TERMS OF REFERENCE

Digital Product Development Consultant for ASEAN Digital Academy's E-learning Platforms

BACKGROUND

Decades after ASEAN was established, its leaders recognised the need for greater shared prosperity, awareness, and contact among the people of ASEAN. To address these concerns, the ASEAN Foundation was established during the ASEAN 30th Anniversary Commemorative Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 15 December 1997.

As one of ASEAN’s bodies, the Foundation is tasked to support ASEAN mainly in promoting awareness, identity, interaction. and development of the people of ASEAN. We fulfill our mission by collaborating with the public and private sector, civil society, academy, and other stakeholders in ASEAN. Our work spans in six thematic areas: education, arts and culture, media, community building, business engagement, and the environment.

One of our key initiatives under the education pillar is the ASEAN Digital Academy, developed in partnership with Infoxchange. This initiative aims to enhance our TWO existing e-learning platforms, including the ASEAN Digital Literacy Programme (digitalclassesasean.org) and the ASEAN Cybersecurity Skilling Programme. These platforms will be centralised under a single platform – the ASEAN Digital Academy (ADA) – to provide ease of access and a streamlined user experience, and this platform will be deployed under the ASEAN Foundation’s website.

SCOPE OF WORK & DELIVERABLES

The Digital Product Developer will be responsible to build and upload ADA’s digital product and learning materials, developed by the Learning Experience Designer. Coordinated by ASEAN Foundation, the Digital Product Developer will work closely with the Learning Experience Designer to ensure alignment and consistency in the product’s design and functionality, ultimately delivering a seamless and engaging user experience.

The deliverables of the Digital Product Developer include:

1.  Platform Architecture & Integration

Outputs:

• Technical implementation of ADA Learning Management System including:
  • Integration with ASEAN Foundation's main website
  • Migration of existing digital literacy platform (digitalclassasean.org)
  • Integration of cybersecurity learning materials
  • Unified login system implementation
  • Course progression system allowing flexible module access
• Comprehensive wireframes and technical specifications
• Integration testing documentation and results
• Platform security and data privacy documentation
• Final platform deployment plan

2.  AI Systems Implementation

Outputs:

• AI chatbot technical Designed by the Learning Experience Designer. the chatbot will enhance user experience as a central information hub, providing 24/7 support and guidance on learning topics, making the learning process more interactive. It aims to communicate in all 10 ASEAN languages to assist users with limited English proficiency.
  • System architecture and integration plan
  • Data integration for accurate responses
  • Multi-language support implementation
  • Chatbot training documentation
  • Performance monitoring tools
  • Data privacy safeguards
• AI Fact-Checking Tutor development. Designed by the Learning Experience Designer, this fact- checking tools aims to enhance learners’ critical thinking and fact-checking skills in org e-courses, empowering them to counter misinformation. Learners will be guided by a trained AI chatbot to fact-check content independently.
  • Technical architecture
  • Backend logic implementation
  • Assessment system integration
  • Performance tracking system
  • Integration with learning materials
• AI-powered discussion forum implementation. Designed by the Learning Experience Designer, this forum creates a space for learners to share their experiences and engage in conversations with others. In addition to posting comments, an AI-powered translator enables seamless translation between English and various ASEAN languages, fostering inclusive and multilingual discussions
  • Forum technical architecture
  • AI translation system integration
  • Language detection and conversion system
  • User interface design
  • Performance optimisation

3.  Platform Maintenance & Support

Outputs:

• Comprehensive maintenance guidelines including:
  • Regular update procedures
  • AI systems maintenance protocols
  • Content management procedures
  • Backup and recovery processes
  • Traffic analysis tools
  • Performance monitoring systems
  • User feedback collection mechanisms

• Technical documentation covering:
  • System architecture
  • Integration points
  • Data flows
  • Security protocols
  • Troubleshooting guides
• Operations support during initial platform launch including:
  • Issue resolution
  • Performance optimization
  • System monitoring
  • User support escalation procedures

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

All information about this project belonging to the ASEAN Foundation and partners, with which the consultant may come into contact within the performance of his/her duties under this assignment, shall remain the property of the ASEAN Foundation and partners, which shall have exclusive rights over their use. Except for this assignment, the information shall not be disclosed to the public nor used in any way without the ASEAN Foundation's and partners' written permission in line with the applicable national and International Copyright Laws.

TENTATIVE TIMELINE

• Proposal submission deadline: 28 February
• Interview of shortlisted bidders: 5-7 March
• Announcement of selected bidder: 7 April (subject to change)
• Kickoff meeting: 14 April
• Development and implementation: 15 April - 30 June
• First version of ADA uploaded: 1 July
• Testing and improvement: 2 July – 8 August
• Second version of ADA submitted: 20 August
• Other support (operation, maintenance, and quality assurance): 1-30 September
• Reporting: 1-15 October

PAYMENT TERMS

Payments will be made in installments based on the completion of agreed milestones.

• 20% after signing the agreement
• 50% after the completion of Deliverable 1 and 2
• 30% after the completion of Deliverables 3

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Proven expertise in e-learning platform development and
• Experience in integrating AI tools and fostering fact checking community or
• Demonstrated understanding of regional misinformation challenges and fact-checking
• A strong track record of delivering similar projects within agreed timelines

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Interested consultants must submit the following:

• A detailed proposal deck outlining their approach to achieving the deliverables (preferably in presentation format).
• Profiles of key team members involved in the
• A detailed budget
• A company profile with references and examples of previous similar

The documents above must be submitted by 28 February 2025 to [email protected] cc [email protected] and [email protected]

For further questions or initial meeting requests, please contact [email protected] and [email protected]