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Expression of Interest - Details

Eoi Name:
National Innovation Ecosystem & Supporting Activities
Pack #:
eTP/Comp1/2/5
Post Date:
03rd June, 2016
Submit Date:
17th June, 2016
Tender Cat:
Consultancy Services
Agency:
Nkawie Government Hospital
Industry:
General
Description:
The Government of the Republic of Ghana has received financing from the World Bank toward the cost of the eTransform Project, and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services.

The GoG has identified the use of information and communication technology (ICT) applications as key to further boosting economic growth in Ghana. The government is therefore keen to work with both the private sector and development partners in leveraging information and communication technology to enhance innovation and entrepreneurship development.

The consulting services (“the Services”) include (a) review of the national innovation ecosystem in Ghana, with a particular focus on opportunities to support digital entrepreneurship and emergence of new start-ups; b) development of overall framework/structure of Innovation and Training Grants Program under the eTransform project, including an operational model for mLab, iHubs, and Regional Innovation Centers (RICs); (c) preparation of Operations Manual and Grants Manual for the Innovation and Training Grants Program; and (d) development of Terms of Reference for the grants manager of Innovation and Training Grants Program.
The work is to be done in consultation with the stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem of Ghana.
The implementing firm or consortium will undertake tasks including the following:

Task1. Diagnosis of the National Innovation Strategy and Ecosystem

Policy Analysis
• Conduct an analysis of the current policy environment of innovation in Ghana, to gather an understanding of the key actors/organizations, funding resources, and institutional models.
• Assess the effectiveness of the existing policy instruments in promoting business, research and development (R&D), and innovation activities amongst small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups.
• Determine the possible role of government interventions, including by the eTransform project, for the benefit of digital entrepreneurship, and propose how such policies/activities could be improved or further developed to strengthen the innovation ecosystem in Ghana.
• Assess the extent to which existing policies dealing with science, technology & innovation (STI), and ICT in education, support digital entrepreneurship and related innovation.
• Define key indicators for innovation and entrepreneurship development (including technical skill levels, national e-readiness levels, availability of critical infrastructure, business operating environment, and investment climate).

Innovation Strategy and Ecosystem Analysis
• Map the structure of national innovation system in Ghana within three cities (Accra, Kumasi and Tamale) as well as at the regional level.
• Provide an independent and comparative assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the national innovation system in Ghana.
• Identify appropriate institutions, actors/organizations, and collaboration mechanisms which support digital (or ICT-based) entrepreneurship, and determine potential gaps in the system both at the national and regional levels.
• Assess the growth and availability of talent pool of digital entrepreneurs
• Provide suggestions on how to maximize the support from Digital Entrepreneurship Ghana program in a manner that encourages closer collaboration between all stakeholders and strengthens leveraging existing resources for the benefit of digital entrepreneurs.
• Identify practical actions that favor capacity building of digital entrepreneurs and to strengthen the learning/training capabilities of local organizations.
• Identify the factors affecting the growth and sustainability of the innovation system in Ghana in relation to global innovation trends and emerging challenges
• Provide suggestions on the most appropriate infrastructure and micro-cluster activities to support the digital innovation entrepreneurship in Ghana to meet global standards.
• Derive a report on the state of innovation ecosystem with identified gaps and opportunities for value creation by the interventions in particular for entrepreneurs and start-ups: current landscape at the national level and sub-national level (in three cities); clearly identified strength, weakness, opportunities and knowledge gaps; and role of the government and policy interventions.

