Request For University of Central Asia
Request For Provision of Executive Entrepreneurship Training in Tourism to Promote Partnerships and Facilitate
Preamble
The University of Central Asia’s School of Professional and Continuing Education (UCA SPCE) will develop and offer new short-cycle executive entrepreneurship program focusing on Tourism, which will create international synergies that will have most powerful potential for growth, promote increased exports, enhance revenue streams, and job creation. Specifically, this training for advanced tourism entrepreneurs will focus on establishing business linkages, formal partnerships, and development of joint ventures, with the view to facilitate export promotion, foreign investments, and access to new markets for SMEs in the region.
Aim
The overall aim of this assignment is to enhance Business to Business (B2B) linkages between countries (Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan), involving Accelerate Prosperity (AP) Investees and SPCE supported enterprises. The training would encourage growth in area of promotion of tourism between neighboring countries, promotion of exchange experience of running successful tourism service / business across Central/South Asia and extension of value chain networks among growth businesses in the same industries.
To achieve these aims, the training programme will cover: (i) how to establish joint ventures and business partnerships; (ii) how to access wider markets beyond the traditional base; (iii) understanding import/export regulations and tax regimes; (iv) and, how to develop business models for sustainable growth and export-oriented production and services. These would be inclusive of:
• Cross-marketing of products between the countries/regions.
• enhancing the digital knowledge and landscape (Digital Marketing /Website).
• Educating the participants on the inter-cultural tourism landscapes.
• Building a strong knowledge of the tourism products/attractions/operators etc across the Central Asia region.
Objectives
Carry out needs assessment and based on the assessment, develop, and offer a unique short-cycle Executive entrepreneurship programme. This will create international synergies within the sector with comprehensive and specific modules on Tourism development that has the most potential for growth, to promote exports, enhance revenue streams and create jobs within the targeted countries – Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan. The objectives will also include:
(a) assessing the industrial development objectives, targets, and the status as well as gaps and prepare relevant contextualized training package for participants from targeted countries.
(b) supporting international -oriented SMEs to facilitate tourism activities across borders, and long-term tourism business growth, support SME investees and training graduates to link to major trading partners in select markets.
(c) enabling Tourism industry actors to build stronger networks to advocate for the need of the sector.
(d) helping through the development of executive tourism training program and facilitation of regional networking and tourism events for SME owners and senior managers of which 1/3rd will be women or youth led.
(e) providing entrepreneurs with networking opportunities and an opportunity to have access to Accelerate Prosperity’s acceleration facilities across the region and by going through this executive training programme.
Background
The UCA offers an internationally recognized standard of higher education in Central Asia. UCA’s SPCE provides a range of high-quality technical and professional education opportunities across the region with the aim of supporting employment and economic growth. Under this project UCA SPCE will directly support Accelerate Prosperity (AP) through the provision of entrepreneurship training to 85 small and medium enterprise owners from Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. The training is specifically designed to encourage business linkages, formal partnerships, and the development of joint ventures, with a view to facilitating export promotion and access to new markets for small-medium entrepreneurship (SMEs) in the region.
The training is expected to capacitate the managers/executives within the Tourism industry implementing managers working at different levels, both at countries’ national and regional levels with an aim of boosting the performance of the overall industry implementation. The training should provide management and staff at different levels better performing capability and to increase their effectiveness and efficiency by upgrading their managership ability through gaining valuable experiences and to acquire best practices. The training will help build competence and equip the managers with the tools and best practices to manage their teams and business more efficiently and effectively. It will endeavor managers (entrepreneurs) participating in the training to bring about valuable and positive change in those they lead, increase engagement, motivation, and morale in their teams, enhance performance of individuals and the team, provide an authentic role model that inspires followership and develop others into managers of their business.
The outcome of the project is enhanced capacity of Tourism SMEs from Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan to expand business activities and promote cooperation through new business networks, partnerships, and joint ventures.
SPCE UCA seeks to engage a consultant to undertake the development of a comprehensive training modules/curriculum/syllabi (in English) for Executive Entrepreneurship training in Tourism sector based on training needs assessment, in close consultation with SPCE/UCA and AP.
Scope of work and expected outputs / deliverables
1. Undertake desk research and analyse all the necessary documents/ training modules, training materials to fully understand the ground situation and existing training material available for training of Tourism Entrepreneurs (including existing UCA Training material); relevant national and international legislations and policies that have been signed/ratified pertaining to Entrepreneurship in Tourism.
2. Carry out stakeholder analysis to bring out the roles and responsibilities of key players and Institutions in the sector.
3. Carry out gap analysis to identify gaps in trainings imparted on Tourism Entrepreneurship. Map out the issues and identify the priorities in line with the objectives of this project. This should include consultations and meeting and key informant interviews with the relevant stakeholders (APs offices in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan and AKF offices respectively as required).
