1.Background
The African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) is a pan-African institution established in 1991 by African countries with the support of bilateral and multilateral partners. The Foundation’s mandate is to develop human capital and accelerate institutional development to enable the African continent to address its current and future sustainable development challenges. In this regard, it supports human capital development and institutional strengthening in governments, private sector associations, civil society organizations, think tanks, academia, and research institutions at national, regional, and continental levels to improve their capacity to deliver sustainable development results.
Since 2017, ACBF has also been recognized as a Specialized Agency of the African Union for Capacity Development, as conferred by African Heads of State and Government, with the mandate to drive the continent’s capacity development agenda.
ACBF is currently executing its Strategic Plan 2023-2027 seeks to enhance Africa’s transformation ecosystem with fit-for-purpose delivery capabilities for inclusive growth and sustainable development. The Plan focuses on four key impact areas namely: i) Climate Change and Energy for Productive Use, ii) Agribusiness and Food Sovereignty, iii) Trade as an Engine of Economic Development and iv) Economic and Social Governance.
Additionally, the Plan leverages ACBF’s institutional strengths in areas such as youth employment, gender, digitalization, and data, while fostering strategic partnerships for effective implementation.
2. Justification
Under its Economic and Social Governance key impact area, ACBF implements several programs aimed at achieving three strategic objectives: enhancing evidence-based and purpose driven policymaking; Increasing Domestic Resource Mobilization for sustainable development financing; and improving the performance of PFM Systems. One of the programs implemented by ACBF to achieve these objectives, is the Strengthening PFM Analysis, Research and Institutions (SPARI). A 3-year intervention implemented in 4 pilot countries: Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Senegal.
To effectively set the foundational phase of the program, ACBF needed to have a deeper understanding of the political economy context in the target countries, and the impact such contexts had on fiscal policy decision-making and outcomes. This entailed the undertaking of a comprehensive fiscal ecosystem analysis of the roles played by various stakeholders (both state and non-state) involved in fiscal governance in the four (4) countries, including finance and sector ministries, legislatures, supreme audit institutions, CSOs, think tanks, media, private sector actors, etc. Understanding the relative powers of these different actors, their relationships and existing and possible collaborations was critical to formulating reform options that will advance more accountable and equitable fiscal policies.
ACBF has already contracted a firm to undertake the fiscal ecosystem analysis and produce a synthesised report that outlines the crucial actors in these ecosystems, their relationship dynamics and how their interactions have impacted public finance outcomes. From the findings of these assessments, ACBF will engage the identified institutions to assess their capacity gaps that can be strengthened through the SPARI program, to enable them to develop evidence-based alternatives that present optimal investments in key social sectors e.g. health and better influence fiscal policy.
Therefore, ACBF seeks to contract a qualified consultancy firm to undertake capacity needs assessments of the key institutions identified through the fiscal ecosystem analysis and develop a capacity improvement plan to strengthen their capacity to undertake PFM research, develop credible policy alternatives capacities and build in-country networks to influence fiscal policy decision-making.
3. Objectives of the Assignment
The overall objective of this assignment is to conduct institutional capacity needs assessment and identify capacity gaps that have prevented PFM research institutions in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal from effectively developing credible policy alternatives and influencing PFM decision-making.
The specific objectives include, to:
- Review the fiscal ecosystem analysis reports to identify the key PFM research institutions in the target countries and the various challenges that have prevented them from effectively implementing their mandates.
- Develop a methodological approach for undertaking the institutional capacity needs assessments for these institutions.
- Assess the capacity gaps of the PFM research institutions and identify opportunities for capacity strengthening.
- Propose a capacity improvement plan for the PFM research institutions of each of the target countries to inform the detailed design of the SPARI program interventions.
4. Scope of work
The Consultant(s) will carry out the following activities:
- Review the fiscal ecosystem analysis report to identify key PFM research institutions in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal and analyse their dynamics within the ecosystem as well as the challenges they face in effectively influencing macro-fiscal policy.
- Develop the institutional capacity needs assessment framework to assess the current institutional capacity, tools, methodologies and gaps.
- Administer the needs assessment framework and engage with the various stakeholders to establish priority capacity building areas to strengthen fiscal policy research and advocacy.
- Prepare a comprehensive report summarizing the findings, analysis, and recommendations of the institutional capacity needs assessment and present it to stakeholders for the design of the capacity improvement plan.
- Propose customized capacity improvement plan for strengthening PFM research and institutions based on identified capacity gaps.
- Support ACBF and country partners in disseminating the results of the institutional needs assessment as well as the capacity improvement plan.
5. Methodology
The capacity needs assessment process will involve:
- Desk review of the fiscal ecosystem analysis report
- Development of robust institutional needs assessment framework
- Individual and focus group Interviews and consultations to assess capacity needs of identified institutions
- Data collection, analysis, and reporting related to PFM research, analysis and fiscal policy influencing.
- Developing capacity improvement plan.
- Disseminating the needs assessment findings and capacity improvement plan to stakeholders for their concurrence.
6. Expected Outputs and Deliverables
The Consultant(s) will produce the following deliverables:
- An inception report highlighting the Consultant(s) understanding of the assignment, proposed methodology and detailed work plan.
- Institutional capacity needs assessment framework/tools.
