Establishment of a Pre-Qualified List (Roster) of International Consultants
Application Deadline: March 9th, 2026
Introduction and Background
World University Service of Canada (WUSC) is a Canadian non-profit organization working to create a better world for all young people. We bring together a diverse network of students, volunteers, schools, governments, and businesses who share this vision. Together, we develop solutions in education, economic opportunities, and empowerment to overcome inequality and exclusion for youth around the world, particularly young women and young refugees. WUSC currently operates in 28 countries across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as in Canada, with an annual budget of approximately CAD $65 million. Our global team includes over 350 staff, implementing a diverse portfolio of development projects in collaboration with numerous multilateral and bilateral donors, and philanthropic foundations.
To efficiently deliver on its growing project portfolio, organizational strategy, and business development initiatives, WUSC seeks to establish a Pre-Qualified List (Roster) of experienced consultants. This roster will serve as a readily available pool of technical specialists who can be rapidly mobilized to support WUSC’s operations globally on an as-needed basis.
Objective
The primary objective of this ToR is to solicit applications from highly qualified consultants to be included in WUSC’s Pre-Qualified Roster. Consultants selected for the Roster will enter into a framework agreement for the provision of specialized technical expertise and short-term support services across various thematic and operational areas.
If interested, check the details on type of consultants needed and the experience requirements on the webpage noted at the top of this post.
As a side note following my recent post about ‘volunteering’, WUSC is a well established Canadian volunteer recruiting and placement agency. They are clearly now adding another channel to their work – recruiting and placing both volunteers and consultants.
I wonder if other similar agencies will also look in this direction?
I worked several times in India, first with an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) project based in Jabalpur, and then later with a CIDA funded project working with Polytechnics in Southern India. It is an amazing country, with amazing people and amazing food. I even got to ride on an elephant! In this context, and my interest in international development, I was excited to see the article referenced here published by ICTworks. In my view, Wayan Vota has hit a home-run with this story (or in the context of India, it might be better to say has hit a six).
The article focuses on how many persons in India are applying Generative AI to help them set up new businesses or improve existing ones.
Among the statistics Wayan quotes from recent LinkedIn research are these amazing facts.
82% of Indian small business founders say starting a business is easier with AI.
83% of business leaders in India say it’s key to growing their business
97% of small businesses in India are already using AI in some form
We didn’t have even basic AI when I worked in India at the start of the New Millennium, but at least I can say our telecom project at the time assisted India to enhance its telecommunications. A small but important contribution.
You can read about my assignment in India and others in South Asia in my book.
This year I applied to Catalyste+ and became an Advisor. I reviewed the various opportunities that matched my skill set and was chosen for two assignments in Dominica in the Caribbean. One was in-country for two weeks and the other virtual which lasted on and off over three months. They were both enjoyable and productive. In fact, during my assignments the Dominica TVET Council was able to draft their Five Year Strategic Plan 2026-2031.
Catalyste+ is having an information session in late October. This is your chance to learn about their work and how you might fit in.
To register for the English language session, use this link:
For those looking for international development assignments as a consultant, you could try the British Council. I registered with them some years ago but never followed up any leads because I had enough work elsewhere. It seems they are decommissioning their current consultant database and replacing it with a new system. See their letter to me below.
If consulting is of interest, you could check their “Our work in international development” link below as well as read the Council’s policies on the link that follows. Or you could write directly to their email: consultantsenquiries@britishcouncil.org
Good luck.
(And don’t forget to check out my book “Overseas Adventures – From Afghanistan to Zambia and Points In-Between” available from my website or from AMAZON.)
Dear Arthur,
I hope that you are well. I am writing to give you an update on British Council consultants database CMIS that you are still registered to.
We have identified an application that will replace CMIS. We are working towards preparing the new application and de-commission CMIS. Read on to find out more.
Upgrading CMIS – In April we informed you that we were exploring an alternative platform to replace CMIS which will offer more efficient ways for you to keep your professional information up-to-date and enable us to match opportunities with consultants on our database more closely. We have now identified an application that we feel would meet most of the criteria we seek. This means that we will not re-activate CMIS while we now work to prepare the new application and de-commission CMIS. You will no longer be able to access your CMIS profile but be assured that all your data has been saved.
