U -- U.S. A based Study Tour for 20 education professionals

ELECTRONIC RESPONSE FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT THE FOLLOWING: Name: M-Claire Sow/F.Binta Camara Telephone #:224-41-2029 Fax #:224-41-1985 Email:mcsow@usaid/gov or [email protected] Optional Electronic Response is available for this solicitation. Bids should be submitted to the Email address below as a word processing or Adobe PDF or better attachment. The preferred word processor(s) are MS-Word or WordPerfect versions 8 or better; or Adobe PDF version 3 or better. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO VERIFY RECEIPT BY THE GOVERNMENT OF YOUR ELECTRONIC RESPONSE. This may be done via a follow up email or by phone. You will receive a confirming receipt from the government via email to the author email address used to send your electronic response. This receipt confirmation will typically be mailed within 72 hours hours of receipt of your response by the government. Please call the point of contact listed above with questions. You should email your Electronic Response to: [email protected] AND [email protected] CONTINUATION PAGE Tentative Period of Performance is estimated to be from May 12, 2003 through June 30, 2003. The proposed date for the study tour is from June 1, 2003 to no later than June 30, 2003. The proposed date for the submission of the final report is no later than August 31, 2003. CONTINUATION PAGE Attachment Solicitation # 675-03-06 Education (SO3) FY 2003 U.S. Based Study Tour Improvement of Basic Education School Management Study Tour STATEMENT OF WORK OBJECTIVE The objective of this acquisition is to assist the USAID/Guinea Education Team (SO3) in providing a study tour to the United States for twenty (20) Guinean education professionals representing all levels of the educational sector. The School Management Study Tour supports the Education Team’s Strategic Objective of “providing a quality basic education to a larger percentage of Guinean children with an emphasis on girls and rural children.” Further, the Study Tour directly supports each of the SO3’s Intermediate Results noted below. Intermediate Result 1: Improved Sectoral Strategic Planning, Management, & Decision-Making Intermediate Result 2: Improved Instruction in Basic Education Intermediate Result 3: Improved Community Participation in Basic Education Intermediate Result 4: Improved Gender and Regional Equity in Basic Education In March 2002, the Government of Guinea officially launched the Education For All program. In addition to striving toward universal primary school gross enrollment by 2015, the program also put a focus on financial and administrative decentralization within the education system. As the Guinean educational system decentralizes its services, the education administrators at each level of the system will require particular knowledge and skills regarding decentralization. BACKGROUND In both 1998 and 1999, USAID/Guinea organized study tours, which focused on “Improving the Quality of Basic Education” at Florida State University for teachers and education officers at all levels within the Guinean educational system. Both study tours required that upon completion, participants write action plans to be implemented in their communities. Review of the action plans revealed that many of the participants chose pedagogical rather than managerial themes, although the latter would have been more applicable to their work responsibilities. Managerial issues at all levels require attention if the management capacity of the Guinean education system is to develop in a sustainable manner. Education officers need to learn the process of identification of and solutions to problems in a system that differs from current practices. More importantly, they need to acquire the skills to evaluate, adapt, and implement such management skills into their own management systems. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES The proposed 4-week Improvement of Basic Education School Management study tour will provide an opportunity for the selected participants to observe experiences and techniques currently in use in the United States in the area of school management as well as supervisory structures at all levels of the education sector. Particular attention is to be given to administrative and financial decentralization, such as decision-making processes, financial management, and the role and relationship of supervisors with their employees. Emphasis should also be placed on the U.S. decentralized system for curriculum development, teacher training, and student assessment. Participants should come away with a good understanding of the various roles of education administrators and civil society at the national, state, and local levels as well as the mechanisms for involving parents and other education stakeholders in decisions made at each level. In order to maximize the learning experience during the study tour, participants must be able to describe their current school management system, including the identification of management problems that they experience. The profound understanding of their own system will enable participants to better identify the various management styles that might be applicable to Guinea. A component of the study tour will be to develop realistic, workable action plans in order to establish efficient management systems and to improve management styles in their own communities. Upon returning to Guinea, participants will implement their action plans with the technical assistance provided by USAID Education team and/or the training provider. DESCRIPTION OF TRAINING The training course objectives for this four-week study tour will be focused on the participants’ ability to increase their own skills in areas relevant to Guinea’s educational reform, to reflect on current practices, compare these practices with methods used in American models, and decide how these practices can be adapted and implemented in Guinea. The contractor is expected to be able to thoroughly present several main themes during the course of the training workshop, including, but not limited to: 1. Decentralization (financial and administrative) 2. Role of the private sector