- Draft Institutional capacity needs assessment report that highlights key capacity needs of the PFM research institutions.
- The final report per country.
- Synthesized report consolidating the key findings from each country i.e., identifying the common themes, similarities and differences in the four (4) countries.
- Customized capacity improvement plan (including result measurement framework) for strengthening PFM research, analysis and policy influencing.
- Risk analysis and mitigation plan.
- Recommendations for the effective implementation of the program.
7. Assignment Duration and Schedule
The assignment will be implemented over a period of 46 working days period from 7th August 2026 to 9th October 2026, based on the following schedule breakdown:
| Description | Deadline |
| Signing of contract | 07/08/2026 |
| Inception report, including the methodological approach | 21/08/2026 |
| Institutional needs assessment frameworks and tools | 21/08/2026 |
| First draft report for each of the four countries | 18/09/2026 |
| Final report for each of the four countries and Capacity Improvement Plan | 30/09/2026 |
| Synthesized Report | 09/10/2026 |
8. Qualifications and Experience
The Consultants should have:
Team Leader:
- A minimum of a master’s degree in public financial management, Economics, Public Policy, Development Studies, or related fields. PhD degree in the fields above will be an added advantage.
- Proven experience in conducting needs assessment and recommending capacity building interventions, i.e. at least 15 (fifteen) years of professional experience conducting similar assignments in African context.
- Proven experience working with senior officials in macro-fiscal think tanks, civil society organizations and key PFM institutions e.g. Ministry of Finance, Auditor General, Parliament etc.
- Strong experience in and knowledge of the African fiscal ecosystem especially PFM research and advocacy.
- Strong analytical and technical writing skills with the ability to synthesize research and policy reports for diverse audiences.
- Fluency in English and French is mandatory.
Team member:
- A minimum of a master’s degree in governance, Business Administration, Economics, Public Policy, Development Studies, or related fields. PhD degree in the fields above will be an added advantage.
- Proven experience in conducting needs assessment and in supporting institutional capacity development for research institutions, i.e. at least 10 (ten) years of professional experience conducting similar assignments in African context.
- Proven experience developing Macro fiscal think tanks governance system and working for macro-fiscal think tanks, etc.
- Strong experience in and knowledge of the African fiscal ecosystem especially PFM research.
- Strong analytical and technical writing skills with the ability to synthesize research and policy reports for diverse audiences.
- Fluency in English or French is mandatory.
9. Consultant’s Supervision and Collaborative Inputs
The Consultants will work closely with ACBF staff and report directly to the Head of the Economic and Social Governance Unit, under the overall supervision of the Director, Programs and Impact Department. All deliverables will be subject to review and approval by ACBF.
10. Evaluation of Proposals
Proposals will be evaluated based on quality and cost-based selection criteria. The minimum technical score required to pass is 70 points, with technical and financial weights of 70% and 30%, respectively.
The evaluation committee shall evaluate the technical Proposals based on their responsiveness to the Terms of Reference, applying the evaluation criteria, and point system specified below. A technical proposal shall be rejected at this stage if it does not respond to key aspects of the Terms of Reference or if it fails to achieve the minimum technical score indicated.
| Criteria | Max Points (100) | |
| 1 | A minimum of a Master’s degree in Public Finance, Economics, Public Policy, Development Studies, or a related field. PhD degree in the above fields will be an advantage. | 15 |
| 2 | At least 15 years of demonstratable professional experience conducting similar assignments in African context | 20 |
| 3 | Proven experience working with senior officials in macro-fiscal think tanks, civil society organizations and key PFM institutions e.g. Ministry of Finance, Auditor General, Parliament etc. | 20 |
| 4 | Strong experience in and knowledge of the African fiscal ecosystem especially PFM research and advocacy. | 20 |
| 5 | Strong analytical and technical writing skills with the ability to synthesize research and policy reports for diverse audiences. | 15 |
| 6 | Strong analytical, writing, and communication skills in English and French | 10 |
| Total | 100 |
11. Location and Working Arrangements
This assignment is both a field and home-based consultancy. The Consultant(s) will be given access to ACBF relevant information such as the fiscal ecosystem analysis reports and the program documents. They will be responsible for providing their own workstations (i.e., laptop, internet, phone, scanner/printer, etc.) and an access to a reliable internet connection. In case of travel to target countries, ACBF will be responsible for all related costs.
12. Application Process
The Consultancy firm should submit the following:
- The Consultant’s CV and cover letters including three references with full contact details.
- A technical proposal detailing the proposed approach and methodology for the assignment.
- A financial proposal detailing the consultancy fee and other related costs encrypted with a password (The financial proposal with a password protected should have budget breakdown as per the deliverables depicted in table 1 above). Please note that this assignment is being implemented within a restricted budget; therefore, firms are strongly encouraged to submit efficient, realistic, and competitive financial proposals to enhance their chances of success.
- Three examples of similar assignments undertaken in the past 5 years. The name and contact information of three referees for contact regarding relevant experience of the consultancy firm is required.
13. Submission Process
Consultancy firms are being requested to submit their technical & Financial proposals with the subject clearly marked,” “Consultancy to undertake Institutional Needs Assessments to Strengthen PFM Research Institutions in Four (4) African Countries” to email address: submission@theacbf.org on or before 17.00 hours (local Harare time), on 6th July 2026.