Terms of Reference

Consultancy support for capacity assessment of local service providers and design of a capacity development strategy, training materials and performance tracking tools for the Suchana Program

1. Project Background

The Suchana program aims to reduce undernutrition leading to stunting in children under two years of age living within 250,000 very poor households with women of reproductive age (15-45 years) in Sylhet and Moulvibazar districts of Bangladesh. The program adopts an integrated approach to nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive interventions and aims to develop a sustainable and replicable model that can be scaled. Suchana is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the European Union (EU) and is implemented by a consortium of eight partners, including Save the Children, iDE, WorldFish, Helen Keller International, and implementing agencies CNRS, RDRS and FIVDB. icddr,b is responsible for carrying out the impact monitoring of the program. iDE’s role in the program is to provide technical advisory services related to strengthening market linkages and capacity building of the consortium partners on market-based approaches. 

2. About the Assignment

2.1 Context of the Assignment

Among the five pillars of the Suchana program, Pillar 3- better nutrition through improved economic status - focuses on increasing household income and strengthening livelihood strategies through a nutrition-sensitive approach which ensures that households are able to afford a nutritious diet, have the economic means to put nutrition knowledge into practice, and invest in developing secure and resilient livelihoods. Nutrition-sensitive interventions differ from nutrition specific-interventions in that they aim to address the underlying causes of malnutrition rather than providing a direct solution. The effects of nutrition-sensitive interventions may be less direct, but they may impact a larger number of beneficiaries in a more sustainable way, as the root causes of malnutrition affect many people, and solving them produces long-term gains in nutrition. The nutrition-sensitive approach is also designed to be gender transformative and climate-sensitive through a household-based approach and a rich engagement with climate-sensitive technologies and service delivery mechanisms.
 
Suchana is implementing a Nutrition Sensitive Market System Developed approach. The first component of Pillar-3 is the implementation of market-led income generating activities (IGAs) with start-up investment grants. IGAs focus on increasing household access to sufficient nutritious food through increased income and production for consumption, to prevent chronic malnutrition and reduce the incidence of stunting. The second component of Pillar-3 is support for homestead food production (HFP) of nutritious food, primarily for domestic consumption, but also to support income generation by selling surplus produce.

Suchana is, building trust, communication, and incentives between beneficiaries and market actors to create strong forward and backward linkages. Suchana is supporting both top-down systemic interventions and bottom-up facilitated linkages. Rapid Market Assessment and IGA analysis have supported the design of this systems strategy and have identified systemic constraints disaggregated sub-sectors. To address these constraints, the Suchana market systems strategy deploys five key interventions at micro, meso and macro levels in the market system which are Business Groups (Micro Level) and Local Business Advisor (Last mile actor) development, establish Collection Points, Local service provider engagement (Meso level) and lead firm engagement (Macro level). This overarching strategy is integrated into each of the five main project sectors: horticulture, livestock, poultry, aquaculture, and off-farm sub-sector. Categorically most of the local service providers are seed and feed retailers, fish fingerling hawkers, para-vets, vaccinators, and fish nursery owners.

2.2 Objective of the Assessment

The overall objective of this assignment is to develop the capacity of the iDE Suchana field team to ensure effective coaching and mentoring support to local service providers such as seed and feed retailers, fish fingerling hawkers, para-vets, vaccinators, and fish nursery owners who operate in the local market systems in the area of influence of the Suchana program in the Sylhet region.

The specific objective of this assignment is to evaluate the business management capacity of the local service providers, develop plans for improvement (including a strategy for accessing coaching and mentoring) along with developing a set of a ToT modules for the iDE team and performance tracking tools for the Suchana Program. 

3. Major responsibilities of Consultant or Firm

This assignment has been designed specifically around these three phases as described below:

Phase
Responsibilities
Phase-1:
Inception Phase
  • Develop a brief inception report and work plan after an initial briefing with iDE.
  • Outline of the final report, including proposed structure of improvement plans, mentoring strategies, and modules
  • Desk review of secondary literature and develop assessment tools
Phase-2:
Deep-Dive/ Field research
  • Conduct field research and collect qualitative information of LSPs
  • Upon completion of research, the consultant will present initial findings to the iDE team through presentation slides
  • Based on mutual agreement, create strategy paper along with clear intervention tactics and operations plan, designed to purpose for the program
  • Draft the assessment report on LSP’s capacity for business management, plus recommendations for key focus areas for improvement and growth
Phase-3:
Reporting
  • Submit i) LSP assessment report and ii) coaching and mentoring strategy and tactical plan to iDE for review and feedback.
  • Submit a ToT module for effective coaching and mentoring to LSPs
  • Develop Enterprise Performance Tracking Tools
  • For all reports deliverables the consultant should expect at least two rounds of feedback from iDE.