We’re currently finalising the timescale for the new consultants’ database and will invite you to transfer to the new platform when it is ready.In the meantime, to keep informed of the opportunities please visit our International Development website by clicking on the blue tab below, then click on the ‘Development Consultants’ tab at the top to find links to other useful information, for example ‘Opportunities and Insight’ web page.If you no longer wish to be registered on CMIS, please email our mailbox below and we will remove you from CMIS and delete your CV. It would be useful if you were to let us know your reason for this decision.
Yours sincerely, Consultants Enquiries British Council | 1 Redman Place | London | E20 1JQ
Consultants contracting with the British Council are required to familiarise themselves with and adhere to British Council policies for consultants including the standards, behaviours and principles.
You have received this communication because you are part of our database of consultants. If you wish to be removed from this database, please email us.consultantsenquiries@britishcouncil.org
The following opportunity was shared with me by Dr. Julia Dicum, Director of Education at UNRWA.
UNRWA has a TVET programme that serves about 8,000 Palestine Refugee Youth and a similarly structured even smaller education sciences faculty programme (pre-service teacher training only) that serves about 2,000 Palestine refugee youth (mostly females). We are looking for a 6-month TVET/skills-based higher education consultant to advise us on sustainability models for the future management/governance of TVET and educational sciences (pre-service education training).
The JO TVET Consultant / P4 #262571 is online now. For easy reference, please follow the link below:
Note that UNRWA has programs in Gaza, the Occupied West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
This assignment is a transformational opportunity for the right person. Unfortunately, I am not available. I did work with UNRWA in TVET in the 2005-2007 period. My experience is described in a chapter of my book Overseas Adventures….
One of my recent posts referenced an excellent online publication, ICTWorks. As the name implies it mostly focuses on the why and how of using ICT for development. But after the shocking news of President Trump freezing all US AID funding it has a well written, informative (and worryingly accurate) report on the potential effects this freeze will have on international development activity. As a former consultant with several UN agencies, I am dismayed at the potential revenue loss various UN agencies will face, not to mention the massive effect on numerous non-governmental organizations.
I am also disappointed at my lack of previous knowledge on the details of aid from the USA. The US has been a fantastic partner for international development in the past. We can only hope this freeze will be temporary and other countries will be able to take up the slack in the meantime. You can find the article at the website below.
US Aid Frozen: A Real Humanitarian Crisis and Lives will be Lost
I have submitted an application to become a volunteer with Catalyste+. So far, I have had my resume reviewed, participated in an interview and sent a request to two former colleagues for references. My next post will provide a further update on the process for those who might be interested.
For those interested in how the USAID funds international development, a current segment in PBS News Hour will be of interest. I rarely watch PBS Newshour but last evening I did have time and found this informative story about USAID. Apparently, the agency does most of its work through big US companies that seem to focus more on inputs and activities rather than results. One section of the story gave examples of an alternative approach where funds were provided directly to local partners who provided much better results.
Sidebar: The assignment I had some years ago with one of these big US firms did indeed engage with local entities including a local training center, private sector entities, and schools. There were positive results. So not all USAID projects are alike.
In Canada, I think we do better with implementing agencies like CUSO providing volunteers to strengthen local NGOs, many of which are supporting projects on gender equality and improved livelihoods for women. (Don’t forget to keep monitoring CUSO International’s website for current employment opportunities)
Similarly, CATALYSTE+ (formerly CESO), is providing senior professionals the opportunity to give back by offering their advice on short missions to host organizations that actually help develop the assignment’s terms of reference. I just submitted an application to CATALYSTE+ and will describe that process and its result in an upcoming post.
Meanwhile, I look forward to seeing the next two episodes of the 3 part USAID story on the PBS Newshour…
This post is the third in the follow-up theme of how oil and gas discoveries affected three countries referenced in my book “Overseas Adventures – From Afghanistan to Zambia and Points In-Between.” The first two posts were about Timor-Leste and Guyana respectively. Recall from my book that I was in Ghana in the mid-1970s as a Field Staff Officer with the Canadian volunteer agency CUSO. Although not mentioned in the book, I also had the pleasure of working in Ghana with the FAO in the early 1990’s on an agroforestry extension project as a development communication advisor.
