Invitation to Tender: AREF Researcher Development Management System

The Africa Research Excellence Fund (AREF) is launching a Researcher Development Management System and invites tenders specifically for developing this system. 

AREF’s mission is to nurture, mentor, and support a community of African researchers so that they can become research experts and leaders capable of tackling African and global health challenges. AREF is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (Company Number: 13219209) and a charity registered in England and Wales (Number: 1193865) whose registered office is at 99 Charterhouse Street, London, EC1M 6HR. 

It receives funds from donors, partners, and the giving public to support the career and leadership development of biomedical and health researchers in Africa. Further background regarding AREF can be accessed at https://www.africaresearchexcellencefund.org.uk/

1.             GENERAL  

1. All documents in this Invitation to Tender (ITT) are confidential and must be used solely for the purposes of this ITT. The documents can only be passed on to third parties on a strictly ‘need-to-know’ basis for the purposes of the tenderer preparing and submitting a tender. 
   1. The tenderer shall use at least the same degree of care to avoid unauthorised dissemination or publication of this ITT as it employs with respect to its own information which it does not wish to have disseminated or published. All Due Diligence Information shall be either returned to AREF or securely destroyed by the Bidder (the preferred option) at the conclusion of the procurement exercise. 
   1. The tenderer shall accept and acknowledge that AREF shall not be bound to accept any tender and reserves the right not to conclude a Contract for some or all of the goods/services/goods and services for which tenders are invited. 
   1. AREF reserves the right to amend, add to or withdraw all or any part of this ITT at any time during this procurement exercise. 

2.             CONTEXT 

The Challenge:

• AREF’s mission comes at a time when the spread of diseases such as Ebola, Zika, and COVID-19 show the major risks to global health when one part of the world does not have the research capacity to timely detect and respond to disease outbreaks.
  • Africa shoulders a disproportionate 25% share of the world’s disease burden. Common infectious and non-communicable diseases continue to devastate, as new and drug-resistant diseases constantly emerge. We are also living in an age where global pandemics and climate change are adding to the threat to lives and livelihoods across the world. 

• Research institutions in the Global North dominate research efforts, with African scientists contributing less than 3% to global research publications. If Africa is to respond to the continent’s health challenges, it needs to build and sustain a community of health researchers to redress the imbalance of who sets Africa’s research agenda and priorities. 

Our response:

• AREF was founded in 2015 to improve the quality and impact of health research in Africa. Our ambitions are rooted in the strong conviction that Africa’s health research agenda and priorities should be defined by Africans, in partnership with leading researchers across the world. 
  • We support researchers at the early stage of their careers, typically 1 to 6 years after a PhD award, with research training, mentoring, leadership development and fellowship funding. 
  • We partner with academic and research institutions in Africa, to improve their research ecosystems for sound, inclusive, and equitable research cultures. 
  • We are building a strong and sustainable African researcher community, where researchers are growing their networks and improving research practice, collaboration and output. 
  • We collaborate with stakeholders to mobilise resource for building researchers’ capacity that is responsive to the prevailing health needs and challenges. 

3.             REQUIREMENTS OF THE WORK 

• AREF seeks to solicit the services of a firm to develop a Researcher Development Management System that will enable AREF to manage, share, collect, store and analyse participant and programmatic data in a centralised and secure system. The system should provide a holistic IT solution that addresses the programme and people management as well as monitoring and evaluation (M&E) needs of AREF, taking into consideration its existing processes and tools to ensure a smooth transition to a digital platform that consists of the following key components:
  • Database Management – for its programme participants and beneficiaries, including its growing Alumni Network and College of Experts (Priority Level = High)
  • Performance Management – for outcome and output indicator tracking and impact measurement based on our Theory of Change and Results Framework (Priority Level = High)
  • Programme Management – this includes activity planning (annual work plan) and task management (Priority Level = High)
  • Finance – this includes tracking of programmatic budgets and expenditure for BVA, ROI and cost-effectiveness analyses (annual budget) and a workflow for processing invoices internally. (Priority Level = Low)
  • The consultant will work virtually, and therefore, must be able to utilise virtual technologies to undertake this systems development exercise.
  • The consultant will be supported by the Head of Researcher Development, based in the UK and by the Programmes and Operations Teams, located in The Gambia.  

