, which is common to most OECD members, that defines capacity as "the ability of people, organizations and society as a whole to manage their affairs successfully". Capacity building (or capacity development) is also taken holistically to comprise the processes of capacity creation, utilization and retention at the individual, organizational and institutional/policy levels.
Another major challenge with addressing capacity challenges in the public sector has been inadequate information shared among stakeholders to provide input for planning, policy design, and investments in capacity building, monitoring as well as assessment of the impact of various initiatives.
It is therefore imperative for PSCI3S to ensure that there is continuous information, education and communication to create awareness among all stakeholders, partners, client institutions and the public about best practices in capacity building.
In order to facilitate continuous IEC, it is necessary to publish best practices of capacity building in the public sector in the local media.
It is in this regard that PSCBS seeks the services of a qualified and experienced consultant to document best practices of capacity building in the public sector, which shall enable PSCI3S to continuously share and inform the stakeholders, partners, client institutions and the public about best practices in the public sector. It is envisaged that outputs from this assignment can serve as good reference
Objective
- The overall objective of this consultancy is to support PSCBS document best practices of capacity building in the public sector.
- The outputs of this assignment should be seen to feed into planning, M&E and reporting on capacity building in the public sector to enable PSCBS's efforts to document and share this information with stakeholders in government and development partners.
Specific Tasks:
- Rather than the outputs of this assignment being descriptive, the assignment shall include:
- Drawing lessons from existing evaluation reports and other similar studies focusing on good and innovative modes of capacity building in public institutions;
- Highlighting the role of capacity building in the process of change and improved performance of identified public institutions pointed out as success cases Documenting the success factors of the identified institutions
- Identifying lessons learned from challenges faced during the capacity building processes
Methodology
- Clear articulation of what best practices of capacity building entails to guide the assignment process and outputs.
- Best Practices: One proposal for the definition of Best Practice Capacity Development could therefore be: "Mose approaches to Capacity Development promoted by internationally accepted actors'. That is, "Best Practice" is what at any given time is formally and publicly promoted as such by the key international institutions that are seen to have a particular legitimacy and credibility in the field, notably the UN, the World Bank, and the OECD-DAC in the context of international actors, and the ACBF in the African context.
- Caution should be considered that the aforementioned definition is dynamic, since it sometimes changes as different organizations modify their own perceptions of what constitutes "best practice" over time. The definition should therefore not be an absolute or immutable prescription-like "recipe".
- Desk research and review of relevant literature about capacity building best practices
- Interviews with heads of identified public institutions and their teams Drafting of a series of specific articles benchmarked on (3.0)
- Compilation of all published articles in a handbook
- Have an inventory of relevant photographs and recordings of interviews
Outputs
- A series of well researched articles on best practices of capacity building in the public sector
- A hand-book that profiles all the articles to include a set of relevant photographs
- A set of publications where the articles have been published e.g. the New Times press cuttings, PSCBS resource centre
Required Qualifications and Experience
- The consultant being sought to undertake this assignment should possess the following minimum qualifications and experience:
- A university degree in communications, media relations, social sciences, multimedia, public relations, development communication or related field. An advanced degree will be an advantage. Candidates who don't possess the above qualifications but have proven practical experience in documenting best practices will also be considered.
- At least 5 years practical professional work experience in writing for the print media
- Proven experience in writing researched and analytical material for public institutions (samples of work previous work should be attached)
- Proven knowledge in taking professional and quality photographs
- Fluency in English. Knowledge of French and Kinyarwanda shall be an added
Duration
The contract shall be on a retainer basis within a period of five months (August -Dec. 2011) and based on performance can be renewed once.
Supervision and Reporting Arrangements
The Consultant shall work closely with the Information, Education and Communication Specialist (IECS) and under the direct supervision of the Coordinator, Technical Services (PSCBS).
All draft articles shall have to be approved by the Editorial Committee of PSCBS before publication.
Inputs from the Client
PSCBS will provide all the required information to the consultant and will facilitate him/her have interviews with heads of public institutions whenever necessary.
All inputs should be provided with the authority of PSCBS management and any misrepresentation in relation to the information provided above may lead to the cancellation of the Contract without warning, at the risk and expense of the consultant.
Expressions of interest accompanied by detailed CVs of individual consultants to carry out this assignment must be addressed to the Executive Secretary of PSCBS and delivered by email attachment as a single Microsoft Word or PDF file not later than Tuesday, 2 August 2011 to the following addresses: procurement@pscbs.gov.rw , peter.malinga@pscbs.gov.rw , david.sekyanzi@pscbs.gov.rw and info@pscbs.gov.rw .
Please note that only individuals with the required profile are encouraged to apply.
Stella Ford Mugabo, Executive Secretary, PSCBS
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