Opportunity: Open Source Capacity Strengthening Consultancy
Organization: African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)
Project: Mental Health Data Prize – Africa (MHDP-Africa)
Deadline to Apply: July 13, 2025
Duration: 3 months (August 1 – October 31, 2025)
Location: Remote with coordination from Nairobi, Kenya
Objective
To build the capacity of mental health data prize winners to use open-source platforms for sharing datasets, code, and documentation. This enhances transparency, reproducibility, collaboration, and ethical sharing of data across Africa.
Scope of Work
The consultant will:
- Assess capacity needs of prize winners around open-source knowledge.
- Develop a training curriculum and materials (tools, platforms like GitHub/Zenodo/Kaggle, licensing guidance).
- Train prize winners on:
- Version control
- Metadata documentation
- Licensing (e.g. MIT, Apache 2.0, CC-BY)
- Support creation and setup of a GitHub organization.
- Provide ongoing advisory support (via email, video calls).
- Publish resources and a write-up on best practices for open-source data use.
- Submit monthly progress reports and a final deliverable with refined workflows and guidelines.
Expected Deliverables
- Inception Report (including needs assessment results)
- Training Materials (slides, templates, user guides)
- Training Sessions and Documentation
- Pilot Implementation of Open Source Workflow
- Knowledge Sharing Content (blog posts, guides in French/English/Arabic)
- Final Report (impact, evaluation, sustainability plan)
Consultant Profile
The ideal consultant or firm should have:
- Strong technical expertise in open-source software (e.g. GitHub, Zenodo, Docker, Jupyter).
- Proven track record in open data science workflows and collaborations with research institutions.
- Training/mentoring experience for data scientists on licensing and ethical sharing.
- A portfolio of past similar work.
- Availability to start by August 1, 2025 and deliver within 3 months.
- Legal and ethical acumen in handling sensitive data responsibly.
Application Process
Email the following documents to:
[email protected], cc [email protected]
Subject: Open Source Capacity Strengthening Consultancy
Required Documents:
- Cover letter describing qualifications and understanding of the TOR.
- CV(s) of key personnel.
- Detailed proposal including approach, methodology, and timelines.
- Profile of relevant past assignments with references.
- Financial proposal (inclusive of fees, travel, and other costs).
Address to:
People and Culture Business Partner
APHRC Campus, Manga Close, off Kirawa Road, Kitisuru
P.O. Box 10787-GPO, Nairobi, Kenya
Special Notes
- APHRC is an equal opportunity employer.
- No payments are required at any stage of the recruitment process.
- Accommodations are available for applicants with disabilities upon request.
Let me know if you’d like help drafting an application proposal or cover letter for this consultancy.
