Terms of Reference (TOR)
for
Mid-term evaluation

Project: Securing Employment and Economic Development around Jute Textile and Light- Engineering Sector in North-West Bangladesh (EC- PRISM) Project

Project Background

Practical Action has been implementing a project tilted “Securing Employment and Economic Development around Jute Textile and Light- Engineering Sector in North-West Bangladesh (EC- PRISM)” with funding support from European Commission and in partnership with RDRS, Karupannya Rangpur Ltd., Rangpur Chamber of Commerce and Lathe Machine Sromik Union. The project envisions to strengthen the skills and employability of workers, entrepreneurs in the cottage and small enterprises in order to enhance their competitiveness. The specific objective of the project is to strengthening Jute Textile Product and Light Engineering value chain increasing employability and income of entrepreneurs, workers within small and cottage industries around two sectors. With 3 years of duration, the project is being implemented in 15 Upazilas of 4 Districts of North West Bangladesh, namely Rangpur, Kurigram, Gaibandha and Lalmonirhat.

This project is being addressed some major problems such as hazardous labor in jute processing, jute diversification constrained by poor quality jute fibre, weak integration between small, micro and large jute industries, women participation, lack of proper job service, negotiation skills with poor vocational job training and policy support and direction. To achieve the main objectives and overcoming the problem statements, there are five interlinked Expected Results and Nine Target Groups. All the target groups linked with Jute Textile and Light Engineering sector value chain. In these two sectors, income of relevant target groups, skills enhancement and sustained employment will increase and ensure and relevant localized problems regarding jute and light engineering will be addressed through different activities and involving different stakeholders in the project.

In the long term, the project will contribute to (a) Increased income and sustained employment of 5,850 poor small jute entrepreneurs, traders, weavers and retailers through establishing new small jute processing entrepreneurs and enhancing skills and strengthening jute supply chain; (b) Strengthened the light engineering value chain on agro-mechanisation through introducing ideas of adapting new agro-machines in 100 metal workshops, enhancing skills of 1,000 metal workshop artisans (welders and others); (c) Increase access to job information in small and cottage industries for 3,000 (2,000 male, 1,000 female) through the use of ICT and mobile based information service to various employment seekers; (d) Greater collaboration between value chain actor’s particularly small and large industries, buyers and sellers and relevant government and private sector; (e) Policy engagement, well organised knowledge service for eco-friendly jute product diversification and market led small scale mechanisation.

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