Terms of Reference for the Sector-wide Review of Existing ICTs Used in the Rwandan Education Sector and the

development of a Total Cost of Ownership Solution. 1. Summary/Introduction In line with the Rwandan Education Capacity Development Plan (CDP), a Service Provider is required to provide technical assistance to the Rwandan Education Sector to undertake a sector-wide ICT audit, and develop a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) tool for Rwanda with recommendations on the way forward. 2. Background and Context ICT in education is one of Rwandas leading education sector priorities, with ICT becoming a major tool for conducting and administering learning and teaching. In the past few years the Rwandan government has made large investments in the One Laptop per Child project at primary level as well as growing investments in computers, connectivity, teacher training and other ICT investments at the secondary level. These levels of investment are targeted to continue to increase significantly over the course of the new Education Sector Strategic Plan 2013-18. A review of the current status of ICT for education in Rwanda is needed to inform the implementation of the ICT Policy. In addition, effective planning requires an accurate understanding of the total cost of supporting ICT in primary and secondary schools. Data on the use of ICT in the classroom is scarce with minimal evidence available of the impact of technology on learning or how such tools can be most effectively used. The proper use of ICT is often expensive, with many countries not fully appreciating the total cost involved with using ICT. To ensure all costs of ICT are considered in policy-making a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) tool can be developed. The total cost of ownership is a way of accounting for all costs associated with a given activity. For example, ICT costs start with the initial costs for hardware (i.e. computers and servers etc.), but to effectively use this hardware many other investments are to be made, most of which are ongoing, recurrent costs upgrading software, training staff, maintaining and troubleshooting equipment, establishing and maintaining internet connectivity etc. A TCO tool allows for decision-makers to make informed and sustainable decisions, by providing accurate information on the full investments required for effective ICT. This will help to address possible inefficiencies, over-spending, inaccurate decision-making, under-use of ICT hardware and duplication of efforts. The Rwandan Education Boards (REB) Department of ICT & Odel (Open, Distance and E-Learning Education) is responsible for the use of various information and e-technologies, to improve the quality and accessibility of information and learning in formal and non-formal settings and will be the department with which this project will work most closely. However, this project will also work with the Workforce Development Authority (WDA) to ensure that the TCO tool is equally applicable to secondary TVET schools. In addition the One Laptop per Child project has just moved from the Ministry of Education to REB. While this project does not sit within the Department of ICT and OdEL, it is the main ICT in education project in Rwanda and must also be covered by this assignment.

3. Scope of Work The service providers task is to assist the Rwandan Education Sector in the undertaking of a comprehensive audit and inventory review of the use and resources of ICT, of the entire education sector, including the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC), the Rwandan Education Board (REB), the Workforce Development Authority (WDA), the district and sector offices, schools and any other relevant education sector entities. The audit and inventory review will assess all aspects for ICT used in the sector in order to have complete and accurate data on the existing ICT condition of the Rwandan education sector. The next step is to establish a model and tools that will allow the education sector institutions to determine the total cost of ownership, and create a TCO tool for the variety of different ICTs that are, or could be, used in the sector. This audit and review could also result in recommendations of the Rwandan ICT policy in the Education Sector. 4. Objectives The overall objective and anticipated outcome of this project is to use the audit, inventory review, TCO tool and recommendations to inform policy decisions in the Rwandan Education Sector. This project will result in improved policy decision making, planning and investment in ICT provision to schools and institutions in the sector, leading to more accurate and informed decision-making, allowing for MINEDUC to target areas where ICT is needed most and will have greatest impact. It will contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of the sector by reducing inefficient and overspending, duplication of efforts of supply and implementation, and establishing the real needs in the field of ICT for the sector. 5. Specific tasks The specific tasks will include; A comprehensive audit and inventory review of the entire use of ICT in schools and institutions within the Rwandan Education Sector including the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC), the Rwandan Education Board (REB), the Workforce Development Authority (WDA), the district and sector offices, schools (including pre-primary, primary, secondary, teacher training colleges, Vocational Training Centres and Technical Secondary Schools) and any other relevant education sector entities. This review will involve analysing hardware and software, peripherals, connectivity, power, maintenance, training and other operational costs to establish the Total Cost of Ownership of Rwandan Education Sector ICT. The review will establish not only the costs that are currently funded but also those that need to be funded for an effective implementation of ICT in the education sector. This review will conclude with a series of validation meetings, as requested and required. The development of a TCO tool (database) that is fully user-friendly for the education sector agencies to access information relevant to ICT policy decisions and that can be easily updated within the education sector as new data becomes available. This tool should be linked, or integrated with the existing relevant management information systems used in the sector. Comprehensive training of the key users on how to effectively use the tool.

