Feasibility study for establishing an NREN and connecting it to the Western and Central Africa Research and Education Network (WACREN)

REQUEST OF INTEREST WARDIP-C - 009-2023

GAP ANALYSIS ON SUPPLY CAPACITY AND DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATION NETWORK (NREN).

• Backgraund To support the region’s digital transformation, the World Bank (WB) is financing the preparation of the West African Regional Digital Integration Program (WARDIP) – Guinea-Bissau – for US$60 million for five years. The project is expected to be submitted for approval by the World Bank Executive Board in September 2023; it’s entered the preparations phase since May 2023

The design of the proposed program considers the need for Guinea-Bissau to develop a digital economy, while aligning itself and integrating into a single and harmonized regional digital market. This will be done through a logical chain consisting on building single regional market for connectivity, data and online services,

Digital skills have the potential to help support education continuity by enabling greater access to remote and/or technology-enabled teaching and learning, particularly for secondary and tertiary education students. Digital skills can also broaden employment prospects for youth, particularly girls and women, and result in the diversification of the economy. Additionally, digital skills can contribute to gender equity by empowering girls and women with greater access to basic essential services as well as financial inclusion. This has the potential to improve the productivity of youth, girls, and women, and help address the lack of inclusiveness and low rural productivity which have been identified as key binding constraints to reducing poverty in Guinea-Bissau. Therefore, equitable access to digital skills is critical to improve access to basic public goods and services.

The Government of Guinea-Bissau (GoGB) is committed to boosting the country’s digital skills since the spread of digital skills contributes directly to the Government’s strategic priorities of strengthening the digital sector. However, the GoGB does not have the capacity to invest in the necessary ways to make this a reality and the Ministry of National Education (MEN) has very limited capacity and, on average, teachers are poorly trained. Furthermore, the GoGB has not developed a national ICT or digital skills policy or a national strategy to improve this scenario

The consultancy will undertake the following 8 key activities that will contribute to the sustainable digitalization of Guinea-Bissau’s higher education institutes (HEIs) and, thus, improve their ability to provide higher education training. This will include: (i) an assessment of the connectivity needs among HEIs and costing options; (ii) trainings for key individuals and 2 study tours for 4-5 persons per tour, particularly to understand management and ownership options / business models; (iii) stakeholder engagement (i.e., consultations, brainstorming sessions, awareness campaigns) to socialize idea of establishing NREN and solicit inputs; (iv) development of a preliminary report detailing findings from the previous activities; (v) at least two stakeholder engagement workshop (which includes WACREN) to validate and finalize a proposal to establish NREN; (vi) development of a roadmap detailing proposed NREN and Action Plan; (vii) workshop to validate roadmap, action plan and any tender documents; and (viii) development of a final, validated report detailing findings. Formulate a comprehensive National Cybersecurity Strategy & Action Plan aligned with the ECOWAS and AUC Cybersecurity Directives to guide the country's efforts in addressing current and emerging cybersecurity threats.

• qualification requirements The Consultant could be a firm or a consortium of firms providing expertise in the digital skills space, including previous experience in digital skills assessments. Knowledge of the sector in Sub-Saharan Africa is highly desired. The consult shall demonstrate this experience and propose a detailed methodology to complete the tasks.

Consultation staff will include the following team positions in this project:

• Project manager, with no less than 10 years of experience in project management, and with a minimum of 5 directly relevant experiences in Africa. Graduate degree in a relevant field (economics, public policy, business administration, ICT or telecommunications, etc.);
• Business Model Manager (Economist), with no less than 10 years of experience, of which at least 5 years must be specialized in the development of business models and network management. Experience in setting up other National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) would be an advantage. Graduate degree in a relevant field (economics, public policy, business administration, telecommunications, etc.) ;
• ICT expert, with no less than 10 years of experience, especially in the design and operational management of digital connectivity solutions. Graduate degree in a relevant field (engineering, ICT, telecommunications, etc.) ;
• Expert in education policy, with no less than 10 years of experience, of which at least 5 years must be specialized in the management and execution of education programs. Graduate degree in a relevant field (education, public policy, etc.). Selection of the sucessful consultant will be made on the basis of the “Quality and Cost method” as described in the World Bank procurement regulations for Investiments Projets Borrowers 2016 Edition and following updates. For more information and obtention of term of reference, you can requeste it directly on the Office of the Emergency and Food Safety Project (PUSA) located: Rua Osvaldo Vieira, house nº 10, or via email: [email protected]. It should be noted that TOR's are available in Portuguese and English, however the procurement language remains Portuguese.

Consultants firm insterested in providing the consultancy services mentionned above should express their interest until 13th of July.

The Coordinator

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Aníbal Baldé