TERMS OF REFERNCE FOR DEVELOPING WEB-BASED MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE TRAINING INSTITUTES (MATI-MIS)
PROJECT: INVESTING IN NEW VENTURES OF ENTREPRENEURIAL STUDENTS IN TANZANIA (INVEST)
DATE: APRIL TO JUNE 2021
I. Background
Lutheran World Relief (LWR) is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1945 with a mission to end poverty, injustice, and human suffering. LWR is helping some of the world’s poorest communities transform from survival to sustainability, focusing on humanitarian assistance; laying the foundation for resilience; sustainable adaptation to climate change; and value-chain based long-term development.
LWR, in collaboration with Ministry of Agriculture, implement the Investing in New Ventures of Entrepreneurial Students in Tanzania (INVEST) project over a three-year period from October 2017 to June 2021. The project is designed to address the challenge of agricultural training education system in Tanzania, which is disconnected from labour market demands and the challenge of incompetence of graduate on self-employment. The disconnect has led to agricultural practitioners lacking necessary competence in the labour market and self-employment. The overall goal of the project is to strengthen the long-term employment prospects of youth (male and female) in Ministry of Agriculture Training Institutes (MATIs), so they are equipped for employment upon graduation.
The Ministry of Agriculture has fourteen (14) Agricultural Training institutes located in six agricultural zones namely, Eastern, Western, Southern Highlands, Southern, Lake and Northern Zone, that are responsible for implementing agricultural training to produce skilled agricultural workforce in levels of Certificate and Diploma. The current data show that more than 20,000 agricultural students at Certificate and Diploma levels have been trained through the Ministry of Agriculture Training Institutes and they offer extension service to Government and Private sector
MATIs do not have a web-based system to meet the needs of academic programs (admission, registration, test taking, result access, courses, classes, lectures, timetables, library online materials, and other student self-services) and Institute management activities e.g., application and admissions, collection of tuition fees and other fees from institute projects, procurement, and stores. This absence of an online system hinders the MATIs ability to develop financial and academic reports for the Ministry and other government agencies.
LWR seeks to engage a knowledgeable and experienced firm to develop a web-based system for academic program and administrative activities. The firm must demonstrate capacity for integrating their solutions with other government systems (NACTE, NECTA and GePG) for exchange and validation of information.
II. Objective
The purpose of the desired web-based technology is to develop the Management Information System for Ministry of Agriculture Training Institutes (MATI-MIS) that can be accessed online via both computers and mobile phones. The online-based system (MATI-MIS) will cater to admission needs/requirements of trainees/students as well as internal system that caters to automation of academic’s management and finances of these institutions. The proposed solution will have three components with linked flows enabling both students and institution management to perform their duties quickly and efficiently. These components are: 1) Student portal – This is the student facing interface for registration, admission, test taking, result access, online materials, and other student self-services, 2). Management Interface – For management of students and related academic information like courses, classes, lectures, timetables, library etc. This interface will also enable payment of fees by students as well as other supporting activities like Purchases and stores, 3). MATI’s Website and Real Time Dashboards.
III. SCOPE OF DEVELOPMENT OF WEB-BASED TECHNOLOGY
The scope of this project includes.
Conduct desk review of all relevant documentation for MATIs
Conduct assessment to 14 MATIs (14 MATIs are located in Mbeya, Morogoro, Mtwara, Mwanza, Bukoba, Kagera, Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Tabora and Tanga) to understand academic program and their business operation.
Based on assessment findings, develop a website for 14 websites for MATIs. Ensure a consistent visual language on the website, consistency in fonts, formatting, icons, images, layout techniques. The website should be capable of hosting discussion forums or allowing users to make comments regarding any report published on the website.
Develop a Management Information System for 14 Ministry of Agriculture Training Institutes (MATI-MIS) that can be accessed online via both computers and mobile phones for academic and administrative operation, this include 1) Student portal – this is the student facing interface for registration, admission, classes, lectures, timetables, library online materials, test taking, result access, online materials, and other student self-services, courses and 2) Institute management such as financial related activities e.g. application and admission fees, tuition fees and other collection from institute projects, procurement and stores, and perform financial and academic reports to the Ministry and other government agencies.
Develop web-based technology that will help students to use the website and select courses, as well as do their admission process and fee payment through an online portal. Also, students at the Institute will be able to access academic, administrative, and financial information though the portal
Integrate the solution with other government systems (NACTE, NECTA and GePG) for exchange and validation of information
Train teachers and administrative staff of 14 MATIs on the use of new system and provide support for smooth transition.
Provide support on a regular basis through the agreement period to facilitate a smooth transition.
Develop a user manual and deliver a webinar for the support staff and system administrators to perform content upload, system maintenance and administration.
