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The British Council invites requests for proposals from UK experts with extensive experience in transnational education for a consultancy engagement and implementation of the Leadership, Management and Policy Capacity for Transnational Higher Education project. 

About the Project 

The British Council in the Philippines has been working closely with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the government agency responsible for higher education in the Philippines, on several projects since 2016. One of these collaborations is the Joint Development of Niche Programmes through Philippine-UK Linkages (JDNP), a pilot project on transnational education (TNE). Through partnerships between 11 Philippine and nine UK universities, we introduced 17 UK-Philippine master’s and PhD degrees in niche areas. 

In 2019, the Philippines passed the Transnational Higher Education Law to expand ‘access to educational services through the establishment and administration of transnational higher education’. This law will accelerate TNE partnerships between foreign and local universities, and mandates CHED to establish a dedicated office for TNE and to set a comprehensive national TNE strategy. 

The success of TNE in the country and the increasing interest among Filipino universities to pursue transnational partnerships with the UK gave rise to a three-year collaboration between the British Council and CHED called the Access and Competitiveness through Internationalisation of Higher Education (ACT-IHE). The project seeks to widen access to quality education and build competitiveness of Filipino higher education institutions on international higher education by strengthening their capacity to internationalise. ACT-IHE contributes to the Philippines’ efforts in modernising higher education through internationalisation and TNE, and will support the implementation of the Transnational Higher Education Law. 

To further ensure that the TNHE Law is translated into actions and CHED is fully able to carry out this mission, key offices in CHED and other relevant government agencies will need capacity strengthening interventions. Key government officials, directors and technical staff would need to possess necessary knowledge and skills on TNE policy development, management and governance.  

An enabling policy environment needs to be created to effectively implement the new law and fully realise the TNE aspirations of the Philippines. In this regard, the British Council and CHED is implementing a new project, the Leadership, Management and Policy Capacity for Transnational Higher Education, starting in 2022. The project aims to identify and set up the governance structure of the TNE law; build the knowledge and understanding of key stakeholders from the Philippine government on various areas of TNE; and develop a national TNE strategy that will support the implementation of the TNE law. 

Under this project, we are enhancing the knowledge base of policy and decisionmakers in CHED, select government bodies and other relevant stakeholders in implementing high quality TNE initiatives. We will create a pool of inter-agency champions, identified through systems assessment and stakeholder mapping, who will work to influence policies, actions, and decisions of their respective agencies to create an enabling policy environment for TNE in the Philippines. By providing key government officials and policymakers opportunities for immersion visits, benchmarking activities, global case studies and technical inputs, this project will build understanding their understanding on five key TNE areas: 

  • Fundamentals of TNE and cross-border education 
  • Policy formulation and execution 
  • Management and leadership 
  • Quality assurance 
  • Monitoring, evaluation and learning of TNE 

Consultant requirements 

We are looking for a team of UK consultants (preferably from a UK university) who will lead the implementation of this project. By drawing on its expertise and experiences in TNE partnerships and policy, the UK consultants will spearhead the delivery of the project outputs, potentially working with other international and local consultants, the British Council and CHED. 

The following essential and desirable criteria for the role are as follows: 

  • Must have extensive knowledge and experience on TNE partnerships and policies, including in Southeast Asia, and must be able to provide evidence of similar work and engagement conducted previously. (Essential) 
  • Must have extensive experience in policy review and formulation in higher education and TNE, and must be familiar with higher education policies in the Philippines or in Southeast Asia. (Essential) 
  • Must have experience designing and delivering training programmes (virtual and face-to-face) to a diverse range of participants. (Essential) 
  • Must demonstrate experience working with diverse, multicultural teams. (Essential) 
  • The consultant must be able to deliver the entire programme through a combination of virtual and face-to-face delivery and within the timeframe of the project. (Essential) 
  • Has strong partnerships with local stakeholders in Southeast Asia, preferably in Malaysia and Singapore. (Essential) 
  • Must be capable of arranging mission visits outside of the UK, including setting up meetings with stakeholders and arranging in-country transportation. (Essential) 
  • Availability to provide regular updates via call, email and Microsoft Teams. (Essential) 
  • Preferably has physical presence (e.g. overseas campuses or offices) in Southeast Asia for the purposes of the mission visits. (Desirable)

How to apply

The British Council has a requirement for UK consultants. For more details, please go to British Council’s e-Tendering portal and search ‘Consultancy opportunity on TNE policy and capacity building for the Philippines – UK consultant’ or In-tend reference number BC/02434. 

Please submit Annex 2 (Supplier Response) and Annex 3 (Pricing Approach) through https://in-tendhost.co.uk/britishcouncil by the response deadline.

Response deadline

Deadline for clarification questions (Clarification deadline) Wednesday, 06 July 2022
Deadline for submission of proposals (Response deadline) Sunday, 17 July 2022
Final decision Wednesday, 22 July 2022
Contract start date Monday, 22 August 2022 

Further information

All clarification requests should be submitted through the British Council’s e-Tendering portal hosted at https://in-tendhost.co.uk/britishcouncil by the clarification deadline, as set out in the British Council request for proposal.

About Going Global Partnerships 

The ACT-IHE is part of the Going Global Partnerships programme. Going Global Partnerships connects universities, colleges, education policy makers and other partners in the UK and around the world. The programme offers you vital international opportunities - the chance to build relationships, to share ideas and good practice, to access grant funding for collaborative partnerships and more. Find out more and apply now for our funding calls and opportunities

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