Foreign economic-aid-related services

Tender description

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is seeking a supplier or consortium of institutions/organisations with a combination of academic, operational and managerial expertise to deliver aspects of the education research in conflict and protracted crisis (ERICC) programme. The programme will have an initial duration of 36 months, running from April 2021 until at least March 2024 with a contract budget for this period of up to GBP 15.8 million. The programme will have anticipated extension options of up to 72 months and up to a further GBP 20.5 million, giving a maximum contract duration and value, including extension options, of 108 months and GBP 36.3 million. The supplier/consortium may include academic institutions, civil societies and commercial organisations. The supplier will fulfil the role of the ERICC Research Programme Consortium (RPC) within the broader ERICC programme structure. The ERICC programme will have four components. The supplier will deliver: Component 1: research on the most effective approaches to education provision in conflict and protracted crisis; and Component 2: in-country operational support; Component 3: promoting Research uptake across FCDO and the international community will be delivered by an organisation awarded an accountable grant; Component 4: knowledge systems strengthening will be delivered by the British Academy. While those organisations will be responsible for the regular operational delivery of components 3 and 4, the supplier will work in close collaboration with them. Cognisant of the interdependencies between all four components, the supplier, in order to fulfil its obligations under this contract and to achieve the overall vision of ERICC, will make positive contributions to components 3 and 4. The objective of the ERICC programme is to deliver and maximise uptake of new, operationally and policy relevant evidence on the most effective approaches to education provision in conflict and protracted crisis contexts. ERICC’s focus can include formal, non-formal and informal education sectors. The main focus of the research should be on basic education (i.e. primary and lower secondary levels) in order to align it with FCDO priorities and programming. However, research may additionally cover a wider range of age groups, including from pre-primary to youth, secondary and higher education, particularly where this is aligned with FCDO priorities and programming at the country level. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is seeking a supplier or consortium of institutions/organisations with a combination of academic, operational and managerial expertise to deliver aspects of the education research in conflict and protracted crisis (ERICC) programme. The programme will have an initial duration of 36 months, running from April 2021 until at least March 2024 with a contract budget for this period of up to GBP 15.8 million. The programme will have anticipated extension options of up to 72 months and up to a further GBP 20.5 million, giving a maximum contract duration and value, including extension options, of 108 months and GBP 36.3 million. The supplier/consortium may include academic institutions, civil societies and commercial organisations. The supplier will fulfil the role of the ERICC Research Programme Consortium (RPC) within the broader ERICC programme structure. The ERICC programme will have four components. The supplier will deliver: Component 1: research on the most effective approaches to education provision in conflict and protracted crisis; and Component 2: in-country operational support; Component 3: promoting research uptake across FCDO and the international community will be delivered by an organisation awarded an accountable grant; Component 4: knowledge systems strengthening will be delivered by the British Academy. While those organisations will be responsible for the regular operational delivery of components 3 and 4, the supplier will work in close collaboration with them. Cognisant of the interdependencies between all four components, the supplier, in order to fulfil its obligations under this contract and to achieve the overall vision of ERICC, will make positive contributions to components 3 and 4. The objective of the ERICC programme is to deliver and maximise uptake of new, operationally and policy relevant evidence on the most effective approaches to education provision in conflict and protracted crisis contexts. ERICC’s focus can include formal, non-formal and informal education sectors. The main focus of the research should be on basic education (i.e. primary and lower secondary levels) in order to align it with FCDO priorities and programming. However, research may additionally cover a wider range of age groups, including from pre-primary to youth, secondary and higher education, particularly where this is aligned with FCDO priorities and programming at the country level. Consequently, the vision of the ERICC programme is to expand and strengthen the evidence base for education in emergencies — enabling at-scale, in-depth and longitudinal research in a range of contexts in order to close critical evidence gaps and develop new approaches to conducting rigorous research in challenging contexts. It will provide operationally and policy-relevant evidence to support bold reform in the provision of education in conflict- and crisis-affected contexts. These terms of reference demonstrate both FCDO’s recognition of the challenges of (education) research and service provision in conflict and protracted crisis context and FCDO’s commitment to support the supplier/consortium in the achievement of this ambitious and pathfinding programme.