Consultancy to Develop Content for College of Ophthalmology of Eastern, Central and Southern Africa (COECSA) Online CPD System Short-Term Consultancy to Develop Content for COECSA Online CPD System
1. The Assignment
One of the key COECSA’s programme activities is to provide Continuous Medical Education to its members who are spread across the entire Eastern, Central, and Southern Africa region.This involves sharing new ideas and relevant information on emerging trends and innovations in the medical field in order to help the members remain keep in tune with the highly dynamic world of medical technology.
Traditionally, most of the Continuing Medical Education sessions (CMEs) have been delivered through face-to-face 2-hour lectures by facilitators selected from the members or by guest speakers. This, however, has its own challenges because of the distribution of the members across a wide geographical area. As the name suggests, the members are principally Ophthalmologists (eye doctors) from across Eastern Africa.
To overcome these challenges, COECSA has developed an online CPD delivery system to augment the current initiatives on Continuous Medical Education (CME) for the members. COECSA is now looking to engage a consultant(s) to work with the CPD facilitators to develop relevant CPD content, which will be published on the E-learning system and disseminated to all members across the region.
The main objective of this assignment is to develop relevant CPD e-content and disseminate it to all COECSA members. The e-content will be developed as part of the an on-going exercise in collaboration with the CPD facilitators, the COECSA Education and Scientific committee in charge of CPDs and other relevant staff rather than as a stand-alone component, to ensure both core and non-technical competencies are supported and reinforced throughout the program.
1.3. Indicative tasks/ methodology
Working closely with the COECSA Education and Scientific committee, the Secretariat and the selected CPD facilitators, the Consultant(s) will perform the following tasks: Capture information and knowledge shared during the face-to-face CMEs in various formats PowerPoint presentations, PDF/word documents, audio and video formats;Structure this knowledge into focused, directed E-learning/M-learning programs;Incorporate third party content from the CME facilitators to enrich the e-contentPublish the e-content for dissemination to all members and manage the utilization of that knowledge;Pre and post content delivery assessment.Relevant online CPD content developed and published on the COECSA E-Learning/ M-learning system, regularly, on a monthly basis.
1.5 Role of COECSA
Prepare an agreement with the Consultant(s);Honor its financial obligations to the Consultant(s) in accordance with the agreement;Inform and prepare all stakeholders and staff that will be expected to participate in the exercise;Provide any relevant background documents or reference materials at its disposal to assist in the successful execution of the assignmentThe Consultant(s) will report directly to the COECSA Programme Manager.The Consultant(s) will be expected to respond in a timely manner, to all queries directed at him/her for purposes of ensuring effective communication and documentation within the provisions of the agreement. Conversely, the Programme Manager will respond in a timely manner to all queries directed at him in pursuit of the objectives under the agreement.
3. Time Frame
The total period for the assignment will be six (6) calendar months. Within this time, the Consultant(s) will be expected to develop and publish content on the e-learning systems, at least once a month, conduct an online assessment on the uptake of content for each month and draft a report with recommendations on how to improve the online CPD delivery.
4. Fee
The Consultant(s) will be paid a monthly consultancy fee to be agreed on for the six months that will be spent carrying out this task. This is exclusive of any direct logistical costs that may be incurred by the Consultant(s) when conducting this assignment.
5. Competencies
The Consultant(s) should posses the following characteristics:Ability to produce learning materials in portable media e.g. CD and DVD; Ability to use electronic learning management system; Has a deep understanding of e-Content Development;Proven ability to demonstrate innovative thinking and stimulate an environment that fosters innovation and openness to change; Ability and willingness to consult with the CPD facilitators either face-to-face of remotely via Skype/phone/emails; Ability to contribute to and comfortably provide consultancy expertise in a multidisciplinary setting; Ability to work and deliver independently under strict timelines; Excellent planning and facilitation skills; Ability to research, analyze and present complex information; Strong interpersonal, teamwork and communication skills; and, Excellent written and spoken English skills and sound report writing skills.The process will be led by an independent Consultant(s) with the following qualifications:Advanced educational background in e-content development and/or any other related field; Experience in development, assessment and evaluation of an E-learning system;Experience with experiential learning, action learning, work integrated curricula; An understanding of the issues surrounding ophthalmic Continuing Medical Education in developing and transitional countries will be an added advantage.
7. Application Interested consultants should send a proposal including an indicative budget to information@coecsa.org.
Deadline: Friday 22nd June, 2013
