TERMS OF REFERENCE 

 ABOUT ASEAN FOUNDATION 

Three decades after ASEAN was established, ASEAN leaders recognised that: there remained inadequate shared prosperity, ASEAN awareness and contact among the people of ASEAN. It was of this concern that ASEAN leaders established ASEAN Foundation in Jakarta, Indonesia, at ASEAN's 30th Anniversary Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 15 December 1997. 

The ASEAN Foundation is an organisation from and for the people of ASEAN. The Foundation exists because of one vision: to build a cohesive and prosperous ASEAN Community. As an ASEAN body, the Foundation is tasked to support ASEAN mainly in promoting awareness, identity, interaction, and development of the people of ASEAN. For more information, visit: https://aseanfoundation.org  

BACKGROUND / PROGRAMME OVERVIEW 

The ASEAN Foundation is seeking a consultant to develop an e-learning platform for the Project of ASEAN Digital Literacy Programme (ASEAN DLP). The Expected platform should go live in August 2023. This online platform will allow users and ASEAN citizens to access learning materials to learn more about media and digital literacy. 

In pursuing this programme, the ASEAN Foundation now wishes to develop an e-learning platform which will include courses, e-learning modules and webinars covering a variety of topics relevant to digital and media literacy. 

The ASEAN DLP aims to educate the ASEAN citizens to be more digitized and sensitive to the information they obtain, including the source, integrity, and bias of the information, this programme seeks to strengthen the involvement of youth, teachers, parents, elderlies, community leaders and government officials in countering misinformation and disinformation in the region.  

The programme includes a strong awareness campaign element to ensure that the importance of media and information literacy is better understood by a wider audience and inspire people to become the agent of change that can help detect and prevent hoaxes and fake news from spreading.  

To achieve this, the ASEAN Foundation is working with the local partners, Civil Society Organisation (CSOs)/Non-Government Organisation (NGOs), media literacy institutions, youth-led organisations, higher education institutions, research partners and other relevant institutions across 10 ASEAN Members States.  

The ASEAN DLP has five key activities which are capacity building of Training for Trainers (ToT), ASEAN Youth Advisory Group, awareness raising campaign, research development on digital literacy in the regional scope, and the e-learning platform. The ASEAN Foundation has been delivering the 4 key activities and will commence to develop an e-learning platform to ensure the sustainability of the digital literacy that can be accessible for the ASEAN citizen. 

 
GENERAL OBJECTIVE 

The e-learning platform is also intended as a gateway to learning resources/knowledge assets as well as for knowledge dissemination and sharing for the ASEAN Foundation - ASEAN DLP. The e-learning platform also aims to promote ASEAN identity and upskill the digital literacy knowledge for the ASEAN citizen, the said platform should include the ASEAN information and the general data impact of the ASEAN DLP programme. The e-learning platform is expected to be accessible in ten ASEAN languages. 

Hence, we seek capable and qualified Consultant/vendor to develop an e-learning platform that can utilised as a medium to provide digital literacy courses, module and documentation of the ASEAN DLP’s activities. In addition, the e-learning platform will also feature success stories (videos preferably) of the initiative. Any update in the e-platform should notify all subscribers/beneficiaries. 

REQUIREMENTS OF THE CONSULTANT 

Under the guidance of the Executive Director of the ASEAN Foundation, the Project Manager of the ASEAN DLP will supervise the consultant in close coordination and consultation with Head of Programme and Head of Communication, the consultant will undertake the following assignment: 

1. Planning and developing content  
2. Planning and developing the platform 

For content planning and development, the Consultant is expected to: 

• Create the backbone/outline of the content in close consultation with ASEAN DLP team. 
• Gather materials from ASEAN DLP’s working partners and stakeholders. 
• Map out how to include the materials into the platform by considering user learning journey on online platform (which might include a research/survey work). 

