The Pan-African Parliament (PAP), established under Article 17 of the AU Constitutive Act, serves as the legislative organ of the African Union (AU) with a mandate to promote democratic governance, legislative harmonisation, and oversight of AU policies across Member States. As Africa's people-centred advisory body, PAP is uniquely positioned to advance AU Agenda 2063's aspiration for “An Africa of good governance, democracy, respect for human rights, justice, and the rule of law,” making model laws, elevating the Common African Positions and supporting convergence, compliance and harmonisation of African Union treaty obligations, charters, mechanisms and conventions.
PAP Members of Parliament come from diverse national parliamentary backgrounds, democracy and governance cultures, and economic status, and varying levels of familiarity with AU institutions, instruments, and processes. The absence of a structured induction and ongoing training framework has historically limited the effectiveness of MPs in engaging with PAP's mandate, particularly in areas such as legislative harmonisation, peace and security oversight, and civil society engagement. PAP has a new Bureau, which anticipates embarking on a transformational agenda. This includes addressing the challenges of the unavoidable turnover of MPs due to national elections within AU Member States. This has given the PAP the imperative of equipping both incoming and current PAP MPs with the requisite knowledge and skills to discharge their continental parliamentary functions effectively.
The Centre for Human Rights (CHR) and the Open Society Foundation (OSF) have identified the development of a comprehensive parliamentary training and induction framework as a critical capacity-building and technical support initiative for institutions, in line with the existing Memorandum of Understanding between the CHR and the PAP. In this regard, the organisations propose the development of an induction curriculum for new PAP MPs, the creation of an online training platform, and the delivery of capacity-building programs on AU legal instruments and parliamentary functions and roles. Against this background, CHR and OSF seek to commission a team of consultants to develop a IT-fit-for-purpose parliamentary training and induction framework that will strengthen the capacity of PAP MPs to fulfil their representative, legislative, and oversight mandates, moving beyond ad hoc training interventions toward embedded, institutionally owned systems for parliamentary development.
Rationale
To facilitate the strengthening of PAP's institutional capacity and the effective discharge of its continental mandate, CHR and OSF seek the services of a team to develop a parliamentary training and induction framework for PAP MPs- largely based on already existing literature such as the mission, vision, functions, rules and procedures of PAP as well as some critical elements focusing ratification of treaties, and flagships of Agenda 2063 as well as the AU infrastructure and institutions. The framework will build on existing knowledge generated through PAP's own institutional experience, comparable regional parliamentary bodies, academic literature, and civil society engagement, to produce a practical, sustainable, and institutionally grounded set of tools and programmes.
Scope
The consultancy will deliver a comprehensive parliamentary training and induction framework comprising the following:
- An induction curriculum and timetable for newly elected PAP MPs
- A conceptual design and content architecture for an online training platform for PAP MPs
- Modular capacity building programmes on AU legal instruments, parliamentary functions, and roles
Specifically, the consultant will:
- Design a comprehensive induction curriculum covering the AU architecture, PAP's mandate and rules of procedure, AU legal instruments and human rights frameworks, parliamentary oversight and legislative functions, and gender mainstreaming in parliamentary work
- Develop a conceptual design for an online training platform, including recommendations on accessibility, AU language considerations, and content management
- Develop modular capacity building programmes suitable for delivery during PAP committee sittings or plenary sessions
- Produce an implementation roadmap and sustainability plan, ensuring all outputs are designed for institutional adoption within PAP's official operating systems
Eligibility Requirements
CHR, PAP, and OSF seek a consultant who meets the following minimum requirements:
- A Phd or master’s qualification in law, political science, public administration, international relations, or a related field.
- Demonstrable knowledge of the African Union system, its organs, and legal and policy frameworks
- Proven experience in curriculum development, training design, or institutional capacity building, preferably in a parliamentary or intergovernmental setting
- Experience working with or within African regional or continental institutions will be a strong advantage
- English proficiency. Advanced knowledge of other AU languages will be a significant advantage
- Strong knowledge of IT infrastructure, design and programming
Timeframes and Deliverables
The assignment is expected to be completed by 10 January 2027, with the following key milestones:
- Analysis (Needs Assessment & Planning and Define Goals: Establish broad instructional goals, by conducting internal discussions with PAP Secretariat and Funders (August 31).
- Design the curriculum and areas of focus (September 30)
- Design (The Blueprint)- story board the infrastructure (October 31)
- Evaluation (November 30)
- Finalisation (December 15)
- Deployment (January 10)
- Launching and utilisation (PAP Q1 2027 Plenary sittings)
How to Apply
Qualified applicants are invited to submit the following documents with their application:
- A cover letter
- A technical proposal including the proposed approach, methodology, and work plan
- A CV illustrating the team’s suitability
- Contactable referees for comparable previous assignments
- A financial proposal with a breakdown of professional fees and anticipated costs
- A sample or portfolio of comparable previous work, preferably a functioning model similar to this training prototype.
Applications should be submitted by 24 July 2026 to yolokazi.mfuto@up.ac.za, copying neville.mupita@up.ac.za with “Consultancy – Designing of an online training course for PAP Parliamentarians” as the subject of the email
Due to the high volume of applications expected, only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.
