The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization that carries out high quality, policy-relevant research on population, health and education issues facing sub-Saharan Africa. Our goal is to generate evidence for meaningful action to improve the lives of all Africans.
APHRC engages in various research capacity strengthening initiatives, including those of its flagship program, the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA). CARTA is an Africa-based, Africa-led initiative that seeks to rebuild and strengthen the capacity of African universities to produce well-trained and skilled researchers and scholars in Africa by Africans. The program addresses an important challenge facing the African academy – the scarcity of a robust research and training capability to offer vibrant and sustained doctoral training necessary to attract, train and retain the continent’s brightest minds.
CARTA seeks to assess how its training component can be adapted to a mix of virtual spaces and face-to-face interactions. The virtual learning space will complement existing or modified face-to-face learning and enable fellows and facilitators to interact beyond the physical space. The mix of virtual and face-to-face interactions should allow for delivery of the CARTA training curriculum in the most efficient and cost effective manner without sacrificing quality – providing protected time for the participants to be engaged in their own learning and facilitating networking and the formation of the cohort identity.
APHRC seeks to engage an expert to guide the adaption of virtual learning environments in the delivery of CARTA’s training component, with the view of extending the same to other capacity strengthening/training initiatives within the organization. The strategy and adaption of the virtual learning space should be completed within 6 months (3 months for Phase 1 and 3 months for Phase 2).
Qualifications
Master’s degree in Education or related field;
5 years post-degree experience in on-line education services;
Experience in on-line learning systems and design; and
Experience in an academic and/or research institution would be an added advantage.
Terms of Reference
To facilitate the transition of APHRC trainings to the virtual space by:
Developing a strategy for effective integration of virtual learning technologies into the APHRC capacity strengthening initiatives, beginning with the CARTA training component.
Assessing existing training tools and recommending the most suitable ones for delivery on virtual platforms based on the capacity strengthening needs of CARTA and APHRC.
Assessing costing models for virtual training and recommending the most suitable ones for capacity strengthening needs of CARTA and APHRC.
Proposing appropriate virtual learning platforms that:
Are compatible with the existing APHRC ICT infrastructure and capacity strengthening initiatives;
Have features and tools that allow for high level of interaction and engagement between the trainees and facilitators;
Allow users to import and customize training content/ material;
Enable live training sessions;
Have large multimedia capacity;
Have offline features that allow for uploading of learning content for learners to revisit after the session ends;
Are able to host different content formats, including articles, interviews, webinars, charts, PowerPoint presentations, simulations and video; and
Include content, learning, evaluation, and communication modules.
If satisfied with this phase, the consultant may be engaged in a second phase to coordinate the design and creation of online courses and learning materials that facilitate the delivery of the APHRC capacity strengthening initiatives, including those of the CARTA Program and other training courses. In this respect the consultant will also be required to build the capacity of APHRC staff members to develop training modules and implement online training sessions (including providing prior orientation/digital literacy to participants to the learning platform), through using one existing training program as a pilot/demonstration.
Expected Deliverables:
An assessment of the infrastructural and skills-related needs in the adaption of virtual learning spaces for the support of capacity strengthening initiatives at APHRC, including recommendations on suitable learning platforms, training tools and costing models.
A transition-to-virtual strategy for APHRC trainings.
A roadmap for transition to appropriate virtual learning platforms.
A roadmap for the development of modules and learning materials for use in virtual learning.
All submissions are to be sent to consultancies@aphrc.org and mndwiga@aphrc.org by August 12, 2020. Please use ‘CARTA CONSULTANCY – ADAPTING TRAINING TO VIRTUAL SPACE’ as the subject title for your email.Your submission should include the following items:For more information about APHRC visit www.aphrc.org*APHRC is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to the protection of children***
Apply via :
consultancies@aphrc.org
