Terms of Reference (ToR) for Hiring Individual Software Expert to Develop a Web-based Portal Certification Platform for Environmental Assessment Experts Conducting

EA Studies

1. Background and Context

In line with the Government’s commitment to ensure that environment and climate change issues are well integrated into our Country’s development agenda and in recognition of the major role played by professional environmental practitioners in the Country’s social-economic development, Law No.36/2016 of 08/09/2016 establishing Rwanda Association of Professional Environmental Practitioners (RAPEP) and determining its organization and functioning was enacted by Parliament.

The mandate of RAPEP revolves around three key strategic pillars:

• To regulate all the environmental assessment practitioners in Rwanda to ensure that they are in compliance with the existing laws, regulations and guidelines as well as the Association’s code of ethics and professional conduct in the practice of their profession;
• Ensuring that the technical capacities and professional competences of the registered environmental assessment practitioners in the country are enhanced to enable them to deliver quality environmental services;
• Ensuring that the environmental practitioners’ profession is appreciated and embraced at all levels of the Rwandan society (community, educational and higher learning institutions, workplaces in the public and private sectors and civil society organizations).

The move to entrust the regulatory role to RAPEP is not only a demonstration of confidence the Government has in the professional environmental practitioners, but also provides an opportunity for RAPEP to mobilize its members and to entrench in them values and best practices of the environmental practitioners’ profession as well as holding them accountable.

Article 6, sub-section 2^o, of the law establishing RAPEP mandates the Association to analyze and to find solutions to all problems related to the environmental assessment practitioners’ profession, while Article 28, sub-section 2^o, mandates RAPEP Regulatory Council to advise Government on the organization of the profession, and Article 28, sub-sections 3^o and 4^o respectively, give a mandate to the Regulatory Council of the Association to monitor and to exercise supervision and control over environmental assessment practitioners, and to take measures against the practitioners having committed professional misconduct.

Since the official launch of the Association in 2017, there have been several challenges with regard to the enforcement of the law that governs environmental assessment practitioners’ profession, as well as lack of a mechanism of monitoring and guiding the activities of all those practicing the profession. Henceforth, the Association needs to establish a system that will facilitate monitoring and guiding the activities of its registered and practicing members in their respective practicing categories and in their areas of specialization.

A well-designed digital monitoring system can therefore bring transparency and ease of regulating the activities of environmental assessment practitioners most specifically the process of conducting Environmental Assessment (EA) Studies and submission of the reports to the environment sector regulators for approval and issuance of the certificates applied for.

It’s in this regard that RAPEP is seeking the technical support of an individual software expert to develop a web-based portal that will serve as a certification platform for environmental assessment experts conducting Environmental Assessment (EA) Studies.

2. Objective of the assignment

The main objective of the assignment is to develop a web-based portal that will serve as a certification platform for professionals conducting EA studies. The portal will verify the eligibility of the environmental assessment experts (firms of experts and individuals) to conduct and to submit the EA study reports to RDB and REMA. This certification platform will also enable RAPEP to assess and address the capacity-building needs of its members effectively.

3. Scope of the assignment

The selected individual software developer will perform the following tasks:

• Development of a Web-Based and Mobile-Friendly Electronic Portal: Design and develop a user-friendly, responsive electronic portal that can be accessed seamlessly on both web and mobile platforms. The portal will serve as the central interface for RAPEP members and technical staff, enabling them to manage member information, certification and issuing of visa to all EA study reports uploaded onto the web-portal system. The portal must be intuitive, secure, and capable of handling high volume of transactions and data entries;
• Implementation of a Certification Process: Develop and implement a structured certification workflow within the portal. This process will verify and certify the RAPEP members who are eligible to submit EA study reports to RDB and REMA. The system will manage different stages of certification, including application, review, approval, or rejection, and subsequent issuing of visa notifications;
• Integration with Mobile Payment Systems: Integrate mobile money payment options into the portal, enabling members to pay the required certification visa fees directly through the system. This feature will streamline the payment process, ensuring compliance with financial requirements before certification applications are processed;
• Development of a Comprehensive RAPEP Member Database: Design and develop a robust database to store and manage RAPEP member information. The system will allow RAPEP to upload and maintain a list of compliant members, ensuring that only eligible individuals are permitted to be certified for EA study report submissions. The database will include features for tracking member certifications, compliance status, and any relevant professional development activities;
• Notification Module: Implement a notification module within the portal to provide real-time alerts to RAPEP members and the technical staff. Notifications will be triggered at key stages of the certification process, including application submission, approval, rejection, payment confirmation, and other important updates. Notifications will be delivered via email, SMS, and within the portal interface;
• Dashboard and Reporting Module: Develop a comprehensive dashboard for RAPEP administrators to monitor the system usage, member certification status, and other key metrics. The dashboard will provide real-time insights and visualizations to support decision-making. Additionally, a reporting module will be implemented to generate detailed reports on various aspects of the portal’s operations, including member compliance, certification trends, and financial transactions;
• Training for RAPEP Members and Staff: Conduct comprehensive training sessions for both RAPEP members and staff to ensure they are well-equipped to use the new portal. This training will cover all aspects of the system, including certification applications, payment processes, dashboard usage, and mobile accessibility. The training should be tailored to different user groups to maximize understanding and adoption;
• System Maintenance and Support: Provide ongoing maintenance and support for a period of one year after the system's deployment. This will include regular updates, troubleshooting, and ensuring the system remains secure and fully functional. The maintenance phase will also involve monitoring the system performance, addressing any issues that arise, and implementing enhancements as needed.

4. Timeframe

The assignment will be performed within a period of eight weeks (2 Months) effective from the date of signing the contract.

5. Deliverables and reporting obligations

The Software developer will be required to produce reports as follows:

6. Reporting, supervision and consultation

The software developer shall report to and be supervised by the Chairperson of RAPEP Executive Committee, who may delegate part or all of this function to another member of the Executive Committee. The software developer shall from time to time consult the Regulatory Council, Executive Committee, members of the standing Commissions, key partners and stakeholders of the Association.

7. Requirements for the Software Developer

Qualifications (70 Marks)

• At least a Master’s degree in Information technology or computer science, software engineering, computer programming; (5 marks).
• Must have at least two of the following IT related certifications; CISA, CSS, HTML 5, Java script, PHP (5 marks).
• Proven experience in software development; (Please attach proven experience with three certificates of good completion (30 marks).
• Demonstrated minimum 5 years of practical experience in IT system including practical experience in capacity building and knowledge transfer proven by the signed good completion certificates and CV (20 marks).
• Experience in information system based on environmental related management system proven by signed CV (5 marks)
• Solid understanding of the concepts of user experience, user interface design principles and conceptual design, Programming systems and environmental engineering with version (NET, PHP framework, Java framework) proven by signed CV (5 marks).

7.2 Methodology (30 Marks)

• Detailed methodology and understanding of the terms of reference to deliver the assignment (25 marks)
• Detailed work plan (5 marks)

The minimum score to pass technical stage: 75%. Only the software developers with the required minimum percentage score and above will be invited to submit their financial proposals.

8. Submission deadline

Interested individual software developers are hereby invited to submit their technical proposals to the following email address; info@rapep.org.rw, not later than 30^th October 2024 at 5:00 pm Kigali time. Late submissions shall not be accepted.

Richard Ngendahayo

RAPEP President/Chairman, Executive Committee