CONSULTANCY FOR ENHANCING APHRC STAND-ALONE MOODLE PLATFORM AND COURSE DEVELOPMENT

Background

The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) is a premier research-to-policy institution, generating evidence, strengthening research and related capacity in the African research and development ecosystem, and engaging policy to inform action on health and development. The Center is Africa-based and African-led, with its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, and a West Africa Regional Office (WARO), in Dakar, Senegal. APHRC seeks to drive change by developing strong African research leadership and promoting evidence-informed decision-making (EIDM) across sub-Saharan Africa.

To enhance the stand-alone Virtual Learning Academy infrastructure, comprising of the APHRC Moodle based Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and the WordPress based Community of Practice (CoP), the APHRC seeks to recruit a consultant who will enhance these platforms to support increased usage and outreach. The consultant is expected to improve the interface for more accessibility and to increase functionality, including building an app for each, integrated AI and payment platform. The consultant is also expected to develop seven (7) courses and curriculums in Grants and Financial management that will be offered on the Moodle system and in-person.

Objectives of the Consultancy

The consultant/firm will be responsible for performing the following activities to meet the project objectives:

1. Enhance APHRC’s Virtual Learning Academy Infrastructure: To support the expected growth and expanded outreach of the APHRC Virtual Learning Academy, the consultant will enhance current Moodle based platform to provide seamless integration with back-end systems, improve user experience, streamlined digital payment process and enhance system performance and responsiveness. Therefore, the following activities are expected to be performed to enhance the Virtual Learning Academy Infrastructure:

a)Improve user experiences by incorporating relevant corporate branding guidelines, user interface design principles and streamlined processes in both the VLE and the CoP. The VLE should provide a seamless user registration and course enrolment process integrated to APHRC back-end Single Sign-On Platforms.

b)Develop custom modules to integrate the VLE to secure digital payment channels including M-PESA and other major payment channels providing seamless payment options for select courses.

c)Develop customised mobile applications for the VLE and Community of Practice (in both Android & iOS) providing caching and synchronisation of course content using mobile devices.

d)Integrate relevant Artificial Intelligence (AI) features and plugins including Generative AI and AI powered searches. The Consultant should also support the acquisition of AI platforms to accelerate course content development and to pilot the application of the AI based course content generating platform in the development of 7 model courses.

e)Support acquisition & Installation of relevant software that will enhance the VLE’s teaching and learning experience including plagiarism detection software and others that may be identified during the project implementation.

f)Upgrade the Moodle based VLE to the newest version, testing that all the required plugins, extensions and customised modules are able to work with the upgraded version.

2. Develop e-learning courses on selected priority thematic areas: Working in collaboration with APHRC’s subject area experts, the consultant/firm will ensure the development of 7 model courses on Grants and Financial Management that will be hosted within the VLE and which will incorporate all the new custom features developed including the use of generative AI in course content production, integration with digital payment and intuitive multimedia components (Audio, Videos and Animations). In achieving this, the consultant/firm will perform the following:

a)Apply globally recognised Instructional Design principles to develop curriculums select 7 courses ensuring that the designed courses meet the learning objectives and course outcomes. The consultant should also design effective and interactive assessment strategies that will demonstrate the required learner competencies.

b)Provide hand-holding support to content authors to ensure that all challenges that they may have in the development of the materials are addressed.

c)Develop a quality assurance checklist that will be used to ensure that the developed model courses meet internationally recognised course design principles and guidelines.

d)Using wireframes and other design tools, demonstrate the key features of each model course for approval by APHRC before digital course content development.

e)Working with the subject area experts, interactively digitise the courses developed in 2(a) above and through weekly review meetings ensure that the developed courses meet the required quality standards. The courses should also incorporate peer review as part of quality assurance.

f)Publish all the developed course materials in APHRC’s Virtual Learning Environment and ensure that the course materials also appear as well-designed courses in the Mobile applications.

g)Generate a cost analysis for the Virtual Academy to determine the cost of usage per person based on the current infrastructure.

3. Capacity Building Training: Working together with APHRC, identify a smaller team of technical experts who shall be trained on how to use the new functionality developed. In addition to that, train APHRC administrators who will be responsible for administration, management of the users, course content and continuous customisation and support to users and course creators.

