Title: Textbooks for South Sudan
What support will the UK provide?
UK will provide £11 million pounds towards printing and distributing 12.5 million primary school textbooks and teacher guide books in South Sudan, the construction of textbook storage facilities in 70 county education offices and steel cabinets for 3,000 schools. The other key aspect of the project is development of a textbook policy for South Sudan.
Why is UK support required?
UK is able to mobilise the required level of resources within the time frame for the textbooks to be delivered within the 2011 academic year. No other donors are able to do so. This support is in line with the DFID South Sudan operational plan aim of transforming a generation through education in South Sudan.
What are the expected results?
Outputs

12.5 million copies of textbooks and teacher guide books printed and distributed.

70 textbook storage facilities constructed in 70 counties.

3,000 steel cabinets distributed to selected schools for textbook storage.

A National Textbook Policy for South Sudan.
Outcomes

Pupil to Textbook ratio is 1:1.

Enhanced state capacity to print and distribute textbooks.

A sustainable textbook printing and distribution plan is operational for future years.
Impact

Improved learning outcomes.

Drop out rate reduced by 15%.

Classroom teaching quality increased.

:
Strategic Case
A. Context and need for DFID intervention
Context
1. Textbooks and teacher guide books 1 are the most critical and basic learning materials for students and teachers. The quality of classroom teaching depends as much on the availability of quality textbooks as on the skills and professionalism of the teacher.
2. Textbook supply to South Sudan effectively came to a halt in 2008 in the wake a corruption scandal. It was alleged that attempts were made to influence the outcome of an Invitation to Bid due to be released using funds from the World Bank. The publisher subsequently admitted complicity and was banned from receiving Bank funds. By the time this decision was reached, the World Bank project had re-allocated its funding for textbooks to school construction.
3. As a result, 1.9 million children in Southern Sudan did not receive textbooks in 2009,
2010 and 2011. The 2010 school census identified the lack of textbooks as one of the key causes of school drop out. 15% of the students who dropped out in 2008-09 mentioned lack of textbooks as the key reason for stopping going to school 2 . The average pupil-textbook ratio in Southern Sudan increased from 2 in 2008 to 4.1 in 2010.
The ratio varies significantly from state to state - in Central Equatoria it is 3, while in Unity
State it is 9 3 . The variation is a result of an ineffective textbook distribution and storage policy.
4. The Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) has expressed its commitment to delivering textbooks to children and has asked for donor support. In the South Sudan Development
Plan (SSDP) the government has set a target for the pupil textbook ratio of 1:1 4 . The
Multi-Donor Trust Fund, the intended source of funding for text books, has allocated all its education allocation to schools construction. The other donors in the education sector the EU, the Norwegians, the Dutch and the Japanese, have their funds fully committed to various other projects.
5. Education is a priority area for DFID in South Sudan. The overarching objective of our investment is to transform a generation through education. Priority areas for investment are school construction, non-forma l education for out of school children and adults, girls’ education and teacher development. DFID has also responded to requests from GoSS on the education needs for the returnees, textbook printing and English language
1 Throughout this document “textbooks” refers, where relevant, to teacher guide books as well.
2 Ministry of Education, Government of Southern Sudan. 2009. Education Statistics for Southern Sudan
3 Ministry of Education, Government of Southern Sudan. 2010. Education Statistics for Southern Sudan.
4 Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. 2010. Southern Sudan Development Plan (Draft).

