Request for Proposal – Regional Trade for Development

Implementation Consultant and Event Organiser for Building Institutional Capacity for Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS) Implementation under RCEP

About RT4D

The Regional Trade for Development (RT4D) Facility supports ASEAN Member States to maximise benefits from the upgraded ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement. Through the AANZFTA Implementation Support Program (AISP) and the RCEP Implementation Support Program (RISP), RT4D provides tailored support to enhance the capabilities of ASEAN Member States by strengthening skills, building networks, facilitating policy options and ensuring that trade benefits everyone, including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), women and people with disabilities.

Also operating under RT4D is the Trade and Gender Equality Incubator (TGEI), an initiative funded by the Australian Government. The incubator tests ideas and methods, drawing on promising examples, that integrate gender in trade policy, technical cooperation, and development programming. The Governments of Australia and New Zealand have committed up to AUD 48.7 million to fund RT4D from 2020-21 to 2027-28.

Project Summary

This project was created to implement activities that align with RCEP Chapter 5 on SPS. The objective is to enhance the practical application of SPS measures by promoting transparency and understanding of the development processes and applications among relevant stakeholders. The project seeks to strengthen coordination, communication, and consultation among the domestic parties involved in SPS measures, adhering to international standards, guidelines, and recommendations. With support from RCEP and the RT4D program, the fundamental goal of this project is to build the institutional capabilities of key stakeholders at the central and provincial levels under the leadership of FDD. This will set up a foundation to establish a modern, comprehensive, high-quality, and mutually beneficial economic partnership, facilitating regional trade and investment expansion and contributing to global economic growth.

Improving inter-departmental coordination is another crucial component of the project; it will establish a collaborative, dynamic platform for stakeholders such as the FDD, Department of Agriculture (DOA), Department of Livestock and Fisheries (DOLF), and Department of Planning (DOP) to monitor and evaluate the implementation of SPS chapters. This initiative aims to promote transparency, ensuring senior decision-makers and policy formulators have a unified understanding of the SPS chapter and the ASEAN Sectoral Mutual Recognition Arrangement for Inspection and Certification Systems on Food Hygiene for Prepared Foodstuff Products (MRA) guidelines, alongside developing implementation regulations that clarify procedural and operational parameters. This framework seeks to mitigate arbitrary decision-making while reinforcing compliance with national legal standards through stringent oversight and formalised inspection processes.

The specific objectives of this project are to:

• To provide capacity building on implementing the SPS measures and provisions, focusing on Chapter 5 of RCEP commitments
• To strengthen economic cooperation and dialogue that supports the implementation and utilisation of key provisions within the SPS agreement 
• To increase public and stakeholders’ awareness of the benefits and impact of the RCEP and SPS Chapter to enhance access to information for businesses, especially Micro-Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs), on the SPS requirements as well as MRA on import-export 
• To strengthen cooperation and exchange experience with RCEP Parties in the SPS Chapter, particularly on the collective participation approach at the ASEAN SPS committee meeting.

Submission should be sent to:
pathways.procurement@thepalladiumgroup.com
cc: ramdino.abarico@thepalladiumgroup.com
 

Any enquiries that tenders may have must in in writing and directed to the dedicated emails no later than 29 November 2024, 5:00 PM Close of Business. Indicate ITT 2024-8-17 Learning Site (Impact) Evaluation Study. A design briefing note will be made available within seven days of this procurement being released and Tender Briefing (online) will be held on 03 December 2024. Interested tenderers may request the design briefing note and participation to the tender briefing by emailing the nominated emails above. Any procurement update (such as addendum) in relation to this invitation will be posted at Pathways Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pathwaysdotph. 

Australia Awards and Alumni Engagement Program – Philippines (AAAEP-P) is seeking tenders from Service Providers to provide the services outlined in the Terms of Reference of the following tender:

• Tender Notice – Gender Equality, Disability And Social Inclusion And Climate Resilience Planning And Change Management

There will be a prebid conference on Tuesday, 8 October 2024 at 1:00 PM via MS Teams.

Australia Awards and Alumni Engagement Program – Philippines (AAAEP-P) is seeking tenders from Service Providers to provide the services outlined in the Terms of Reference of the following tender:

• Tender Notice – Strategic Knowledge Management and Data Analytics for Evidence Based Decision Making

There will be a prebid conference on Thursday, 4 October 2024 at 1:00 PM via Microsoft Teams.

Education Pathways for Peace in Mindanao Program will conduct a three-year research study to determine the impact of the program’s interventions on targeted schools (kinder to grade 3 only) in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The research will be designed as a small n study testing the theory of change for each of four types of school: community schools (known as Learning Centres), catchment schools connected to the Learning Centres (known as Associated Catchment Schools), targeted madrasah schools, and the model inclusive schools (known as Inclusive and Supportive Centres of Learning). 

This theory-based evaluation approach will be used to identify what worked by looking into the changes brought about by Pathways-supported intervention and, importantly, to understand why and how the interventions worked. The research will start in 2024 and be repeated in 2025 and 2026. The study will provide baseline data in 2024 and, where possible, estimate retrospective baselines as of September 2022 when schools reopened after the COVID-19 Pandemic. Data collection will estimate where Pathways is contributing to better learning outcomes, classroom teaching and learning practices, learning and development for teachers, support to schools by divisional offices, school-based management practices, and inclusion practices including equity outcomes for key variables.