Expected Outputs

The Consultants will provide the following deliverables:

1. Inception Report: Prepare and submit an inception report that includes a summary of the project’s objectives, background information, scope, proposed approach, key stakeholders, project timeline, risks, and assumptions.
2. Enhanced Virtual Learning Environment and Community of Practice platforms that can provide a seamless learning experience and supports the use of AI and other emerging technologies.
3. Branded Moodle and Community of Practice App accessed via ios and android system.
4. Trained ToT users capable of providing 1st level of support to the VLE and CoP environment.
5. Minimum of 7 Peer-reviewed course materials developed and hosted within the enhanced VLE.
6. Completion report that outlines the achievements, suitability plan and lessons learned.

Experience & Qualifications

• A proven track record of designing, customising, implementing and supporting Moodle based Learning Management Platforms for multinational organizations of similar size to APHRC.
• Demonstratable experience in the use of AI in eLearning course content development and supporting a VLE that uses AI plugins and extensions.
• Ability to demonstrate a minimum of three successful eLearning project implementation for organizations of similar size to APHRC.
• A team of experts with diverse skills, including instructional design, eLearning development, technical support, project management, computer programming, graphic designer, animator and training experts.
• Knowledge of learning management systems and eLearning authoring tools. The consultant should demonstrate good knowledge of new, emerging and evolving digital learning technologies and especially as they relate to Moodle.
• Experience in developing and delivering training programs.
• Excellent communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.
• Understanding of adult learning principles and instructional design best practices.
• Ability to work collaboratively with stakeholders and subject matter experts.

Skills and Competencies

• Knowledge of graphic design software and tools: The consultant/firm should have expertise in graphic design software such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, or similar tools to create high-quality graphics and illustrations.
• Animation skills: The firm should have experience in creating animated graphics using tools such as Adobe Animate, After Effects, or similar animation software.
• Instructional design skills: The firm should have a strong understanding of instructional design principles to ensure that the course materials are effective in conveying the intended learning outcomes.
• UX/UI design skills: The firm should have expertise in user experience and user interface design to ensure that the graphical animations are user-friendly and easy to navigate.
• Programming skills: The firm should have a solid understanding of web development and programming languages such as HTML5, CSS, XML, PHP and JavaScript is required. In addition to that good understanding of the Moodle architecture to create custom plugins or modify existing ones is required.
• Project management skills: The firm should have strong project management skills to ensure that the course development is completed on time and within budget.
• Collaboration skills: The firm should have excellent collaboration skills to work closely with the organization’s subject matter experts to ensure that the course content is accurate and meets the organization’s needs.
• Quality assurance skills: The firm should have a strong quality assurance process to ensure that the courses are error-free and meet the APHRC’s quality standards.

Duration of the assignment

The assignment is for a total of 2 months, starting from the date of signing a contract with APHRC.

How to apply

Application Requirements

Interested Individual Consultants/Firm are invited to submit technical and financial proposals, separately comprising the following components:

1. A cover letter outlining the suitability of consultant/firm for the assignment, motivation and summarizing relevant experience.
2. The consultant/firm’s understanding of the Terms of Reference.
3. A clear and elaborate work plan.
4. Summary of consultant’s capacity statement, experience and activities related to eLearning.
5. The financial proposal including detailed budget containing total costs as per person-day rates, work plan, excluding insurance and related costs. Proposed evaluation budget should include a payment schedule.
6. Detailed Curriculum Vitae, including names, addresses, telephone numbers of technical staff who will participate on the assignments individuals that will act as professional referees.
7. Copies of relevant work undertaken (electronic version) or website link of the project / accomplished related projects

How to Apply

Interested consultants or firms should submit their bids by February 13, 2025 via email to consultancies@aphrc.org and a copy to procurement@aphrc.org with the subject line titled,“Consultancy for Enhancing the Virtual Academy Infrastructure and Curriculum development – 2025”. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. The application should be addressed to:

The People and Culture Business Partner

African Population and Health Research Center, Inc. APHRC Campus, Manga Close, off Kirawa Road, Kitisuru

P.O. Box 10787-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.

Website: www.aphrc.org