Accreditation for PLD facilitators open now

You will also need to tender for a contract to deliver centrally funded PLD.

These are two separate processes and both are important to you. Applications for accreditation opened 18 July; a Request for Proposal (RFP) will be published on the Government Electronic Tenders Service (GETS) on 27 July.

If you don’t want to deliver centrally funded PLD, but would like to be an accredited facilitator, you can apply for accreditation but don’t need to take part in the RFP process.

Accreditation

Any facilitator delivering PLD to Communities of Learning (CoL), schools or kura can apply for accreditation.

Accreditation is essential if you want to deliver centrally funded PLD and optional if you are delivering specialist services that CoL, schools and kura purchase from their own funds.

Accreditation is open now. If you want to deliver centrally funded PLD and be involved in the tender process, get your application for accreditation in by 15 August.

Application forms are online(external link) 

If you don’t want to apply for accreditation this year there will be further opportunities in 2017.

The value of accreditation is that it will give schools, kura and CoL quality assurance when selecting a facilitator to deliver PLD. It will help them identify facilitators with the skills that match their needs.

Facilitators will be individually accredited based on a profile of their work, skills and experience, including references.

If you are an individual, you can apply direct to the Ministry. Organisations employing a number of facilitators may apply on behalf of their staff and manage the application process for them. If you are working for an organisation, check that they are managing applications for accreditation.

All applications for accreditation will be considered by a national accreditation panel.

Accreditation is a necessary qualification step if you want to deliver centrally funded PLD. It is not, in itself, a guarantee of funding or an alternative to the open tender process.

Creating a panel of facilitators for centrally funded PLD

The Ministry will create a panel of facilitators who will be available to deliver centrally funded PLD. This panel will be formed through the RFP process, which begins 27 July and closes 26 August.

Providers of any size can apply to become part of the panel, whether they are sole traders or larger organisations contracting or employing a number of facilitators. If you are working for an organisation, check that it is tendering to deliver centrally funded PLD.

The RFP will be published on GETS. If you want to take part, and you are not yet registered for GETS, have a look at the information box in this article.

During the RFP there are protocols that the Ministry must follow when dealing with applicants to ensure transparency and fairness in the process. These process details will be outlined in the RFP.

A key feature is the nature of communication. When we were in the design phase we could communicate freely with all interested parties. As we enter the procurement phase, communication has to be managed carefully to ensure that all potential applicants receive the same information.

Providers who are successful in the RFP will be offered a contract to deliver centrally funded PLD in 2017. Their names and the names of their facilitators will be included in an online database creating the panel of facilitators available to all schools, kura and Communities of Learning.

Information on the database will include a facilitator’s experience, areas of specialist expertise, the regions they are available to work in and names of referees.

Centrally funded PLD will be allocated regionally. Schools, kura and CoL will apply to area allocation panels that will consider proposals every term. If their proposal is accepted, schools, kura and CoL will then use the online database to select a facilitator or facilitators.

Panel providers or their accredited facilitators will be contacted by a school, kura and CoL and asked to deliver their proposed PLD.

More information about the new PLD process can be found on the Ministry’s PLD website