For platform planning and development, the Consultant is expected to: 

• Create user journey in close consultation with ASEAN DLP team. 
• Design the platform’s interface and interactivity.  
• Develop information structure according to the approved learning journey for the platform. 
• Provide at least three design recommendations that are best fit for the e-learning platform and comply to the branding guideline of the ASEAN Foundation and Google.org. 
• Create visual elements that are inclusive, gender responsive, and include the ASEAN color elements. The visual elements should also include accessibility feature for audience with visual impairment (including for color blind people). 
• Ensure the performance, quality and responsiveness of the platform. 
• Ensure the subscribers (registered beneficiaries) is feasible automatically on the website interface. 
• Provide at least 5 admin accounts to the e-platform with full access to publish, edit and delete content. 
• Identify and fix bottlenecks and bugs. 
• Integrate effective search and aggregate function that interact with social media platforms. 
• Provide 12-month warranty of performance and troubleshooting for the website after launch that covers any kind of error caused by client use or system failures, including appearance/interface error. Provide training for the staff who are going to oversee the website maintenance after 12-month warranty. 

By the end or the consultancy, the platform/website is expected to have the following features: 

1. Responsive, interactive website layout design with visitor friendly features 
2. Provide ASEAN DLP key activities that consist of but not limited to:
   1. Learning Courses
      • Main module by ASEAN Foundation 
      • Adjusted Courses/Toolkit by working partners, already available in local languages 
      • Gamified portion of the learning modules (to be advised) 
   2. About ASEAN DLP 
      • A glimpse of ASEAN DLP’s main activities, including Training of Trainers (ToT) and end-beneficiaries 
      • Success stories from Master Trainers and beneficiaries
   3. Gallery/library 
      • A compilation of ASEAN Youth Advisory Group's campaign awareness project (key visuals, infographics, posted videos, etc.) 
      • Photos of ASEAN DLP’s activities 
3. In-site search field displayed across all pages 
4. Compatibility with PC Windows/Mac, mobile devices iOS/Android and tablets internet browser 

METHODOLOGY AND TASK TO BE PERFORMED BY CONSULTANT 

 The consultant/vendor is responsible for the design, development, testing and finalisation of the learning platform until it is live.  

Project Management 

We will require the Consultant to work closely with the ASEAN Foundation ASEAN DLP project team to discuss the e-platform development, validate critical objectives, and develop a plan to guide the e-learning platform through completion. 

Not all meetings will require being face-to-face. They could be done using virtual meetings, which ASEAN Foundation or Consultant will set up. Also, we will expect at least one status meeting each week, which may require more touchpoints, given the pace and importance of this e-learning platform. 

The Consultant will provide access to an online issue/bug tracking system for posting deliverables, receiving feedback, and reporting issues once the e-learning platform goes live.  

We also expect the design and interface to be simple, attractive, and visually compelling. The e-learning platform should be user-friendly for all users and should not require training or tutorials. 

EXPECTED OUTPUTS, DELIVERABLES AND TIME FRAME 

The following table outlines deliverables which the Consultant is required to achieve along with their timelines: 

The above time frame is subject to adjustments and shall be discussed between the ASEAN Foundation and the Consultant. 

 
DUTY STATION AND DURATION OF ASSIGNMENTS 

This consultancy can be done remotely. The duration of the consultancy is from 1 April to 30 August 2023. 

GRANT DISBURSEMENT 

The payment will be disbursed in the three tranches as follow: 
1. 30% after Upon the Signing of Agreement and after the deliverable 1 (one) is completed. 
2. 40% after Deliverables 2-4 are completed 
4. 30% after Deliverables 5-8 are completed 

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 

All information pertaining to this assignment belong to the ASEAN Foundation. Meanwhile, duties under this assignment shall remain the property of the ASEAN Foundation and Google.org who shall have exclusive rights over their use. Except for purposes of this assignment, the information shall not be disclosed to the public nor used in whatever without written permission of the ASEAN Foundation in line with the national and International Copyright Laws applicable. 

QUALIFICATION, EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS 

The Consultant should have: 

• Working experience with philanthropies’ programmes 
• Strong expertise in training digital skills especially computer science for adults/youths both in-person and online training 
• Proven experience in web development, design, and support in the international development sector 
• Strong experience in developing well-known and widely used open-source platforms, especially WordPress 
• Knowledge and strong track records in website design including interface and navigation 
• Experience at regional/international level is preferrable 

APPLICATION PROCEDURE 

The interested consultant is required to submit a proposal and team personnel CV/profiles outlining relevant experience (portfolio), Request for Quotation (download here) and proposed fee to [email protected]  CC [email protected] and [email protected] by 1 March 2023. 

 
QUERIES 

All inquiries pertaining to this application are addressed to [email protected] and [email protected]