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BID NUMBER: CATHS/RES/016/2017

TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR)

APPOINTMENT OF THREE (3) UNIVERSITY RESEARCH CHAIRS

1. Background to CATHSSETA

CATHSSETA is a statutory body established through the Skills Development Act of 1998. It is a schedule 3(a) listed public entity in terms of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) (Act 1 of 1999 as amended), and is accountable to the National Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). CATHSSETA conducts its activities within the following six sub-sectors:

Arts, Culture and Heritage

Conservation

Gaming and Lotteries

Hospitality

Sport, Recreation and Fitness

Travel and Tourism

Within these sub-sectors, CATHSSETA is responsible for the:

1) Development of a Sector Skills Plans (SSP) within the framework of the National Skills Development Strategy III (NSDS);

2) Implementation of the SSP;

3) Development and administration of Learnerships;

4) Support of the implementation of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF);

5) Quality assurance of sector learning interventions;

6) Disbursement of levies collected from employers in their sector; and

7) Reporting to the Minister and the South Africa Qualifications Authority (SAQA)

2. Overall objective

The aim of appointment is for:

Three (3) university research chairs housed in public higher education institutions to provide capacity to CATHSSETA research and sector skills capacity building agenda for a period of up to two (2) years.

The main objectives of the Research Chairs are to undertake skills development research within CATHSSETAs sub-sectors to assist the SETA with respect to achieving its research agenda and mandate. The research focus areas will be aligned to the approved research agenda which comprises of the following 5 themes/topics (which are not exhaustive):

Labour market and economic contribution

Occupational shortages determination and forecasting

Education, Training and Quality Assurance (ETQA) research (including curriculum review, occupational qualifications, articulation, and pathways)

Sectors Skills Plan production and update

Impact Assessment

3. Contract period

Start: 01 May 2018

End: 31 March 2020

Indication if the tender will be evaluated on functionality as well as minimum acceptable qualifying score

Yes the bid will be evaluated on functionality and bidders require a minimum of 70 out of 100 points allocated for professional ability. Bidders will be evaluated in terms of the gatekeeper/minimum requirements. Bidders who do not fulfill all the requirements or do not submit the required documents will be disqualified.

Indication if the bid will be evaluated related to local production and contents as well as the minimum thresholds applicable to local production and contents

Not applicable

4. Detailed scope of services to be rendered by the service provider

Which services are required (detail);

CATHSSETA intends to appoint 3 research chairs. The duration of the contract will be from the date of appointment until 31 March 2020.

Research Chairs are to be awarded in the following categories:

Arts, Culture & Heritage and Conservation

Gaming & Lottery, Hospitality, Travel & Tourism

Sports, Recreation & Fitness

CATHSSETA requests proposals from public HEIs with the knowledge, expertise and resources to manage a Research Chair in the areas listed above in order to advise and provide research support to the CATHSSSETA so that it can deliver on its mandate.

Focus area

Deliverables

1) Labour market and economic contribution and

2) Occupational shortages determination and forecasting

This will focus on producing research instruments, methodology and mechanism for collecting labour market data

Providing a profile of the labour market and economic sub-sector

An investigation into the characteristics of employability (e.g. knowledge, skills and attributes employers require);

Identification of annual occupational shortages and skills gaps (formerly scarce and critical skills) for skills planning

Establishing wage and employment trends in the sector;

Establishing and understanding factors driving the demand for skills

3) Education, Training and Quality Assurance (ETQA) research

Outcomes include:

Annual Review of curriculum (aligned with ETQA Plan)

Identification of career paths

Evaluation of learning programmes

4) Sector Skills Plan production and update

Expected outcomes include a consolidation of key research findings and incorporating these into the annual SSP update following the relevant framework and guidelines. Findings should be aligned to the SSP structure as follows:

Chapter 1: Sector Profile

Chapter 2: Key Skills Issues;

Chapter 3: Extent of Skills Mismatches

Chapter 4: Sector Partnerships

Chapter 5: Skills Priority Actions

5) Impact assessment

The aim of this project is to develop an appropriate tool and methodology for an impact assessment study

The expected outcomes include:

An impact assessment tool

Overall impact of skills training on beneficiary, employer and provider, including

Identifying how many beneficiares of funding are within the sector, what are their current occupations, in which companies are they, what is their career path and career development;

Quantification of direct and indirect benefits and costs of the projects

CATHSSETA performance against sector strategies, national strategies, developmental and transformation imperatives

6) Development of research capacity of public HEIs

Provide funding and supervision to 2 post-graduate students at Masters level conducting research relating to CATHSSETA skills planning and labour intelligence

Outcomes of Research Chair Implementation

The following outcomes are expected from the Research Chairs:

1. Detailed research proposal

2. Draft and final report to be submitted to CATHSSETA containing

a. Literature review

b. Methodology employed

c. Data tools and analysis

d. Summary and conclusion

3. Recommendations

4. Presentation of final report to CATHSSETA management

Strategic Alignment

Overall, output should be aligned to CATHSSETAs Strategic Objectives as outlined in the CATHSSETA Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan for 2018/19-2019/20.

Detailed project implementation plan and methodology

Bidders must submit a detailed implementation plan as per the scope of services above, clearly indicating cost and time lines per phase

Where are the services needed

Nationally, across all 9 provinces

Milestones and date of completion of service

Completion of service: March 2020

Milestones to be negotiated with preferred bidder

Critical and minimum performance areas related to that services

Final report must meet:

South African Statistical Quality Assessment Framework (SASQAF) requirements for publication

Internal Standard on the publication of commissioned research reports

Contact details for technical enquiries

supplychain@cathsseta.org.za

Contact details for procurement enquiries

supplychain@cathsseta.org.za

5. Details of CATHSSETA role and functions in the service/project

CATHSSETA will:

oversee the contract;

assist where applicable;

monitor and evaluate the project; and

at its discretion assist with access to relevant partners and stakeholders.

6. COMPETENCE AND EXPERTISE REQUIREMENTS

The bidder must meet the following for eligibility:

Be a current member or members of staff, in the case of a research unit, at any university in South Africa

Have conducted and/or published research in skills development or within the research agenda themes listed in Section 2

In addition, the proposal to establish the Research Chair should indicate:

Area of expertise the institution will establish the Research Chair

Information on institution/research unit such as research unit focus areas, capacity of unit, etc.

Itemised annual budget with justification for amounts

Letter of endorsement by the research institution

Excellent understanding of the relevant skills development and related legislation, including the Skills Development Act, the Skills Development Levies Act, the National Qualifications (NQF) Act, the NSDS III, the SETA Grant Regulations of December 2012 as amended, The White Paper on Post School Education and Training, The National Development Plan and other CATHSSETA sector specific legislation;

Extensive experience in undertaking large scale research projects in skills development, education and training;

Sufficient capacity and an appropriately skilled team to carry out parallel activities and to undertake and complete projects by the required dates;

Access to resources and infrastructure arrangements (Organizational structure, systems, local and international networks etc.)

See evaluation criteria

7. MANDATORY REQUIREMENT

Minimum/Mandatory requirements for short-listing

Provide and attach a valid Tax Clearance Certificate

Bid document must be completed in full and bidder to sign all declaration of interests documents

Provide and attach a copy of Company Registration Certifica