Background

The goal of The African-Finnish Partnerships on Taxation Capacity in Africa (AFP-TCA) Programme (2023-2025) is to strengthen the taxation capacity of African governments and pan-African organizations to increase Domestic Resource Mobilization (DRM) through informed policymaking. The programme is funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, and HAUS Finnish Institute of Public Management is responsible for the overall programme management.

The AFP-TCA programme has three outcomes, which are:

1. Enhanced understanding on best practices of taxation policy and its implementation for improved domestic resource mobilization (DRM).
2. Knowledge on taxation in the African context is increased through improved African research capacities on taxation.
3. ACBF has increased organizational capacity and tools for capacity building in tax related issues, especially through leadership, digital learning solutions and an improved external communication and advocacy processes.

The overall management of the Programme is assigned to HAUS, which also supports, through long-term and short-term technical assistance (TA), the capacity strengthening of African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF). HAUS, with ACBF, also coordinates activities for dissemination of Programme results and best practices. While HAUS is responsible for Outcomes 1 and 3, VATT Institute for Economic research is responsible for Outcome 2 and contributes to taxation research and enhancing research capabilities with chosen partners in Africa.

African Capacity Building Foundation

The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF or the Foundation) is Africa’s premier institution for capacity building. Established in February 1991, ACBF builds human and institutional capacity for good governance and economic development in Africa. The Foundation has empowered governments, parliaments, civil society, private sector, and higher education institutions in more than 45 countries and six regional economic communities over the past three decades. It supports capacity development through training, technical assistance, and knowledge generation by implementing projects and programmes in these areas across the continent.

Since its inception, ACBF has made a major contribution to the strengthening of government and policy capabilities of African countries. ACBF is dedicated to enhancing professional skills and promoting excellence in Africa’s public sector, driving positive change and innovation within government organizations across the continent. In this vein, ACBF is implementing several projects and programs, including African-Finnish Partnerships on Taxation Capacity in Africa (AFP-TCA) in partnership with HAUS Finnish Institute of Public Management, to achieve it strategic goal “Improve the economic and social governance” in Africa.

In October 2024, ACBF, with support from AFP-TCA programme, launched UBORA Academy, a platform, which is set to redefine capacity building across the continent, ensuring that Africa’s professionals in the public and private sector are knowledgeable and inspired to lead with excellence. As a key part of the AFP-TCA programme, digital training content will be developed and provided through ACBF’s UBORA Academy.

The key output underpinning this outcome is:

• ACBF has improved organizational capacity to operate high quality digital learning processes and piloting taxation and leadership related training content through digital learning solutions.

About the Assignment

The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), in partnership with the HAUS Finnish Institute of Public Management, is working under the Economic and Social Governance key impact area of ACBF’s Strategic Plan 2023-2027 to achieve the following strategic objectives:

1. Enhancing Evidence-Based Policy Formulation: Strengthening the capacity of government institutions to formulate data-driven policies for informed decision-making in economic and social governance.
2. Increasing Domestic Resource Mobilization:  Enhancing state actors’ capacity for efficient revenue collection, critical for funding public services and fostering financial independence in member states.
3. Improving Public Finance Management (PFM) performance: Developing leadership skills, accountability mechanisms, and management capabilities within public finance institutions to promote transparency and accountability in resource use. Strengthening leadership and accountability in public institutions to reduce corruption and ensure effective use of public funds for socio-economic development.

These broader objectives are pursued through implementing programs such as the African Finnish Partnerships on Taxation Capacity in Africa (AFP-TCA), focusing on enhancing domestic resource mobilization.

HAUS, in close cooperation with the ACBF, is hereby looking for a qualified instructional design Consultant(s) to design and develop Taxation online modules targeted at civil servants and professionals working in the field of taxation. The assignment will focus on developing engaging, interactive, and culturally relevant e-learning materials for the target audience. The Consultant(s) will work with the core team from HAUS, ACBF digital learning personnel and taxation curriculum developers and experts.

The primary objective of this consultancy is to design and develop instructional content that strengthens domestic resource mobilization through leadership, governance, and public financial management skills in Africa’s public sector. The consultant will collaborate with ACBF and HAUS’s teams to ensure the courses meet the learning needs of the target audience and align with UBORA Academy’s strategic goals.

