Service Title: Labour Market and Value Chain Assessment in Barishal District of Bangladesh

Background

This Labour Market and Value Chain Assessment has been jointly commissioned by the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) and the British Red Cross Society (BRC), both members of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) / International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the largest humanitarian network in the world.

Established in 1973, the BDRCS works to prevent and alleviate human suffering in line with international standards and the Seven Fundamental Principles of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.  It has played a crucial humanitarian role in the relief, rescue and rehabilitation of thousands of victims of flood, cyclone and other natural disasters in Bangladesh.

The British Red Cross Society (BRC), formed in 1870, has been supporting the BDRCS since 2012 in implementing holistic community resilience and development programmes with a focus on disaster risk reduction (DRR), WASH and livelihoods, otherwise referred to as ‘Vulnerability to Resilience’ (V2R) programmes.

In 2015 and 2019, the BDRCS and BRC carried out assessments in 16 slum communities of Barishal, Bangladesh, as part of the V2R programme in the area.  The findings revealed that people living in the slums suffer from multiple vulnerabilities, including economic insecurity linked to limited livelihood opportunities and diseases caused by lack of water and sanitation facilities, poor hygiene practices and lack of access to health facilities.  They also experience regular cyclones, flooding and water-logging which regularly disrupt their livelihoods and damage or destroy their assets.  

These vulnerabilities are compounded by rapid urbanisation due to increases in economic migration from rural areas, with migrants lacking skills for the urban labour market, leading to increasing socio-economic isolation. Moreover, the environment is also densely populated and has poor land management and underdeveloped infrastructure. These factors contribute to most people in the slums living on or below the poverty line and having little resources to recover from disasters.  As a result, they often end up taking out loans to survive, which they cannot repay, leading to increased impoverishment.  Many adopt negative coping behaviours to survive, such as missing meals and withdrawing children/youth from school to contribute to the household income.

This UK Aid Match funded project, supported by the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), aims to build resilience and reduce the poverty of people living in the slums, particularly women, through DRR protected livelihood interventions. The BDRCS together with BRC is implementing a three-year programme providing skills development and employment for men and women in current or emerging growth sectors of the economy, with a specific focus on increasing the control that women have over their economic status. The project, which started on 1 January 2020 and is to be implemented in 16 Barishal slums, has four components:

• Strengthening and diversifying income generating activities of 2,500 households.
• Assisting 2,500 households to protect their livelihood assets through disaster risk reduction.
• Providing women with knowledge and skills for participating in economic activities.
• Creating linkages to market and business opportunities.

Indirectly, 22,000 residents of the slums will benefit from community disaster risk reduction interventions that protect livelihoods.  They will also form partnerships and engage in group activities that empower women and improve access to vocational training, mentorships and employment opportunities.

Purpose and objectives of the assessment

The BRC and BDRCS are seeking a consultant or a team of consultants to conduct a labour market and value chain assessment. The main objective of the assessment is to provide practical recommendations that will inform the UK Aid Match Livelihood Project.  It will identify value chains, employment opportunities, and skills in demand and available. Additionally, it will identify barriers to people living in the 16 slums being able to proactively position themselves for employment and to participate in income-generating and community livelihoods activities.  This should include gender, age, disability and ethnicity, with a specific focus on the barrier’s to women’s economic integration. 

The objectives of the assessment are as follows: 

• Identify technical skills in demand by the labour market and potential employers.
• Understand the mismatch and gaps (skills, knowledge, experience) between what job seekers and employers are looking for, whether real or perceived.
• Identify high growth sectors and businesses and active and functioning value chains in the areas which have potential for new entrepreneurs and businesses and the development of existing businesses seeking expansion; these would be areas where there is potential to  integrate or create new value chains, thus enabling the inclusion of new and expanded businesses and also providing new job opportunities for job seekers from the slums.
• Identify constraints and opportunities in the wider market system, including understanding the roles that informal and cultural norms may play in the job market and determining the supporting services or functions (such as access to market information) that may enable individuals to find steady work.
• Specific understanding of the gender dynamics in labour market and value chain findings.
• Identify a portfolio of interventions as outlined in the scope of the assessment.

