Overview
The Government of Suriname (GOS) has received financing from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) in an amount equivalent to US$21.94 million towards the cost of the Enhancement of Technical and Vocational Education and Training at the Lower Secondary School Level (ETVET) Project and intends to apply a portion of the proceeds of this financing to eligible payments under a contract for which this invitation is issued. Payments by CDB will be made only at the request of GOS and upon approval by CDB, and will be subject in all respects to the terms and conditions of the Financing Agreement. The Financing Agreement prohibits withdrawal from the financing account for the purpose of any payment to persons or entities, or for any import of goods, if such payment or import, to the knowledge of CDB, is prohibited by a decision of the United Nations Security Council taken under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. No party other than GOS shall derive any rights from the Financing Agreement or have any claim to the proceeds of the Financing.
The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture (MOESC), the Executing Agency, now wishes to procure Consultancy Services for Competency-based curriculum development and training.
The objective of the consultancy is to develop new curricula for the delivery of CBET in the TVET programme of Lower Secondary Schools (LSS) in Suriname, to develop and deliver a Trainer of Trainers programme to provide support for instructors, and to orient them to the use and implementation of the curricula. The duration of the assignment is expected to be for a period of eighteen (18) months, commencing in January 2020.
Eligiblity
The PCU now invites interested eligible consulting firms to submit Expressions of Interest (EOI) indicating qualifications and experience required for the provision of these consultancy services.
Firms or Joint Venture (JV) shall be eligible to participate if:
(a) in the case of a body corporate, it is legally incorporated or otherwise organized in an eligible country, has its principal place of business in an eligible country and is more than fifty (50) per cent beneficially owned by citizen(s) and/or bona fide resident(s) of eligible country(ies) or by a body(ies) corporate meeting these requirements;
(b) in the case of unincorporated firms, the beneficial owners are citizens or bona fide residents of an eligible country; and
(c) in all cases, the firm has no arrangement and undertakes not to make any arrangements, whereby any substantial part of the net profits or other tangible benefits of the contract will accrue or be paid to a person not a citizen or bona fide resident of an eligible country.
Eligible countries are member countries of CDB.
The attention of interested Firms is drawn to paragraph 1.9 of CDB’s Guidelines for the Selection and Engagement of Consultants (2011), setting forth CDB’s policy on conflict of interest.
In the assessment of submissions, consideration will be given to:
(a) technical competence, validated by references, in the delivery of curriculum revision and development services, with strong experience in the development of competency-based modules. A maximum of five (5) assignments should be presented on five (5) pages maximum, with the role of the firm or JV indicated,
(b) local, regional, and international experience of the firm or JV in the provision of relevant services. Local and regional experience and experience with the education sector in Suriname as well as familiarity with the CARICOM Regional TVET Strategy would be an asset. A maximum of ten (10) assignments should be presented, on ten (10) pages maximum,
(c) capacity to provide the required expertise in Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET) methodologies and curriculum revision and development. Key personnel in each of the aforementioned disciplines should possess post-graduate qualifications in TVET and curriculum development and a minimum of ten (10) years’ experience in the development of competency-based modules. For each discipline, a maximum of three (3) key personnel available to the firm or JV, their combined years of relevant experience, and the total number with relevant post-graduate qualifications should be provided. The total number of technical and administrative staff available to support the key personnel should also be provided. Individual CVs are not required.
(d) financial capability, by way of a statement confirming that the firm or members of the JV is/are neither bankrupt nor engaged in bankruptcy proceedings and confirmation, if requested, that financial statements for the past five (5) years can be provided,
(e) existing commitments, by way of provision of a list of current and expected assignments during the length of the project giving the name, stage and size of project and the role being/to be performed by the firm or members of the JV.
Instructions
Expressions of Interest must be submitted in English electronically to procurement.tvet@gmail.com in pdf format no later than 13:00 hours, Suriname time on Monday, September 30, 2019. The email subject line should state “Expression of Interest - Consultancy Services for Competency-Based Curriculum Revision and Development” and the email body must state the name and address of the applicant. The Expression of Interest will be deemed to have been received at the time that it is received by the Procurement Officer. The burden of proving receipt of the e-mail will be on the applicant and will not be met solely by a read receipt or sent items report generated by the bidder’s computer. In addition, one copy must be submitted simultaneously by email to CDB at procurement@caribank.org, again with the email subject line stating “Expression of Interest - Consultancy Services for Competency-Based Curriculum Revision and Development” and the email body stating the name and address of the applicant.
The selection method for the award of the consultancy shall be Quality Based Selection (QBS). Therefore, following the assessment of submissions, a short-list of not less than three (3) and not more than six (6) applicants will be invited to submit technical and financial proposals to undertake the assignment.
GOS reserves the right to accept or reject late applications or to cancel the present invitation partially or in its entirety. It will not be bound to assign any reason for not short-listing any applicant and will not defray any costs incurred by any applicant in the preparation and submission of Expressions of Interest.
Further information may be obtained from the first address below between 08:00 and 15:00 hours local time, Monday to Friday. All written requests for information must be submitted in English and Dutch. In cases of discrepancies in translations, the English version will take precedence.
Contact
Procurement Officer
Rode Kruislaan 11A,
Paramaribo,
SURINAME
Procurement Officer
Caribbean Development Bank
P.O. Box 408
Wildey, St. Michael
Barbados