PROPOSED SYSTEM MODULES AND THEIR DESCRIPTIONS
Module Functions
1. System administration Set system-wide parameters, users management and control, and system backup and restoration
2. Admission Store and process the students’ primary admission information
3. Academic Process examination registration to transcripts output or final
4. Online Application Enable the online application, processing applicants’ details, generate timetable and examination schedule.
5. Timetable processing Automatically develop class timetable for all programmes for every academic year and automatic generation of examination timetable.
6. Student Management Allow students to perform various activities such as course registrations, viewing fee balances, viewing examination results details
7. Payment Module Handle finance related activities and payment of fees, and provide financial reports
8. Application Programming Interface (API) Enable the integration of MATI-MIS with relevant government systems (NACTE, NECTA, and GePG) for information exchange
IV. KEY PEOPLE TO BE INTERVIEWED
MATIs, Ministry of Agriculture, National Council for Technical Education (NACTE) and GePG
V. DELIVERABLES
- 14 websites designed to meet the MATIs needs and specifications
- A functioning Management Information System for 14 MATIs. A comprehensive suite of tools for institute management made up of both academic and operation/administrative functions
- Develop a user manual to support staff and system administrators to perform content uploads, system maintenance and administration.
- Training report on the users on Management Information system
VI. IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS
The duration of the consultancy will be from April to June 2021. LWR will orient the lead consultant on the scope of the work. The consultant will outline the methodology and develop tools for data collection and submit to LWR for approval. The Ministry of Agriculture and LWR will assign a person to accompany the consultants for field work. The assigned person will assist the consultants to make contacts with key informants and arrange for meetings. The consultant will provide his/her own working space, associated resources, and equipment. LWR will reimburse the actual cost incurred by the consultant for transportation, living cost (accommodation and meals) and stationaries upon submission of receipts based on the agreed rate up to defined limit established within the contract agreement.
The main contact in planning and executing the assignment will be managed by LWR Tanzania's Senior Program Manager Moses Kabogo and Ministry of Agriculture Director of Training Extension Services and Research
The timeline for the completion of the assignment is very firm. Delays in submission of the deliverables that are not the fault of LWR will result in a reduction in the final payment to the consultant and payment will be based on satisfactory completion of deliverables.
VII. EVALUATION TIMEFRAME
This service is expected to commence April and end June 2021
VIII. EVALUATOR QUALIFICATIONS AND APPLICATION PROCEDURES
Qualification of the Consultant
The required qualifications of consultant(s)
- The applicants should be a reputable technology company or private IT consultant with a proven record of developing and implementing educational informational systems.
- At least 7 years of experience in building IT applications, experience in database management with front-end and back-end applications, and master’s degree in a relevant field.
- Have a strong experience in database management platforms
- Familiarity with web security protocols including two-factor authentication
- At least 7 years of experience in developing systems at the national level, a brief description of their objectives should be provided.
- Experience in working with stakeholders to identify right requirements towards the final product and adjust to possible new needs.
- Have a broad knowledge of current web development technologies and design tools in the field, and new software and other web programming languages and programs including use of HTML, XHTML, CSS, XML, XSLT, Macromedia Flash, Java
- Familiarity with MATIs, Ministry of Agriculture, National Council for Technical Education (NACTE), GePG, NECTA, etc
- Have excellent knowledge of recent trends in graphic design, web sites, including online video publishing, and social media networking
- The company or private consultant should have a team of experts that include technology experts and coders, social media experts, mobile platform innovation experts.
- Excellent English writing skills and fluent in Swahili.
- Legally entitled to work in Tanzania.
Requirements
- The consultant will present a description of the technologies used to perform the task.
- The consultant shall provide detailed descriptions of the technical, performance or other characteristics relevant to all key technologies, materials, other goods, and services presented in the technical offer (e.g., version or release number and / or model).
- The consultant shall provide any other technical information regarding technologies, materials, other goods, and services necessary to evaluate the submitted technical offer (e.g., history of IT services, ability to develop, implement and maintain national projects in the field of education, of similar complexity, etc.)
- The consultant shall submit a preliminary Work Plan describing, inter alia, the methods and human and material resources that the bidder proposes to use in the design, management, coordination, and execution of all proposed tasks, as well as the duration of execution.
- The consultant shall provide detailed descriptions of the implementation of the functional requirements.
Interested consultants should send the information listed below to
- Expression of interest (up to 5 pages) – outlining the summary of relevant previous experience, the approach in performing the work and daily consultancy fee (inclusive of all office supplies, equipment, etc. and exclusive of reimbursable field travel expenses as listed above).
- Latest curriculum vitae (of consultant and any supporting team members)
- Contact information of three references for similar services was offered.
Application procedure
Complete applications containing elements a) through c) should be submitted as attachments to an email to: tzprocurement@imaworldhealth.org
The subject line should read: Developing Web-Based Solution for MATIs
Deadline for the submission of bids is on April 9th, 2021 by 5pm Tanzania time
Applicants who do not follow application instructions will be rejected. ONLY short-listed candidates will be contacted.