Deadline: 11 June, 2020
The British Embassy in Cairo is pleased to announce the opening of a call for bids for the Egypt Skills for Prosperity Programme (ESPP). This programme is being delivered in eight countries, and is part of the Global Skills Programme (GSP) under the UK Government’s Prosperity Fund.
The programme focuses on three strands of work: equity, quality and relevance. The first strand aims to promote equitable access to higher education particularly for low-income youth, young people with disabilities, and young women from poor communities who wish to pursue further studies at public universities in underrepresented subjects such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). The second seeks to improve the soft skills ecosystem within public universities by equipping undergraduates, and post-graduates with in-demand and employability skills. The goal of the third strand is to work with British and Egyptian industries to improve the pathways of transition from higher education to employment, particularly in STEM careers, for the target groups.
The proposed impact of ESPP is increased capacity for inclusive economic growth due to improved employability skills, employment opportunities, labour market access and productivity of priority target beneficiaries. This impact is linked to the overall objectives of the UK Government’s Prosperity Fund to reduce poverty and promote inclusive economic growth.
Interested organisations are expected to achieve three main interlinked outcomes: support equitable supply and access to higher education, improved skills set for target beneficiaries, and improved pathways of transition from higher education to employment corresponding to the three identified strands of work.
Benefits
- The ESPP provides £8 million in funding over three years, until 2023
Eligibility
Bids will be assessed based on the following criteria:
- Demonstrate strong value for money (VFM) by considering economy and cost effectiveness of inputs, efficiency, effectiveness, and equity
- Alignment with Programme strategic objectives
- Compliance with OECD criteria for ODA funding;
- Evidence on impact and successful delivery of similar
programmes/projects from key stakeholders, eg government, private sector, donors, development organisations, universities, etc - Project viability, including bidders’ capacity, experts’ networks, and
track record - Project design, including clear and achievable impact, outcomes,
outputs and planned interventions/activities - Provide evidence on stakeholders’ engagement and management
- Demonstrate ability of forging strong networks with key beneficiaries
- Provide evidence on collaborating with government and official entities, and strong demonstration of track record working with higher education institutions
- Demonstrate understanding of secondary benefits and provide
evidence on engaging with private sector, in particular international businesses - Provide a comprehensive methodology of Gender and Social Inclusion (GESI) with clear indicators, approaches, models and examples
- Understanding of models of employability within universities and industry-university relationships
- Ability to establish strong relations with UK and international networks of higher education, skills development and international businesses
- Budgets sent by implementers should not exceed the set amount and should enclose an activity based budget (ABB) to show clear budget allocations across the three strands of work
- Co-funding schemes can be enclosed showing funding/donor entity
To apply and for more information, click here.
Photo source: Sam valadi
