TA 8399-PRC: Shanxi Technical and Vocational Education and Training Development Project Terms of Reference for Consulting Firm,

Phase 2 Institutional Analysis Experts (international/team leader, 4.0 person-months; national/ deputy team leader, 5.0 person-months) 1. The experts should have institutional analysis and planning backgrounds and have more than 15 years (international) and 12 years (national) of relevant work experience in preparing and leading ADB-funded project preparatory TA projects, preferably in the PRC. Familiarity with procurement of civil works and goods, contract management, and institutional management for operation and management of public services is also required. The deputy team leader will be an expert in TVET and will provide support to international consultants in TVET, as required, in collecting data, facilitating FGDs and interviews, and providing background information on recent TVET developments in the PRC. The experts will organize appropriate consultations throughout the process with key stakeholders to reflect balanced views pertinent to TVET development in Shanxi. The experts will ensure that thorough consultations with employers and industries, including ISCs (TVET groups), are carried out during TA implementation and in consultation with the consulting team, the experts will identify mechanisms to engage employers and/or industry, as much as possible throughout all project components, including in the identification of training equipment as well as training programs, standards, and competencies, and through the project steering committee to ensure a demand-driven approach to TVET. The project is classified as effective gender mainstreaming, hence the experts will identify suitable actions and indicators from the gender action plan (GAP) for incorporation into the design and monitoring framework. The experts are expected to guide the project design, incorporating lessons and experiences from other relevant ADB-financed projects and TVET projects in the PRC financed by other international development organizations such as the World Bank, AusAid, and GIZ. The experts will ensure that poverty and social analysis of TVET is conducted, with particular attention to access to TVET for the poor, ethnic minorities, and other disadvantaged groups, including issues of direct and indirect costs of education, access to scholarships and subsidies, availability of TVET schools in local areas, admissions policies, and social marketing of TVET. The experts will ensure that monitoring and evaluation (M&E) will include such tools as tracer studies, employer surveys, and impact evaluation to ensure that lessons from the project can be captured and shared. The experts will ensure that impact evaluation that focuses on with and without scenarios is incorporated into the project design and provide recommendations on credible institutions who can conduct impact evaluation. The experts will refine and administer the baseline survey to the selected project TVET institutions at the start of the TA (the draft baseline survey will be developed by the TVET policy and institutional capacity development experts to be recruited on an individual basis). The experts will help identify model training programs in the four priority sectors in advanced countries, and will propose suggestions for twinning partnerships between such model TVET institutions and project TVET institutions, to ensure sustainable capacity building and knowledge transfer. The experts, in consultation with TVET experts in the TA team, will prepare recommendations for a mechanism to pilot the innovation fund. The experts will (i) guide, coordinate, and supervise the consulting teams inputs, and will be responsible for preparing and finalizing TA outputs, including the inception report, interim report, draft final report, and final report; (ii) undertake a technical review of the design and feasibility analyses prepared for the infrastructure and capacity building components to make sure that TVET facilities are properly designed and fully meet technical standards including national safety and environmental requirements and that capacity building activities address the needs of the executing agency and project schools; (iii)

