Call for Expression of Interest: developing ALE policy document
Background information
DVV International is the Institute for International Cooperation of the Deutscher Volkshochschul-Verband e.V. (DVV), the German Adult Education Association. DVV represents the interests of the approximately 850 adult education centres (Volkshochschulen - VHS) and their state associations, the largest further education providers in Germany.
As the leading professional organization in the field of adult learning & education (ALE) and development cooperation, DVV International has committed itself to promote the right for lifelong learning worldwide and has been implementing country programs of development cooperation in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe for more than 50 years. DVV International strengthens national ALE-systems in partner countries and provides support for the establishment and development of sustainable structures for youth and adult education. The project approach of DVV International targets improved conditions in policy, legislation, and financing (macro level) as well as promotion of professionalization in practice and theory of ALE (meso level) and requires cooperation both with government institutions such as ministries as well as with civil society organisations, universities, and other educational providers. By supporting our partners (usually, adult education centres), in developing and piloting exemplary concrete learning offers (micro level), especially for disadvantaged population groups, we create best practice and evidence of the benefit of ALE.
DVV International Moldova (www.dvv-international.md) is the country-based office in Moldova of the German Adult Education Association. One of the key objectives of DVV International Moldova is to support communities and organizations in developing sustainable ALE structures - Institutions for Adult Learning and Education. These institutions should become friendly spaces for adult learning, community development and dialogue-building, accessible to all and everyone, irrespective of age, gender, occupation, income, or other criteria. The country project is carried out with the support of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ).
Engagement on the macro level and cooperation with Moldova’s Ministry of Education was started in 2010 when the Country office was established in Chisinau and contributions to developing some policy documents on the national level were made: since 2016 efforts were made to develop Adult Learning and Education (ALE) component in policy-making documents, including Education Code (2014, 2022), first draft of LLL Strategy (2016-17), Regulation on Continuing Professional Training of Adults (2017 and 2023-24), etc.
In 2022 DVV International Moldova signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chisinau Municipality and in the next year the first Municipal Centre for Adult Learning and Education (CMIEA) was opened[1]. Besides CMIEA, Chisinau has several other municipal structures involved in non-formal education for youth and adults, including five youth centres, municipal library network (with 27 institutions), art schools, other institutions (f.i. a business hub for youth, municipal Resource Centre for Community Development – YMCA, etc.). Both formal education in the municipality and non-formal municipal programs and institutions are coordinated by the General Directorate for Education, Youth and Sports (DGETS). Existing municipal structures are quite active and visible in the community but are acting somehow unconnectedly.
The city of Chisinau became a member of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC) in 2020. In 2023 within the Municipal Social Forum, held on May 4-6 special section on “Learning Cities” was organized, with input from international and national experts and contributors.
The municipal leadership acknowledgers that a municipal policy document (regulation, or strategy, or action plan, etc.) on lifelong learning (LLL) with ALE as integral part would support the development and diversification of educational services in the city and will enable synergies among projects, based on formal, non-formal and informal education for youth and adults.
DVV International believes that a policy document could provide a comprehensive vision on how various educational institutions, actors and programmes should converge into more coherent municipal cooperation mechanisms, based on workable experiences of other Learning Cities. A document should be drafted and proposed for discussion to the policy makers of the city (City Council, DGETS) and become later a guide in planning, financing and implementing annual educational activities. The objective of this document is to facilitate enhanced dialogue and collaboration among municipal stakeholders.
It is expected that in the process of proceedings the selected experts will take part in various meetings to deliver presentations and/or facilitate discussions.
Objective
The objective of this call is to prepare a contract for the elaboration of the above mentioned draft policy document by contracting a qualified expert / team of experts. The exact nature of the document to be prepared will be agreed and coordinated with the Municipality of Chisinau.
Tasks & Procedure
Once an expert or a team of experts has been identified, the terms of reference will be specified in close consultation with the policy makers of the Municipality of Chisinau. Specific ToRs for the development of the final product (policy document) will be jointly elaborated. In order to make the assignment effective and efficient, support in the form of a local (national) expert could be provided.
The contracted expert or team of experts is expected to review existing educational practices in the municipality of Chisinau, compare them with international best practices and trends, analyse the landscape of stakeholders in the municipality, identify opportunities for improvement and networking, and draft strategic measurable objectives to increase people's access to and participation in lifelong learning, including non-formal youth and adult education and training in the municipality, as well as the corresponding policy document to achieve the outlined objectives. The future document should serve as a basis for a broad consensus among city politicians and other stakeholders.
Profile of an expert or team of experts
- Good understanding of ALE-practice in Europe based on research, practice, policy making or other relevant aspects;
- Proven experience in policy-making and/or policy development in the field of education;
- Fluent in English. Knowledge of Romanian or Russian would be an advantage;
- Availability to perform the task in September-December 2024 ( 15 working days in total).
Application documents
Interested experts/team of experts are requested to express their interest by sending the following documents in a PDF-format electronically:
- CV(s) of person(s) to be involved ( coverage of the profile indicated above);
- Technical proposal covering the following aspects:
- Letter of interest with a description of the understanding of the tasks;
- A brief description of the methodology of how the expert/team of experts intends to proceed in order to achieve the objective of the assignment.;
- Possible examples of similar tasks undertaken and products produced, or any other material that demonstrates the expert's competence in the field;
- Financial proposal with daily rate.
Evaluation criteria
The applications will be assessed according to the following criteria:
- Qualifications of the expert(s) (counts one third), based on the assessment of requirements under the points 1 and 3 above.
- Technical proposal (counts one third), based on the assessment of requirements under the point 2.
- Financial proposal (counts one third), based on the assessment of the point 4.
Deadline for submission of an application is 15 July 2024 (end of working day).
Please send your application to the email addresses indicated below.
Responsible persons
- Mr. Levan Kvatchadze, DVV International’s Regional Director for the Region “Eastern Neighbours” kvatchadze@dvv-international.de
- Ms. Adela Scutaru-Gutu, Country Director DVV International Moldova scutaru-gutu@dvv-international.md