in education 3. Role of parents and other stakeholders in the decision-making processes 4. Financing of public education in the U.S. 5. Equity in education resources and quality between wealthy and poor communities 6. Relevant themes such as learner-centered instruction, gender equity, student assessment, and the impact of HIV/AIDS on the education system The contractor will structure the study tour so that cross-cultural experiences and exchanges are maximized. All aspects of the training are to be designed to provide participants with an opportunity to experience different dimensions of American education and culture, to compare these realities with their own, and to draw conclusions about what is or is not relevant to the specific needs of the Guinean educational sector. It is expected that the contractor will incorporate various teaching and training techniques, such as classroom instruction, field visits, hands-on experiences, group work, etc. Key components of the study tour will include, but not be limited to: • Site visits to schools of comparable levels in Guinea • Planning sessions for the visits, with a focus on the managerial process • De-briefing sessions following the site visits, enabling the participants to compare the various school visits, analyze the different management styles observed, make connections to the educational system in Guinea, and discuss ways in which these new managerial methods may be incorporated into the Guinean educational sector. • Sessions for the participants from different levels of the Guinean management structure to work collaboratively towards a common goal: the effective development of a more decentralized management structure in the Guinean educational system. • Preparation of action plans, with a focus on realistic achievable goals taking into consideration the budgetary and communication constraints in Guinea. • Definition and outline of follow-up and implementation expectations and requirements. III. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CONTRACTOR Requirements for study tour leaders, trainers, and support staff include use of French (level 4) as the language of the workshop, experience in working with educational professionals in cross-cultural context, as well as expertise in organizing site visits for a large group of educational professionals. The contractor will provide the training to twenty five (20) Guinean education professionals representing all levels of the education sector and will be sponsored by USAID/Guinea in accordance with the Description of Training in Section VI. In addition, the contractor will provide the following logistical and administrative arrangements and will be reimbursed for the associated allowed costs. 1. Round-trip air tickets (Conakry-site) for twenty five (20) participants 2. Arrangements for participants’ travel within the U.S. 3. In country orientation for all Twenty (20) participants 4. Lodging for all twenty five (20) participants 5. Participants’ per diem, travel allowance, and U.S. medical insurance 6. Translation and interpretation services as needed for the site visits 7. A final report of the training IV. EXPECTED RESULTS Upon successful completion of this training program, the Guinean education professional participants will: 1. Understand the structure of the U.S. education system with emphasis on decentralized administrative and financial systems and demonstrate how these systems can be incorporated into the Guinean education system; 2. Identify the challenges found in the U.S. and Guinea to decentralization among education administrators and list possible ways in which to overcome this obstacle; 3. Describe and implement a system in which schools and communities work collaboratively towards a common goal: increasing the access of quality education to a larger percentage of Guinean children, with an emphasis on girls and rural children; 4. Develop and implement tools that allow education professionals to expertly monitor and evaluate the educational sector; 5. Develop realistic workable action plans that will be implemented upon returning to Guinea; and 6. Become familiar with management systems of high performing school institutions and incorporate new management techniques into the Guinean educational system. PERFORMANCE PERIOD/DELIVERABLES The training is to be delivered in May/June 2003 and the completion date of this purchase is August 31, 2003. All documents are to be submitted in both English and French to the Activity Manager within USAID/SO3. The Contractor will provide the Activity Manager with hardcopies as well as an electronic version of all documentation. The electronic version must be in formatted for MicroSoft Windows 1998 or Windows 2000. 1. Within two weeks of signing the contract, the Contractor will submit a detailed work plan, itinerary, and support logistics for the study tour to the Activity Manager within USAID/SO3 for approval. This documentation is to include a proposed list with a background description of the trainers, professors, and interpreters. 2. The tour organizers will submit to the Activity Manager within USAID/SO3 four weeks prior to the start of the program, all materials to be used during the study tour for approval. 3. The tour organizers will maintain a record of workshop content, daily activities, and attendance rates of the participants throughout the study tour and will submit this information to the Activity Manager within USAID/SO3 with the final report. 4. The tour organizers will maintain a record of all per diems distributed to each participant and will submit this information to the Activity Manager within USAID/SO3 with the final report. This includes signatures from each of the participants testifying that they have received their per diem allotments. 5. Within one month of conclusion of the study tour, the tour organizers will submit a final report, in French, for each participant. This report is to include the content of individual sessions, the participants’ action plans, and recommendations for follow-up, implementation, and monitoring in the field. Tour organizers will also submit a final report to the Activity Manager within USAID/SO3 adhering to the specification noted above.