Request for Proposal for External Evaluation

Working across Bangladesh, Dhaka Ahsania Mission (DAM) is a national NGO founded in 1958 and with significant experience in a range of sectors including education, health, human rights, poverty alleviation, livelihoods, micro-finance and climate change.

Among other target groups, DAM works to support vulnerable children.   In this regard, since July 2013 DAM has operated two drop-in centers in Dhaka city for street and working children, one of which additionally offers a night shelter for girls at risk.  Phase 2 of the project, called Drop-in Centres for Street and Working Children in Dhaka City (II) commenced in January 2019 with the financial support of Read Foundation, DAM UK and others.

As the drop-in centres approach their tenth anniversary, DAM’s Education Sector is looking to hire a national consultant or firm for the External Evaluation of the "Drop-in Centre for Street and Working Children in Dhaka City II” project in Bangladesh.  DAM invites proposals from interested consultancy firms/individuals.

Terms of Reference for the External Evaluation of the Drop in Centre Project

1. Title:

External evaluation of the “Drop-in-Centres (DiC) for Street and Working Children in Dhaka City (II)” project in Bangladesh.

2. Background:

Dhaka City slum areas are growing, in particular due to an influx of migrants from rural areas.  Many slum dwellers are illiterate which severely limits viable employment opportunities. Their children often engage in unregulated occupations where, driven by an ignorance of rights and a sense of powerlessness, they are at risk of becoming victims of workplace accidents, exploitation and violence. Many families disintegrate, with children left uncared for living, working and surviving on the streets. These children often become victims of sexual exploitation, human trafficking and drug abuse.  All street and working children (SWC) are excluded from educational opportunities.

DAM’s DiC project takes a holistic approach, providing both center-based and out-reach support.  The approach seeks to address the short-, medium- and longer-term dimensions of the challenges faced by SWC.  

3. Nature and objectives of the work:

DAM is looking for a consulting organization, individual consultant or consultant group to review and assess the quality of implementation, achievements, relevance, effectiveness and impact of DiC project interventions.

The specific objectives of the External Evaluation as a scope of work of the evaluation team are to:

1. Assess the process, effectiveness and impact of the project’s interventions and their appropriateness to fulfil the needs and priorities of the SWC target group, paying particular attention to the voice of project participants past and present;
2. Assess the extent to which the project’s objectives remain relevant and appropriate considering the changing needs of SWC and the changing operating context of the DiC (e.g., services available to SWC from other actors);
3. Present recommendations for improvements to the project approach, design and implementation.

4. Implementation area

The implementation areas are Mohammadpur and Jatrabari and adjacent areas in Dhaka City, Bangladesh.

5. Technical & Financial Proposal:

For the External Evaluation of the Project, experienced organizations/individual consultants are requested to submit Technical & Financial Proposal separately (including brief methodology and approach, areas of expertise of potential consultants, budget and two references) with a cover letter to Deputy Director- PSS, Dhaka Ahsania Mission, House-19, Road-12, Dhanmondi R/A, Dhaka-1209 on or before 28 November 2023. Please mention “External Evaluation” on the top of the envelop. A description of expertise and TIN certificate must be attached to the proposal. For detailed ToR for this Evaluation please visit website www.ahsaniamission.org.bd. Only shortlisted applicants will be called for further discussion. 

The firm/Consultant must submit the following documents along with Technical & Financial Proposal:

Technical proposal

Technical Proposal should include brief methodology and approach, areas of expertise of potential consultants, budget and 2 references with a cover letter, not more than 10 pages profile of the consultant including experience in handling similar assignments, a work-plan, methodology, with client name, contract person and mobile number along with detailed CV.

Financial proposal

The financial proposal should include VAT only. DAM will deduct Income Tax at source (as per govt. rules) from the agreed consultancy amount for a national consultant. ETIN certificate and any other relevant document (if necessary) are to be included with the submission.

Proposal Submission Principal:

We would like to remind all and to emphasize that in order to ensure the integrity of the procurement process and ensure confidentiality of the financial information during the technical evaluation stage, the financial and the technical proposals MUST BE COMPLETELY SEPARATED and submitted in separate sealed envelopes, clearly marked on the outside as either TECHNICAL PROPOSAL or FINANCIAL PROPOSAL, as appropriate.  No Financial information should be contained in the Technical Proposal. Technical Proposal and Financial Proposal must be submitted each under a separate cover letter. The two envelopes shall then be enclosed in one single outer envelope duly marking the envelope as “Proposal for External Evaluation of DiC Project”.

Any Proposal, which does not fully and comprehensively address the requirements, may be rejected.

6. Key Deliverables/ Specific responsibilities of the consultant or external organization:

The specific responsibilities of the assigned organization/consultants are as follows:

1. Submit detail work plan with timeframe and responsible individual experts;
2. Document review (e.g. the project proposal, project documents, project reports, Interim narrative report (Progress reports, case studies etc.);
3. Development of evaluation instruments including methodology & tools within one week from the date of signing the contract;
4. Initial session/discussion with Project Team and representative of Donor;
5. Collection/collation of data/information from the field (in context of diverse stakeholder groups);
6. Data/information compilation and analysis (according to set objectives and LFA);
7. Preparation of Evaluation Report (Draft);
8. Sharing the Draft Evaluation Report with Project Team for verification
9. Present the report with Project team through ppt presentation and final approval;
10. Submission of Final Evaluation Report to DAM (Joint Director of Education, DAM) as per timeline. 

