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.
Responsibilities
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.
How to Apply
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.
