WHO ARE WE?
Bibliothèques Sans Frontieres (BSF) works to strengthen the capacity to act and the autonomy of populations through access to information, education and culture. Since its creation in 2007, BSF has deployed information dissemination strategies based on tools and content carefully selected according to the needs of the public, together with support for actors in the field.
1.BACKGROUND AND PRESENTATION OF THE PROJECT
BSF supports access to education, information and cultural resources in low-connectivity and crisis-affected settings through offline and digital tools such as the Ideas Cube and related digital learning repositories.
In Afghanistan, BSF and its partners have developed and collected a large volume of digital educational content, including curriculum-aligned materials for primary school learners, vocational and life skills resources, and youth-oriented learning materials. Recent internal reviews have confirmed that the existing content library contains valuable, relevant and culturally appropriate resources, particularly for primary education. However, the reviews also identified several areas requiring improvement before the content can be used more effectively by teachers, learners, project teams and content managers.
BSF is therefore seeking a consultant or consultancy team to support the cleaning, structuring, organization and selection of digital content for Afghanistan, with the aim of improving usability, quality assurance, curriculum alignment and future deployment across BSF tools and projects.
2.OBJECTIVES OF THE CONSULTANCY
Overall Objective
To support BSF in transforming the existing Afghanistan digital content library into a cleaner, better organized, curriculum-aligned and easier-to-use collection of resources, and to support the selection and integration of priority content into BSF internal catalogue systems.
Specific Objectives
- Review the existing content organization and propose a simpler, more coherent structure for BSF Afghanistan digital learning content.
- Identify duplicated, poorly classified or inconsistently labelled resources, and recommend how they should be consolidated or reorganized.
- Develop a clear naming and metadata system to make content easier to search, select, review and deploy.
- Rename existing content accordingly
- Review existing content against priority curriculum and thematic gaps.
- Identify, select and prepare additional relevant content to strengthen the existing library.
- Support the integration of selected content into BSF internal catalogue, following BSF standards and workflows.
- Produce practical guidance that BSF teams can continue using for future content organization and selection.
Priority Areas
The consultancy will focus on two linked areas:
- Organization: creating a clear content structure, naming system, metadata framework and package architecture for easier review, deployment and classroom use.
- Selection: identifying priority content to add, based on Afghan curriculum alignment, learner needs, cultural appropriateness and project priorities; and programming selected resources into BSF internal catalogue.
Priority content selection should focus approximately :
– 75% on educational and digital literacy content for students, teachers and caregivers
– 25% on practical and youth-oriented themes
All selected content should be in Dari or Pashto, with priority given to Pashto content where relevant and available.
3. EXPECTED RESULTS AND DELIVERABLES
The consultancy will result in the following deliverables:
- Inception note and workplan: A short note confirming the methodology, timeline, review criteria, coordination modalities and expected outputs.
- Content organization proposal: A proposed folder, package and classification structure for BSF Afghanistan digital content.
- Metadata and naming guidelines: A practical guide defining required metadata fields, naming conventions and classification rules.
- Updated content mapping file: A cleaned and annotated mapping file showing content status, recommended classification, duplicate issues, missing metadata and follow-up actions.
- Catalogue cleaning: All content in the internal catalogue should be renamed according to the metadata guidelines and content mapping file.
- Priority content selection list: A list of additional resources recommended for inclusion, linked to curriculum and thematic priorities.
- Catalogue integration: Selected and validated resources programmed into BSF internal catalogue, with complete metadata as agreed with BSF.
- Final report and handover note: A concise report summarizing work completed, key findings, remaining gaps and recommendations for future content management.
4. METHODOLOGY AND COORDINATION
The consultant will adopt a practical, participatory and iterative approach, working closely with BSF project and pedagogical teams. A kick-off meeting will be held at the start of the assignment to confirm the scope, available tools, timeline and validation process. Regular follow-up meetings will ensure alignment and allow BSF to validate decisions related to content classification, sensitivity, curriculum alignment, metadata and catalogue integration.
The work will include the following tasks:
- Review existing mapping files, content repositories and previous reports.
- Analyze the current content organization, metadata and package structure.
- Identify duplicates, missing metadata, unclear classifications and resources requiring follow-up.
- Review priority curriculum and thematic gaps, with a focus on educational content for Grades 1 to 6, teachers and caregivers, as well as digital literacy resources.
- Identify and select additional content in Dari and/or Pashto, prioritizing Pashto where possible.
- Prepare selected resources for integration into BSF internal catalogue, including metadata completion and classification.
- Validate key decisions with BSF before finalizing selection, classification and catalogue entries.
- Prepare simple tools and guidance for future content organization and selection.
5. MONITORING, QUALITY ASSURANCE, AND EVALUATION
The quality of the consultancy will be assessed against the relevance, clarity and usability of the methodology and deliverables, as well as their alignment with BSF standards and Afghanistan project priorities.
Quality and monitoring criteria will include:
- Timely submission of deliverables according to the agreed workplan.
- Practicality and clarity of the proposed content organization, naming and metadata systems.
- Accuracy and completeness of the updated content mapping file.
- Relevance, cultural appropriateness and technical suitability of selected resources.
- Correct integration of selected resources into BSF internal catalogue.
- Clear documentation of remaining gaps, risks and follow-up actions.
- Regular communication with BSF and integration of feedback.
6. TENTATIVE TIMELINE
The consultancy is expected to run for approximately 6 weeks, depending on the number of resources to be added to the catalogue. Some phases may take place simultaneously.
- Phase 1 – Kick off, document review and inception note : 1 week
- Phase 2 – Review of content organization and metadata: 2 weeks
- Phase 3 – Content selection and gap filling : 2 weeks, simultaneously with Phase 2 where possible
- Phase 4 – Catalogue integration and validation : 2 weeks
- Phase 5 – Final report and handover : 1 week
7. CONSULTANT PROFILE
The consultant or consultancy team should demonstrate:
- Experience in educational content selection, curation or digital library organization.
- Good understanding of curriculum-aligned learning resources.
- Experience working with metadata, catalogues, content mapping or digital repositories.
- Familiarity with the Afghan education context and/or Afghan curriculum.
- Ability to assess cultural appropriateness, sensitivity and inclusion issues.
- Strong Excel or database management skills.
- Ability to work in English.
- Dari and Pashto skills.
- Experience with offline digital education tools or humanitarian education programming is an asset.
8. BUDGET AND PAYMENT MODALITIES
The maximum available budget for this consultancy is 5000€, inclusive of all costs. Payments will be linked to the validation of deliverables.
Suggested payment schedule:
- 30% upon validation of the inception note and workplan.
- 30% upon submission and validation of the content organization proposal, metadata guidelines and updated mapping file.
- 40% upon completion of catalogue integration, final report and handover.
How to apply
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Interested candidates should submit:
- A short technical proposal presenting their understanding of the ToR, proposed methodology, tools and timeline.
- A financial proposal with a detailed budget.
- CVs of the consultant or team members.
- References or examples of similar assignments, if available.
- Proposed availability and start date.
Applications should be sent to consultance.inter@bibliosansfrontieres.org by 30th of June 2026.
SELECTION CRITERIA
Proposals will be assessed as follows:
- Technical quality and methodology: 40%
- Relevant experience in content selection, metadata and digital education: 25%
- Knowledge of Afghanistan education context and relevant languages: 20%
- Financial offer: 15%
FINAL PROVISIONS
The consultant agrees to comply with BSF ethical policies, including data protection, gender equality, inclusion, non-discrimination and safeguarding principles. The consultant will ensure that selected content is culturally appropriate, conflict-sensitive and suitable for the intended audiences.
BSF reserves the right to cancel or modify the consultancy in case of force majeure, lack of suitable offers, funding constraints or changes in project priorities.