Consultancy for the Design, Development, and Deployment of an educational material Tracking Application, Dashboard, and Data Pipeline for Education Material Distribution Monitoring

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF SOMALIA

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, CULTURE AND HIGHER EDUCATION-MOECHE

INVITATION TO BID FOR CONSULTANCY

Title of Consultancy

Consultancy for the Design, Development, and Deployment of an educational material Tracking Application, Dashboard, and Data Pipeline for Education Material Distribution Monitoring

Contracting Office

Ministry of Education Culture and Higher Education (MOECHE)

Advert Date

April 19, 2026

Deadline

30th April 2026

Period of Consultancy

4 Months (120 Working Days)

Consultant type required

 Consultant Firm

Responsibility for Logistics arrangements and Costs

MOECHE will pay the consultant fee in a lump sum and will not reimburse any incurred costs during the assignment. The consultant will cover their own Logistical arrangements, costs; including food, accommodation, local transport and all cost associated with data collection work and whole activities

Taxation Provisions

The consultancy firm shall be responsible for all Taxes arising from the consultancy in line with the local Tax regulations applicable at the MOECHE contracting office named above.

Travel requirements

The consultancy firm will cover all travel costs (tickets) and arrange local travel to field sites.

Security requirements

The consultant firm will comply with standards of MOECHE Security procedures prior to travel to FMS State

OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

3.1 Overall Objective

The overall objective of this consultancy is to design, develop, and deploy a comprehensive, integrated educational material Tracking System that enables efficient, transparent, and accountable distribution of textbooks and learning materials from central warehouses to schools and students across Somalia.

3.2 Specific Objectives

The specific objectives of this assignment include:

a)    Design and Development: Create a user-friendly, robust, and scalable mobile application for Android tablets that enables offline data collection, QR code and barcode scanning, and automated inventory management at multiple distribution points.

b)    Data Infrastructure: Establish a secure, reliable data pipeline that facilitates real-time synchronization of field data with central servers, ensuring data integrity, security, and accessibility while accommodating low-bandwidth environments.

c)    Visualization and Reporting: Develop a comprehensive web-based dashboard that provides real-time visualization of material distribution status, generates automat ed reports, enables data export for further analysis, and supports decision-making at all organizational levels.

d)    Capacity Enhancement: Build institutional and individual capacity among Save the Children staff, MOECHE personnel, FMS education officers, and school-level users to effectively operate, maintain, and derive value from the system.

e)    System Sustainability: Ensure long-term system sustainability through comprehensive documentation, source code handover, and establishment of maintenance protocols that enable continued operation beyond the consultancy period.

4. SCOPE OF WORK

The consultant will be responsible for executing the following five major work streams:

Requirements Analysis and Stakeholder Engagement

·         Conduct consultative meetings with MOECHE, FMS authorities, Save the Children warehouse managers, and school administrators to understand workflows and requirements

·         Document existing distribution processes and identify functional and non-functional system requirements

·         Assess technical infrastructure, connectivity challenges, and user capacity levels

·         Review relevant policies and data protection requirements for education sector systems in Somalia

System Architecture and Design

·         Develop detailed technical specifications and system architecture for mobile applications, data pipelines, and web dashboards.

·         Design database schemas, UX/UI prototypes, and security protocols (encryption, authentication, access control)

·         Plan offline synchronization strategy for low-connectivity environments and define backup and disaster recovery procedures

Development and Testing

·         Mobile App: Develop Android application with QR/barcode scanning, offline data capture, inventory management, user authentication, and automatic synchronization

·         Data Pipeline: Establish secure APIs, data validation mechanisms, automated backups, and monitoring systems

·         Web Dashboard: Create real-time visualization, configurable reports, alert systems, user management, and data export capabilities (Excel, PDF, CSV)

·         Testing: Conduct comprehensive unit, integration, security, performance, and usability testing

Capacity Building and Training

·         Develop training materials in English and Somali, including user manuals, technical documentation, quick reference guides, and video tutorials

·         Conduct hands-on training workshops for Save the Children staff, MOECHE/FMS personnel, warehouse managers, and school administrators

·         Deliver train-the-trainer sessions covering system operation, data entry, troubleshooting, and dashboard analytics interpretation

Deployment, Piloting, and Handover

·         Pilot: Select pilot sites, deploy system with on-site support, monitor operations, collect feedback, and document lessons learned

·         Full Deployment: Roll out system across all operational areas with technical support and conduct final testing in live environment

·         Handover: Transfer source code and all documentation, train IT staff on maintenance, establish update procedures, and conduct formal acceptance ceremony.

Qualification and Experience

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Organizational Qualifications (for Consulting Firms)

Interested consulting firms should demonstrate a minimum of five years of experience in education technology development and implementation, proven track record of delivering mobile applications and web-based platforms for monitoring and evaluation purposes, and experience working with international non-governmental organizations or development agencies. Firms should have capacity to deploy multilingual solutions and familiarity with low-resource or fragile contexts.

Technical Competencies Required

The consulting team must possess demonstrated expertise in Android mobile application development including offline-first architecture, proficiency in backend development and API design using modern frameworks, experience with database design and management for data-intensive applications, expertise in web dashboard development with data visualization libraries, and knowledge of data security best practices including encryption and secure authentication. The team should have experience implementing QR code and barcode scanning functionality and familiarity with cloud hosting platforms and DevOps practices.

Team Composition

The consultant should assemble a team with complementary skills including a lead developer/project manager with overall responsibility for delivery, a mobile application developer specializing in Android development, a backend/data engineer for data pipeline and database implementation, a frontend developer for dashboard development, a UI/UX designer for user interface design and testing, a quality assurance specialist for comprehensive testing, and a capacity building specialist for training design and delivery.

Contextual Experience

While not mandatory, the following experience will be considered strong assets: previous work in Somalia or similar fragile and conflict-affected contexts, understanding of education sector challenges in developing countries, experience with offline-first applications for low-connectivity environments, and familiarity with Save the Children's programming approaches and systems.

Selection Criteria

Essential Criteria:

1.       The consultant firm to submit proof of valid registration certificate from ministry of commerce Federal government of Somalia  

2.       The consultant firm to submit valid tax compliance certificate (Quarter Two) from ministry of finance of the Federal government of Somalia  

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications no later than 11:59:00 pm on April,30 2026 to the following email address: email: [email protected]