A consultant is required to produce a set of documents for the fund raising strategy for a Science and Technology Centres in Africa (STCA) project, involving the Global Council of IAP’s Science Education Programme (SEP: www.interacademies.org/education/overview).

Project description

Background: Interactive science centres and museums are found in many countries around the world, especially in the global North. However, they are less common in low- and middle-income countries and especially absent from most Least Developed Countries and from most countries in Africa.

The Global Council of the IAP-SEP has recognised the importance of such science centres and museums in reaching out to the public, promoting science literacy, and encouraging schoolchildren to consider following science subjects and careers (A policy brief covering these issues and making the case for science centres is under preparation). Such centres can also act as important hubs for hands-on training of science teachers, for example in Inquiry-based Science Education (IBSE) methodologies. A working group of the IAP SEP has developed an original scheme for the development of STCAs that could constitute models for cost-efficient, high impact and sustainable centres.

Such centres would likely include

• A mini-museum with hands-on exhibits and including virtual resources;
• A mini FabLab with basic equipment;
• Workshop spaces for hands-on activities and teacher training;
• A pedagogic outdoor area (if space permits).

Ideally, five countries will be considered as a first step.  (A call for Expressions of Interest is under way). While involvement both of governments and the local scientific community (e.g. via national Science Academies) is essential and should provide basic and institutional support, there is a need to raise funding for the equipment and operational costs for the first years of the project with the view of progressing towards a sustainable operating scheme after this period.

Expected Deliverables

The consultant, working in close collaboration with IAP and the IAP-SEP, will be expected to produce the following documents (all to be produced both in English and French):

1. Further develop the current concept note into a full description of the proposed STCAs ready to be presented to potential donors. This document should include professionally-developed design layouts and illustrations (funds can be provided if these require sub-contracting), and a detailed budget (see item 2).
2. Based on the above full description, formalize the required amount to be raised, including required in-country costs, e.g. staffing, maintenance, etc.
3. Produce a global fund-raising strategy, including a set of marketing and communication documents for fundraising purposes. Based on feedback from a preliminary list of fundraising contacts (at least five), further refine the fundraising strategy and associated documents.
4. Propose a list of potential donors (at least five) together with an associated short donor profile, i.e. associated contact persons and donor’s specificity, together with a targeted approach strategy for each.

Timeline

We expect the consultancy to run from the beginning of July through to the end of October, with (provisionally) Deliverables 1 and 2 due in the first two months and Deliverables 3 and 4 in the following 2 months.

The full payment for the completed commissioned report is USD 8,000 (without design of illustrations and communication documents, or 10,000 with these design elements). This amount will be paid in instalments linked to the Deliverables.

Requirements

The consultant should have:

• A Master’s degree in a relevant subject plus at least ten years of professional fundraising experience, demonstrated by fundraising outcomes in relation to research and education, particularly with major donors, together with the ability to identify suitable donors;
• Analytical and data presentation skills;
• High level of English and French languages, both written and spoken;
• Experience in marketing and communication;
• Ability to build a strategy from the very beginning (initial concept) of this innovative project and to turn it into a reality, including by working with high-level scientists for co-construction of the fund raising strategy.

Supervision

The consultant will be supervised by the IAP Coordinator and collaborate closely with the Chair of the IAP Science Education Programme’s Global Council.

Candidates wishing to apply should send their CV with a detailed covering letter outlining how the work will be tackled: to iap@twas.org by June 30.