Terms of Reference

RFP Virtual Mobility Terms of Reference

Universities Canada and Colleges and Institutes Canada are in search of a consultant to identify and analyze best practices and lessons learned of virtual mobility and the impact of these opportunities on Canadian students for Global Skills Opportunity, Canada’s Outbound student mobility pilot program.

Scope of services and deliverables

The field of virtual mobility is still emerging. The pandemic forced mobility programs across the world to adapt and many countries and programs pioneered virtual mobility opportunities for their students and faculty. The practice has since gained recognition beyond the pandemic as a means to continue the benefits of international education when travel is not possible or desirable.

Global Skills Opportunity offers flexible programming including virtual and physical mobility experiences. Virtual Student mobility is defined as:

A form of mobility that uses information and communication technologies to facilitate cross-border and/or inter-institutional academic, cultural, and experiential exchanges and collaboration. Virtual mobility may include: Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) with partner institutions, Online International Learning (OIL) experiences, faculty led programs, internships and practicums with international organizations and Work-Integrated Learning experiences.

The objective of this research project is to identify and analyze the best practices and lessons learned of virtual mobility and identify the impact of these opportunities on Canadian students. The research project will focus on virtual mobility programs and initiatives that provide opportunities for students to engage in international learning and collaboration through online platforms. The deliverables for this contract include the following activities:

1. Literature Review: A comprehensive literature review of Canada and international virtual mobility programming will be conducted to identify the best practices and lessons learned.
2. Review of pre-departure forms and post-experience reports: The consultant will be given access to data collected from GSO participants before and after their virtual mobility experience where students answer questions about skills gained. Conclusions from this data should be added to the final report.
3. Interviews: 8-9 interviews with project leads will be conducted to gather in-depth insights into the design, implementation, and outcomes of virtual mobility programs. The interviews will focus on identifying the best practices, lessons learned, and recommendations for the successful implementation of virtual mobility programs.
4. Report: A detailed report will be written, summarizing the key findings from the literature review, survey, and interviews. The report will include recommendations for the successful implementation of virtual mobility programs.
5. Presentation of findings: The final stage will involve presenting the findings and recommendations to Universities Canada and Colleges and Institutes Canada. This will include a presentation of the report, discussion of the findings, and recommendations for the renewal of the Global Skills Opportunity Program.

Evaluation timeline and budget

The call for expressions of interest closes on June 2nd. Results will be shared by June 12th. The presentation of findings and final summary report of findings and recommendation are to be submitted by August 31.

The maximum budget for the scope of services and deliverables is $18,000 CAD

Please submit your expression of interest to Universities Canada by 4:00 p.m. ET on June 2nd to Johan Capo-Chichi at jcapo@univcan.ca