provide innovative ideas and technical advice to improve overall project design and avoid oversized facilities construction; (iv) work closely with the individual consultants to ensure their advice and outputs are incorporated into the project design; (v) work closely with the TVET consultants in the consulting firm to prepare a project design, incorporating lessons and experiences from other relevant ADB-financed projects and TVET projects financed by the World Bank, AusAid, and GIZ in the PRC; (vi) assess adequacy of detailed cost estimate; (vi) identify appropriate procurement packaging and procurement plans for the project components; (vii) assess operation and maintenance (O&M) requirement of investment components; (viii) identify and enhance potential innovative features of the project; (ix) analyze capacity development needs and design capacity building activities for the executing agency and implementing agencies; (x) taking into account international and national best practices, give recommendations for further strengthening the design and implementation arrangements for capacity building and infrastructure components; (xi) conduct appropriate workshops and training for project design and project performance management system, ADBs safeguards policy, and ADBs procurement and disbursement; (xii) review contract packaging arrangements for the capacity building and infrastructure components, coordinate preparation of the consolidated procurement plan, provide guidance and support in preparing procurement documents for the project, (xiii) be responsible for preparing the draft report and recommendation of the President (RRP) and the required linked documents based on the inputs of the team; (xiv) provide continuous guidance to the PMO and the project schools to ensure synchronization between domestic PRC approvals and ADB processing requirements, and to emphasize to the PMO, the need to prepare domestic documents (e.g., draft feasibility study report (FSR) and foreign capital utilization proposal) to a good quality standard and in a timely manner to meet the proposed processing schedule; and (xv) and perform other tasks as may be reasonably assigned by ADB. Finance Specialists (international, 1.5 person-months; national, 2.0 person-months) 2. The international expert should have at least 10 years and the national at least 8 years of experience, preferably in financial management assessment (FMA) in the education sector. The consultant should have a thorough understanding of education and training budgets and be experienced in undertaking financial analyses and calculating project costs in detail. Under the team leader's guidance, the TVET cost and financing analysis experts will conduct financial analyses of the components, prepare the cost estimates and financing plan for the project, and assess the financial viability of each component and the project as a whole; undertake FMA of the financial performance of the relevant implementing agencies under the project in accordance with ADBs guidelines for financial management and analysis of projects;1 analyze the historical and projected budget of the government for education and TVET subsector; and compile and review economic, industrial, and investment policies and strategies impacting on TVET; calculate and break down the unit costs in government and private TVET training institutions; calculate the cost of recommended TVET capacity building and investment activities; recommend ways to increase the financial sustainability of TVET program delivery including changes to institutional management and administration structures, program financing, and public-private partnerships; calculate the detailed costs of the proposed project design, assess the design of funds flow and disbursement mechanisms, and identify any further capacity building (financial management and ADB disbursement procedures) that will be necessary for the project and perform other tasks as may be reasonably assigned by ADB; provide recommendations for improved financing of TVET in Shanxi province over the medium
1

ADB. 2002. Guidelines for the Financial Governance and Management of Investment Projects Financed by ADB. Manila.

and long term. The recommendations should be costed, with fiscal and financial sustainability analysis as support, and have a prioritized implementation schedule; be responsible for the preparation and presentation of TVET financing issues, including cost recovery and related financial and fiscal policies at the workshops; provide the financial analysis and related documents for the RRP; work with the sector experts to prepare detailed cost estimates of the capital and O&M cost for each project component, identify contract packages and the financing plan, and prepare the draft procurement plan; prepare S-curve projections for quarterly contract awards and disbursement throughout the project implementation period; work with the economist to provide financial information and analysis relevant to financing, and O&M of project outputs; work with the sector experts and the economist to assess alternative options for each component and complete the economic least-cost analysis; assess the financial sustainability of the project components, including their financial internal rates of return, and perform sensitivity and risk analysis; review cost recovery mechanisms and give recommendations for strengthening the financial sustainability of project components and the sector as a whole; on the basis of the questionnaire checklist provided by ADB, assess financial management and review current accounting and administrative capacities of executing agency and TVET schools, the internal control system employed, current internal audit, external or government audit, and recommend any changes as appropriate; conduct the procurement capacity assessment of the project TVET institutions; identify areas for improvement and training needed with respect to the quality of financial statements, disclosure, and notes to the financial statements; design a fund-flow mechanism disbursement arrangements following ADB procedures and based on the project needs and the capacity of the two schools to manage fund flow and disbursements; participate in training during the TA and in the workshops, focusing on ADB procedures for financial analysis and FMA, procurement capacity assessment, and disbursement; finalize the (i) financial analysis, (ii) cost estimates and financing plan, (iii) financial action plan and loan covenants, and (iv) assessment of the project benefits, impacts, assumptions, and risks; and identify potential project-related risks in three specific thematic issues, namely, public financial management, procurement, and anticorruption based on their procurement assessment and FMA, and prepare a governance risk assessment and management plan. Economist (national, 2.0 person-months) 3. The national expert should have at least 5 years of experience and preferably with economic assessments in the education sector. The consultant will conduct the economic analysis for each project component and for the overall project in accordance with ADBs guidelines for economic analysis of projects2 and other relevant policies and guidelines; review the economic rationale for each project component; assess the social and economic justification for each project component and the project as a whole, based on governments goals, objectives, policies, and plans relating to general social and economic development, urban/rural development, and actual development patterns; work with sector experts to evaluate the demand for component services considering population and economic growth; identify all quantifiable and non-quantifiable economic benefits (incremental and non-incremental) and costs of each component; work with the sector experts to assess alternative options for each component and complete the economic least-cost analysis; estimate economic internal rate of return of each component and the project as a whole, and conduct sensitivity and risk analysis; develop economically sound indicators of the impact of the subprojects, and use the household survey and other relevant sources to develop baseline and performance target indicators; assist the team leader to carry out project appraisal to specify assurances and other conditions
2

