Call for Applications: ADEA Foundational Learning Stakeholder Mapping (Short Term Consultancy)

Applications (Technical and Financial proposals) must be sent to the following address: adea-applications@afdb.org no later than Monday, 10 April 2023 at midnight GMT. The subject of the e-mail should be “ADEA Foundational Learning Stakeholder Mapping Consultant.” 

The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) is a critical voice for education in Africa. Based at the African Development Bank in Abidjan, with the support Inter-Country Quality Nodes (ICQNs) across the continent, ADEA works with African ministries of education and training and their external partners to empower African countries to strengthen and sustain educational and institutional reforms. 

Foundational learning is the basis of all other education, but literacy and numeracy levels are low in most African primary schools. Two years of COVID-19-related school closures have led to a further deterioration of foundational learning outcomes. Learning poverty (the ability to read and understand a simple story) is as high as 70% in low- and middle-income countries. Children already at risk before the pandemic (children from the poorest households, girls, children in rural areas, and children with disabilities) have paid the heaviest price. Only one-quarter of children aged between 36 and 59 months attend an early childhood education program in sub-Saharan Africa. 

The Ministerial Declaration following the ADEA 2022 Triennale expressed concern about the ongoing challenges in foundational learning and identified the principles of structured pedagogy as one of the main pathways to improve foundational learning. Ministers endorsed intensifying support for teachers, especially in applying structured pedagogy, curriculum reform, effective use of assessments and feedback within the classroom, and more systematic accountability channels among decision-makers to track progress on agreed targets.

Foundational learning will be a priority area within ADEA’s 2023-2027 strategic plan. As part of its strategic planning in 2023, ADEA is consolidating its foundational learning activities and considering how to position itself optimally in order to lead policy dialogue about foundational learning and promote knowledge-sharing at the local, national, and regional levels on the continent. 

To achieve its foundational learning objectives, ADEA is recruiting two consultants to conduct a mapping study on partner interventions around foundational learning in 15 African countries [1]. The consultants will manage all activities related to stakeholder mapping, as described under Roles and Responsibilities in the section below. The terms of reference, cover the period from April to June 2023.

ADEA defines stakeholders as organizations that affect or can be affected by the success or failure of foundational learning programs within a selection of countries. The primary objective of the consultancy is to conduct a stakeholder mapping study, to inform the design and implementation of ADEA’s foundational learning strategic plan. 

Stakeholder groups will include representatives of national and sub-national governments, private sector organisations, CSOs, research organisations, think tanks and development partners across the study countries.

Under the general supervision of the Senior Foundational Learning Specialist and the Senior Programs Officer, the consultants will undertake the following:

• Prepare an inception report to outline the current understanding of how the study will be implemented, confirming study methodology, goals, expected outcomes, and work plan. 
• Extract, analyse and synthesise secondary documentation with reference to African foundational learning stakeholders, their past and current activities.
• Identify and develop a database of key groups who can advise on the identification of stakeholders, their classification and their potential interests.
• Identify means of engaging mapped stakeholders.
• Conduct interviews and focus group discussions with a range of potential actors within the selected countries to determine relationships, interests and levels of influence in foundational learning among stakeholders.
• Liaise and communicate regularly with ADEA Secretariat to share progress.
• Submit a draft report to ADEA Secretariat for feedback.
• Submit a revised draft report, together with a PowerPoint presentation summarising the findings and recommendations.
• Share the findings and recommendations in a workshop / seminar organized by the ADEA Secretariat, for validation.
• Submit the final report, after incorporating feedback from the workshop/ seminar, to ADEA Secretariat.

The outputs of this consultancy will be:

• An inception report
• An Excel spreadsheet database of stakeholders for each country
• A draft report which will be circulated for feedback
• A revised draft report and PowerPoint presentation
• A matrix of feedback from the validation workshop / seminar
• A final validated report.

The consultants will be contracted for 3 months. Each consultants is expected to possess the following qualifications and experience: 

• At least a master’s degree and a minimum of 7 years relevant working experience in education policy and practice in Africa (knowledge of the 15 focus countries would be an asset).
• Strong research and analytical skills.
• Ability to work effectively in diverse teams.
• Excellent report writing skills.
• Ability to communicate effectively (written and oral) in English. Being fully bilingual (English and French) would be an added advantage.

Applications (Technical and Financial proposals) must be sent to the following address: adea-applications@afdb.org no later than Monday, 10 April 2023 at midnight GMT. The subject of the e-mail should be “ADEA Foundational Learning Stakeholder Mapping Consultant.” 

Due to the high volume of applications, only selected candidates will be contacted through formal correspondence via e-mail. Please do not contact ADEA or staff members to inquire about your application’s status.