The study aims to:

• Identify to what extent Pathways’ interventions are reaching and creating change at the school and classroom level, and impacting children’s literacy and numeracy

• Identify adaptations and modifications that are both positively and negatively influencing the outcomes

• Understand results for different variables across the type of schools

• How contextual factors are influencing the outcomes expected at the school-level

• Identify the enablers, barriers, and challenges influencing school-level outcomes

• Identify good practices and effective strategies within each school type

• Provide learning and recommendations as to how policy and implementation can be improved during the remainder of the program, as MBHTE and the Philippines Department of Education take policy interventions forward, and to inform Australia’s ongoing education sector work.

• The program’s overall target beneficiaries for each school type are 210 Learning Centres, 123 Associate Catchment Schools, 25 Madrasah, and one Inclusive and Supportive Centre for Learning (ISCL). Pathways support to each school type has included^[1]:

  Learning Centres

  Pathways' assistance to the MBHTE Abot Kaalaman sa Pamilyang Pilipino (AKAP) Program aims to offer quality early years' education to learners in barangays without schools. This involves establishing functional learning centres (LCs) or providing flexible learning options in validated school-less barangays. By the end of the 2023-2024 school year, AKAP provided kindergarten to grade 3 education to 123 geographically isolated, disadvantaged, and conflict-affected communities in BARMM by introducing grade 3 classes.

  Pathways' support to AKAP focuses on enrolling out-of-school children, enhancing social inclusion and strengthening stakeholder engagement at various governance levels and with the school. This involves enhancing stakeholder engagement in learning centres, community structures, school division offices, local government units, and the regional AKAP Technical Working Group.

  Associated Catchment Schools

  An Associated Catchment School is a catchment school assigned to manage an AKAP Learning Centre established under the Pathways Program. Pathways has progressively lifted the Catchment Schools linked to AKAP Learning Centres to ensure they provide support and management to the Centres for them to succeed. The focus is for the Associated Catchment Schools to develop specific support and management skills. The program’s support to the Associated Catchment Schools includes providing trainings to K-3 teachers and Catchment School Heads, designing and planning K-3 teaching and learning materials, developing K-3 learning assessment tools and manual, and production of teaching learning readers in Filipino and mother-tongue languages, among others.

  Madrasah

  Pathways support to madrasah is at both the system level to help establish system arrangements that will improve both formal and non-formal madrasah and improve delivery by the targeted madrasah. At the system level, Pathways support has included the development of the Bangsamoro Education Code, Madrasah Education Strategic Plan, Madrasah Comprehensive Plan, and the Madrasah Establishment System. The 25 targeted madrasah is a group of `formal’ madrasah that were established before 2017 that are still operating and are considered `stable’ and development ready. All 25 madrasah are private entities and `formal madrasah’ are recognised under the Bangsamoro Education Code as delivering the governments’ curriculum and are subject to government quality assurance processes. Pathways’ support ranges from development of curriculum and learning materials, teacher and school leader training, and introducing school-base management. Madrasah are recognised as historically under resourced and therefore less developed institutions whereby responding to Pathways’ supported interventions will take longer.

  Inclusive and Supportive Centres of Learning

  The ISCL refers to a primary school that is being transformed into a model inclusion institution of learning with an ecology that adapts to the needs of children. The model school supports a network of other public schools, known as Satellite Public Schools, which are coached by the ISCL and MBHTE (regional and divisions) to progressively implement the Inclusive Schools Approach. Pathways started supporting the development of the model inclusive school in 2022. To date, Pathways has supported ISCL with the development of the Inclusive Schools Approach Omnibus Policy, ISA-ISCL Five Essentials, and training of teachers and school leaders in inclusion and Play-based Approach.

  
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  [1] Pathways will provide a table to the successful candidate identifying the scope, timing, and nature of interventions rolled out to-date.

   

We are seeking qualified applications for the position of Human Resource Development (HRD) Specialist as part of our Australia Awards & Alumni Engagement Program – Philippines program.

Tetra Tech International Development (TetraTech) as the managing contractor of Australia Awards and Alumni Engagement Program – Philippines (AAAEP-P) of the Australian Embassy, is seeking tenders from providers/suppliers to provide the services outlined in the Terms of Reference.

The tender documents can be viewed and downloaded through the quick link buttons below.

All proposals must be submitted by uploading the documents through the online form. Once uploaded, you will receive a confirmation email (within 24 hrs). Late tenders will not be accepted.

Please note the following when preparing your proposal for online submission:

• The online submission module will require you to submit a consolidated one document in PDF format. Portable Document Format (PDF) is the de facto standard for the secure and reliable distribution and exchange of electronic documents and forms around the world.
• This means that after you have prepared and formatted your proposal using MS Word, you need to convert the whole document into PDF.
• There are many tools available to do this: you can use free online conversion software (http://www.freepdfconvert.com) or you can download a free desktop application like CutePDF Writer (http://www.cutepdf.com) or a more powerful commercial version Adobe Acrobat writer.

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