Foreign economic-aid-related services

Tender description

DFID requires a supplier to deliver the Syria Education Programme which will provide access to safe, inclusive and quality learning opportunities to children in Syria, while strengthening actors to effectively manage education. There are four main components of the programme: (1) Stipend payments for up to 10 000 teachers and education staff, including support to the Grade 9 and Grade 12 examinations. (2) Scale-up and implementation of an effective electronic Teacher Payment and Attendance Monitoring System which is currently in the pilot phase (3) Capacity building of local Syrian education authorities and NGOs to better manage delivery of quality education services (4) Design and implementation of a quality intervention which should be evidence based and data driven. Implementation of all components should be undertaken in consultation with the counterparts in Syria responsible for education delivery, who should in turn base their inputs on consultation with the communities in which they provide education services as well as all available research and data. The approach taken must be genuinely consultative to ensure that the programme responds to needs on the ground, and that counterparts have ownership of intervention implementation. DFID would like to reach as many children as possible in accessible areas of Syria focusing on where children are in need of support. This will include areas held by the opposition or non-state armed actors, though this may change depending on how the conflict and the status of UK policy evolve. At the outset, the programme's geographical scope is likely to cover the areas in 4 provinces of Syria which are held by the opposition, namely Idlib, Rural Aleppo, Rural Damascus and Dera'a provinces. DFID requires a supplier, and encourages consortia or a supplier with selected partners / sub-contractors, that can demonstrate the relevant expertise, capacity, and geographical presence required to deliver this programme. A lead supplier must be identified who will have overall management and financial responsibility. It is vital that the lead supplier has a clear governance and management structure in place for the programme which is viable, feasible, and represents good value for money. The current requirements and objectives of the programme are outlined, but flexibility will be important if there are any shifts in the situation inside Syria and in UK policy permissions which could potentially lead to changes such as the partners through whom DFID currently works and areas of implementation over the lifetime of the programme. The funding currently available and the initial value of the contract will be 39 000 000 GBP (VAT inclusive if applicable). There is possibility that the value of the contract could be increased up to 79 700 000 GBP (VAT inclusive if applicable), dependant on the securing of additional funds from other donors.