TRAINING NEEDS ASSESSMENT CONSULTANCY FOR ADVANCING PALESTINIAN WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS PROJECT TERMS OF REFERENCE August 2015
1. About us The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women provides women in developing and emerging economies with the skills, technology, networks and access to financial services that they need to become successful small and growing business owners, so that they can contribute to their economies and have a stronger voice in their societies, resulting in a brighter future for the women themselves and their communities as a whole. Since its first projects in 2009, the Foundation has directly reached over 118,000 women across more than 80 countries through its Mobile Technology, Mentoring Women in Business and Enterprise Development programmes in Africa, Asia, Central and South America and the Middle East. Tens of thousands more benefit indirectly as the women we support go on to become role models, create new job opportunities and invest additional income back into their families and communities. The Foundation has also published ground-breaking research on mobile technology for business growth and is undertaking high level advocacy to broaden the scope for women entrepreneurs in developing and emerging markets. 2. Background The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women is looking to contract a consultant to conduct the training needs assessment for its Advancing Palestinian Women Entrepreneurs project. In April 2015, the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women and Tomorrow's Youth Organization (TYO) launched this project to empower 45 women entrepreneurs in Northern Palestine and provide them with the skills and tools needed to grow profitable and sustainable businesses that are market oriented, scalable and facilitate job creation. This initiative is unique in addressing the specific needs of women entrepreneurs in Palestine by facilitating access to financial services and providing tailored enterprise development support which takes into account the women s time constraints, accessibility and the gender discrimination they face in applying for loans, dealing with suppliers and marketing their businesses. The project also addresses the limited access to markets women entrepreneurs face by facilitating access to role models and markets beyond their local environment. This project is being delivered through a three-phased approach: 1. Enterprise development skills training This phase will build the capability of 45 women entrepreneurs through enterprise development training. 2. Coaching and market linkages A small group of women entrepreneurs are selected from the initial cohort to receive coaching. The selected women will also receive business rights training to encourage them to register their businesses, as well as business continuity and risk management training. The women will also be connected to additional resources to support them to reach new markets. 3. Business scaling through incubation and/or investment A business incubator will be established to provide intensive support in areas such as branding and marketing and business registration support, and to provide workshops to facilitate product development and increased access to markets. In addition, the project will work with financial
institutions to enable them to better understand the needs of women entrepreneurs, raise the women s awareness of the products they offer and facilitate women s access to such products. It is expected that 45 women entrepreneurs will increase their enterprise development skills, with 25 of the women increasing their business growth potential through coaching and market linkages. Of these 25 women, 15 will scale up their businesses through incubation support and/or investment. In addition, this project will elevate women s position in the Palestinian economy through public policy dialogue that highlights women s leadership roles and potential in business. 3. Scope of the consultancy The purpose of this consultancy is to provide technical and advisory support to the Foundation and TYO to design, develop and implement a high quality training needs assessment for women entrepreneurs under the Advancing Palestinian Women Entrepreneurs project. More specifically, the needs assessment will identify the skills and training needs of the intended project beneficiaries. The results of the training needs assessment will be used to refine the project and curriculum design across the three project phases. Specifically, the consultant will: 1. Develop the scope, methodology and tools of the data collection for the training needs assessment to ensure we capture all that is needed to inform the design and development of the training curriculum. 2. Oversee the implementation of the training needs assessment which will be conducted by TYO. 3. Analyse the results and produce a report summarising the specific skills and training needs of the target population. 4. Based on the results of the needs assessment, support TYO to review and update the training curriculum across the three phases as provided in the project proposal. This will include the following: a. Refine the learning path for the overall training curriculum to ensure a progressive logical flow to achieve learning objectives b. For each module, refine/develop the learning objectives c. For each module, refine/develop the list of topics to be addressed. 5. Prepare a Training Guide for Trainers which will include an overview of the required training equipment and tools, instructional materials on the refined training curriculum and recommended delivery approaches for the refined training curriculum. In order to engage with our project partner and the target group, the consultant will be required to travel to Northern Palestine. 4. Deliverables The following deliverables are expected during and at the end of the consultancy: A delivery workplan for implementing the training needs assessment including defining the scope, timeline, roles and responsibilities for execution A detailed methodology and tools for data collection Framework to collect and arrange feedback from the beneficiaries A draft and final report synthesising skills and training needs identified in the needs assessment and a refined training curriculum based on the findings
A live workshop with project delivery and training partner staff covering the findings and recommendations for the training curriculum and the training guide for trainers. 5. Methodology The consultancy will employ (but not be limited to) the following methods: Desk research and review of existing enterprise development training curriculums Field visit and interviews with TYO staff and trainers Interviews with a sample of the target population and key partners/stakeholders Other methods and techniques as suggested by the consultant 6. Scoring criteria for consultant selection Criterion Details Weight Experience of conducting training needs assessment on women s economic empowerment projects Previous experience of working on women s entrepreneurship projects and in particular with marginalised and socially excluded groups. 35% Previous experience of conducting training needs assessments using participatory techniques for other reputable organisations. Previous experience in designing and developing training curriculums relating to enterprise development. Sound knowledge and understanding of the context and key issues related to women s entrepreneurship in developing and emerging economies with particular reference to Palestine. Experience in developing and emerging markets, specifically the Palestinian context Proposed methodology Financial proposal A thorough understanding of the development context; experience of Palestine is desirable. The consultant must work in consultation with the Foundation and local partner to develop the methodology. The consultant must design/develop adapted methods to the local context. The most economical proposal that meets the expectations of the work will be selected. 20% 35% 10%
7. Timeframe The consultancy is expected to commence in early September 2015 with inputs to be completed by the end of September 2015. 8. Payment terms 30% of the fee will be paid upon the satisfactory completion of the workplan, methodology and tools for data collection as well as the monitoring framework 70% of the fee will be paid upon the satisfactory completion of the final report and workshop of the needs assessment findings and a proposal of an updated training curriculum The consultant will be expected to cover the cost of insurance, travel, communication and any expenses associated with the consultancy within the available budget. 9. Instructions for submission All submissions must be sent to Marion Osieyo at mosieyo@cherieblairfoundation.org, with the email subject title Training Needs Assessment, no later than 17:00 GMT on 14 August 2015. Proposals must be written in English in a narrative style that follows the structure below: Profile of consultant/firm, clear demonstration of previous experience Understanding of the Terms of Reference Approach and methodology Work plan Proposed budget in GBP and inclusive of VAT Appendices to the proposal must include: CVs of the project team Three references from similar projects undertaken by the consultant, including e-mail contacts and phone numbers Questions and clarifications regarding the Terms of Reference should be sent directly to Marion Osieyo at mosieyo@cherieblairfoundation.org.