RFP: Development and Deployment of a Graduation Digital Public Good (DPG)

ReliefWeb; Johannesburg; Remote; ZAR 400,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading international nonprofit organization is seeking a technology partner for the development and deployment of an open-source Graduation Digital Public Good. This initiative, set to enhance social development efforts, involves creating a mobile-first platform to support government coaching and management systems, aimed at addressing extreme poverty through innovative technology solutions.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience delivering complex, technically specialized digital systems.
• Proven experience in designing and scaling Digital Public Goods.
• Demonstrated ability to build, customize, and deploy open-source platforms.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for end-to-end design, development, and deployment of Graduation Digital Public Good platform.
• Conduct iterative testing through agile sprint-based iterations.
• Create a fully functional, open-source system for quality Graduation program delivery.

Skills

Technical expertise

Programmatic understanding

Contextual experience

Systems thinking

Tools

Agile methodologies

Digital Public Infrastructure platforms

Job description

South Africa

RFP: Development and Deployment of a Graduation Digital Public Good (DPG)

Organization

• BRAC
  
  

Posted 4 Jul 2025 Closing date 18 Jul 2025

Request for Proposal (RFP)

Development and Deployment of a Graduation Digital Public Good (DPG)

Issued by: BRAC International

RFP Reference No: UPGI-25-RFP 027

RFP Release Date: 3 July 2025

Submission Deadline: 18 July 2025, 17:00 EAT

Location: Remote (global); Pilot implementation in South Africa

• Background
  
  

Stichting BRAC International (SBI), a non-profit foundation legally registered in the Netherlands, governs and manages all BRAC entities outside Bangladesh, except our fundraising affiliates (BRAC USA and UK).BRAC was established after the independence of Bangladesh by Sir Fazle Hasan Abed in 1972 and is currently working in 10 other countries in Asia and Africa. It is the largest non-governmental development organisation in the world in terms of number of employees. BRAC International is a leading nonprofit organisation with a mission to empower people and communities in situations of poverty, illiteracy, disease, and social injustice. Our approach is to identify innovative and holistic solutions toward sustainable livelihoods and socioeconomic resilience. We achieve large-scale, transformative change by empowering individuals, especially women, and their families and communities to overcome poverty and become self-reliant and resilient. We work with local communities to innovate demand-driven programmes that integrate social development with market-based solutions like microfinance and social entrepreneurship. With our origin and roots in the Global South and our commitment to continuous learning, we have a depth of experience and evidence that enables us to respond to the needs of diverse communities with humility and courage.

BRAC Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative (UPGI), a global programme within the BRAC network, aims to empower people around the world to escape the poverty trap and realize their potential through government adoption and scale up of the Graduation approach. By 2026, we aim to reach 21 million more people in extreme poverty by partnering with governments. To enable these partnerships, BRAC UPGI influences development actors including multilateral and bilateral institutions, civil society, academia, and media to support wider uptake of the Graduation approach

• About the opportunity
  
  

BRAC International (BI), in collaboration with Center for Exponential Change (C4EC), Shikshalokam, and FinMark Trust (FMT), is seeking a qualified technology partner to co-develop and deploy an open-source Graduation Digital Public Good (DPG), a modular, secured, mobile-first platform to enable governments to deliver the Graduation approach at scale through quality frontline coaching, personalized case management, and interoperable service linkages. The system will be piloted in South Africa and subsequently open-sourced for global use, following a period of testing and optimisation. The initial specifications for the DPG have been agreed with stakeholders, and we are now moving into the phase of developing the first releases and realising the initially agreed design.

Reference the full Terms of Reference TOR for detailed specifications.

• Scope of Work
  
  

The assignment is expected to span 10 to 12 months, structured around a phased rollout and iterative testing process.

The service provider will be responsible for the end-to-end design, development, and deployment of the Graduation Digital Public Good (DPG) platform, based on the consolidated capability framework provided. This will be delivered in 3 to 5 agile, sprint-based iterations, ensuring functionality is tested and improved progressively.