4. Produce a well-written and comprehensive training needs assessment report based on the above, including recommendations for:
a. schedule of training.
b. key topics and competencies to be covered.
c. identify key resource persons.
d. project assignment for participants and assessment.
e. post-training evaluations and impact assessment.
5. Conduct Training Assessment workshop and submit draft reports that should include desk review, situation report, stakeholders and gap need analysis.
6. Based on the assessment, develop comprehensive 2 cycles of training programme (a) and (c) below in English for both online and offline delivery of the course teaching for:
(a) 10 days cycle 1: Motivation, microeconomics, and value – chain linkages. Tourism safety and growing solid waste problems. After completion, course participants will be able to establish/develop business networks with other tourism operators/businesses.
(b) 20 days cycle 2: Finance and decomposition of business; management; tax and law; human resources. After completion, course participants will be able to develop professional collaboration with their peers and create legal contracts to formalize cooperation ;
(c) 15 days cycle 3: Operations/product management; marketing (online tools); business planning. After completion, course participants will together be able to develop joint business plans, which can then be used as models for further replication across the region.
7. Produce a mixed method (quantitative and qualitative) survey questionnaire. Such survey will be used to assess the knowledge of participants from 4 target countries before and after the 3 comprehensive training modules. Conducting surveys prior and post training will help the researchers to measure progress of the trainees before and after the training
8. modules. Ultimately, survey results will help the instructors to evaluate effectiveness of the training modules, to make improvements, and adjust future courses.
9. Share the draft modules with key experts for their review, incorporate comments and finalize the modules.
10. It will be a good idea to also assess the skill level of the participants/students to gear the course materials accordingly.
Final Deliverables and Results
(a) Need assessment report.
(b) Curriculum by modules.
(c) Syllabus
(d) Teaching and facilitator’s Manual.
(e) Participants Learning Manual.
(f) Reading package.
(g) Qualified Instructors, who are capable to deliver the programme.
Timeframe and deadlines
This assignment timeframe period for consultants will be negotiated additionally. The training of 1st cohort will commence in early 2022.
REQUIREMENTS FOR EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS
- A postgraduate or equivalent qualification/degree in Economics, Business and Management, Entrepreneurship with particulars focus on tourism and any other relevant discipline.
- 5-7 years of prior work experience in the field of training, curriculum development and research especially in the regional and international context connected to the related discipline.
- Demonstrated knowledge and experience in conducting needs assessments and developing training modules/curriculum, training materials etc.
- Demonstrated experiences and skills in facilitating stakeholder/working group consultations and training.
- Relevant regional and international experience in the required field and contexts will be an added advantage.
- Excellent writing, editing and oral communication skills in English. Russian and Dari would be an advantage.
- Excellent skills in using Information Technology.
The project seeks to identify experts that fulfil the above criteria and have demonstrated ability of involving key stakeholders to provide relevant expertise and bring a wider perspective in developing of training manual.
DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING RPOPOSALS
While submitting the Technical Proposal, the applicant’s must ensure to attach the following:
i. Profile of consultant (max 1 page) explaining why they are the most suitable for the work.
ii. Relevant Experience (max 2 pages).
iii. Detailed methodology and conceptual framework with expected deliverables and timelines, days required (4-5 pages).
iv. CVs of experts.
v. Contact information for three references.
FINACIAL PROPOSAL
The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount (including a breakdown of costs for fee, travel, training material, number of working days and any other cost that may be associated in developing and delivering the courses/modules). Payment will be made in installments based upon key outputs i.e., upon delivery of the services in the ToR.
- 20% on signing the contract and submission of a blueprint including workplan and methodology of assignment (in English).
- 20% on completion of training needs assessment and submission of Training Needs Analysis report.
- 40% on submission of comprehensive training manuals including conducting a workshop on presenting the findings and the curriculum (in English).
- 20% on completion of ToT training and submission of final report (in English).
EVAULATION
Interested eligible bidders may submit their proposal through email (technical and financial proposal) detailing the individual costs for carrying out the assignment as well as consolidated costs along with documents to support qualification and experience.
Language of the proposal: The bid, as well as all correspondence and documents relating to the bid shall be written in English language. Supporting documents and printed literature furnished by the bidder in another language may be provided if accompanied by an accurate translation of the relevant text in English language.
Currency of the proposal- All financial information should be provided in US$.
Format and signing of the Proposal- The bidder shall prepare the proposal and duly sign by the person or persons authorized to bind the bidder to the contract.
Submitting of the proposal
The bidder expected to submit the proposal electronically (technical and financial proposal) to saltanat.kuzekeeva@ucentralasia.org with a copy to dilovar.butabekov@ucentralasia.org and with the name and address of the bidder.
Deadline for submission
Proposal must be received by UCA at the address specified above no later than – 8/08/2021.