Request For Proposal (RFP) of End Line Survey on

Digital Island Moheshkhali: Enhancing Access to and Quality of Public Services in Rural Areas

Target Upazila: Moheshkhali

1. Introduction:

Moheshkhali, outside of Cox’s Bazar (which is in itself an underdeveloped district of the country), is a hard to reach area in Bangladesh which suffers from lower than average levels of basic services such as education (both primary and secondary), health care, access to information and the market place. It is also extremely vulnerable to climate change, located in the Bay of Bengal on a known cyclone corridor, and only some meters above sea level.

Improving public services and enhancing the accessibility of minimum social welfare for people is one of the main goals of the Government of Bangladesh, since 2016 with the “Digital Bangladesh” initiative. IOM together with Korea Telecom (KT) has set up a “digital island” project at Moheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar to bring services into the island due to its geographical remoteness that offer very limited access to public services such as education, health care, public safety, and livelihoods.

IOM conducted needs assessment study in the beginning of the project to tailor the programmes and services considering community needs and adaptability on internet and ICT based approaches. The project had provided 1) infrastructure support to be able to have high-speed internet and IT facilities at govt administrative offices 2) a series of awareness raising programmes, capacity building trainings, motivation sessions 3) ICT solutions to reduce service gaps and improve quality existing public services. The project aims to contribute to reducing the social and economic gap between urban and island areas, and tried to prevent unmanageable migration to the major cities due to lack of accessing quality social and public services.
The project has three major interventions to improve quality existing public services:

  • Access to Information with IT facilities
  • Education based on distance learning programme
  • Health with mobile healthcare system

The project is expected to be end in July 2019. Prior to ending of the project an end line survey required to commence to measure progress of project against defined indicators. Indicators to be measured:

2. Indicators

  • % of service users citing quality and access improvement of services.
  • % of equipped network system is operational.
  • # of local Government employees are able to maintain installed infrastructure.
  • % of the ICT solution users in Moheshkhali Island who are satisfied with the benefits of using the installed ICT infrastructure (disaggregated by sex, and school and hospital).
  • # of schools and teachers are capable to conduct multimedia classes using digital content of their own.
  • % of classes test scores in English subject improved by analysing distance learning student’s scores. (base on baseline)
  • # of selected government health institutions use mobile healthcare devices, at least using one mobile healthcare device and/or maintaining electronic health record system, on a regular basis to improve medical services.
  • % of community people satisfied with IT Space facilities and activities.

3. Methodology:

The end line study will utilize a reliable methodology with a representative sample to ensure quality of data reported.

Beneficiaries breakdown under Digital Island Project:

School Children: 4000
Community People: 5000
Government Officials: 50
School Teachers: 100
Youth group got IT training: 300
Patients: 1000
School parents: 2000
Total Beneficiaries: 12450

3.1. Study Area:

Moheshkhali Upazila (Pouroshova, Bara Maheshkahli, Choto Maheshkhali unions) in Cox’s Bazar will be targeted for the survey where the project is implemented.

3.2 Research Team and Supervision

Consultant will be responsible to collect and analyze the data. The methodology, sample and questionnaires should be agreed by IOM programme team.

3.3 Ethical Considerations

This survey will be conducted within the confines of benchmarked and accepted research ethics. These ethical practices include obtaining informed consent of all respondents, respecting their privacy and guaranteeing their anonymity and confidentiality in the data collection, capturing, cleaning, analysis and reporting process.

4. Detailed Fieldwork Schedule

Gantt Chart

Activity
Responsibility
June
July
IOM
Consultant
W1
W2
W3
W4
W1
W2
W3
W4
Orientation with IOM project team
X
 
X
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Analyze secondary data
 
X
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
X
X
Train enumerators 
X
X
Conduct Field Data Collection
X
X
X
Data Preparation and Primary Analysis
X
X
Data Analysis and Report Writing
X
X
Draft report sharing and review
X
X
Finalizing report
X
X
X
Dissemination and Closure
X
X

5. Deliverables:

  • An inception report with survey protocols including methodology
  • Data analysis plan
  • Draft report for review
  • Finalize the report with incorporation of project staff comments

6. Submission Package and Method of Applying:

Each Submission should include the following:

  • Technical proposal: Including methodology, work plan, details of organization/consultants including experience and expertise. Cleary indicate the profile of the Lead Consultant and the team that will work on the assignment.
  • Financial proposal: an all-inclusive proposal with a breakdown of all costs considering the following:
    • Proposal must include professional fees and all data collection fees
    • Any VAT/TAX incurred from this assignment must be deducted at source as per government rule and policy.
  • Sample Reports: Two recent sample of Evaluation or Review reports, of related work concluded during the past 2-3 years.

7. Method of Application

Interested Consulting Firms are invited to submit documents stated below by 22 June 2019, through e-mail to: faahmed@iom.int;  mentioning the CD/CXB-959/2019/13 in subject line. Please keep the attachment size under 9 MB.

For any queries please write to: Sukhee Chae, Project Officer, schae@iom.int