TERMS OF REFERENCE – DEVELOPMENT OF CORPORATE KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND LEARNING PLATFORM CONSULTANCY Posted on 06/07/2023 (13/09/2023) by lillian osano CAREERS GET INVOLVED // CAREERS TERMS OF REFERENCE – DEVELOPMENT OF CORPORATE KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND LEARNING PLATFORM CONSULTANCY Deadline: July 28, 2023 Closed Job Share This Job: INTRODUCTION The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) is a leading Africa-based, African-led, international research institution headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, with a regional office in Dakar, Senegal. Our researchers are contributing to the body of evidence about the critical issues in population health and wellbeing impeding Africa’s development in order to provide strong direction and recommendations to policy- and decision-makers at all levels. Our priority research areas are Human Development, Health and well-being, Data Science and Evaluation, and Population Dynamics and Urbanization in Africa. In addition to the research component, APHRC has other programmatic areas in Research and Related Capacity Strengthening, Policy Engagement and Communications, and International programs. APHRC is seeking firms/ individual consultants to develop a Knowledge Management and Learning (KML) Platform for the Center (including the West Africa Regional Office), to use across its themes and divisions. The KML platform will be customizable and adaptable to the corporate Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Plan 2022-2026 and the Knowledge Management and Learning Strategy. It will standardize and streamline processes for the identification, collection, storage, sharing, learning, and application of knowledge in the Center. It will provide an interactive knowledge-sharing and learning component and a knowledge base to support the publication of knowledge products. This platform should support evidence generation and use by enhancing accessibility to knowledge thus supporting the decision-making process and contributing to transparency and accountability in the Center. The main objective of the consultancy is to establish a knowledge management and learning platform using web development technologies or frameworks and align the system to APHRC processes and procedures. SCOPE OF WORK The firm/ individual consultant will work to carry out the following components: Component 1: Develop a Corporate Knowledge and Learning Repository Develop a corporate Knowledge and Learning platform to document knowledge products. Integrate the platform with Microsoft Dynamics365 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning portal to pull relevant knowledge products into the platform using web services for analysis and producing necessary reports. Configure the hierarchy of APHRC by its divisions, units, regional office, and level of intervention. Set up a taxonomy of knowledge products allowing cataloging, classification, indexing, and search functionality. Set up a bibliometric dashboard of the Center-wide publication repositories. Allow for metadata and tagging of knowledge products thereby showing relationships between different publications in the repository. Set up an enterprise searching facility to allow retrieval of knowledge products by author, Subject, Year, Donor, Theme, publisher, or keyword. Also, allow users to browse through collections and communities. Search should also allow for in-document OCR findability. Allow for publication of all formats of knowledge products (pdf, word, video, audio, ppts etc.) and support audio and video playback. Define access levels for members of the Centre according to their roles. Develop dashboards with frequently used favorites and standard reports based on the user-determined knowledge products. High scalability and performance and support storage of huge volumes of data. Component 2: Knowledge Sharing and Learning Platform Support the creation of communities, technical working groups, and collaborations and define levels of access for discussions and brainstorming. Allow for conversation, learning, knowledge sharing, content creation, and publication through documentation of wikis, enhanced chat functionality, forums, and tasks. Support file upload, storage, and sharing allowing for workflow features and allowing team documents edit features. Enhanced gamification and rewards report and issued rewards based on knowledge sharing, learning, support, and innovation. Robust search and discovery capability allowing users to search and retrieve content through advanced filters. Provide a corporate Subject Matter Expert Locator Directory, with profiles of experts and modes of interaction. Provide a database listing all Center employees plus a complete profile and allow for connection (add colleagues to their list of connections). Allow employees to create their profiles and update their interests, skills, abilities, and achievements. Provide a mobile application feature for the platform. Allow for import/export of bulk data Set up performance-tracking modules to assess the uptake, usage, and impact and suggest areas of improvement. Provide analytics metrics to monitor the number, utilization, searches, and usage of knowledge and learning history. Should provide components for metrics analysis behavior and decision-making components. Component 3: Integration of the AI for knowledge base management AI-Enhanced Search Functionality: Set up a search module integrated with AI algorithms to enable intelligent search across the knowledge repository. Content Classification and Tagging: Develop an AI-powered content classification and tagging system to automatically categorize and tag knowledge products. AI-Driven Recommendation Engine: Design and implement an AI-driven recommendation engine that suggests relevant knowledge resources to users based on their profiles, preferences, and usage patterns. Chatbot or Virtual Assistant: Develop an AI-powered chatbot or virtual assistant that can provide instant support, answer queries, and assist users in navigating the platform. Natural Language Generation (NLG) for Summaries: Implement NLG capabilities to automatically generate summaries or abstracts of knowledge products. Sentiment Analysis and Feedback: Integrate sentiment analysis capabilities to gather user feedback on knowledge resources and evaluate user satisfaction. Adaptive Learning and Personalization: Implement AI algorithms that analyse user behaviour and learning patterns to offer personalized learning experiences. Develop a module that tracks user progress, adapts content recommendations, and provides targeted interventions based on individual needs. Analytics and Insights: Develop an analytics module powered by AI to provide detailed insights into platform usage, knowledge consumption, and user behavior. Develop visualizations and reports that showcase key analytics metrics and insights derived from AI analysis. KEY DUTIES Set up live and test instances – configure security controls on the server, secure domain, and backup utilities, server monitoring tools on the server. Customize all the APHRC data collection tools into the custom database through mobile. Develop an automated program for reports and dashboards. Determine and develop various types of reporting content, formats, and frequency based on indicator plans and donor requirements. Configure the data visualizer for the database to generate the required reports. Configure SMS reminders and update notifications. Configure the user rights module which can later be used to assign access of the database to the users as per their role in the organization. Configure the data administration module to ensure the proper administration of the database. Develop training materials for the core team and also train the core team on customization, system management, and administration. OTHER REQUIREMENTS FROM THE CONSULTANT 1. Testing and security Vulnerability testing of all software code must be performed before going live. A comprehensive backup system must be included in the end product, such that data resources are secure and replicated at regular intervals. 