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Expert for the development of a toolbox (digital format) for startup support organizations located in Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine.

Position Title: National or International consultant

Numbers of positions: 1

Project name: Bridge ‘Up – From innovation to creation

Description of the assignment: Develop a digital toolbox for startup support organizations to help them identify their needs, map potential partners, and establish win-win partnerships with similar structures offering complimentary services.

Duration of assignment: 20 man-days

Duty Station: Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine

Type of assignment (Home based or on site): Home based or onsite.

Start date: May 2023

Background, Objectives and scope of the consultancy, Scope of the work:

Background:

The Dot, first hub for entrepreneurship and digital innovation in Tunisia, is supported by the Ministry of Communication Technologies as part of the Smart Tunisia project, in partnership with the “Innov’i” program led by the European Union through Expertise France, GIZ, and the Tunisia Development Foundation.

It aims to support and strengthen the Tunisian innovation and digital transformation ecosystem through programs and services that promote a high value-added economy, place youth at the center, and develop synergies between national, regional, and international actors.

The Dot, first hub for entrepreneurship and digital innovation in Tunisia, is supported by the Ministry of Communication Technologies as part of the Smart Tunisia project, in partnership with the “Innov’i” program led by the European Union through Expertise France, GIZ, and the Tunisia Development Foundation.

It aims to support and strengthen the Tunisian innovation and digital transformation ecosystem through programs and services that promote a high value-added economy, place youth at the center, and develop synergies between national, regional, and international actors.

About SPARK: SPARK is an international non-governmental development organization active in 14 regions throughout the Middle East, North and Sub-Saharan Africa. For over 25 years, SPARK has been creating pathways for young people to rebuild their futures. SPARK provides opportunities for youth, particularly women and refugees, to study, work and grow their own businesses in fragile communities through the provision of higher (vocational) education scholarships, entrepreneurship development and SME support. 

About European Union (EU): The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European countries. It is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. It acts globally to promote sustainable development of societies, environment and economies, so that everyone can benefit.

About the ‘From Innovation to Creation’ Programme: The From Innovation to Creation programme strengthens innovation through supporting cluster cooperation and start-up ecosystems in the South Neighbourhood countries. Through a 4-year programme financed by the European Commission, SPARK is strengthening innovation and startup ecosystems, together with implementing partners in Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia. 

The Dot has partnered with Spark to implement the activities defined in the “Bridge ‘Up” regional project, answering two outcomes.

The first outcome focuses on the capacity building and support of the identified innovation support organizations in Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine.

The second outcome focuses on supporting startups in their scale-up and internationalization phase in those four countries.

Objectives and scope of the consultancy

As part of the first outcome, the objectives of the consultancy are to:

• Provide SSOs with a readily available digital management toolbox to assist them in identifying their needs, mapping potential partners, and establishing mutually beneficial partnerships with similar organizations that offer complementary services.
• Strengthen the capacity of SSOs to effectively carry out their missions and manage their activities.
• Support SSOs in optimizing and redefining their strategy and expanding their programs in order to achieve their goals. 

The scope of the consultancy will be to:

• To establish and formalize a working methodology applicable to the targeted support structures while remaining adaptable to their unique needs and contexts. 
• To establish a methodology for the evaluation and diagnosis of SSOs (self-evaluation).
• Develop and create templates of partnership agreements between SSOs and both the public and private sector.
• Formalize program management processes (by leveraging the proven methods used at The Dot and the expertise of its partners).
• Establish an activity card template for each service provided by the SSO.
• Establish a document containing best practices in terms of creation and management of social impact projects, using inclusive and participatory approaches. 
• Formalize the most relevant data collection and analysis methods for partnered SSOs.
• Establish a knowledge management system document adapted to SSOs.
• Present the IT technical and non-technical requirements

Expected Results

The expected results are as follows:

• SSOs have the capacity to strengthen their working methodologies and improve their management process of their different components.
• SSOs have access to a toolbox, in an efficient way, containing all the necessary and useful resources in the accomplishment of their missions.

Deliverables:

The following are the key deliverables of the consultancy work for each country:

• An initial report including the concept note of the toolbox integrating all the components to be developed.
• Toolbox containing methodologies, templates, documents outlined above and any other resources to be defined with the project team.
• A satisfaction form completed by the SSOs.

Any other documentation needed during the development of the toolbox may be addressed with responses and recommendations from the consultant.

Duration of the assignment and timeframe for deliverables:

The mission will start as soon as the contract is signed for a duration of 20 working days spread over one month.  

Competencies, academic qualification, experience, and language:

This mission will be carried out by a consultant with proven and relevant experience of at least five (5) years in managing startup support organizations.

It is open to all candidates who meet the following requirements:

• Hold at least a master’s degree or equivalent in innovation management, international development, economics, social sciences, or a related discipline.
• Demonstrate a minimum of five years of experience in developing documents for startup support programs and in establishing processes.
• Show excellent knowledge of the project intervention areas, language, and local traditions and cultures.
• Demonstrate a basic understanding of the legal, institutional, political, and economic framework of MENA region countries.
• Have proficiency in written and oral French, English, and Arabic
• Have a good knowledge of computer tools.
• Have previous experience in MENA regions with SSOs

Submission of tenders:

• 1 technical offer including a resume, a proposal of the toolbox structure (headlines), and previous work similar to the project specificities 
• 1 financial offer 

Please note that the panel may require access to documents previously developed by the consultant to assess the quality of the content.