MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (REoI) FOR

GRANT AGENT

ASSIGNMENT: Grant Agent for GPE Partnerships Compact for Somaliland

OPPORTUNITY TYPE: Grant Agent for GPE

SCOPE OF THE ASSIGNMENT: Nationwide of all regions and districts;

CLOSING DATE: Tuesday, 18/05/2023 @ 2:00 p.m. EAT.

INTRODUCTION

The Government of Somaliland recognizes education as a pivotal tool for social and economic transformation and as a critical pillar in realizing its development Vision 2030. The philosophical and ideological basis for education is articulated in the Somaliland Education Act (XEER LR.77/2018) and Somaliland National Education Policy (SLNEP 2015-30). While education continues to receive a significant share of the Country’s budget, the sector faces multiple challenges and has consistently relied on internal and external partners to complement government effort.

On April 21st, Somaliland Ministry of Education and Science submitted draft one of GPE Partnership Compact. The development of this Compact was led by the existing Somaliland’s local education group - the Education Sector Committee (ESC). A GPE Task Team appointed by the Minister of Education and Science (MoES) provided technical support to the ESC.

Based on evidence and outcome of these processes, The ESC adopted a shared priority reform to ensure “Improved Access to Quality Pre-primary and Primary Education for all in Somaliland”. In order to achieve this goal, three interrelated policy outcomes were envisaged: 1) Equitable Access to Education; 2) Gender Equality and 3) Quality Learning Outcomes. These priority areas will contribute towards Compact implementation; wider ESSP (2022-2026) priorities; National Development Plan and Somaliland vision 2030.

KEY OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The purpose of this assignment is identify and select  GPE Grant Agent  which will be responsible for performing the role of fiduciary entity in helping the Ministry implement the activities within the said priority areas. The key responsibility of the grant agent, in addition to the above, is to also ensure the implementation of the grant in line with the Ministry of Education's prospective goals and objectives and the GPE requirements. In addition, the GA will support the MOES develop full program proposal.

For this reason, the Ministry is launching a call for Expression of Interest (EoI) for GA for the implementation of the System Transformation Grant (STG) and/or Multiplier Grant , which comprises of the above-mentioned priorities.

Summary of criteria (For the system transformation grant and/or the Multiplier grant) include:

• Be registered in the country of origin and in Somaliland.
• The ability to discharge fiduciary and administrative responsibilities in relation to the GPE funds.
• Readiness to work with all relevant government agencies, donors and Local Education Group/ the Education Sector Coordination.
• The ability to support the government in the implementation of the priorities stipulated in the education sector plan 2022-26 and Partnership Compact.
• The ability to offer technical resources to the Ministry of Education and Science.
• Capacity to support efficient implementation of the program within the focus area defined in the partnership compact;
• The ability to use the selected implementation modality;
• The ability to help the government to develop a program within six months after selection—it is encouraged to request the interested agencies to draft a program development timeline as part of their candidacy; and
• Reasonable and competitive administrative cost for delivery of the program. This includes costs to cover implementation, support and/or supervision costs for the grant agent, those related to implementing partners as well as program implementation units, or other costs to be borne by the grant agent to comply with implementation, reporting and verification arrangements.

The capacity to support efficient implementation of the program should include both:

• Agility to take action to help activities progress, and;
• Ability to provide technical support and capacity building.

PLEASE NOTE THAT

• The draft 1 of Partnership Compact is awaiting review of GPE Secretariat. The GA will be required to support the process of the development of full proposal for the Partnership Compact.
• The selection process does not have to assess the fiduciary capacity of the prospective grant agents as this is done through the accreditation process (see note on the accreditation process and appendix 2 for minimum criteria to be assessed).
• The process of selecting Grant Agent will be transparent and inclusive, which provide opportunity to all qualified partners in order to apply.
• Consequently, all qualified applicants fulfilling the above criteria are invited to submit their expression of interest accordingly.

Evaluation Criteria for selection of GPE Grant Agent 2023-2026

Expressions of Interest detailing how candidates meet each criteria must be delivered electronically, marked clearly with: “Ref: GRANT AGENT FOR GPE PARTNERSHIP COMPACT- SOMALILAND” and submitted to: Said Jama, GPE Focal Point on [email protected] and copied to: [email protected] , [email protected] , [email protected] and [email protected] on or before TUESDAY, MAY 18, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. EAT