2. Review and testing Facilitate alpha-testing with the APHRC Corporate M&E Conduct beta-testing with a group of Center researchers to assess the user- experience and improve the concept. If needed, send complex issues back to step 2 in order to be assessed in future sprints. 3. Hosting options Explore and present feasible and reliable hosting options. Support APHRC to host the database on one of the selected hosting solutions. 4. Staff training and capacity building Train and mentor key staff to properly develop, use, update, and make changes to the database system. Create User Manual Source code/design. Complete source code, design of the final application, and database will be the property of APHRC. The consultant will hand over all required materials to APHRC. 5. Confidentiality Due to the sensitivity of programming, the Consultant must sign a confidentiality agreement. 6. Ownership and Intellectual Property APHRC shall acquire the ownership of all assignment deliverables in their tangible form (both hard and soft copies, including the customized source code) and the right to use them as required. The deliverables in any circumstances should not be published or used by the consultant without the permission of APHRC. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE ●A degree in related disciplines e.g. Software Engineering, Computer Science, Information science, Computer Engineering, or any relevant field. Understanding knowledge management and learning tools is an added advantage. ●Proven work experience as a Data/System Analyst and Developer including use of web-enabled systems. ● Strong experience in Software Development (i.e web development in JS, PHP, and HTML); MS SQL development, 5 years (Preferred), Production Support, 3 years (Preferred), Azure DB, 2 years (Preferred), Stored Procedures, 5 years (Preferred). ●Proven skills in writing SQL code, designing new systems, understanding front-end- users’ requirements and having a problem-solving attitude. ●Experience with major enterprise database programs, such as Microsoft SQL Server Integration Services, Postgres, and NoSQL databases. Net Framework, JavaScript, HTML, PHP, and Oracle. ●Knowledge and understanding of object-oriented programming using any scripting language frameworks or at least one of the .NET languages (e.g. C#, Visual Basic.NET MVC and understanding of its entity frameworks) and HTML5/CSS3. ●Hands-on experience with architecture styles/APIs (REST, RPC). ●Ability to create web pages to show online reports to application users using pivot reports, detailed data pages, grid views, and tables. ●Experience with jQuery to bring dynamic behavior to the web page and also perform AJAX calls to the MVC controllers. ●Understanding of agile methodologies. ●Excellent skills in debugging and troubleshooting user sessions and solving bugs. ●Ability to analyze and critique requirements and make recommendations on possible solution designs. ●Ability to create complex functions, scripts, stored procedures, and triggers to support application development. ●Ability to complete work independently, incorporate client feedback, and deliver on time. ●Experience in training facilitation, mentoring and capacity development. ●Good oral and written communication skills, including presentations. ●Prior experience in development of an information management system for humanitarian organization will be an added advantage. DELIVERABLES APHRC expects the consultant to complete and submit the following deliverables: A comprehensive strategy along with the work plan at the start of the consultancy indicating the major milestones for the completion of the assignment. Report of the requirement specifications including the knowledge repository and knowledge sharing and learning platforms components. Complete structure of database containing the knowledge repository component asset store and the knowledge sharing and learning tools. Configured user modules for the knowledge sharing and learning component and knowledge repository component. A mobile application with a knowledge repository component and knowledge sharing and learning component. Reporting modules. Custom platform database testing and deployment plan, including hosting options both on APHRC servers or other hosting options. Initial maintenance plan after final deployment. AI-Enhanced search functionality. Content classification and tagging system. AI-Driven recommendation engine Chatbot or virtual assistant. Natural language generation for summaries. Sentiment analysis and feedback module. Adaptive learning and personalization features Analytics and insights module Training plan for staff users. Final presentation/workshop for relevant staff. Completed User Manual for the database system. TECHNICAL PROPOSAL APHRC expects not more than 15 pages of a technical proposal that must include the following points: A description of your experience customizing and deploying knowledge sharing and learning platforms and knowledge repositories. A description of your proposed method for completing the project, including planning sessions, the outline of the key steps and the sequence of the work, A clear and detailed timeframe to complete the tasks, with an indication of timelines against individual deliverables. A detailed description of integration with Microsoft Dynamics 365 through Data web services to allow the custom platform to fetch project-related data for analysis and producing necessary reports. A complete list of references of clients with demo links to previous work that the consultant has worked with on a similar assignment. HOW TO APPLY Interested candidates should send their proposals to consultancies@aphrc.org and copy procurement@aphrc.org with the subject “APHRC KML Platform Development Consultancy” by 28th July 2023. APHRC will contact the shortlisted candidates only. Cover letters should be addressed to: The Human Resources Officer African Population and Health Research Center, Inc APHRC Campus, Manga Close, off Kirawa Road, Kitisuru P.O. Box 10787-GPO, Nairobi Website: www.aphrc.org APHRC is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to the protection of vulnerable persons.