ADB. 1997. Guidelines for the Economic Analysis of Projects. Manila.

attached to the loan; and assist the ADB project economist in finalizing (i) the economic analysis; (ii) financial analysis; (iii) cost estimates and financing plan; (iv) financial action plan; (v) associated loan covenants; and (vi) assessment of the project benefits, impacts, assumptions, and risks. Civil Engineer (national, 1.5 person-months) 4. The civil engineer will have at least 10 years of experience in the design and construction of TVET facilities. Under the team leader's guidance, the civil engineer will undertake a technical review of the FSRs prepared for the TVET institutions to ensure that all project-financed buildings are technically sound, meet all relevant technical and safety standards, and incorporate energy-efficiency and resources-conservation measures. Using the review and taking into account the national best practice, the expert will recommend improvements to the proposed design in terms of structural integrity, energy-efficiency, safety, and environmental sustainability. The expert will conduct a gender analysis of the TVET facilities upgrading and identify areas where further studies, capacity building, and genderresponsive physical design features are required. The expert will ensure that the cost estimates for civil works will include disaster management measures and that the civil works designs include access for disabled people. The expert will review proposed contract packaging arrangements for civil works and equipment, help prepare a procurement plan, and provide guidance on preparing procurement documents for components under Output 2. Involuntary Resettlement Expert (national, 2.0 person-months) 5. The involuntary resettlement expert will have at least 5 years of experience. The expert will orient SED and the TVET institutions on ADB's Safeguard Policy Statement (2009) requirements and procedures, as well as the policy and legal framework for resettlement in the PRC; and review due diligence reports to be prepared by a resettlement institute to be recruited by the PMO. For the Jinzhong Vocational and Technical College campus, the consultant will assist the implementing agency to prepare a resettlement plan. For land that has already been acquired, due diligence will be undertaken to (i) determine whether lands were acquired in anticipation of ADB support, and (ii) ensure that there are no outstanding land acquisition and resettlement issues. In case there are outstanding issues (new or legacies), prepare a corrective action plan or resettlement plan in accordance with ADB's Safeguard Policy Statement. Assist the relevant TVET institutions in finalizing the subproject resettlement plan, and provide training to SPG and project TVET institutions in ADB's resettlement planning and implementation requirements. Social, Poverty, and Gender Experts (international, 1.0 person-month; national, 1.0 personmonth) 6. The international expert will have at least 10 years and national expert at least 5 years of experience. The experts will (i) conduct the focus group and key informant interviews concerning poverty, social, and gender issues; (ii) undertake scoping for the ethnic minority impacts under the project to confirm there are no safeguards issues; (iii) based on the findings of such survey and analysis, the experts are expected to provide baseline information for the project on poverty levels, socioeconomic conditions, assessment of benefits and risks, mitigation and enhancement activities, recommendations to further strengthen the development impact of the project with attention to design, implementation, and monitoring; (iv) assess the prevailing gender patterns in the labor market and in Shanxis TVET institutions; (v) orient SPG and the implementing agencies on relevant ADB policies on social dimensions; (vi) prepare a poverty

