Consultancy to Develop a Model Performance Management System for Higher Education Institutions in Malawi — SAVE Project

Republic of Malawi

Ministry of Education

SAVE PROJECT

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES– FIRM SELECTION)

NAME OF COUNTRY: Malawi

NAME OF PROJECT: Skills For A Vibrant Economy (SAVE) Project

PROJECT ID/ LOAN NO: P172627

ASSIGNMENT TITLE: Consultancy to Develop a model Performance Management System for higher education institutions

REFERENCE NO.: MW-MOE-506032-CS-CQS

DATE OF ISSUE: 26th August, 2025

• Introduction

The Government of Malawi with support from the World Bank is implementing the Skills for a Vibrant Economy Project (SAVE) at an estimated cost of US$100 million through the International Development Association (IDA) financing. The project is expected to run over a period of five years from 2021 to 2026. Key implementing agencies are the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) as lead and the Ministry of Labour (MoL).

The Project Development Objective (PDO) is “to increase equitable access to market-relevant skills in priority areas of the economy, especially for females and vulnerable youth”. This will be achieved by (a) improving access to market-relevant skills programs in priority areas of the economy; (b) enhancing equity in skills training with empowerment of women and girls and vulnerable youth through targeted skills in priority areas of the economy; and (c) creating a conducive policy environment & strengthening systems and institutional capacity for skills development. It is anticipated that the impact of the project will support Malawi’s human capital development for a vibrant economy, equitable growth, and development through improved youth skills in key areas of the economy.

The project has three main components. The first component is supporting Increased Access to Skills Development Programs in Higher Education targeting all the seven (7) public universities and two educational colleges of Domasi and Nalikule. The second component is Supporting increase in access to TEVET Skills Development targeting seven (7) public national technical colleges and the third component is Tertiary Education System Strengthening, Project Management, M&E and Communications. Through this component, the project supports central level intuitions including Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Labour, TEVETA, Higher Education Students Loans and Grants Board, and National Council for Higher Education.

Therefore, using the support under the third component, the MoHE intends to facilitate achievement of the strategic objectives of the National Education Sector Investment Plan (NESIP) (2020-2030), improving quality and access to education which is aimed at strengthening higher education systems. In this connection, the MoHE has planned to engage a consulting firm to facilitate the development of a model Performance Management System (PMS) for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the country.

• Objectives of the Assignment

The primary objective of this consultancy is to develop a PMS for HEIs in Malawi that will, among others:

a. Establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for academic performance, research and outreach, governance, financial management and resource mobilization;

b. Align the PMS with National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) accreditation standards, the Higher Education Qualification Framework, and global higher education standards;

c.Support decision-making, strategic planning, and performance-based funding mechanisms in HEIs;

d. Provide capacity building and sustainability mechanisms to ensure long-term adoption of the PMS;

e. Develop a data-driven framework for performance monitoring, evaluation, and reporting.

• Scope of the Services

To achieve the objective of this assignment, the consulting firm will be required to undertake, among others, the following tasks:

a. Conduct inception tasks such as conducting literature review on performance management systems in higher education, analyze existing HEI policies, accreditation frameworks, and reporting requirements and develop and submit an Inception Report outlining methodology, work plan, and stakeholder engagement strategy;

b. Development of the actual model PMS including benchmark HEI performance indicators on such areas as academic programs and student outcomes, research and innovation, governance and financial sustainability, industry partnerships and employability and development of a Performance Monitoring and Reporting System (PMRS) for HEIs;

c. Organize and facilitating Stakeholder Consultations and Validation;

d. Training and Capacity Building – developing training materials and user guides on the PMS and conducting Training of Trainers (ToT) workshops for key personnel;

e. Submit a Final Report including recommendations for the sustainability of the PMS, and a Performance-Based Funding (PBF) model to incentivize institutional performance

• Deliverables

The consultant shall achieve the following deliverables and outputs:

a. Inception Report - within 2 weeks of contract signing;

b. Draft model Performance Management System (PMS) - within 8 weeks after client’s acceptance of the Inception Report;

c. Stakeholder Validation Workshop and Report - within 4 weeks after submission of Draft PMS;

d. Submission of training materials and conduction of capacity building workshops on the PMS - within 4 weeks after Client’s acceptance of the Report on Stakeholder Validation;

e. Final PMS Report including sustainability recommendations and the PBF model - within 4 weeks after completion of the training materials and their subsequent use in the capacity building workshops.

• Reporting

The overall assignment shall be overseen by the MoHE through the SAVE Project PIU. For day-to-day execution of the assignment, the Consultant shall work under the direct supervision of an appointed officer in the MoHE. Additionally, the MoHE has constituted for the assignment an adhoc team comprising relevant high ranking experts drawn from the public universities that will work with the consultant on such matters as review of reports, guidance on standards as well as other related issues.

• Duration of the assignment

The assignment is expected to be completed within 90 person days spread over a period of 5 months.

• Professional Qualifications and Experience

The firm shall demonstrate that it has undertaken at least three (3) similar assignments over the past five (5) years. For effective delivery of the objective(s) of the assignment, the consulting firm must provide a multidisciplinary team with expertise in performance management, higher education, and human resource management.

To ensure cost-efficiency while maintaining all the core functions, the consulting firm must provide a team of four key experts. In order to ensure local context, the higher education specialist and human resource specialist shall be Malawian nationals with proven experience and understanding of the Malawi context. The following is the full complement of key experts required:

(a) Key Expert No.1 - Team Leader

• PhD in Performance System Management or related fields

• Minimum 10 years of experience in HEI management, governance, and strategic planning.

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• (b)Key Expert No. 2 - Higher Education Specialist

• At least a Master’s in Education or related field;

• At least 8 years of experience in HEI management

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• (c) Key Expert No.3 - Human Resource Management Expert

• At least a Master’s in Human Resource Management, Human Resources Development or related field;

• At least 8 years of experience in human resource matters

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• (d) Key Expert No. 4 - Public Sector Specialist

• At least a Master’s in Public administration, policy, organization development or related field;

• At least 8 years’ experience in public sector organization development.

The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III, paragraphs,3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” dated November 2020 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.

A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Consultants Qualification Selection (CQS) method set out in the Procurement Regulations.

• Submission of Expressions of Interest

A formal letter of Expression of Interest (EoI) for the assignment supported with updated detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV) and copies of professional certificates of the key experts should be submitted to the address below preferably through e-mail by Wednesday, 10th September, 2025 by 16:00 hours, local time. Detailed Terms of Reference are available on request.

The Project Manager

SAVE Project

Paul Kagame Road

P. O Box 328

Lilongwe, Malawi

Phone: +265 1 789422

EMail: [email protected] Copy: [email protected] and [email protected]