Call for Expressions of Interest - Africa Community Access Programme
The United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID) is financing the Africa Community Access Programme (AFCAP). AFCAP is a research initiative designed to address the challenges of providing reliable access for poor communities in Africa. AFCAP is based around a portfolio of research, demonstration and training projects, which identify and support the update of low cost, proven solutions for rural access that maximise the use of local resources. DFID has contracted Crown Agents to manage AFCAP.
Several countries were pre-selected for participation in AFCAP. These include Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa. AFCAP projects may, however, be implemented in any country in Africa. All AFCAP projects are implemented in conjunction with national or regional authorities. Funding has been committed to the AFCAP programme until 2013 in the first instance and there may be opportunities for organisations to tender throughout this period.
Areas of work funded under AFCAP will include:
- Research and training on the design and construction of low volume rural roads, including the use of marginal materials
- Developing effective maintenance systems for rural roads
- Promoting safe access for vulnerable groups in rural areas to healthcare, education and markets
- Promoting private sector transport services in rural areas
- Building technical and management capacity in rural road agencies
- Promoting information and experience sharing between road sector authorities and between practitioners
- Understanding rural mobility and the socio-economic impact of rural transport infrastructure
- Strengthening national policies for rural road transport
- Strengthening rural road engineering and rural transport curricula in universities, colleges and technical education
Organisations and individuals with experience in one or more of the above areas will be required to support implementation through:
- Design of research activities
- Selection of test and demonstration sites and sampling frameworks
- Design of rural road infrastructure or other interventions for test and demonstration purposes
- Design of new and appropriate management systems for road agencies
- Assistance with the selection and supervision of contractors or other implementing partners
- Training of contractors, consultants, road agency and other government staff
- Data collection, monitoring and analysis, social and economic impact assessments
- Preparation of design guides, specifications, manuals and other documentation
- Preparation and presentation of technical papers to disseminate research findings
- Development of university and college curricula
- Development of practical rural transport solutions for evaluation and development
Firms, individuals, academic institutions or other organisations with relevant research and consultancy capability are invited to express interest in providing services to AFCAP projects. Organisations will normally be selected through a restricted tendering process.
Please note that AFCAP will not fund construction work. Nor will it support widespread programme implementation other than for research purposes.
Expressions of Interest from organisations should be no more than 10 pages (excluding CVs) and should include:
- Full contact details for head office and offices in African countries
- Relevant areas of expertise
- Examples of similar work (stating the value of projects) with a focus on similar work in other countries of comparable climatic and geographic conditions
- Brief details of the relevant experience of key staff (abridged CVs of no more than 2 pages each may be included as an appendix)
Interested individuals should submit their full CV and contact details.
Registration to provide services to AFCAP is open at all times, but Expressions of Interest for inclusion in the initial evaluation exercise closed on 30th January 2009. Please email karen.harries@crownagents.co.uk for more details.