4. Major responsibilities of iDE

iDE will provide the consultant with the necessary support to undertake and implement the assignment and execute the ToR. Such responsibilities include the following:

  • Provide initial briefing and existing work overview
  • Provide relevant project documents and technical support
  • Monitor regularly, and provide feedback and ensure the effectiveness of the contract; and,
  • Disburse payment as per the agreed schedule  

5. Expected Deliverables

Phase
Deliverables
Description of Deliverables
Working days
Phase-1:
Inception
  • Inception report (5-7 pages) covering study tools/questionnaire
  • Outline of the final report, including proposed structure of LSP improvement plans, strategy and TOT modules for coaching and mentoring
 Subsequent to signing the contract, the consultant will present iDE with a brief report demonstrating its understanding of this assignment, the proposed methodology of carrying out the assignment, a work plan with implementation schedule, associated budget, and a draft table of contents (TOC) for the final report. A draft of this inception report will be reviewed by iDE, resulting in a final agreement on the strategy that guides the consultancy.
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Phase-2:
Deep-dive/ Field Research
  • Assessment report on LSP’s capacity for business management, plus recommendations for key focus areas for improvement and growth
  • Draft coaching and mentorship strategy, methodologies and tactical plan.
Upon completion of research in Inception Phase, the consultancy will draft the assessment report, coaching and mentoring strategy and tactical plan. The feedback from iDE during this session will help shape the final report, module especially the areas of focus for analysis and recommendations
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Phase-3:
Reporting
  • Final Report on LSP capacity assessment and tactical plan
  • ToT module on Effective Coaching and Mentoring of LSPs
  • Enterprise Performance tracking tools
 In final reports and modules all feedback from iDE should be incorporated.  For all reports deliverables the consultant should expect at least two rounds of feedback from iDE.
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All deliverables described above should be written and/or presented in English. The quality should be suitable for an international audience.
 
Subsequent to signing the contract, the consultant will present iDE with a brief report demonstrating it’s understanding of this assignment, the proposed methodology of carrying out the assignment, a work plan with implementation schedule, associated budget, and a draft table of contents (TOC) for the final report. A draft of this inception report will be reviewed by iDE, resulting in a final agreement on the strategy that guides the consultancy.

6. Eligibility Criteria

General experience and expertise:

  • Any qualified international or national firm or individual consultant may apply
  • Ability to communicate cross-culturally and collaborative nature.
  • Excellent communication, written and verbal skills in English
  • The consultant must have rigorous experience of conducting studies, a clear understanding of market research methodologies and experience in using different social research tools and techniques
  • Excellent understanding of Market System Development and M4P
  • Personal commitment, efficiency and flexibility, together with the ability to work both independently under minimum supervision and with large diverse project teams.

7. Budget and Payment Schedule

The total budget for this work must not exceed BDT 600,000 (Six Hundred Thousand Taka only) which should cover all costs including Govt. 10% Tax and 15% VAT, consultants' fee for conducting the entire assignment until final deliverables submission. This should include remuneration, field-based travel (accommodation, transport, per diems) and any miscellaneous costs. Government tax regulation will apply and tax deduction at source will be applied. The consultant will submit an invoice at the end of each phase. The payment schedule is as follows:

  • 20% of the contract value disbursed upon approval of deliverables under Phase 1
  • 30% of the contract value disbursed upon approval of deliverables under Phase-2
  • 50% of the contract value disbursed upon approval of final deliverable under Phase 3  

8. Work Schedule

The assignment will be carried out from September 1-30, 2019 as stated below.

Phases Sep 1 - 5 Sep 5 - 15 Sep 15 - 30
Phase-1: Inception        
Phase-2: Deep-dive       
Phase-3: Reporting      

9. Bid Submission

All expressions of interest should include:

  1. Cover letter (maximum one page);
  2. Technical Proposal (maximum 3-4 pages) which should include:
    • Understanding of the assignment
    • Relevant experience of the consultant/ firm
    • Profiles/resumes of the personnel to be involved in the assignment must be included in the annex
  3. Financial Proposal (maximum one-page): breakdown of cost estimates (which must be within the stipulated budget mentioned in the ToR) for services rendered. This should include, but not be limited to: daily consultancy fees, accommodation, and living costs; transport cost, stationeries, and supplies needed for the consultancy.
  4. If applicable, please also include:
    • Company/Consultant profile
    • VAT Registration Certificate
    • TIN Certificate
    • Joint Stock Company Registration Certificate
    • Trade License Certificate

Interested and qualified consultants/ consultancy firms should submit their proposals to bangladesh.procurement@ideglobal.org by 7th August 2019 4:30 pm, Dhaka Time. Please write “Suchana Consultancy on capacity development of LSP” in the subject line. Only shortlisted firms will be contacted and invited by an interview either in-person or via video-conference.

iDE is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on grounds of race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation.