Digital Capabilities and Learning Consultancy At The Kaizen Company

Company Background: The Kaizen Company is an incubator for innovative, scalable solutions that address emerging market challenges and opportunities. Our proven solutions catalyze locally driven organizational and institutional performance improvements and establish communities of practice that facilitate peer-to-peer learning and achievement of shared goals.

We leverage existing knowledge, technology, and new media, and local peer networks to support local reforms. Since our inception, we have provided support to more than 100 government, private-sector, and non-profit organizations in markets worldwide. We have created solutions that achieve outcomes across a broad range of sectors including education, governance, economic growth, environment and water, energy, and global law enforcement.

The Kaizen Company is part of a four-member consortium, led by Save the Children, implementing the Wadata Activity to sustainably improve food security and resilience among extremely poor and chronically vulnerable households in the Zinder region of Niger. The Kaizen Company contributes its expertise in knowledge management, collaboration, learning, adaptation (CLA), and innovation**.**

Description of Activity: The Wadata Activity, a 5-year, $50M USAID/Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance -funded Resilient Food Security Activity, will support approximately 27,850 households consisting of 195,000 total participants across four communes in the Zinder region (Guidiguir, Damagaram Takaya, Guidimouni, and Mazamni). Wadata will sustainably improve food security and resilience through layered interventions targeted to communities, households, and individuals. Wadata is currently being implemented in 238 rural communities dispersed throughout the four project communes; the field staff consists of 50 field agents, 16 technical field supervisors, and 20+ technical coordinators and managers (see org chart).

In its second year of intervention implementation, the Wadata Activity has identified several processes that could be improved through better use of existing digital tools, enhancing existing tools or procuring additional tools. Wadata project staff have various levels of digital tools available to them: field agents and supervisors have been provided with individual basic mobile phone (not a Smartphone) and individual Android tablets to facilitate communication and reporting. Staff at the technical coordinator/manager level have SMART phones and laptops. A complete, descriptive list of these digital tools will be provided to the consultant upon selection.

The team in the Zinder Office experience limited bandwidth and connection issues and these issues are all the more prevalent in the field. Notwithstanding bandwidth and coverage issues, communication through digital tools is largely underutilized and could be greatly improved by establishing communication workflows/protocols and adapted channels.

Specific areas to be explored in this consultancy include:

1. Improved, real time communication of information for program operations, program activity implementation, and reporting/monitoring: Efficient implementation requires bi-directional communication between and across the staffing levels. Information flows include logistical data for vehicle and personnel movements, administrative data, and program data from planning and reporting to technical support.
2. Digital training and capacity building resources (for internal program staff use and for external program beneficiary use): In light of COVID-19 limitations on in-person meetings and logistical issues for travel, Wadata is experimenting with the use of video trainings to expand and enhance staff and participant learning, including peer-to-peer learning. Wadata may benefit from recommendations to improve training practices using distance, technology–assisted and /or online trainings, including suggestions on online training platforms and/or for building out a resource library.
3. Knowledge sharing and adaptation: The Wadata Activity has established Sharepoint and Teams sites but their use is sporadic and limited even among staff members in the Zinder town office. Better use of these or other applications is necessary to manage knowledge sharing and use of learning from program activities and other resources. There is also a large volume of recommendations for improvement generated during learning events and field visits. There is a need for a digital system to visualize and track recommendations.

Position: Kaizen seeks to recruit a Short Term Digital Capabilities and Learning Expert to provide support to the Wadata Activity. This will be a remote position open to international applicants.

Duration: The assignment is expected to start in June/July 2021 and is estimated to take no more than 20 days of effort over 3 months.

Description of Position: The Wadata Activity seeks a qualified expert(s) to design and conduct an assessment of the internal digital capabilities of the Wadata Activity and to identify opportunities to leverage existing and or additional technologies and applications. The expert will (i) assess the demands (goals and needs); (ii) assess existing digital capabilities and practices (supply) and (iii) identify ways to improve how Wadata is using digital to achieve/satisfy its data collection, program delivery, and learning goals.

Scope of Work:

The consultant will engage in the following activities:

• The consultant(s), in collaboration with the Strategic Learning Advisor, will ascertain needs and identify digital capability, communication and training goals.
• The consultant(s) will design and conduct an assessment of the current digital capacities of the project (e.g., hardware and software) and learning practices, in coordination with the Wadata COP, the Strategic Learning Advisor in Niger and The Kaizen Home Office. This will inform recommendations as to how the project can better use existing technologies, best practices and adult learning to further data collection, program delivery, and learning goals.
• Based on the assessment’s findings and the expressed needs of the program, the consultant(s) will make recommendations to achieve/satisfy needs and further the program’s goals. Recommendations will focus on (a) better use of existing digital capabilities and learning practices followed by (b) the identification of additional capabilities or practices that could be employed by Wadata.

Description of Deliverables:

• Design of a needs and digital capabilities and learning practices assessment
• Facilitation of the assessment, including support to Wadata for data collection and analysis
• Report of findings and recommendations, including estimated cost of implementation (not more than 10 pages, template and content outline to be agreed upon with Kaizen)

Qualifications and Experience:

Required

• Knowledge of digital tools/methods for program implementation, data collection and analysis, knowledge sharing, and/or learning
• Experience with use of digital capabilities in bandwidth constrained, resource poor, low educational attainment, rural settings
• Demonstrated experience with needs and capacity assessments
• Track record of identifying, designing and deploying innovative digital solutions, particularly in the international development context

Desired

• Fluency in written and spoken French
• Experience with USG international development donor environment, particularly USAID
• Experience with food security programming
• Experience with digital learning delivery, particularly for adults