training.
Evidence Base
6. Learning and teaching materials are critical ingredients in learning and the intended curriculum cannot be adequately implemented without them. Over the past forty years the importance of adequate Learning and Teaching Materials provision (including textbooks, teachers’ guides and supplementary materials) to support educational development and quality improvements has been recognized by governments throughout the developing world and by most development partners 5 . There is now substantial research evidence which shows that textbooks are one of the most important inputs for improving student learning outcomes 6 .
7. The availability of textbooks appeared to be the single most positive factor in predicting educational achievement in a World Bank Study 7 . The comprehensive study found a positive correlation in 15 out of the 18 country studies (83%). This is more favourable, for example, than 13 out of 24 (54%) reported for teacher training 8 .
8. A DFID sponsored study found that the impact of textbooks is greatest in the poorest countries where teacher quality may be low and where facilities and resources are scarce and generally of poor quality 9 .
Data from studies in Brazil and India established that per dollar investment in textbooks increased student test scores 19 and 14 times respectively more than the same amount of investment in teacher s’ salaries 10 .
9. Another study using Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Education
Quality (SACMEQ) data collected from around 42,000 students in 2,249 schools from 14
African countries concluded that students in schools that were better physically resour ced, i.e. had textbooks and other learning materials available for students’ use, achieved higher scores in reading 11 .
10. Another cross national study in Africa found that textbooks in Africa fulfil three important purposes simultaneously: a) they provide the main vehicle for the curriculum; b) they are the main, if not the only, source of information for the teacher and students; c) they function as instruments of learning assessment of students as tests are derived heavily
5 DFID. 2010. Guidance Note on Learning and teaching materials: policy and practice for provision.
6 The World Bank, 2001. A Chance to Learn . Washington.
7 Hanushek and Woosman 2007. Rate of Return in Education. World Bank Working Paper.
8 The World Bank, 1998. Textbooks and Achievement: What we Know. Washington .
9 DFID, 2003. The Multi-Site Teacher Education Research Project.
DFID UK.
10 Lockheed, M E, Verspoor, A M, 1991. Improving primary education in developing countries . Oxford University
Press. Oxford, UK.
11 Lee, V E, T. L. Ross, 2005. School Effectiveness in 14 Sub-Saharan African Countries: links with 6 th grade reading achievement. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 31, 207.

from them. The study concluded that in such situations the textbook is effectively the curriculum 12 .
11. Textbooks can be provided at a unit cost that is reasonably compared to per capita GDP and cost per student and improvement in efficiency of education can be substantial 13 .
B. Impact and Outcome
Results and Impact
12. The project outputs will include i) printing and distribution of 12.5 million copies of textbooks to 29,000 schools in Southern Sudan; ii) Construction of up to 70 storage facilities in county education offices and delivery of up to 3,000 steel trunks for storage at schools; iii) and a textbook policy for the GoSS.
13. The outcome of the project will be increased retention and reduced drop out of children in primary schools and clear policy direction for regular textbooks printing and distribution.
14. The impact will be higher learning achievement in maths, science and English language.
Theory of Change
15. The theory of change of this project draws on the school effectiveness model developed by Heneveld and Helen Craig in 1996 14 . In their paper they identified 16 factors in four broad groups that influence student outcomes. These groups are supporting inputs, school climate, enabling conditions and teaching learning process. One of the key factors in the supporting inputs group is textbooks and other learning materials. They also identified high expectations of students, a capable teaching force and high learning times as other critical factors in other groups for a school to become effective.
16. The textbooks, new storage facilities and textbook policy for the Government of Southern
Sudan (GoSS) will directly impact classroom learning, teacher motivation and long term sustainability of textbook produ ction in the country. These will indirectly impact students’ retention rate, learning achievement and system capacity.
17. The theory of change is illustrated below:
12 The British Council, 1992. Proceedings of the Ministers of Education Conference on Textbook Provision and
Library Development in Africa.
13 Pritchett and Filmer, 1999.
What Education Production Functions Really Show.
Economics of Education
Review, 18 (2) 223-239.
14 Heneveld and Helen Craig, 1996. Schools Count: World Bank Project Designs and the quality of primary education in Sub-Saharan Africa. Washington, D C: The World Bank.

Appraisal Case
A. Determining Critical Success Criteria (CSC)
18. Each CSC is weighted 1 to 5, where 1 is least important and 5 is most important based on the relative importance of each criterion to the success of the intervention.
CSC
1
Description
The right quantities of the textbooks are determined using the latest EMIS data.
Weighting (1-5)
5
2
3
4
A textbook distribution plan is ready for implementation.
Textbook storage capacity is developed at the county and school levels.
5
4
A transparency strategy is built in to prevent leakage. 3
B. Feasible options
19. In the table below:

the quality of evidence for each option as is rated either Strong, Medium or Limited

the likely impact on climate change and environment is categorised as A, high potential risk / opportunity; B, medium / manageable potential risk / opportunity; C, low / no risk / opportunity; or D, core contribution to a multilateral organisation.
Option Evidence rating
Strong B
Climate change and environment category (A, B, C,
D)
1. Print and distribute GoSS primary textbooks, construct storage facilities and develop a sustainable textbook policy in Southern Sudan.
2. Buy textbooks off the shelf, provide grants to schools for buying books according to their choice.
Medium A
20. Option 1 : Print and distribute primary grade textbooks, construct storage facilities and develop a sustainable textbook policy in South Sudan.