• Additional information regarding the requirements of the system can be found in the document:  Terms of Reference for AREF Researcher Development Management System

4.             SCOPE OF ASSIGNMENT

The assignment should be completed within 6 months of agreement on deliverables and contractual terms. The Consulting Firm to be recruited for the establishment of AREF M&E Information Management System will implement the following steps:

The consultant’s responsibilities include:

• The assignment should be completed within 6 months from the date of agreement on deliverables and contractual terms.
  • The Consulting Firm to be recruited for the establishment of Researcher Development System will implement the following deliverables:

5.             DELIVERABLE AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES 

• There will be a requirement for regular meetings to discuss and review the progress of the project. 
  • All materials produced must comply with AREF’s brand guidelines, a copy of which will be provided. 
  • All the completed work will be the property of AREF. 
  • The project will commence on the acceptance of the contract and should be completed by 15^th May 2026.

6.             PROJECT MANAGEMENT ARRANGEMENTS 

• The work will be overseen by Dawn Duke, Head of Researcher Development. Email: Dawn.Duke@aref-africa.org.uk
  • The proposal must provide a plan of work and report at regular intervals as agreed at the time of the commissioning. 

7.             STRUCTURE OF PROPOSAL  

• Tenders should provide:  
  • A description of proposed work. 
  • A summary of relevant experience and technical knowledge to undertake this project. 
  • Total cost and breakdown of costs (for each task) including a statement on VAT. 
  • Brief CVs of key personnel proposed for this project, including relevant experience and qualifications. 

8.             SUBMITTING A PROPROSAL 

• The deadline for receipt of submission is 12pm GMT on 31^st July 2025. Electronic submissions must be made only to aref@aref-africa.org.uk. 
  • The tenderer must also complete the Supplier Questionnaire issued with this notice and instructions. 
  • Tenderers must obtain for themselves at their own responsibility and expense all information necessary for the preparation of the tender. AREF is not liable for any costs incurred by the tenderer due to the tendering process. Any work undertaken by the tenderer prior to the award of contract is a matter solely for the tenderer’s own commercial judgement. 
  • It is the tenderer’s responsibility to ensure that the tender arrives no later than the time and date stated above (unless the time and/or date are subsequently amended in writing by AREF). Late tenders may be rejected. 
  • The tender must be based upon the conditions and specification(s) set out in this document and must contain all the information requested otherwise it may be rejected on the basis of being unsuitable and non-compliant.
  • It is intended that the contract will be awarded no later than the date set out in the table in Section 10 below. By submitting a tender, the tenderer agrees that the tender remains valid for acceptance for a period of 90 days from the tender closing date. 

9.             EVALUATION 

• AREF will award the contract(s) on the basis of the tender(s) that provide best value for money. A Tender Evaluation Panel will evaluate the submitted proposals. The tenderer reserves the right to consider an interview or presentation as part of the evaluation process.
  • AREF reserves the right to conduct post-tender negotiation with any or all of the tenderers. 

10.         TIMETABLE 

1. The following is the proposed procurement timetable: 

11.         ACCEPTANCE OF TENDER AND NOTIFICATION OF AWARD 

1. AREF reserves the right to amend, add to or withdraw all or any part of this ITT at any time during the procurement process. 
   1. AREF shall not be under any obligation to accept the lowest price tender or any tender and reserves the right to accept such portion or portions as it may decide (unless the tenderer includes a formal statement to the contrary in the tender). AREF also reserves the right to award more than one contractor to fulfil the requirement. 
   1. The tenderer will be notified of the outcome of the tender submission at the earliest possible time. 
   1. Nothing in the documentation provided by AREF to the tenderer during this procurement or any communication between the tenderer and AREF or the AREF representatives, employees, agents or advisors shall be taken as constituting an offer to contract or a contract. No tender will be deemed to have been formally accepted until the successful tenderer has received a formal written contract from AREF.

12.         FURTHER INFORMATION 

Any queries regarding this tender should be sent by email to Sereign Fallou Joof. Email: sereign.falloujoof@aref-africa.org.uk  

Please apply by sending your proposal (maximum 2 sides of A4) to aref@aref-africa.org.uk
You may access the Terms of Reference here
You may access the questionnaire here