Tender for External Specialist Services to support Irish Aid on Development Education

Description

Development Education is an integral part of the Irish Aid programme providing support for educational processes aimed at deepening understanding and engagement on issues related to global poverty and justice. The role of the Development Education Unit in Irish Aid is to promote and contribute to the strategic policy direction for development education in Ireland, as well as fund high quality support for development education in both formal and non-formal settings. Our work in this area is guided by the Development Education Strategy (2007-2015) “Promoting public engagement for development” (Appendix A). A comprehensive review of Irish Aid support to development education was completed in 2011 (Appendix B). The review acknowledged Irish Aid’s key role in setting policy direction for Development Education and the investment and support for high quality programmes across the sector. In order to achieve the objectives of the Development Education Strategy, the Development Education Unit provides funding under two complementary streams - Firstly, the unit provides support for a number of strategic partnerships. These partnerships are currently focussed on capacity-building, the formal education sector and resource provision for development education. Secondly, a Development Education Grants Scheme provides grants to organisations working in Ireland to deliver quality development education through short-term projects. A copy of the guidelines and application form for the 2014 Development Education Grants Scheme are at Appendix C. 2. Proposal Irish Aid is now seeking to appoint a panel of independent external experts to provide professional services associated with the implementation of the Development Education Strategy. It is proposed to establish a panel of up to five external specialists, from which the Development Education Unit will draw, to provide specialist technical expertise to support, in particular, the administration of funding under the Development Educa