This assessment will focus on the demand-side of the labour market (labour offer) and business opportunities available through the value chain findings.  Information on the supply-side (workers, labour force) will be provided through a separate Household Economic Survey (HES) which will provide an analysis of the socio-economic profile of the target communities.  The HES will be carried out just prior to this labour market and value chain assessment.  It is expected that the 2 assessments will complement one another and provide a comprehensive overview of the demand and offer of the labour market.  Both assessments will be used to propose tailored activities to support people living in the targeted slum communities to develop their skills and access jobs in line with the scope of existing and new business opportunities in the value chain market system. The assessment will form the foundation for the design of the project’s technical approach, which combines a Sustainable Livelihoods Framework with “Making Markets Work for the Poor” approach, underpinned by an approach to empowering women as agents of change to address key problems.

Scope of Work

To achieve the above objectives, the consultant will need to mainstream gender throughout the assessment, including gender disaggregated data. The assessment is to address the following issues:

• The structure of Barishal economy:
• The full-economic picture: what is the structure and performance of the labour market in general?  (wage margins, over-saturated areas/sectors).
• Overview of the different / major forms of livelihoods prevalent in Barishal; the challenges that exist and opportunities they present for the population.
• What are the special characteristics of slum communities in Barishal in terms of their inclusion and representation in the wider labour market and value chains?
• Main market sectors in the Barishal City Corporation and the type of activities and partnerships needed to offer livelihood opportunities, especially for women.
• The potential and constraints for growth in main market sectors of the economy (formal and informal)

• The demand for labour and structure of the labour market in Barishal district:
• Identify and map markets and value chains that are not overly saturated and present potential for growth, profitability and employment; especially the ones that would provide job and business opportunities for residents of the slum communities. 
• Identify some industries and companies within the identified growth sectors and their requirements for hiring employees (such as skills and experience) and map them.
• What sort of workers, with what skills and wages, will be needed in these identified sectors of growth that could facilitate employment opportunities for people in the slums (with separate consideration given to men and women)?
• What is the perception of this specific industries/ companies of the labour force originating from the slums as compared to the wider labour market in Barishal?
• Identify appetite/willingness/offer of industries and companies to provide mentoring and apprenticeship programmes to low-skilled workers
• Are there laws or customs which act as barriers to certain people or groups being able to participate in the formal labour market, e.g., women, certain age groups, ethnicities, people with disabilities, etc. 
• Are there specific constraints facing women in Bangladesh and especially the Barishal labour market? Are women prevented or discouraged from entering the labour market? Does living in a slum create specific barriers?
• Assess and recommend possible business approaches for women living in the slums (opportunities/potential for investing/supporting group businesses compared to supporting individuals)

• The Value Chains
• Identification of value chains or potential gaps in the market system, following by selection of potential value chains or gaps in the market system for further analysis. The consultant will provide initial feedback to BDRCS and BRC and jointly determine the value chain or gaps in the market system to further analysis.
• Context specific research and identification of key players linked to the value chains or gaps in the market system identified above for further analysis, including: (1) Identifying all the value chain players for the selected value chain or market players or identify the gaps in the market system; (2) the key systems and sub-systems responsible for the value chain or the gaps in the market systems, policies and environment (i.e. the enabling environment); and (3) List of relevant key stakeholders.

• The potential for small businesses
• Where are there strong links between small enterprises with the growing formal sector and urban economy?
• What are the constraints facing start-up businesses in Barishal?  This includes legal as well as practical constraints, such as access to finance (formal and informal) and level of financial literacy of the communities.
• What obstacles to entrepreneurial activity might especially affect poor women, such as legal prescriptions on property ownership and transfer?

• Service Providers supporting employment and income generating activities: 
• Map market actors and institutions operating and delivering services in the area; the accessibility of vocational training, financial services and business service providers (i.e., microfinance and job placement agencies).
• What are the existing vocational training service providers (public and private) in the selected area and which could be considered prospective partners in offering needed skills trainings and other support to the project as identified? What trainings do they offer in relation to the identified gaps?

• Identify portfolio of potential interventions and recommendations:
• The information and skill gaps that exist between the business and industry demand and the ones available within the targeted slums.
• The information and skill gaps among those living in the slums that prevents their enterprises from expanding and becoming sustainable. 
• Available options for skill development in the Barishal context, including the methodological approaches of each.
• Potential areas of intervention in fostering identified value chains leading to creation of opportunities for additional jobs, services, start-up and business expansion

It needs to detail specific players by name, their contact details and potential opportunities by function and roles (including value chains where appropriate/relevant).