Offshore oil
Oil was discovered offshore in 2007 and production started in 2010. Ghana is considered the 8th largest producer in Africa but its daily output in 2022 was only 174,000 barrels per day considerably less than juggernauts Nigeria and Angola. Still, Ghana earned some 6.5 billion USD in the first 10 years of production, and in 2022, another USD 1 billion. New discoveries have raised future output estimates to some 400,000 bpd.
You may find this video clip on the oil industry in Ghana informative. “How Ghana only earned $8 billion in oil revenue?” There are some nice visuals of Ghana too.
Government response
The Government passed legislation in 2011 entitled the Petroleum Revenue Management Act to establish proper use of oil revenues. The Ghana Heritage Fund and Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund were also established. Apart from transfers to these entities the Government directly spent considerable amounts on infrastructure particularly roads, alternate energy sources, health and education. However, there was controversy when required transfers to the GIIF were not made on time and the Government took money from the GHF early to deal with the effects of COVID and to initiate the free Secondary High School Initiative.
Although the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy in Ghana increased secondary school enrolment by 13.5% from 2017 to 2018, it was criticized for overcrowding classrooms and dormitories. Critics also raised concerns about its financial sustainability and the impact on education quality. Despite the controversy, public opinion remains largely favorable, and a 2024 study confirmed that FREESHS has a positive impact on girls’ educational attainment amongst other benefits.
In my view, apart from secondary general education, the TVET sector also needs more of Ghana’s oil revenue. The country’s Education Strategic Plan notes that “Currently, technical and vocational education is limited in scope and does not cover the diverse needs of learners or of Ghana’s economy. The relevant institutions are also ill-equipped to provide an adequate education, and all of these factors contribute to the poor perception of TVET. The TVET sub-sector also receives less than 3% of the overall education expenditure.” (p8)
I am gratified to see that Government plans do suggest a serious effort to enlarge and enhance this sector as indicated below. My hope is that the allocated budget for TVET gradually rises to five or even eight percent of total education budget.
“The ESP response to existing challenges is therefore to implement the new TVET policy and ensure improved coordination of provision, increase access, and improve relevance under the umbrella of the realignment of the TVET sub-sector, which is a key pillar of the reform agenda. All TVET programmes and institutions will be brought under the Ministry of Education (MOE), to improve coordination, coherence, monitoring, and quality of the offer provided. These institutions, along with their budgets, will fall under the oversight of the MOE and improving data collection and collation from TVET institutions will be an important part of mapping the success of the realignment. The new TVET curriculum will be developed in close cooperation with the industrial, commercial, and business sectors. In line with curriculum reform in other sub-sectors, the new TVET curriculum will be competency based. The competencies will be based on identified skills’ gaps and will be decided on in collaboration with the private sector.”(page 38)
Conclusion
Ghana’s oil wealth has a significant positive impact on areas such as education. For example, this month (November, 2024), the President of Ghana said the free secondary school scheme has benefited some 5.7 million students since its inception.
And, as noted in the previous section there are significant plans to develop the TVET sector, and other parts of education including primary, secondary, higher and continuing education. There have also been investments in infrastructure especially roads and in health provision.
That said, there are still challenges with oil revenue distribution and unintended consequences such as perceived threats to democracy.
A 2023 study entitled “An empirical review of petroleum revenue management and distribution after a decade of oil production and export in Ghana” concluded:
“that petroleum revenue collection and allocation has largely been done with reference to the PRMA. However, ministerial discretion and lack of a clear-cut definition of the priority areas are sources of abuse to oil revenue management. The study, thus, calls for reforms in the management and use of oil revenues to help ensure long-run benefit and sustainability.”
In short, there is still work for the government and other stakeholders in Ghana to do before deciding whether oil has been a blessing or a curse.
consultantsenquiries@britishcouncil.org