Description: Undertake printing and distribution of primary level textbooks in collaboration with GoSS; construct storage facilities at county education departments and supply steel trunks for schools; develop a sustainable textbook policy for Southern Sudan.


Costs: The average cost of textbooks is 8.75 USD in Sub-Saharan Africa and the range varies from 3.8 USD (in Kenya) to 18.75 USD (in Lesotho). The estimated cost for South
Sudan is only 1 USD, which is far below the average USD 8.75 cost of textbooks in
Africa. Textbooks in Lesotho cost USD 18.75 while in Kenya they cost USD 3.9. The cost estimation for South Sudan is based on the 2008 textbook printing in the country. The cost of distribution is calculated as part of the unit cost. The cost for policy development will be around £2 million.

Benefits: The expected quantifiable benefits are retention of children in the system, reduced drop out and higher learning achievement. The non-quantifiable benefits include parents’ increased confidence in the education system, higher teacher motivation, and strengthened GoSS capacity to deliver textbooks in the future.

Risks: The key risks are that the textbooks are not distributed to schools and that the textbooks are not used properly in the classrooms. The key VfM indicator for supplying textbooks is the proper use in classroom teaching and learning, which will be tracked in the project.
21. Option 2 : Provide direct cash grants/vouchers to schools for them to choose and buy textbooks from the open market.

Description: Create a system of direct cash transfer or vouchers to schools for the purpose of enabling them to buy textbooks off the shelf.

Costs: the average cost of textbook in the open market is around 3 USD. A total of 12.5 million textbooks will cost around USD 37.5 million. In addition this option will need to finance establishing a school voucher system-the cost of which needs to be determined during the appraisal phase.

Benefits: The quantifiable benefits, if the approach were implemented effectively, would be similar to option 1.

Risks: The key risk is that the most schools may not be able to choose the appropriate textbooks for their children due to lack of capacity.
22. Option 3 : Do nothing. This is our baseline. It would not involve any direct cost to DFID.
The benefits will also be nil. This option, however, is not considered for appraisal or scoring.
23. Risks: There is reputational risk involved in this option. DFID committed to deliver the textbooks at a high level meeting with the Southern Sudan Education Minister. The
Minister in turn, informed the Southern Sudan Assembly and the President of the
Government of Southern Sudan of this commitment.
C. Appraisal of options
32. Option 1: Print and distribute primary textbooks, construct storage facilities and develop a sustainable textbook policy for South Sudan.
33. This option is a comprehensive plan to deliver textbooks in the short term as a boost to

the ailing education sector in South Sudan and develop a long term strategy in the form of a textbook policy. This option will also put together the building blocks of future printing, storage and distribution of textbooks in the country.
34. This option can be strongly argued for from a social development perspective. First, delivering textbooks as per GoSS stated 1:1 pupil textbook ratio policy will ensure gender bias is diminished in the availability of textbooks, a critical element of quality education.
Second, free textbooks for everyone will reduce the indirect cost of schooling, which is often unofficial and burdens the poor most. Although attendance in public primary schools is officially free, evidence suggests that parents are made to pay unofficial fees for textbooks among other things. These put primary education beyond the means of many poor families where fees will represent a significant proportion of household spending.
15 At the same time, in larger families where fees are known to be a major barrier to enrolment and retention, girls are likely to suffer in favour of boys’ education.
Therefore, this option is likely to have a greater positive impact on school enrolment and retention for girls than for boys. Third, community vigilance during distribution, as planned under this option, will ensure a better engagement of the community with affairs of the schools and in turn will foster a more positive social contract between the communities and the state.
35. In future, the national textbook policy will lead to better content that is appropriate for the children in South Sudan. It is important to provide materials that are accurate, informative, and well written so that they support the methodology of the curriculum and addresses the core issues of state building and peace building in a child-friendly way. A study of the impact of textbook policy of Tanzania found that the policy not only improved the content but also had positive impact on distribution, pricing, use of the books at the school level and on overall teacher perform ance and students’ learning outcome 16 .
36. The institutional argument for this option is based on the evidence that for subsequent years the Ministry of Education (MoE) repeatedly failed to initiate the process of textbook printing in South Sudan. The failure can be explained as a function of many factors including low technical capacity at the Ministry to develop a meaningful work plan, to develop a ToR and other documents for the printing job, manage the procurement process and to develop a distribution plan.
37. The economic argument for this option is based on the strong evidence for the good return to investments in education. On average, investment in primary education in Sub-
15 South Sudan’s children – time to deliver peace and development . Policy Brief. Save the Children, April 2010.
16

Saharan Africa is estimated to bring a net return of 25.4% - excluding broader social benefits 17 . According to Psacharopoulos and Patrinos, a one-year rise in the average primary schooling of farmers is associated with a 4.3 percent rise in output.
18
32. Particularly relevant to this project is the return to improvements in the quality of education. Here again there is good evidence. Hanushek and Wossman 19 concluded that the quality of education was the key issue for the performance of an education sector. From both surveying the literature and from new analysis, the authors found strong evidence that education quality (measured by cognitive skills rather than mere years of school attainment) was powerfully and causally related to an individual’s earnings, to the distribution of income, and to economic growth.
33. This business case presents sound evidence from numerous sources that improving the ratio of pupils to textbooks will raise educational standards. This further supports the programme prediction that more children will stay in school if every child has a textbook; it is a very visible improvement, and will increase the perceived opportunity cost of keeping a child out of school.
34. Using conservative assumptions about the economic return per additional child completing school, the economic appraisal estimates a very rough total retur n of £18 million at the present net value. There is a good chance that the true return could be much higher. However given the significant amount of uncertainty, the most important result is the very high likelihood that the benefits will at least exceed the costs.
35. The potential environment and climate impact of this option is three fold: damage to the environment if paper is not sourced from sustainable timber, pollutants from the printing job, and environmental impact of the construction component.
36. Printing has a range of pollutants that may be discharged into the environment. These include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from cleaning solvents and inks, and alcohols. Large plants may be a source of nitrous oxides (a long-lived greenhouse gas) and sulphur dioxide. Wastewater from printing operations can include oils, waste inks, solvents, acids, alkalis and a range of heavy metals. Solid waste may also be discharged.
These pollutants pose risks to human health and to the environment and therefore need to be controlled through the life-cycle of the printing operation. However, since this option proposes to manage the printing through international competition, it is will be possible to include adequate safeguard measures in the ToR and as a bid assessment criteria. The
17 George Psacharopoulos and Harry Anthony Patrinos, Returns to Investment in Education: A
Further Update, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 2881, September 2002. The authors note: “Typically, returns on educational investment are higher at lower levels of schooling and also higher for countries at lower levels of economic development. The scarcity of human capital in lowincome countries provides a significant premium to investing in education.”
18 Psacharopoulos and Patrinos, 2002.
19 Hanushek and Woosman, 2007. Rate of Return in Education. World Bank Working Paper.

same will be done for sourcing paper made from sustainable timber.
37. The storage facilities will also have environmental impacts. However, the option envisages using local materials and local labour for the construction work. The overall environmental risk is assessed as Medium (B).
38. The key risk associated with this option is the textbooks not being used properly in classroom teaching. This risk will be mitigated by a coordinating with the teacher training programme supported by USAID. The coordination will mean that the teacher training will have the textbooks at the centre of the training curriculum and practice.
39. Option 2: Provide direct cash grants/vouchers to schools for them to choose and buy textbooks from the open market.
40. This option would provide financial grants to schools for procuring textbooks and school based storage facility.
41. The arguments for this option are based on the evidence that voucher systems increase demand for quality education, expand school choice and eventually improve learning 20 .
However, this evidence comes with a number of caveats.
42. The evidence is biased towards industrialised countries and urban areas 21 . Most of the data for the evidence is from Chile, Columbia and the relatively industrialised Indian state
Andhra Pradesh. Even in those areas, the voucher scheme seemed to have increased social stratification by allowing some students to move to higher-priced private schools leaving the public schools for the poor 22 . From a social development point of view, this option is not suitable for South Sudan at the moment.
43. This option can also be contested from a management and financial point of view.
Primary schools in South Sudan are run by teachers who themselves often have not completed secondary, or even primary education. Only 23% of them have received some type of training. These teachers, with that level of capacity and no support for financial management, would have to be relied on for selecting and procuring textbooks if this option were chosen.
44. The economic argument for this option will remain positive.
45. The environmental risk is assessed as High (A) on the grounds that DFID would have
20 International Initiative for Impact Evaluation; 2010. Subsidising education: are school vouchers the solution? New Delhi.
21 Ibid
22 Angrist, J D et al. 2002. Vouchers for Private Schooling in Colombia: Evidence from Randomised
Natural Experiment. American Economic Review, Vol, 92.

very little ability to ensure that environmental safeguards were adhered to, since procurement would be undertaken by 3,000 schools.
46. In summary, Option 2 does not offer good value for money option as the evidence indicates serious social, financial, management and environmental issues.
D. Comparison of options
43. The table below summarises the comparison of the options. The options are scored against the critical success criteria and the weights those criteria carried. The weighted scores are multiplications of the weight and the score each option received. 5 was the highest weight and score and 1 was the lowest. There were no critical success criteria with 1 or 2 as a weight.
CSC
1
2
3
4
Weight
(1-5)
5
5
4
3
Totals
Option 1
Score
(1-5)
5
3
5
4
18
Weighted
Score
25
15
20
12
69
Score
5
2
2
1
11
Option 2
Weighted
Score
25
10
8
3
46
44. Option 1 scores a total of 69 points whereas option 2 scores 46. Option 1 scores significantly higher as it would distribute the textbooks transparently and with minimum damage. Both the options were judged against four critical success criteria related to printing the right quantities of textbooks and distributing the same with transparency and minimum damage and loss. The score for determining the right quantities of the textbooks were the same for both options as the information is publicly available from the education management and information system of the Ministry of Education.
45. Option 1 scored 15 for the second critical success criterion whereas option 2 scored 10.
Option 1 has a framework outlined for distribution of the textbooks down to the schools.
The outline has already been agreed with the Ministry of Education. However, it needs to be discussed and agreed with the State Ministries and county departments of education during the implementation of the project. Option 2, on the other hand, does not have a concrete distribution plan. The expectation is that the NGOs would use their networks to distribute the textbooks at the county and school levels.
46. Option 1 scored 20 against the critical success criteria 3, which is about textbook storage capacity at the county and school levels. Option 2 scored 8. Option 1 has proposed a plan for low-cost storage at the county level using the containers that the books will be packed in. The project will pay for the containers and will construct tin roofs and concrete bases for the containers to be protected from rain and direct sun. These low-cost storage

facilities could be used for storage of books and other learning materials in future as well.
Option 2 does not have plans to develop storage capacity at the county level. However, there could be a provision for providing storage facilities at the school level under this option.
47. Option 1 scored 12 against the criterion of developing a transparency strategy to prevent leakage, whereas option to scored only 3 for this CSC. The key transparency measure in printing of textbooks is about ensuring fair competition. In option 1, the managing agent responsible for managing the competition will be hired and monitored by DFID. This will ensure transparency and monitoring of transparency at all levels including hiring of the managing agent. A DFID appointed technical adviser will monitor and quality assure the whole process as an additional measure of transparency and quality control.
E. Measures to be used or developed to assess value for money
49. Value for Money in textbook provision is difficult to determine because there are so many variables. Improving VfM in the provision of textbooks entails much more than simply looking at unit costs. Unit costs of textbooks vary widely for various reasons including complexity of specifications, such as illustrations, colour and binding, or distribution costs to remote areas. However, there are other variables along the chain of textbook production, supply and use that affect VfM. Controlling those factors can be as important in securing better VfM as simply driving down unit costs.
50. Ensuring books are attractive, accurate in content; delivered in time for the beginning of the school year; available to children on a 1:1 basis and used well by teachers will all add value in terms of improving learning.
51. Because there are many policy trade-offs involved in textbook provision that affect quality of teaching and learning materials as essential tools for learning, it is important to understand which variables are significant in each country context in order to establish
VfM for textbooks.
52. The following steps are planned to ensure VfM in the project:

International Printing This will ensure the best unit price available in the international market for printing the books. The print run of 12.5 million textbooks is commercially attractive and is expected to receive considerable market attention. We would expect the managing agent to conduct a fair competition and select the best price offered.

Decentralised Distribution The distribution of the textbooks will be managed at the county level. The books will be supplied directly to the newly constructed storage facilities at the county level and sent to schools from those facilities. A monitoring system will be developed to ensure that books reach schools.


Storage Facilities Proper storage facilities will be developed at the county level so that books can be stored in safe conditions until they are distributed. Schools will also receive steel cabinets to store books. This will minimise loss and damage during distribution.