Methodology

The consultant(s) will be required to develop an appropriate methodology and present this in their proposal. The tools and specific methodological approach will be discussed and agreed between BRC, BDRCS and the consultant. Please take into consideration all Covid–19 related scenarios.

Deliverables

The list of deliverables to be submitted by the consultant includes the following:

• An inception report with detailed assessment work plan and methodology (following the BRC Team review) – before start of the assessment.
• Provide BRC / BDRCS the initial Value Chain findings with the Selection and reason for selection of the value chain with potential for further analysis and receive feedback from BRC / BDRCS on the same (before developing the first draft).
• A first draft of the Labour Market and Value Chain Assessment report—to be submitted by 15th of May 2021
• A half-day workshop in Bangladesh with the BRC /BDRCS team to present main findings and recommendations, giving an opportunity for the programme management team and community representatives to validate the findings and make necessary changes.
• A final report on the findings of the Labour Market and Value Chain Assessment—to be submitted by 10th of June 2021
• The sections of the report are to include those outlined in the scope of work section above.
• The report is to include an executive summary covering the labour market and value chain assessment findings separately (2-3 pages each)—to be submitted with the final report
• The report should have a separate Labour Market Assessment and Value Chain Assessment. It is expected that the combined report will be approximately 45 single-spaced pages (not including tables and annexes.)
• The report is to include an executive summary covering the labour market and value chain assessment findings separately (2-3 pages each)—to be submitted with the final report
• An annex to the report will contain a list of contacts, informants and organisations consulted (both public and private)
• An annex of the list of data reviewed sources and references
• A half-day workshop in Bangladesh with the BRC /BDRCS team to present final findings and recommendations (date and location to be finalised in and around final report.

The consultant should keep the BRC team regularly informed of progress on key issues arising that may require additional direction or on suggestions they may have for other key informants or reference materials.

The scope of the work may be revised depending on the coverage and quality of the information available.

Responsibilities of BRC and BDRCS Team:

• BRC team will maintain oversight of the consultancy, including managing the consultant / consultancy team and overseeing their/ his / her work and progress.
• BRC will provide orientation to the consultant(s) and detail the requirements of the  consultancy, holding regular meetings and orientation on the next steps.
• BDRCS team will facilitate the field visits and, if required, support the data collection.
• BDRCS team will facilitate meetings with key stakeholders, as required.
• BRC and BDRCS team will review the proposed methodology, inception report, questionnaires, summary report and final report and provide feedback if necessary.   

Bidding Requirements:

BRC invites qualified individuals, teams, companies or institutions to conduct the Labour Market and Value Chain Assessments in Barishal, Bangladesh. The essential selection criteria are as follows: 

Application Instruction:

• Last date for Application is 20th of March 2021, on or before 5:00 pm Dhaka Time.
• Please send in the complete application package to Engr. Md. Saiful Islam, Manager-Logistics, Security and IT, British Red Cross on Saifulislam@redcross.org.uk and CC to AshisKumarKundu@Redcross.org.uk
• Interested and qualified candidates / companies / consultancies / organization are requested to submit:
1. Letter of Interest addressed to the Country Representative – British Redcross, Bangladesh Country Office
2. Technical Proposal focussing on objective and addressing all aspects mentioned in the bidding requirements with methodology, workplan and timeline.
3. Include detailed CVs of all personnel who would get involved.
4. Provide evidence of previous experience and similar work.
• If there is any lack of understanding or any futher clarification is needed please write to Engr. Md. Saiful Islam, Manager-Logistics, Security and IT, British Red Cross on Saifulislam@redcross.org.uk and CC to AshisKumarKundu@Redcross.org.uk with subject as: ‘Seeking Clarification – BDRCS Assessment Barishal’ by 14th of March. A session might be held on 15th and 16th of March virtually for clarification on the issues raised. The link for the clarification meeting would be sent to those who have mailed Mr Saiful seeking clarification.
• For Details see the Terms of Reference (TOR) and mandatory Code of Conduct.

Click Here to download the CoC