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Hiring a Consultant for Development of Social and Behavioural Change Communications (SBCC) strategy and materials design for Child Early Marriage in Bangladesh (CEMB) project in Jhalakathi and Bhola District in Bangladesh- consultancy/ (Output- 1121.8)

1. Background and introduction

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organization that advances children’s rights and equality for girls. Plan International envisages a world in which all children and young people realize their full potential, a vision now shared by the 193 Heads of State and Government who adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in September 2015. We believe in the power and potential of every child. This is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. Its girls who are most affected. Plan International’s new Global Strategy aims to transform the lives of 100 million girls by implementing an integrated programme and influence approach.  In Bangladesh, we have set our vision for 2030 as, ‘We will partner to empower girls and young women, to be heard, to live without fear of violence and to achieve their rights’. We have started the new country strategy in July 2020 aiming to achieve this exciting and ambitious vision. We believe in the power and potential of every child. This is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. Its girls who are most affected. Plan International’s new Global Strategy aims to transform the lives of 100 million girls by implementing an integrated programme and influence approach. Achieving gender equality is a core objective of Plan’s work, as an organization dedicated to child rights. As part of it, Plan International Bangladesh is implementing “Combatting Early Marriage in Bangladesh” (CEMB) project in Jhalakathi and Bhola districts of Barishal Division.

2. Project overview

Combatting Early Marriage in Bangladesh is a four-and-a-half-year initiative that is being carried out by Plan International Bangladesh and Plan International Canada and supported by GAC. The initiative aims to combat CEFM and reduce the vulnerability of adolescents, particularly girls, to CEFM in Bhola and Jhalakati Districts of Bangladesh. This will be achieved through a three-pronged strategy focusing on building the agency of girls and boys in and OOS, creating a supportive social environment for married and unmarried girls, and strengthening the effectiveness and functioning of institutions and governance mechanisms to prevent CEFM. To achieve its ultimate objective, Combatting Early Marriage in Bangladesh has the following three intermediate outcomes:

• Increased agency of adolescents, especially girls to protect themselves from harmful gender norms and practices, including CEFM, and to access economic empowerment opportunities
• Increased community acceptance of norms that value the girl child and actions that support girls and boys to delay marriage
• Increased responsiveness of duty bearers at national, District and sub-District levels to prevent and respond to child rights violations, particularly CEFM, among vulnerable girls

The project aims to reach an estimated total of 137,162 adolescent beneficiaries including 77,702 (56.6%) girls and 59,460 (43.4%) boys aged 10 to 19 years. The targeted adolescents reside in three sub-districts in Bhola district and four sub-districts in Jhalakati district. Of these adolescents, there will be an estimated 119,802 in-school adolescents from ages 11-15, including 68,902 (57.5% girls and 42.5% boys) out of school (OOS). The project aims to reach the adolescents through support to OOS Economic Empowerment (EE) and Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (ASRHR) groups session by the OOS peer leaders, classroom integrated GEMS in Schools, in-school adolescent corners, self-defence trainings, and SBCC events held with adolescent girls and boys.

Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) is the integrated approach of this project and taken on various initiatives to tackle social norms, harmful practices, forms of discrimination and violence including child early and forced marriage. Developing an SBCC materials with a strategy will contribute to achieving project’s outcomes. It has direct links with outcome one- ‘Increased agency of adolescents, especially girls, to protect themselves from harmful gender norms and practices, including CEFM, and to access economic empowerment opportunities’; and with outcome two- ‘Improved community acceptance of norms that value the girl child and actions that support delaying marriage’. Expected that SBCC strategy will be combined with a BCC implementing plan, IEC/BCC materials list and monitoring and evaluation framework/tools to ensure appropriate and effective guidance in creating a positive impact to combatting child marriage in Bangladesh.

 3. Scope of Work

The consultant firm/individual will provide the following:

• The consultant/consulting firm needs to develop an SBCC strategy for the project and IEC/BCC materials, targeting the primary and secondary audiences to reaching desired behaviours and specific project outcomes. The project already discovered the background information about the targeted population along with the local context of the implementing districts, Jhalakathi and Bhola through baseline study, Gender Equality and Child Protection Assessment as well as the rapid assessment on the impact of OOS adolescents during COVID-19; that will help to design the strategy considering both normal and covid situation.
• Understanding context and situation, consutant/team will review project related documents, existing studies and interview/ consultation with targeted project population, volunteers, staff, partners and management team. Considering the COVID situation, all interviews and consulatation will be organized using virtual/digital media.
• For planning and developing IEC/BCC materials, consultant will collect and  review existing communication materials from  Plan International Bangladesh and other organizations that developed on preventing child marriage, GBV, gender equality, ASRHR, protection of child rights etc.  Along with that, a virtual SBCC strategy planning workshop  and consultation meetings will be organized by the consulatant/team with the project implementing team, partners and relevant technical leads of Plan International Bangladesh.
• Also, may organize a  co-design workshop involving  project’s frontline staff and volunteers  for  IEC/BCC materials  development  where a graphic designer has to be included to designing the print materials and ensured pre-testing before production.
• This SBCC strategy will determine the BCC intervention plan align with project activities among the targeted audiences concentrating their needs and interests through  effective communication messages and interactive materials in relation to gender transformation approach.
• All SBCC materials will be planned following the strategy and targeting the project particpants mostly OOS adolescent girls and boys to exercising their agency and choice in decisions making, claiming rights and protection services, preventing sexual harassment and SGBV including CEFM applying their knowledge on GE, ASRHR, CP, DRR and life skills. Produced SBCC materials  also  help to motivate parents and community stakeholders tackling cultural norms and harmful social practices, engaged to promote gender equality, girls’ rights to education and protection, taken measures to stop Child Marriage at the community level etc.
• This SBCC strategy and materials will be implemented throughout the project period at Jhalakathi and Bhola districts in Barishal division.

Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be downloaded from this link.

Submission of Proposal

The technical and financial proposals should be submitted electronically to the email address: Planbd.consultant.hiring@plan-international.org with titled “Consultancy for Social and Behavioural Change Communications (SBCC) strategy and materials development” as subject line. Proposal submitted to any other email account except this and in hard copy will be treated as disqualified. Two different folders i.e. technical and financial should be submitted into one zip folder with a covering letter. The proposals should be submitted in pdf format.

Proposal submitted to any other email account except this and in hard copy will be treated as disqualified.