7. Final Output:

• The successful organisation/individual consultant will produce an Evaluation Report (including annexes). The report must be in English.
• The consultant should submit 2 copies of “Evaluation Report” (2 hard copies properly bonded and 1 soft copies-Removable devices).

8. Duration and Timeline:

The External Evaluation will be expected to complete within 45 working days beginning as soon as possible (from date of agreement signed). The report and soft copy of data will be submitted by given timeline. The consulting firm/consultant is required to produce all the deliverables during the contract period.

 9. Selection procedures:

The selection will be made through an open bidding process based on the quality of the proposals (including applied methods), working experiences, qualification/background of the evaluation team members and competitive budget.  Note: In case of outstanding proposal, budget will be considered through negotiation if required. For ensuring the highest quality of the product, comparatively higher budget providing proposal (within our limit) may be considered rather than lower budget providers.

Evaluation & Weighting Criteria:

Submitted proposals will be assessed using Cumulative Analysis Method.  All request for proposal will be weighed according to the technical (80 points) and financial considerations (20 points).  Financial Proposals will be opened only for those application that attained 60% (48 out of 80) or above on the technical part.

• Score of Technical Proposal = 80 Marks (Profile & Experience, Major Partners Worked with, Evaluation Methodologies, Evaluation Plan, Strength of Evaluation Team, Days to complete the research, Experience of Research Team Leader, Field visit/Field Work days, Beneficiaries & stakeholders interviewed, Method of Evaluation report delivered, Qualitative data analysis, Use of Technology for ensuring data quality & Research)
• Score of Financial Proposal = 20 Marks (Assessment/review will include: - Overall Price. - Completeness of the Financial Proposal, Payment terms/schedule of payment proposed, TIN and relevant document.)

10. Budget and mode of payment:

The proposed budget should contain the following headings:

1. Evaluation instrument/tools development
2. Data/information collection, verification and compilation
3. Analysis of collated data/information in line with project framework
4. Travel, food and accommodation Costs
5. Tax and VAT according to the GoB rules will be deducted from the budgeted amount (if there is indication of included budget).

The payment will be made by cheques in the name of the organization/consultant on two instalments:

• 30% of the contract amount on signing the contract and submission of evaluation instruments and tools by first week of the contract;
• 70% of the contract amount on the completion of Final Evaluation Report and approval of DAM authorities.
• If consultant/firm is unable to meet Evaluation deadline then an amount of money (1% per day) from the total amount to be deduct under the contract. If the consultant/firm fails to meet service delivery, which will be decided by an arbitration panel in accordance as per rules & procedures of Bangladesh.

11. Supervision:

The external organization/consultants will perform the activities under the overall supervision of the Joint Director of Education & TVET, DAM and s/he will work in close cooperation with Project Coordinator, DiC project.

12. Confidentiality:

All documents, reports and information from this assignment will be regarded as DAM property, so the mentioned outputs or part of it cannot be sold or used in any case without the prior permission of DAM.

13. Rights

DAM reserves the right to reject or cancel any proposal without showing any reason.

14. Communication:

The Consultant/ external organization will report to the Joint Director of Education of DAM,
email: monir.dameducation@gmail.com , contact no: 01714948567.

Or, for information on the project: Project Coordinator, DiC project
email:  nashiruddinahmed@yahoo.com, contact no: 01712308496.

Details on the Drop-in-Centre for Street & Working Children project in Dhaka City:

The DIC take a holistic approach to helping street and working children stand on their own two feet and to lead better lives.   The approach addresses the short-, medium- and longer-term dimensions of the challenges faced by street and working children.    

Firstly, the DIC provide direct services to SWC to address their immediate safety, enrolling them on the programme.  Immediate health care and counselling are provided to these at-risk children, and nutrition support is provided. Emergency night shelter is also provided to girls particularly at risk.

Secondly, the DiC provide education, life skills and vocational training to enable the children to live fulfilled and productive lives.  Children participate in classes that are tailored to their own learning level and requirements (for instance, some will have never been to school whilst others will be school drop-outs).   The DiC provides training in a number of life skill areas, personal hygiene and financial literacy (e.g. promoting regular savings).   Recreational facilities (e.g. games) and cultural activities (e.g. dance, song and drama tuition) are also available at the DiC.  For older children, vocational training is provided. The DiC work to facilitate the ‘next step’ for the children, for instance arranging job placements or helping children to mainstream into the formal (Government) education system.

Thirdly, the DiC provide outreach services to the SWC’s families and wider community to reduce the risk of the direct beneficiaries falling back into hazardous situations.  A counselling service is also provided to the families of the children through the DiC project.   

Fourthly, the DiC work collaboratively with other organisations to ensure SWC access the full range of services to which they are entitled (e.g. ensuring child can avail of government health services, linking children to micro-finance organisations).  The project creates awareness so that SWC can use their voice about the problems faced living and working on the street (e.g. the challenges faced in accessing services for children who were not registered at birth).

The project objectives are as follows: