Friendship, a value-based organization run by compassion, in-depth knowledge, empathy and grassroots experience, has been working for the last 17 years to help address the needs of remote and marginalized communities in Bangladesh, i.e. mostly those people living in the northern river islands and southern coastal belt locations. The organization delivers services in six sectors interacting with each other: Health, Education, Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Management, Inclusive Citizenship, Sustainable Economic Development, and Cultural Preservation. The organization, which started in 2002 with just a floating hospital serving only ten thousand patients is now providing healthcare and other development solutions to more than 3 million people a year. With an integrated development approach, Friendship is nurturing opportunity, dignity and hope by strengthening communities and allowing their members to reach their full potential.

Friendship started its Education Program with Primary Education in 2006 with 10 schools in 10 chars of Gaibandha and Kurigram Districts (North of Bangladesh). Over the years, the program expanded so as to, in 2018, host 4,372 primary school students in 18 full-fledged primary schools and 62 single class “satellite schools”. After a reorganization aiming at optimizing the use of limited resources, the program presently includes 22 full-fledged primary schools and 21 single class satellite schools, altogether hosting 3,428 students, such number to re-increase to approximately 3,900 by 2022.

Based on the success of its primary education program and the obvious need and consistent demand for access to higher education in the chars, Friendship started a video-based learning system in the chars in 2015 to enable its primary school graduates to proceed to secondary education (Grade VI to VIII). In 2019, Grade IX classes have been initiated in five Friendship secondary schools, with the aim of initiating grade 10 in 2020. At present, the program hosts 556 students (as against 308 in 2018) in 11 secondary schools in the
chars, and it is expected to host 1,000 students by 2027.

Friendship is inviting proposals from experienced research/consulting firms for an Independent Evaluation of Friendship’s Education Program.

For detailed Terms of Reference (ToR), please click the link.

Submission of Proposal

Interested organizations/consulting firms are requested to submit a narrative proposal of no more than five pages, with a separate financial proposal to partnership@friendship.ngo with the subject header “Independent Evaluation of Friendship Education Program” on or before 8th August 2019.

No pre-bid meetings will be arranged, but interested candidates may send their queries regarding this assignment on or before 25th July 2019. Friendship will circulate the responses to the queries among all the interested applicants on or before 1st August 2019.

Upon receipt of proposal(s), Friendship may invite qualified applicant(s) for further negotiation