Linkages with the Teacher Training Programme: The USAID supported teacher training programme is structured around the South Sudan national teacher education curriculum and national textbooks. Trainees will receive first hand training on how to use the textbooks in classroom situations. This will ensure that the textbooks are used properly for teaching.

National Textbook Policy: The textbook policy will articulate the need for a sustainable financing mechanism from the GoSS budget. It will also create provisions for a privatepublic partnership.

VfM Indicators: The logical framework has VfM indicators such as the number of schools that received the books, number of children using the books, percentage of loss and damage during distribution. The evaluation of the project will have indicators such as the percentage of teacher using the books properly and the effectiveness of the textbook policy.

Commercial Case
Direct procurement
A. Clearly state the procurement/commercial requirements for intervention
53. DFID South Sudan will undertake a direct procurement process through the OJEU process for (i) printing and supply of textbooks, and (ii) construction of storage facilities for these textbooks, and (iii) develop a National Textbook Policy for South Sudan.
54. For providing management consultancy to the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) to assist in framing a text book policy, DFID will adopt the Restricted Accelerated OJEU procedure to select the service provider.
B. How does the intervention design use competition to drive commercial advantage for DFID?

Can we set results based project objectives or outcomes for the supplier? Can we use a pricing model that pays by results?
55. The contract will be results based. The project objectives are to improve learning outcomes by increasing pupil teacher ratio. These objectives have clearly measurable indicators in the logical framework. The outputs of the project are also measurable:

12.5 million copies of textbooks printed and distributed.

70 textbook storage facilities constructed in 70 counties of South Sudan.

3,000 steel cabinets distributed to selected schools for textbook storage.

A National Textbook Policy is developed.

Does the project include suitable ‘break points’ / ‘review milestones’ to enable scaling up or down depending on performance? How will we ensure the ToR and supplier contract reflects this?
56. This is an 18 month project. The milestones, as defined in the logical framework, are all indicative of the progress of the project activities at the end of six months and one year.
The ToR and the supplier contract will have clauses reflecting the consequences of not meeting the milestones in time.

What alternative supply chain options have we considered (e.g. single contract for
‘design & implementation’ or do as two phases?)
57. The option of a single contract for design and implementation was considered but could not be justified on the ground that a detail design for the project was already done by a

consultant hired by the Joint Donor Team (a multi-donor organisation based in Juba). The other options considered were: a. Nomination of singleton supplier from the region. This option was not feasible given the estimated value of the project. b. Option of engaging a supplier from framework agreement. This option was ruled out by the Procurement Group as no single framework agreement covers all the activities of the project.

Are we exploiting opportunities to collaborate to reduce cost / improve VFM? (e.g. sharing services with other donors or using DFID procurement agents to supply any goods and equipment).
58. No other agency has been able to respond positively to this critical gap of textbooks as their resources are already committed to other programmes. Due to the time sensitive nature of the project, that textbooks should reach schools at the beginning of the academic year, DFID decided to move alone.

Have we considered issues of risk transfer between DFID & supplier (e.g. accountability for project delivery, fluctuations in costs etc)
59. This will be a core aspect of the contract terms and conditions. We will work with DFID’s
Procurement Group to include sufficient clauses to transfer risks as far as possible.
 Inclusion of ‘policy through procurement’ impact in project objectives (e.g. use of local suppliers, procurement capacity development etc)
60. The South Sudan context is not currently ideal to include this scope in the project.
However, the National Textbook Policy, to be developed by the project, will lead to a clear pathway for the Government of South Sudan to take lead in future textbook printing and distribution work.
C. How do we expect the market place will respond to this opportunity?

How will the market view this opportunity? How attractive is this project to potential bidders?
61. We expect the market to respond positively to the printing and construction work. The volume of the printing work will attract international bidders to compete for the work. The construction work will attract both local and regional bidders.

Is there a competitive supply base for these services? Are there numerous suppliers

with the skills, scale and capacity to do this?
62. There is a competitive market for both printing and construction at the international and the regional levels. Recently, there has been a proliferation of construction business locally as well. Sufficient suppliers with necessary skills and expertise will therefore be available to ensure meaningful competition.

Are there any specific constraints on capacity in the market (e.g. availability of staff with specialist skills and / or willing to work in conflict countries/fragile states?)
63. The development of a National Textbook Policy will require highly specialised skills and experience. DFID will ensure that selection of consultants reflect the necessary skills set for the job. The construction work will require working in, sometimes volatile, security situation. That particular constraint can be overcome by hiring local construction firms for those particular areas and agreeing work plans with local security authorities.