The courses will leverage digital learning tools to enhance accessibility and engagement. The instructional designer will ensure the content is tailored to the African context while incorporating global governance trends.

Objective of the Assignment

The overall objective is to develop a comprehensive and culturally relevant online training programme that equips public sector and other professionals in Africa with practical skills and knowledge in domestic resource mobilization, taxation and related issues.

The specific objectives include:

• Reviewing curricula on modules on taxation, to get a good understanding of the content and learning activities.
• Create storyboards for the five modules on Taxing the Digital Economy -course, providing recommendations for images, videos, and other interactive elements.
• Design and upload the content on Articulate RISE platform.
• Ensure that the instructional materials align with adult learning principles, digital pedagogy best practice and international standards of instructional design.

Scope and Methodology

The consultant will:

• Review relevant documents, reports, and program outcomes from the AFP-TCA programme and UBORA Academy.
• Engage with stakeholders, including public officials and subject matter experts, through in-person and virtual consultations.
• Design and develop e-learning modules covering five modules on Taxing the Digital Economy course.
• Encompass interactive elements, case studies, and multimedia content in collaboration with the subject matter experts.
• Incorporate feedback from stakeholders, to refine the online modules and instructional materials.

Deliverables/Expected Outputs

The consultant(s) is/are expected to produce the following deliverables:

• Inception Report that highlights the consultant(s) understanding of the assignment, proposed methodology and detailed workplan.
• Draft storyboards, providing the design of the course.
• Draft eLearning modules, with incorporated instructional materials like case studies, handouts, presentations, and multimedia content.
• Final eLearning modules, fully developed digital training materials ready for deployment.

Qualifications and Assessment Criteria

The ideal consultant will have:

• A bachelor’s degree or higher in computer science, information technology, or a related field.
• Certificate and/or training in Instructional Design
• Experience working in academia, with faculty, subject matter experts, is an added advantage.
• Experience working with Articulate RISE is required.
• Experience working with Artificial Intelligence tools for multimedia content production, is an added advantage.
• At least 3 years of experience designing e-learning courses.
• Knowledge of adult learning principles and digital pedagogy.
• Demonstrated ability to integrate cultural relevance and inclusivity into learning materials.

The proposals will be evaluated on:

Responsiveness to the Terms of Reference and applying the evaluation criteria.

• Point system specified below:

	Criteria	Max Points (100)
1	Minimum of bachelor’s degree or higher in computer science, information technology, or a related field.	15
2	Certificate and/or training in Instructional Design	15
3	Experience working in academia, with faculty, subject matter experts, is an added advantage.	10
4	Experience working with Articulate RISE is required.	15
5	Experience working with Artificial Intelligence tools for multimedia content production, is an added advantage.	15
6	At least 3 years of experience designing e-learning courses.	15
7	Daily rate and other expenses	15
	Total	100

 

Workload

The maximum budget for the consultancy is EUR10,000.  Some travel in the region is expected and will be compensated for separately. The application needs to include the consultant’s daily rates, and estimation of other costs.

Schedule

Work starts as soon as possible. Please indicate the possible starting date in the application. The draft online content for the first module of Taxing the Digital Economy course must be submitted no later than 27 June 2025, and the subsequent modules will be communicated as and when the curricula is developed.

 

The consultant will have access to all relevant information needed to carry out the tasks involved in this assignment. The consultant must provide his/her own workstation (laptop, Internet, scanner/printer, etc.) and have access to a reliable Internet connection.

 

To apply for this consultancy, please send your proposal, cover letter, and CV in English by 26 May 2025 by 12:00 PM (EEST/UTC +3) to Alice Acwanyo (a.acwanyo@acbf-pact.org) with konsta.heikkila@haus.fi in cc. Any questions relating to the consultancy can be addressed to Ms. Acwanyo.

Note:

Proposals and CVs will be shared among the selection panel.

The selected consultant will be expected to adhere to the project timeline and deliverables outlined in the terms of reference. Any deviations or challenges should be communicated promptly to the project management team.