Regional Innovation Centers
• Develop a detailed proposal of business plan/model for the mLab and mHubs, Accra BPO Center, Kumasi Business Incubator (KBI), and Regional Innovation Centers (RICs) based on the ecosystem assessment. This will include the selection of service offerings by the interventions, specification of revenue streams and cost categories, identification of possible partners and opportunities for leveraging additional resources, targets for serving ICT startup firms over three years, and constructing a system of business metrics that will be used to show progress and results, evaluate effectiveness and spot opportunities for improvement.
• Identify a clear strategy to link the RICs and the bigger innovation centers in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale to promote healthy competitive growth
• Identify the key elements and success factors for effective design and management of regional innovation centers: map local strengths in a global context and discover systemic, ecosystem-level processes for developing optimized, regional innovation ecosystems.
• Identity local conditions and capacities in individual cities and regions beyond Accra, Kumasi and Tamale to design a functional platform for joint knowledge creation and innovation processes.
• Conduct a market assessment and promotion to identify target companies that could operate at the innovation center. Relevant information should include their market size, number of employees, number of women employed, proportion of disadvantaged persons employed, current revenue status etc.
• Identify the cluster effect needed for the proper development and growth of the proposed businesses for the regional innovation centers.
• Outline clearly a strategic linkage for the purposes of healthy competition among the various RICs for growth and sustainability
• Promote outreach and strengthen innovation ecosystem collaboration through special programs. These programs will take advantage of synergies with other components of eTransform Ghana program as well provide new services that add value for all stakeholders operating in the Ghana digital innovation entrepreneurship ecosystem. Such programs may include the following:
a) Acceleration for the best Ghanaian and African digital innovation startups,
b) Incentive schemes for development of particular digital innovation products and services (e.g. mobile apps for electronic delivery of government services; products based on open data sector-specific products or services for education, health, transport, tourism, etc.), and
c) Additional programs, to be identified during the scoping assessment or during implementation.
• The operating model needs to be scalable to local conditions and address the possibilities to develop the given physical sites either as stand-alone innovation ecosystems with Labs/hubs, or Regional Innovation Centers as core nodes for regional entrepreneurial activities.
• Propose the most appropriate model of facility management to ensure the best in terms of standards and costs of infrastructure and incentives

Task 2. Develop an overall framework and structure for the Innovation and Training Grants Program

The operational framework developed is expected to build on the relevant outcomes of the innovation system study (Task 1) comprising at least – but not limited to – the following:
• Develop an overall operational framework for the Innovation and Training Grants program relevant to the outcome of the innovation strategy study
• Determine clear role and responsibilities of the Government, PIU, Grants Manager, Beneficiaries, aligned with the eTransform project
• Set up accountability and quality assurance mechanism for the Innovation and Training Grants Program
• Identify the key elements and success factors for effective design and management of the mLab and iHubs relevant to the outcome of the innovation strategy and ecosystem study to set the objectives of the assignment

Task 3: Develop the Innovation and Training Program Operations Manual and Grants Manual

Innovation and Training Grants Operations Manual and Grants Manual
• Develop an Innovation and Training Grants Program “Operations Manual”, which illustrates a complete operational view of the program.
• Develop an Innovation and Training “Grants Manual”, which illustrates detailed guidelines and specifications to oversee issuance of grants.
• Develop a sample format for Innovation Grant Agreement and Training Grant Agreement.
• Ensure that the Innovation and Training Grants Manual is aligned with the eTransform Project Guidelines

Task 4. Terms of Reference for the Grants Manager

The consultancy is requested to develop a detailed job description and qualification criteria of the Grants Manager including - but not limited to – the following components:
• Develop a detailed scope of service of the assignment in relation to the Grants Manual and Operations Manual as well as the findings from the innovation strategy study,
• Develop the detailed qualification criteria of the Grants Manager
• Outline the selection criteria

The Ministry of Communications now invites eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services. The shortlisting criteria are:

• Core expertise in Entrepreneurship Support: Demonstrated experience in designing and building substantial entrepreneurship support programs, from the design phase to final implementation in a developing country.
• Breadth of skills: Demonstrated expertise and knowledge of the international and local ICT innovation strategy and ecosystem, including policies, political economies and local context in Ghana is desirable, as well as experience of entrepreneurship support programs, from the design phase to final implementation in a developing country
• Staff must demonstrate hands-on experience in providing analytical work/research projects on ICT or similar themes, including field research and organizing and facilitating stakeholder workshops for governments and their stakeholders.
Source of Funds:
-
Region:
National
District:
Not Applicable
Contact Person:
Chief Director Room 16, First Floor, Ministry of Communications Building Ministerial Enclave, Accra Attention: Project Coordinator eTransform Project
Email :
issah.yahaya@gmail.com, piu.etransform@moc.gov.gh
Tel :
Fax :
Website: