USAID Partnership for Higher Education Reform
SCOPE OF WORK
For National Expert(s) to provide technical assistance
on Annual Faculty Evaluation System
to Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh City
I. BACKGROUND
The Partnership for Higher Education Reform (PHER) is a five-year initiative to help strengthen Vietnam's leading public universities. The project activities are funded by USAID to support targeted reforms to improve institutional leadership and administrative capacity, improve teaching practices to enhance student learning outcomes, elevate university research capacity to international standards, network Vietnamese researchers to maximize access to global knowledge, enable university graduates to better engage with the labor market, and help university faculty to leverage their research for innovation.
To achieve these objectives, PHER activities focus on:
Governance: This pillar supports the building and strengthening of institutional performance management systems based on agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) supported by a comprehensive Management Information System (MIS) that provides consistent, reliable data for decision making and for accreditation of institutions and programs. This includes the establishment of a robust internal quality assurance (IQA) system at each of the target universities. Improved governance will help the leadership of public universities in Vietnam to make better informed decisions as they exercise greater autonomy and focus on academic quality.
Teaching & Learning: This pillar supports the growing of faculty professional development opportunities through the establishment of formalized Centers for Innovative Teaching and Learning (CITL) as well as supporting the work of less formal, more specialized faculty-driven affinity groups through Faculty Academies on Excellence in Teaching (FACET). The goals are to support expansion of faculty capacity to design state-of-the-art courses, digitize curricula, support the development of priority online courses and programs, improve student learning assessment techniques, and develop graduate students in the teaching profession. This pillar will also support technical assistance to help prepare faculty and administration for international accreditation reviews of academic programs and institutions. The objective is for improved teaching and learning at Vietnam’s public universities to increase learning outcomes, enhance recognition of high-quality academic programs, and improve the employability of graduates.
Research & Innovation: This pillar supports the enhancing of research capacity so that the scientific outputs of public universities in Vietnam meet international standards, increase knowledge sharing among specialists, grow the number of publications in recognized journals, and align research activities to the social and economic needs of the country. This will take place through faculty exchanges, visiting scholar programs, research conferences, webinars, workshops, and short course training on research methodologies and academic specialties. The key vehicle for this pillar is the establishment of Vietnam International Academic Networks (VIAN) to help scientists across Vietnam to connect more readily with fellow experts from around the world. The objective is for VIAN activity to lead to greater knowledge sharing, broader promotion of research taking place in Vietnam, and enhanced opportunities for joint research and publications with partners abroad.
The PHER project also seeks deeper exploration of policy areas vital to the improvement of Vietnamese public higher education by supporting analytical work on the areas of technology and digitization, as well as gender equity. These cross-cutting policy areas are essential to success across the four pillars and to support the long-term sustainability of higher education reforms in Vietnam.
PHER focuses on reforms at three major Vietnamese public universities and their member universities and respective institutes and academic programs:
PHER seeks Vietnamese expert(s) to provide technical assistance to key leaders and staff from VNUHCM to review their existing faculty evaluation system, and develop and propose an annual faculty and staff evaluation that is based on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This assignment is for strengthening human resource management at VNUHCM.
The work of this assignment is to be conducted in Vietnamese language including all summary reporting. All activities should ensure equitable treatment irrespective of gender, disability or ethnic background.
The timing is negotiable but the work is expected to commence in June 2024. Working days are planned for both face-to-face and online working sessions over the period June 2024 to December 2024. The expert will undertake in-person visits with the relevant staff at Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City. Further details are provided below.
IV. TASKS, DELIVERABLES, TIMELINE AND LEVEL OF EFFORT
See the table below for specific tasks, deliverables, level of effort and tentative timeline.
Tasks | Output / Deliverables | Tentative Timeline |
1. Support VNUHCM-Task Team to develop KPI evaluation systems at 3 proposed Departments | ||
1.1. Develop KPI sets and processes in collaboration with VNUHCM
| 01 draft implementation guideline for evaluating leaders and admin staff of VNUHCM’s 3 Departments developed
01 draft KPI set for evaluating leaders and admin staff (for each position, 7 leaders and 28 staff) of VNUHCM’s 3 Departments developed | June-July 2024 |
1.2. Provide in-person training on KPI processes and frameworks | Training materials
| July 2024 |
1.3. Provide in-person and online coaching on revising KPI sets and implementation guidelines | 01 implementation guideline for evaluating leaders and admin staff of VNUHCM’s 3 Departments revised
01 KPI set for evaluating leaders and admin staff (for each position, 7 leaders and 28 staff) of VNUHCM’s 3 Departments revised | June-Aug 2024 |
2. Support the VNUHCM-Task Team in piloting KPI implementation and finalizing KPI sets and guidelines | ||
2.1. Support the piloting of KPI implementation for evaluating managers and administrative staff by reviewing and analyzing KPI evaluation results | 01 implementation guideline for evaluating leaders and admin staff of VNUHCM’s 3 Departments finalized
01 KPI set for evaluating leaders and admin staff (for each position, 7 leaders and 28 staff) of VNUHCM’s 3 Departments finalized
01 piloting results report including comparison between existing evaluation system and newly developed KPI set (with special reference to salary) for 3 proposed Departments | Oct-Nov 2024 |
2.2. Support finalizing KPI sets and guidelines based on piloting results | Nov-Dec 2024 | |
3. Write up reports | 01 consultant technical report | Dec 2024 |
V. BUDGET
Applicants should submit separate financial and technical proposals describing the approach to assignment along with the proposed consultancy fee (daily rate).
VI. SUPERVISION AND REPORTING
The consultant will work under the direction of the PHER team.
VII. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCES
Essential:
VIII. APPLICATION
The application documents include:
Application documents should be sent to [email protected] titled “KPI VNUHCM Consultancy Application” not later than 9AM June 3, 2024 (Vietnam time). Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.