Design and Development of the SheTracks Digital Platform
SheTracks: Amplifying Young Women's Voices in Local Governance in Cameroon (“Democracy Sidon Tok”)
The Association of Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AAGYW) Cameroon is a youth-led civil society organization founded in 2021 to advance the rights, leadership, and meaningful participation of adolescent girls and young women in Cameroon.
AAGYW works at the intersection of youth leadership, civic engagement, and local governance, building the capacity of young women to engage confidently and effectively with public institutions.
SheTracks is a civic accountability initiative operating under the campaign identity “Democracy Sidon Tok” (“democracy sits down and talks”, in Cameroonian Pidgin English). The project is funded by the CIVICUS Digital Action Lab and implemented over nine months (September 2026 – May 2027) in Bamenda II Municipality, North West Region, Cameroon.
The project's main objective is to strengthen young women's participation in local governance by improving their understanding of how Bamenda II Council works, creating space for youth-led dialogue on governance issues, and equipping a cohort of young women to act as community ambassadors for civic accountability.
Its central mechanism is a Promise vs Reality tracker: a public record of Bamenda II Council's stated commitments, matched against citizen-submitted evidence of whether those commitments have been delivered.
The project combines in-person Democracy Sidon Tok civic education sessions for 100 young women aged 18–35 with a digital layer — the SheTracks platform — that extends learning, reporting, and dialogue beyond the sessions themselves.
AAGYW Cameroon is seeking a qualified consultant or development team to design, build, test, and hand over the SheTracks digital platform: an accessible, low-bandwidth digital tool that enables young women and the wider public in Bamenda II to learn about local governance, track Council commitments, and submit evidence-based reports and observations.
A preliminary technical scope and working prototype (a WhatsApp-based conversational bot covering civic education, citizen reporting, and commitment-tracking flows) has already been developed in-house and will be shared with the selected consultant as a starting reference.
The consultant is expected to review, refine, extend, and productionize this work — not necessarily start from zero — while proposing improvements where their technical judgment differs from the existing prototype.
The consultant will be responsible for the following, in close coordination with the AAGYW project team:
Review Existing Prototype and Technical Documentation
Review the existing prototype and technical documentation, and propose a final technical architecture for the SheTracks platform, including any recommended changes to the current approach.
Design and Build
Design and build the platform's core features (detailed in Section 5), prioritising simplicity, low data cost, and offline-resilient design suited to intermittent connectivity in Bamenda II.
Citizen Reporting
Implement a citizen reporting feature that allows users to submit observations on Council commitments, with personal identifiers protected (e.g. hashed or otherwise de-identified) before any data is aggregated or displayed publicly.
Back-end / Admin View
Build a simple back-end/admin view that allows the AAGYW project team to update Council commitments and their status (Kept / In Progress / Not Fulfilled), and to review incoming citizen reports without technical assistance.
User Testing
Conduct at least one round of user testing with a sample of project participants, document findings, and implement refinements based on that feedback.
Deployment and Maintenance
Deploy the platform to a stable, low-cost hosting environment and provide a deployment and maintenance guide the AAGYW team can follow independently after handover.
Training and Orientation
Provide a short training/orientation session (remote is acceptable) to the AAGYW project team on managing and maintaining the platform post-handover.
Source Code and Ownership
Deliver all source code, technical documentation, and credentials to AAGYW Cameroon, which will retain full ownership of the platform.
5.1 Core Features
Governance Learning Resources
Short, mobile-friendly civic education content (in Cameroonian Pidgin English, with English as secondary) covering how Bamenda II Council works and citizens' rights to participate.
Promise vs Reality Tracker
A public-facing record of Council commitments and their current status, editable by the AAGYW team without developer support.
Citizen Reporting
A simple flow for users to submit reports or observations tied to specific commitments or issue categories (e.g. water, health, roads, safety).
Escalation Pathway
A way for users to request direct follow-up from the AAGYW team on urgent or sensitive matters.
5.2 Non-Functional Requirements
| # | Deliverable | Indicative Timing |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Inception note Reviewed technical scope, proposed architecture, and confirmed workplan. |
5–11 Oct 2026 (Week 1) |
| 2 |
Working platform build Core features per Section 5 ready for internal review. |
12 Oct – 15 Nov 2026 (Weeks 2–6) |
| 3 |
User testing User testing completed with a sample of project participants; findings documented. |
16–29 Nov 2026 (Weeks 7–8) |
| 4 |
Refined platform Platform incorporating user testing feedback. |
30 Nov – 13 Dec 2026 (Weeks 9–10) |
| 5 |
Final platform Final platform deployed to production hosting, with source code, documentation, and admin/maintenance guide delivered. |
14–27 Dec 2026 (Weeks 11–12) |
| 6 |
Handover training session Training session for the AAGYW project team. |
Week of 21 Dec 2026 (Week 12) |
- Demonstrated experience building web or chat-based (e.g. WhatsApp, SMS) applications, ideally for civic technology, social accountability, or nonprofit/NGO contexts.
- Working knowledge of low-bandwidth and low-connectivity design considerations relevant to Cameroon or comparable contexts.
- Experience with the Meta WhatsApp Cloud API, or willingness to work within the project's existing technical direction, is an advantage.
- Experience designing systems that handle sensitive or personally identifiable citizen data responsibly.
- Ability to produce clear technical documentation and train non-technical staff to manage a platform independently.
- Prior experience working with civil society organizations, youth-led organizations, or donor-funded projects is an advantage.
- Availability to complete the assignment within the stated timeline, with regular remote coordination with the AAGYW project team.
This project works with adolescent girls and young women, some of whom may be reporting on sensitive local issues. The consultant is expected to:
- Ensure no personally identifying information about a citizen reporter is displayed publicly without explicit, informed consent.
- Build in reasonable technical safeguards (e.g. de-identification, access controls) appropriate to the sensitivity of the data collected.
- Comply with any data protection guidance provided by AAGYW Cameroon and CIVICUS during the assignment.
- Disclose any subcontracting, and ensure any subcontractors meet the same data protection standards.
Payment will be milestone-based and tied to deliverables accepted in writing by AAGYW Cameroon. The proposed structure is:
Upon signing of contract and submission of the inception note (Deliverable 1).
Upon delivery of a working platform build and completed user testing (Deliverables 2–3).
Upon final handover: deployed platform, complete documentation, source code, and training session (Deliverables 5–6).
Applicants should propose an all-inclusive fee for the full assignment in their financial proposal (see Section 10).
[AAGYW Cameroon to confirm available budget range before publishing this call.]
Interested consultants or firms should submit the following as a single application:
A brief technical proposal (maximum 4 pages) outlining your understanding of the assignment, proposed technical approach, and workplan.
A financial proposal stating an all-inclusive fee for the full assignment, broken down by the deliverables in Section 6.
A CV (for individuals) or company profile (for firms), highlighting relevant past work — with links to live products or repositories where possible.
Contact details for two professional references from comparable past assignments.
| Criteria | Weight |
|---|---|
| Relevant technical experience (civic tech, low-bandwidth design, WhatsApp/chat-based tools) | 35% |
| Quality and clarity of the technical proposal and proposed architecture | 25% |
| Demonstrated experience with sensitive data handling and youth-focused or NGO contexts | 15% |
| Financial proposal (value for money, not necessarily lowest cost) | 15% |
| References and past work quality | 10% |
This consultancy is part of a project funded under the CIVICUS Digital Action Lab.
AAGYW Cameroon is committed to a fair, transparent, and competitive selection process.
AAGYW Cameroon retains full ownership of all platform code, content, and data arising from this consultancy.