and social analysis report, which will include a GAP, a social action plan, and a summary poverty reduction and social strategy in consultation with SPG and the implementing agencies to ensure their endorsement; and (vii) finalized inputs will also be provided for the RRP, design and monitoring framework, and Project Administration Manual (PAM). Environment Expert (national, 1.5 person-months) 7. The environment expert will have at least 10 years of work experience in environmental impact assessment and the design of environmental management systems. The expert will ensure that domestic environmental safeguards requirements are met. The expert will provide support to the civil engineer in reviewing the FSRs for components under Output 2, to ensure that all project-financed buildings are technically sound; meet all relevant technical and safety standards; and incorporate energy-efficiency, resources-conservation measures, and other environmental measures. The environment expert will review environmental implications of the project, and develop a generic environment management plan (EMP) for the design, construction, and operation stages of the project. The generic EMP shall define, amongst others (i) responsibilities of different stakeholders during detailed design, construction, and operation phases; (ii) mitigation, monitoring, and reporting responsibilities of contractors (including outline of site EMP to be developed by contractors); (iii) environment protection measures to be incorporated into design drawings and bidding documents; (iv) an environment monitoring and construction site inspection mechanism, to be applied by the implementing agencies and coordinated by the PMO; and (v) a simple grievance redress mechanism for environment related grievances and complaints. The generic EMP shall be incorporated into the PAM, included as a separate annex in all bidding and contract documents, and disclosed on the project website. The expert will develop recommendations for capacity building activities related to the environmental safeguards under the ensuing loan. Procurement Expert (national, 1.0 person-month) 8. The national consultant will have at least 5 years of experience in preparing and implementing procurement plans under foreign-funded projects in the PRC. The expert will draft a procurement plan in consultation with the PMO and the project TVET institutions, and prepare the sample bidding documents. The expert will prepare an S-curve chart for disbursement and contract award projections, contribute to the PAM (including implementation plans, schedule and estimate budget for procurement), and support the TA team in conducting a procurement capacity assessment of the project implementing agencies. The expert will conduct procurement training to the project implementing agencies. TVET Curriculum, Skills Standards, and Assessment Expert (international, 1.5 personmonths; national, 1.5 person-months) 9. The international TVET curriculum, skills standards, and assessment expert will have at least 15 years of experience and the national consultant will have at least 10 years of experience in the assessment and development of TVET programs, development of TVET qualifications, and competency-based curriculum (CBC). The TVET curriculum experts will have at least 10 years experience in the use of occupational standards leading to the development and delivery of CBC as this relates to the development of TVET courses and qualifications at different levels of required training. Under the team leaders guidance, the consultants will assess the relevance, quality, and efficiency of curriculum and assessment practices in public TVET schools and colleges; review current curriculum initiatives (e.g., in metallurgy) driven by the central Ministry of Education to determine whether their approach is consistent with the