From this review recommendations will be formulated for the best form of progression and policy-review in the field of ICT in Rwandan Education. 6. Methodology and Approach The exact methodology and approach will be proposed by the Service Provider. This proposal should include a clear outline of all deliverables under the contract with timeframes attached to each. This will then be negotiated and agreed with the ICT Department of REB and the Fund Manager before the start of the contract. It is expected that the Service Provider will refer to examples of successful implementation of similar tools in other countries. The Service Provider will need to adopt a participatory approach working closely with the ICT Department of REB in particular, but also with other key stakeholders including MINEDUC at central and district level, WDAs ICT officers and the One Laptop per Child team. The proposed approach should take existing MINEDUC mechanisms to M&E and implementation frameworks into account. It is furthermore expected that before commencing the assignment, the service provider will have a good understanding of the updated Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP) 2013-2018 in order to ensure that the outputs of the assignment are aligned to the strategic objectives of the long term plan.

7. Outputs/Deliverables The outputs will include: Inventory of ICTs used in Rwandan education sector organisations (including schools) A Total Cost of Ownership solution tool, to enable monitoring and decision-making bodies to analyse TCO data Deliver training to the key users into how to effectively use this tool Recommendations on the best way forward in regards to the ICT needs of the Rwandan Education Sector A Monitoring Report based on the submitted Monitoring Plan and following the Quality Assurance (QA) approach outlined in section 11 The Service Providers proposal will allow for a more comprehensive list of deliverables which will need to be agreed with the Fund Manager before finalising the contract. 8. Reporting The Service Provider will report to the DDG of ICT and ODeL within REB and the Director of ICT in MINEDUC. All outputs will need to be approved by them and presented to REB/MINEDUC senior managers.

The Fund Manager, Mott MacDonald, will need to endorse all outputs/deliverables of the assignment. 9. Timing and Budget The total length of the project will be six months and will begin as soon as possible after the award of the tender. The first portion of the project will be dedicated to the in-country audit and review. The rest of the assignment will be used for developing the TCO tool and formulating the recommendations on the way forward. Prospective Service Providers should provide a detailed financial breakdown in their offers. Service Providers are encouraged to present innovative ways of controlling their costs, including the potential partnership with local organisations for implementation. 10. Expertise and Team Required The Service Provider will require the following skills and expertise: A high level of competence and experience in establishing comprehensive ICT costing and investment planning. A high level of experience in undertaking ICT audits and inventory reviews in the education sector. Experience in the design of user-friendly database systems. Experience in the design of ICT solutions in education. Experience of working in a development context and low-capacity environment. Expertise in communicating technical concepts to a non-technical audience Expertise in providing training in ICT tools. Experience working in East Africa in general or Rwanda in particular would be an advantage Knowledge of the Rwandan Education Sector would be an advantage, but is not required. Fluency in Kinyarwanda will be essential for at least some of the team; For those not fluent in Kinyarwanda, fluency in French would be an advantage. All team members should have excellent English.

11. Monitoring and Evaluation We expect in the offer the service provider to explicitly state how they will perform their monitoring tasks in line with the Funds strategy. The monitoring should take a quality assurance (QA) approach and collect information on the service providers conduct of the various elements in the review process and the associated training. Such a QA approach has three principles: collect data systematically; report these data; enable timely action on the data, at the appropriate level

The service provider should propose how they will use these principles to ensure the quality of their product and/or service and hence how they plan to monitor the satisfaction of those involved in all aspects of the review process.

For the training element of the project, the plan for monitoring provided by the service provider should, in enacting the QA principles, obtain views of participants in the training in the following way. At appropriate points in the training and the end of the training participants should complete a questionnaire asking them to rate their perceptions on: the organisation and conduct of the training; professional skills and capabilities of trainer in the use of the TCO tool in the Rwandan context; self-assessment of learning in terms of the skills and competencies of the use of the TCO tool.

For this final self-assessment, the service provider will have to specify the specific skills and competences that result from the training. (The Fund Manager will provide a standard format for the design of such a questionnaire, which includes open-ended elements, which the service provider can use for this element of monitoring. The construction of the instrument(s) to collect the above data is the responsibility of the service provider.) The monitoring report (see section 7) is expected to contain evidence that shows how the QA principles were carried out, as well as showing the degree of satisfaction of those involved in the review process and training. The Fund Manager should also be supplied with all the instruments and raw data collected as part of the monitoring process. The Fund Manager will perform its own independent evaluation of the project during and after its implementation.