The goal is to create a fully functional, open-source system that supports high-quality Graduation program delivery, and can also be adapted and scaled by governments and organizations globally. Over time, the platform is expected to become part of a country’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).

Core Components

• Development of a DPG covering core capabilities across key user types: Coach, Supervisor, Participant, Expert, Community, and Admin.
• Early usability and long-term scalability, with capabilities grouped and prioritized by user journey.
• Interoperability-ready architecture for future integration with government systems (e.g., MIS from social development, agriculture, etc.).
• Progressive onboarding of BRAC and FinMark Trust (FMT) teams to test and improve the system with each iteration.
• Complete feature sets per user journey, avoiding scattered functionalities.
• Open-source code and clear documentation for global reuse and adaptation (e.g., GitHub deployment guides, manuals).
  
  

Additional Components

• Deep understanding of the Graduation approach, coaching methodology, and behavior change principles.
• Contextual alignment with South African policy frameworks, especially around the Child Support Grant (CSG) and Generating Better Livelihoods (GBL) program.
• Engagement with key local stakeholders: SASSA, DSD, FMT, and others to ensure public system alignment.
• System translation of real-world program realities, including frontline capacity, referrals, and government workflows.
• Support for government onboarding and technical handover for long-term sustainability.
• Use of agile, adaptive approaches, enabling continuous feedback, flexibility, and rapid course correction.
• Eligibility Criteria
  
  

To deliver the Graduation DPG effectively, the service provider must bring a unique mix of technical expertise, programmatic understanding, and contextual experience, particularly in social development and digital public infrastructure.

4.1 Essential Requirements

• 5+ years of relevant experience delivering complex, technically specialized digital systems.
• Proven experience in designing and scaling Digital Public Goods (DPGs) with modular, interoperable, and scalable architectures.
• Track record in building open-source Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) using platforms like Sunbird or Beckn, focused on solving large-scale development challenges.
• Demonstrated ability to build, customize, and deploy open-source platforms, with hands-on work on platforms like Elevate preferred.
• Strong systems thinking skills, able to digitize complex program logic for real-world social service delivery.
• Experience working directly with government programs in areas like social protection, youth development, or service delivery.
• In-depth knowledge of the Graduation approach, especially coaching and case management models.
• Capability to work across time zones (South Asia and Africa) within distributed teams.
• Familiarity with South African policy and social development context.
• Proficiency in English for communication and collaboration.
  
  

4.2 Preferred Criteria

• Previous or ongoing collaboration with C4EC and/or Shikshalokam
• Familiarity with Child Support Grant (CSG) and Generating Better Livelihoods (GBL) or similar poverty alleviation programs.
• Experience managing agile, sprint-based development with adaptive delivery approaches.
• Deep skills in human-centered design (HCD), including UI/UX for low-tech or low-literacy users.
• Commitment to open-source principles, including clear documentation and enabling reuse by other countries or programs.
• Submission Requirements
  
  

Interested Service Providers Should Submit

• Mandatory Compliance Documents (Organisation profile, team CVs, relevant business certificates/documents)
• Technical Proposal (A short approach note that sets out how the iterative sprints will be organised and a work plan that underpins the delivery, team structure and key personnel, examples of relevant past work)
• Financial Proposal (Cost breakdown by phase and deliverables, cost on infrastructure and hosting, maintenance costs, tax details)
  
  

In the event that you don’t receive any communication from SBI after expiry of the proposal validity period (advised in section 7.3 below), please consider your proposal unsuccessful. No separate communication to this effect shall be made.