proposed reforms for the project; investigate and recommend the agencies that need to be involved in the development of occupational standards and where the key coordination role and responsibility for their development is best placed; identify occupational sectors and training programs in which occupational standards, training standards, and curricula will need to be developed, or refined, in response to enterprise (industry) needs; review curricula, learning resources, and training materials development in the priority areas offered by the pilot schools and/or colleges to be financed under the project; recommend improvements to increase relevance and quality, including the development of CBC developed from occupational standards; review curriculum and/or programs to ensure that they include environment related subjects (e.g., environmental sustainability and energy saving policies) to support Shanxis transition to a low-carbon society; introduce concepts of competency-based instruction through a workshop with ISCs (TVET groups), including industrial partners, TVET instructors, TVET administrators, by drawing on the experience of other World Bank and AusAid projects in Chongqing, Guangdong, Liaoning, and Shandong provinces; conduct a gender analysis of the TVET sector, including an analysis of gender barriers in trades and occupations, and identify areas where further studies and capacity building are required; develop the CBC framework, and costed and time-bound CBC development plan for two priority sectors (mining and equipment manufacturing), including the activities, the expertise, partnerships, and institutional support required; prepare a list of subjects and programs in the project TVET institutions which will be upgraded under the ensuing loan and make recommendations about consulting services required to support curriculum related capacity building and interventions under the ensuing loan; with the team leader, recommend changes and investment activities to make training programs more relevant to labor market needs. The experts will analyze the extent to which TVET schools are focusing on developing skills that enhance employability, such as creative thinking, entrepreneurship, communications and relationship management, information and communication technology (ICT) skills, and work-related soft skills; and will make recommendations for developing such skills within TVET institutions, including entrepreneurship training, both for the formal TVET programs and for the short-term training programs. The consultants will review the current student assessment methods used by TVET schools and colleges in Shanxi and other provinces (Chongqing), including feedback from administration, trainers, and industry representatives; review the policy related to assessment and reporting in TVET and provide recommendations and changes to upgrade the policy to meet the requirements of a competency-based assessment system; recommend improvements to increase relevance and quality, including the development of competency-based assessment methods and tools; provide suggestions to plan the transition from traditional examinations to competency-based assessment methods; include recommendations for quality assurance approaches (e.g., verification of assessment) to ensure the validity and reliability of competency-based assessment; explore and make judgments on the usefulness of trialing assessment item banks and/or databases for project schools and/or colleges; provide details of the training requirements for pilot schools/colleges in the transition to a competency-based assessment and reporting system; develop implementation plan for a new approach (CBC) to assessment of student performance; and perform other tasks as may be reasonably assigned by ADB. TVET Teacher Training Expert (international, 1.0 person-month) 10. The consultant will have experience and knowledge of teacher and trainer employment and training system both in the PRC and internationally and have more than 15 years of relevant work experience. The consultant will examine international models for the training of vocational instructors and TVET trainers and will assess the existing system in Shanxi, including the organization of the system for teacher and trainer training; the appropriateness of existing

teacher training qualifications, standards, and competencies; the quality and relevance of TVET teacher and trainer training programs, curricula and pedagogical approaches, including the degree of practical and theoretical curriculum content; the role of the provincial education agency in the teacher and trainer training system; skill gaps of existing teachers and trainers, both in teacher training institutions and in TVET institutions; and the appropriateness of existing pay, and employment and recruitment policy and practices for teachers and trainers. The experts will conduct a gender analysis regarding gender dimensions of the TVET faculty, training opportunities for faculty, etc., and will identify areas where further studies and capacity building are required. The experts will draw on the experience of the World Bank, AusAid, and Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) projects in TVET in the PRC (e.g., Guangdong, Liaoning, Shandong, and Chongqing provinces) and other ADB-funded TVET projects in the PRC, and identify relevant lessons for the proposed project. The expert will recommend policy changes and project investment activities to improve the quality of teaching and trainer training and increase the number of TVET teachers and trainers. The consultant will also review proposed teacher and trainer training arrangements and the training activities proposed by the project vocational schools/colleges, and identify specific staff development activities for teachers and trainers. The experts will help prepare a procurement plan for this subcomponent, provide guidance and support in preparing procurement documents for this component, and perform other tasks as may be reasonably assigned by ADB. Labor Market and Skills Mapping Experts (international, 1.5 person-months; national, 2.0 person-months) 11. The international labor market and skills mapping expert will have at least 15 years of experience and the national consultant will have at least 10 years of relevant experience. Under the team leaders guidance, the international consultant will be responsible for undertaking the labor market assessment and will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the labor market assessment, including the development of the survey methodology, the preparation of required survey tools (e.g., questionnaires and training materials), training for survey staff, and the execution of the selection of the organization to carry out required surveys. The consultant will review previous labor market assessments and studies undertaken in Shanxi to identify their relevance to current circumstances; review and assess existing sources of information on the labor market in Shanxi, including the demand for, and supply of, skills, using information available from SED, Shanxi Provincial Development and Reform Commission, Shanxi Labor Department, and other sources; undertake and/or oversee assessment of labor market in Shanxi, including development of the scope of the labor market assessment, nature of survey(s) to be conducted, preparation of the terms of reference for required surveys, development of survey design and methodologies (i.e., employment elasticity, labor demand function, etc.), preparation of survey tools, training programs and training manuals, execution of surveys and other studies as required, and preparation of labor market projections for the period 20122017 and other relevant labor market studies; organize workshops and undertake consultations with government officials, the private sector, TVET providers, TVET students, TVET sector stakeholders, and displaced workers and migrants; prepare and/or oversee preparation of draft and final labor market assessment reports; work closely with the private sector and the provincial government to determine strategic skill areas, taking into account planned investments by the government in the 12th Five-Year Plan and will assess the prevailing gender patterns in the labor market; assess the existing labor market information system and the TVET information platform; identify weaknesses in the institutional, legal, and regulatory framework for development of an improved labor market information system; and perform other tasks as may be reasonably assigned by ADB.