Will potential bidders need to form consortia to respond? (e.g. due to scale of project or specialist capabilities required). Do our project timelines provide for this?
64. We are open for the bidder to form a consortium.

Are potential bidders likely to subcontract a significant proportion of the service provision? What are the implications of this?
65. Potential bidders may propose to subcontract one or more than one of the project activities. If a consortium bids for the work, they may want to divide the activities among their agencies. However, there will be management and risks sharing implications of subcontracting, which will need to be considered during contract negotiations.

Is there a strong local, in-country market for these goods / services? Is there a beneficial impact if we can increase use of this?
66. There is a growing construction business in the local market. The printing business is nascent. We expect our bidders to explore the possibilities of partnership with local construction firms, which may reduce the time for negotiating with local authorities in terms of selecting the construction sites.
D. What are the key underlying cost drivers? How is value added and how will we measure and improve this?
What needs to be procured in order to deliver DFID’s intervention?


12.5 million copies of textbooks printed and distributed.

70 textbook storage facilities constructed in 70 counties.

3,000 steel cabinets distributed to selected schools for textbook storage.

A National Textbook Policy is developed.
Which elements may be affected by external cost pressures?
67. We do not envisage much escalation in the cost mainly due to the short timeframe.
However, we need to consider cost escalation due to possible increases in fuel costs and consequent increases in transportation costs across 70 counties.
68. The cost of providing technical support may be affected by a number of drivers, including but not limited to: supplier fee rates and their expenses on travel, accommodation and costs for holding consultation workshops etc.
How will DFID be able to demonstrate that best value for its intervention has been secured?
69. Value for this assignment will come from efficient printing, proper distribution and effective use of the books in classroom teaching. The first two aspects of the VfM will be under control of the project and will be tracked through indicators in the log frame. Only the latter aspect of the VfM of this project is not directly under control of the project.
However, DFID will coordinate with the USAID managed teacher training project to ensure the textbooks are properly used in classroom teaching.
E. What is the intended Procurement Process to support contract award?

Does the proposed sourcing approach align to DFID Procurement Category Strategy and / or use of preferred suppliers where available?
70. The requirement for this discrete procurement arose as we do not have a Framework
Agreement that could meet the requirement of this assignment.

What is the proposed OJEU route for the procurement?
71. Restricted Accelerated Procedure due to time for the managing agent to be in place. The
Consultant is expected to commence work from about 1 September 2011.

What is the proposed timescale for procurement?* (including start & end date)
72. While we expect the tasks related to engaging the Procurement Agent(s) to be completed by end-July the activities in the running up to engaging the technical consultant through the OJEU route is as below.

Activity
1 Approval of BC
2 Procurement plan agreed with PrG
3 OJEU Notice Published
4 Pre-Qualification Questionnaire Response Received
5 Issuing Invitation to Tender to qualified bidders
6 Bids Submitted
7 Bid Evaluation complete
8 Post Tender Clarification
9 Contract Awarded
10 Management Agent set up office and contacts in Juba
11 Management Agent run competition for the printing work
12 Contracts awarded for printing, construction
13 Printing Done
14 Construction Done
15 Book containers delivered at county storage facilities
Date
July 7 th
July 14 th
July 15 th
August 8 th
August 15 th
August 25 th
September 1
September 5
September 9
September 15
September 30
15 October
15 January 2012
15 January 2012
30 January 2012
16 Books Distribution begins from county to schools 1 February 2012

What are the initial high level selection criteria for the managing agent?
 Key Personnel-15%

Evidence of Project Management and quality assurance
– 25%
 Methodology (including environmental compliance) – 35%
 Cost - 25%
F. How will contract & supplier performance be managed through the life of the intervention?
73. The technical proposal from the managing agent will include development of a comprehensive monitoring framework. This will ensure that the managing agent takes ownership of key performance indicators and service level agreements from the outset of the programme.