6 Evaluation Criteria

Consultants will be evaluated based on the following criteria

6.1 Technical Proposal Evaluation

Relevant Experience

• Demonstrated experience of working with International NGOs, governments, and multi stakeholder alliances on user driven technology solutions that support large scale social programming
  
  

(Attach proof of at least 2 comparables assignments previously undertaken)

• 30%
  
  

Demonstrated understanding of the TOR, Realistic methodology Approach to knowledge transfer and Workplan

• A clear concept and design approach for the development and rollout of the Graduation Digital Public Good (DPG), including demonstrating an understanding of the Graduation model, systems translation, and South African context.
• A clearly articulated approach for providing training and capacity-building support to project stakeholders for the successful adoption and utilization of the DPG
• A realistic work plan that sets out how to deliver the project within the specified timeframe
• 50%
  
  

Capacity/Skills Of The Team And Organizational Structure

• Detailed CVs for all key team members that include qualifications, previous project work, and job history
• Brief company profile, including details on back office support available to the project
• 20%
• Total -**100%
  
  

Applicants who scored at least 70% in the technical evaluation will be eligible for the assessment of their financial evaluation. Please note that financial evaluation will account for 30% of the weighted score as indicated in the table below.

6.2 Financial Proposal

Financial Proposal (Sf)

Price of the lowest proposal that passed technical evaluation (Fm) /price of the proposal under consideration (F)

7 Proposal Administration

7.1 Mode of submission of technical proposals

Submission of proposals shall be made online via the following email address: [e-mail]

The proposal (including all the mandatory information, all necessary documents and the financial offer), saved in pdf format, shall be submitted through the above email address.

The bidder must ensure that the subject of the email is: “Proposal for the Development and Deployment of a Graduation Digital Public Good (DPG)”.and Reference number

In Technical proposal top sheet please write RFP Reference No: UPGI-25-RFP 027

7.2 Proposal Submission Closing Date

The closing date for submission of bids is 18 July 2025, 17:00 EAT

7.3 Language

The language of the proposal shall be in English

7.3 Proposal Validity

Your entire proposal should be valid for 60 days from the last date of proposal submission.

Send proposals to: [e-mail]

Deadline: 18 July 2025, 17:00 EAT

Reference the full Terms of Reference (TOR) for detailed specifications.

• Contact Person Regarding ToR
  
  

Farabi Ahmed Ullah

Specialist, Graduation Programme Design, UPGI

BRAC International

Email: [e-mail]

• For submission-related queries:
  
  

Getrude Kipruto

Specialist Procurement & Operations, UPGI

BRAC International

Email: [e-mail]

Note

This call for proposals is an Invitation to treat only and SBI may cancel or defer the process without notice and shall accept no liability whatsoever arising out of such action. SBI is also under no obligation whatsoever to award the contract to the lowest or any bidder; the results of the evaluation process shall inform the decision of the Procurement Committee and shall be final. By submitting a proposal, the bidder impliedly accepts all the bidding terms and conditions contained herein.

How to apply

BRAC International invites qualified and experienced technology service providers to submit a proposal for the design, development, and deployment of an open-source Graduation Digital Public Good (DPG) platform.

Submission Instructions

All proposals must be submitted via email to: [e-mail]

Subject Line: Proposal for the Development and Deployment of a Graduation Digital Public Good (DPG)

RFP Reference No: UPGI-25-RFP 027 (must be mentioned on the technical proposal top sheet)

Deadline For Submission

18 July 2025, 17:00 EAT

Late submissions will not be considered.

Your Proposal Must Include

• Mandatory Compliance Documents
• Organization profile
• Team CVs
• Valid business registration certificates or equivalent
• Technical Proposal
  

A Concise Proposal Outlining

• Your approach to the development and rollout using agile sprints
• A detailed work plan and timeline
• Team structure and key personnel
• Case studies or examples of similar past work
• Your understanding of the Graduation approach, systems integration, and South African context

• Financial Proposal
• Cost breakdown by phase and deliverables
• Infrastructure, hosting, and maintenance costs
• Any applicable taxes
  
  

Please submit all documents in PDF format as a single email.

Job details

Country

• South Africa
  
  

City Remote (global) Source

• BRAC
  
  

Type

• Consultancy
  
  

Career category

• Information and Communications Technology
  
  

Years of experience

• 5-9 years
  
  

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