Swisscontact is inviting proposals from potential interested organizations/entities willing to Conduct Pilot Survey of the Municipalities Competitiveness Index (MCI). People are at the core of what we do; we take pride in creating an atmosphere of continuous learning coupled with a strong focus on a collaborative work environment.
About PRABRIDDHI
PRABRIDDHI is a Local Economic Development (LED) project, funded by the Government of Bangladesh and Switzerland, and co-implemented by the Local Government Division (LGD) and Swisscontact. The pilot phase of PRABRIDDHI came to a successful end by August 2020. Phase 1 of the project started in January 2021 for a period of four years and focuses on further development of the LED approach in participating municipalities, capacity building of stakeholders and facilitators of LED and an anchoring of the approach on national level. Throughout the phase, the project will be implemented in seven municipalities. Shibganj, Jashore, Bogura, Bhairab, Dinajpur and Kushtia are the six municipalities where the project has been operating. In 2024, PRABRIDDHI has recently expanded its operations in Cox’s Bazar municipality.
Objective
The objective of this assignment is to anchor Municipality Competitiveness Index (MCI) with BIDA and finalise index design, develop methodology, conduct survey for the development of MCI and showcase through national anchoring partner BIDA in Bangladesh.
Scope of work
The scope of work for this assignment are in twofold a) a technical expert to backstop the overall development and anchoring with national stakeholders b) the project team led by the technical expert to develop methodology, conduct survey and showcase index result. Specific tasks are as below:
Technical Expert:
• Support in the designing and developing the Municipality Competitiveness Index (MCI) and provide technical guidance to the PRABRIDDHI team for integrating and uptake of the MCI into national anchoring partner’s program (BICI) strategy.
• Support PRABRIDDHI team to develop strategies to build capacity of anchoring partner for continuing the survey beyond the first phase and help align the concept between BIDA and LGD.
•Initiate dialogue with BIDA to give national coverage of MCI and set benchmark by showcasing MCI to attract municipal level funding, improvement in municipal level service delivery and create enabling environment for local businesses.
• Provide strategic inputs to assist PRABRIDDHI team in developing sustainable concept for replication beyond this first survey.
• Support in facilitating knowledge dissemination events, dialogues and discussion on MCI.
• Support in maintaining liaison with national anchoring partner to integrate and launch MCI.
Survey Team including Technical Expert:
• Develop MCI /Index methodology and finalise in consultation with PRABRIDDHI, LGD and BIDA.
• Develop survey strategy and sampling framework in consultation with project team and BIDA.
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• Develop a sustainable concept for replication beyond this first survey.
• Undertake necessary secondary analysis and stakeholder interviews to bring in thematic and sectoral perspectives relevant for competitiveness at municipal level.
•Developing tools and instruments for data collection in consultation with PRABRIDDHI, LGD and BIDA.
•Conduct a pilot survey in selected municipalities to test and fine-tune instrument.
•Conduct full scale survey (2 rounds) in all the target municipalities to collect data in an accurate and timely manner, ensuring data validity and integrity.
•Conduct in-depth interviews of the municipality officials and relevant stakeholders at the local level.
•Conduct data analysis and further stakeholder interviews to validate data analysis results.
•Prepare draft report of the Municipality Competitiveness Index and collect feedback from key stakeholders.
• Develop a concept for dissemination, policy dialogue and effective launch of the results in close consultation with BIDA
• Provide technical support in continuous dialogue with BIDA regarding MCI and its links to BICI program. Support BIDA in highlighting MCI related messages/communication/ interactions with BICI program’s working group and other relevant government agencies.
• Identify reform requirements opportunities and help identify links to BICP for reform implementation.
• Develop initial ideas for future replication of the MCI without project support in close consultation with BIDA.
• Conduct a pilot of the digital kiosk in selected municipalities to collect data from service seekers during survey and test the model for replication beyond the first survey.
Timeline
The total duration of the assignment will be 16 months.
Submission procedure
Interested firms should submit the sealed envelope containing hard copies of portfolio and sample work, financial proposals, and other relevant documents separately addressing the following person by 18th April 2024.
Samaun Bhuiyan
Coordinator – Business Administration
PRABRIDDHI: Local Economic Development (LED)
Swisscontact
SWISS FOUNDATION FOR TECHNICAL COOPERRATION
House 28, Road 43, Gulshan-2, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
The technical proposal should also be sent to bd.prabriddhi@swisscontact.org. ‘Submission of Application: Conduct Pilot Survey of the Municipalities Competitiveness Index (MCI)’ should be mentioned in the subject line of the e-mail.
For more information, please e‐mail to bd.prabriddhi@swisscontact.org
Please refer to the following link for the detailed ToR [detailed ToR] |