Industry Liaison Expert (international, 1.0 person-month; national, 1.0 person-month) 12. The industry liaison experts will have at least 10 years of experience in developing successful education/training and industry partnerships. With regards to industry sector councils (ISCs, also referred to in Shanxi as TVET associations or TVET groups), the expert will (i) provide an overview of the concepts, key features, and drivers that provide a viable way of establishing ISCs and formalizing their role; (ii) in partnership with key stakeholders, determine the composition of the ISC Boards in priority sectors for Shanxi province; (iii) in partnership with key stakeholders and based on best practice, define the services to be provided by each ISC (e.g., setting TVET policy, designing sector related strategies, etc.); (iv) provide a detailed list of project interventions and a corresponding timeline of deliverables by the ISCs in priority sectors over the project period; (v) develop recommendations for capacity building for ISCs under the proposed project; (vi) outline the policy and procedures that will be required for the optimal operation of the ISCs; (vii) provide an overview of the current enterprise-training provider partnerships in project schools and in a sample of non-project schools, to identify main forms of partnerships; (viii) undertake a gap analysis of what is missing in terms of optimal functioning of enterprise-training provider partnerships in the project schools; (ix) develop policy and investment recommendations to facilitate enterprise-training partnerships in project schools under the project; (x) conduct FGDs with employers, ISCs, TVET administrators and faculty, and relevant government agencies on industry partnerships; (xi) develop an implementation plan for industrytraining provider partnerships under the project; (xii) prepare a report that addresses the issues above; and perform other tasks as may be reasonably assigned by ADB. Public-Private Partnership Expert (international, 0.5 person-month) 13. The expert will assess the current status of and a potential for industry-training provider partnerships and private-public partnerships (PPPs) in TVET in Shanxi. With regards to PPPs in TVET, the expert will (i) provide a brief overview of the concepts and key features of PPP that provide a viable way of determining industry buy-in to the TVET system; (ii) investigate and describe the role of government as a facilitator, regulator, and policy setter for the development of PPP; (iii) investigate the needs of industry for high demand skills and upgrading of their current workforce in priority sectors; (iv) identify key roles of industry and the means for fostering and developing industry participation for improving the quality of TVET; (v) provide an overview of best practice for undertaking consultations with industry as equal partners in the development and operation of PPP; (vi) explore a potential for PPP in TVET in Shanxi, (vii) prepare a report that addresses the issues above; and (viii) perform other tasks as may be reasonably assigned by ADB. TVET Information and Communication Technologies Expert (international, 1.0 personmonth; national, 1.0 person-month) 14. The TVET ICT experts will have 10 years of experience in ICT for education, particularly TVET. Under the team leader's guidance, the experts will review project proposals for using ICT for TVET. The experts will introduce the international best practice of using ICT in TVET. The experts will the review the current processes of using ICT in TVET, including use of flexible and blended delivery, computer-assisted learning, simulated learning, and distance learning. The experts will review quality assurance mechanisms for developing, uploading, and updating the curriculum online; select a sample of existing online TVET courses; and assess the course syllabi, learning guides and materials, user interaction, feedback functions, M&E mechanisms, and impact on the learning outcomes; and solicit feedback from users of the online TVET using interviews, focus discussions, e-mail, etc. The experts will provide recommendations on

introducing international best practice for ICT in TVET and for improving the functions, requirements, and M&E of the ICT systems for the proposed project, and will perform other tasks as may be reasonably assigned by ADB.