Expression of Interest

Request for Expression of Interest
Date of Issue: May 14, 2018
Issued by: Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety
Issued Through: Institute for Sustainable Communities
Closing Date for EOI: May 24, 2018
Closing time: 17:00 Hours Local Bangladesh Time


Subject: Request for Expression of Interest from Local Training Providers To Support the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety

Overview

The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (Alliance) is a legally binding, five-year commitment (2013- 2018) to improve safety in Bangladeshi ready-made garment (RMG) factories. The Alliance provides an unprecedented opportunity for apparel, retail and branded company members to come together and put forward concrete solutions that will be transparent, results-oriented, measurable and verifiable. Collectively, the Alliance’s members represent the majority of North American imports of ready-made garment (RMG) from Bangladesh. The Alliance holds each of its 29 corporate members and their factories accountable to operate workplaces that are safe and effective in ensuring building and fire safety. By upgrading factories, educating workers and management, empowering workers, and building institutions, the Alliance aims to catalyze a long-lasting change in industry safety norms throughout Bangladesh.

As the Alliance’s 5-year term draws to a close at the end of 2018, discussions to form a successor safety monitoring organization (SMO) to carry forward the Alliance’s inspections, safety monitoring, training and helpline services are underway between the Alliance member brands, the Bangladesh Government, and the BGMEA. The SMO will be an independent, credible, locally led organization that will continue the collective agreement under the Alliance on a sustained safety effort.

The Alliance seeks to identify local training service providers (LTPs), through a transparent and competitive process, to continue existing and new training offered to security guards, workers and managers through the SMO. The Alliance is currently working with the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC), a US based organization, to develop these training programs and the selected LTPs will be engaged in the curriculum review process. The pool of selected LTPs will be capacitated through a Training-of-Trainers (ToT) program for their Master Trainers that will get them ready to provide high quality services to RMG factories through the SMO, namely fire, building and electrical safety training, periodic training assessments to confirm that factory employees’ knowledge and skills are adequate to ensure the safety of the factory, and provide periodic reports to the SMO on training conducted and needs. It is also expected that the LTPs will be paid for all training provided to factory professionals.

LTP Expectations:

In-house Resources

  • A designated coordinator to communicate with the ISC and the Alliance, and going forward, with the SMO.
  • At least 2 Master Trainers and access to 1 Safety Professional with experience in designing and delivering training on fire, electrical and structural safety (including earthquakes), in particular the RMG sector.
  • Equipment (laptop, projector, etc.), training rooms, and other facilities, offered at no-cost to the SMO to conduct training.
  • Ability to deliver training in close proximity to factories if needed, as well as their own facilities, or at any other venue identified by the Alliance or the SMO.
  • Sound training administration/ event management policies and procedures, such as for participant registration, fee schedules, and reproduction of training materials (as per the Alliance’s and SMOs rules).
  • Ability to promote training events directly to Alliance member factories, as per the Alliance’s guidelines.
  • Keep track on the training and able to give access to statistics and information as required by ISC and Alliance.

Capacity Building Commitments

  • Participate in a 4 to 5 day ToT organized for the full cohort of LTPs in July 2018.
  • Deliver pilot training (at no cost) to at least 2 cohorts of factory managers (2 cohorts per LTP; 30 managers per cohort), as scheduled by the Alliance team, and incorporate feedback from the Alliance and ISC on training delivery.
  • Engage in coaching, mentoring, or stakeholder discussions organized by the ISC or the Alliance.

Roles and Responsibilities to the ISC and the SMO

  • Agree to the Terms and Conditions of engagement set by the ISC, Alliance, and the SMO.
  • Take overall accountability for the training quality and delivery, including hosting a “training tracker” on behalf of the SMO.
  • Ensure a systematic process for maintenance and updating of procedures, course materials and best practices as required by the SMO, on a timely basis.
  • Deliver high quality and consistent fire, electrical, and structural safety training to factory managers, workers and security guards in their facilities or in other the facilities identified by the SMO.
  • Administer pre and post training assessments to all trainees and report results to the ISC and the SMO.
  • Conduct periodic assessments to confirm that factory employees’ knowledge and skills are adequate or propose training programs to improve knowledge and skills.
  • Provide refresher training for all managers and workers at least once a year.

Expression of Interest Submission

The ISC and the Alliance are requesting for Expressions of Interest (EOI) from interested LTPs in Bangladesh that respond to this Scope of Work, as well as demonstrate the following:

  • A deep understanding of the RMG industry in Bangladesh.
  • A deep understanding of the business model required to deliver fee-based training to industry professionals in Bangladesh, with a discussion of the challenges, strategy and the day-to-day reality in which training providers operate.
  • Experience with multi-channel and multi-modal approach adult learning techniques, including classroom sessions, “live” webinars, post-training reinforcement coaching, online learning modules, Q&A sessions, podcasts/audio and e-mail reinforcement.
  • Accreditation and credentials (last 5 years) as a training provider.
  • Please provide legal documents valid trade license, TIN and VAT registration as attachment. Also Annual turnover of last three year or Audit report (if any).
  • Credentials of the LTPs staff and advisors that will be engaged in training delivery and curriculum updates. (Please provide CVs of all proposed staff as attachments to the EOI).

All types of eligible organizations and firms are strongly encouraged to submit EOIs. Please submit electronic written information by 17:00 Dhaka time on May 24, 2018. Submissions shall be sent to (mshaim@iscbangladesh.org). Phone calls, hard copy delivery, or meeting requests sent to the ISC or the Alliance will not be accepted.

The total length of the EOI submission should not be longer than 5 pages. Submission shall use only size 11 Times New Roman font or similar size typeset, 8.5 inch by 11 inch paper, and single-spaced pages for all narrative documents, with each page numbered consecutively. If the submitter has produced relevant reports, those reports may be included, preferably as embedded links. If the reports are not online, they may be submitted as attached documents. Attachments should include CVs of proposed staff as well. The submission must be in English; however, reference documents or links may be in Bangla.

Responses will be held confidential. Proprietary information should not be sent. Submissions will not be acknowledged nor will responses be sent. ISC and the Alliance will communicate with selected short listed LTPs directly.