Financial Case
A. How much it will cost
74. The project will cost £11 million. The main line of expenditure is printing of 12.5 million textbooks at a cost of £6.5 million. The distribution of the textbooks to county education centres will cos t another £1.5 million. The construction of storage facilities at the county education centres and supplying of steel cabinets into schools will cost £1 million. £1 million will be utilised for developing a textbook policy for Southern Sudan. The remaining
£1 million will be used for hiring a technical assistance for overall supervision of the project and for conducting an evaluation.
B. How it will be funded: capital/programme/admin
75. The programme will be funded from the programme budget of DFID South Sudan. The
£8 million for printing and distribution will be programme resource and the £1 million for construction of storage facility will be programme capital. A f urther £1 million programme resource will be utilised for developing the national textbook policy. The rest of the funding will be used for programme evaluation and for the supervisory consultant to be hired directly by DFID Sudan.
C. How funds will be paid out
76. An indicative schedule of payments are given below:
Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4
GBP 2 million GBP 4 million GBP 3 million GBP 2 million
D. How expenditure will be monitored, reported, and accounted for
77. DFID will require the managing agent to provide with self-certified quarterly financial statements along with their claims for disbursements. In addition, certain consultancy arrangements under the project might require a monthly monitoring and reporting arrangement.
78. The managing agent will be required to submit an annual audited statement along with the submission of annual programme review report.
79. Any capital assets procured under this programme will be treated in accordance with
DFID procedures. The managing agent will be required to maintain an asset register, which will be subject audit. Should assets remain at the end of the programme a disposal strategy, in accordance with DFID rules, will be agreed with the managing agent.
80. As the programme is designed to be funded on a reimbursable basis, we do not envisage any excess funds lying with the service provider.

Management Case
A. Oversight
81. The overall responsibility for managing the project lies with DFID South Sudan. The education adviser will be the lead adviser for the project and the deputy programme manager at the Juba office will be the programme manager.
82. A Project Steering Committee (PSC) will be formed with members from the Ministry of
Education to review progress and provide overall guidance to the project. The Head of
DFID South Sudan will be co-chair the Steering Committee.
83. The manuscripts of the textbooks will be signed off by the Undersecretary, Ministry of
Education or someone delegated by him. This will protect DFID and the printers from the risks of any errors found in the books at a later stage.
84. The distribution of the books down to the newly built storage facilities at the county education offices will be done by the printers in collaboration with the State Ministries of
Education. The process will be managed by the managing agent.
85. The policy writing activity will be guided by the PSC and will have a separate activity calendar negotiated with the Ministry of Education.
B. Management
83. The day to day management of the project will lie with the managing agent. This will include running the competition for printing, awarding the contracts, developing a works schedule and ensuring that the schedule is maintained. For the construction of the storage facilities, similar tasks would be expected of the managing agent.
84. Managing the policy development will require hiring a suitable consultant and ensuring broad based consultation and policy events. The DFID lead adviser of the project will be substantially involved in this policy development activity.
85. The management agent is expected to produce quarterly report on both programme progress and spend. The format of the report will be agreed with the lead adviser by the first month of the implementation.
C. Conditionality
86. No conditionality is applicable for this project.
D. Monitoring and Evaluation
87. A logical framework is attached with this Business Case. The evaluation will look at the impact of textbooks on enrolment, retention and drop out rates, and on learning outcomes.
88. An evaluation plan will be developed during the first quarter of the implementation of the

project, which has been factored in within the project budget.
E. Risk Assessment
89. The following risks, probability of occurrence and impact have been identified for the project:
Risk
1 The printing is delayed and books don’t arrive by the beginning of the academic year 2012.
2 The books are not distributed properly to schools.
Probability
M
M
L
Impact
M
3 The books are not properly used for teaching.
90. The overall risk assessment for the project is Medium.
H
M
F. Results and Benefits Management
91. The logical framework lays out the results with the timeline for delivery of those results.
The principle beneficiaries of the results are the primary level teachers and students of
South Sudan. They will receive the textbooks and guide books for classroom use.
92. GoSS will benefit from the National Textbook Policy which lays out the financing mechanism, procurement guidelines, roles and responsibilities in distribution for future printing and distribution of textbooks.
93. The expected results are mentioned in the log frame. However, there is a possibility of results exceeding expectation, especially in distributing the books to schools. DFID anticipates that 80% of the books will be delivered to schools. This target has been set based on the evidence of the previous printing and distribution work. However, during the implementation, DFID will work with the managing agent and the State Ministries of
Education to devise an incentive structure which can see exceeding the target.
94. There is a risk of not meeting the expected result as well, especially if security situation deteriorates in parts of the country. This will result in books stored in the county storage facilities to be distributed at a later stage.