1. Introduction

1.1 About Swisscontact

Swisscontact, Swiss Foundation for Technical Cooperation, is headquartered in Zurich and was founded in 1959 by leading figures from the Swiss private sector and Swiss universities. It is exclusively involved in international cooperation and, since 1961, has carried out its own and mandated projects. A part of the organisation, Swisscontact Bangladesh, is registered as an international non-governmental organisation (INGO) under The GO Affairs Bureau, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, carrying out diverse projects across sectors such as ready-made garments (RMG), agriculture, health, water and sanitation, light engineering, and financial inclusion.

1.2 About progress

The Promoting Green Growth in the Ready-Made Garments Sector through Skills (PROGRESS) is a four-year (2022–26) project funded by the Embassy of Sweden and the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh and implemented by Swisscontact. The project supports RMG factories to advance in green transition by building their resilience and competitiveness.

The PROGRESS project drives sustainable growth in the RMG sector through a market-driven approach. The project has two major components. The first component: Skills & Productivity, aims at improving the technical skills and productivity of RMG workers. Under this component with support from the project, the Consultancy Service Providers (CSPs) develop the skills of the workers in areas like low performance, zero defect, women leadership, etc., which make them more competent and productive. Besides, the project supports the factories in developing an in-house training system to ensure the sustainability of these initiatives. The second component: Environment & Social Compliance, supports factories in their journey of decarbonisation. The CSPs, with support from the project, assess the factories’ status of carbon emissions at baseline and help them develop tailored pathways to reach net-zero emissions, while also promoting sustainability reporting. PROGRESS facilitates partnership between CSPs and factories to deliver commercially viable solutions. The third component: Local Technical Consultancy Providers (LTCP), strengthens the local service market, enabling factories to access affordable solutions. LTCPs are Bangladeshi commercial consultancy firms that have expertise to implement interventions in partner factories for PROGRESS. They have legal, technical, and financially binding contracts with the project.  Beyond the project, then are expected to provide similar services to the factories in exchange of service fees. Additionally, by leveraging collaborations with international brands, PROGRESS ensures solutions are aligned with industry demand. The ultimate objective of the project is to increase the job competitiveness of the low-skilled industrial workers (including women), especially in the RMG supply chain.

1.3 Background for the assignment

Bangladesh's Ready-Made Garment (RMG) industry is stepping up to the global challenge of sustainability. While international frameworks like GRI, ESRS, and CSRD are driving a push for stronger environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, this isn't just about meeting external demands. It's an opportunity for a positive transformation.

By embracing better ESG practices, the nation's export-oriented sectors, especially factories in RMG supply chain are actively fostering sustainable development. This commitment to positive change directly benefits the people and environment of Bangladesh, leading to tangible improvements like:

This focus on ESG is an investment in a more sustainable and prosperous future for Bangladesh.

However, the domestic ESG ecosystem faces significant capacity constraints on both the demand and supply sides.
On the demand side, most factories, particularly beyond advanced factories, lack the internal capability to assess, articulate, or operationalise ESG requirements. ESG is still widely perceived as a peripheral or donor-driven agenda, rather than a core business function. Factory managers and compliance staff are often unaware of what ESG services entail, what expertise they require, or how such services could benefit their long-term competitiveness.
On the supply side, the availability of trained ESG and sustainability professionals remains extremely limited. While Bangladesh has a small but growing number of certified energy auditors (primarily focused on energy efficiency and industrial assessments), there are far fewer professionals with formal ESG training and applied industry experience. ESG remains largely absent from university curricula and professional development frameworks. In practice, only a handful of Dhaka- and Chattogram-based firms offer ESG-linked consulting, and their services are often inaccessible to small and mid-sized factories due to cost, technical complexity, or lack of contextual relevance.

This constraint analysis reveals four systemic challenges:
Curricular Gaps: ESG and sustainability are not embedded in academic programmes, resulting in graduates ill-equipped for roles in compliance, sustainability reporting, or decarbonisation planning.

Fragmented Training Ecosystem: Bangladesh lacks a nationally recognised learning pathway to become an ESG specialist, particularly for industrial and factory-level applications.

Low Technical Readiness of Local Service Providers: Most local consultancy firms lack the technical depth or buyer-aligned expertise needed to deliver ESG-linked factory interventions.

Gendered Barriers in Talent Pipeline: Women remain underrepresented in ESG, compliance, and sustainability leadership roles, further constraining the national talent pool.
Taken together, these constraints significantly limit Bangladesh’s ability to internalise ESG transformation across its export sectors and respond to buyer-driven sustainability mandates. There is an urgent need to institutionalise ESG education and create a structured talent pipeline through partnerships between academia and industry.

In this context, Swisscontact’s PROGRESS project seeks to initiate a strategic collaboration with academic institutions to co-create industry-aligned learning programmes. This initiative will serve both as a talent development pipeline for ESG professionals and a knowledge translation mechanism that empowers factories to better understand, demand, and benefit from ESG services, ultimately enabling more inclusive and future-ready growth across the RMG sector and beyond.

2. Objective of the assignment

The objective of this assignment is to engage experienced academic institutes/academicians to collaborate with and enhance the existing capacities of academic institutions currently supported by the PROGRESS project. Through this partnership, the selected academicians will collaborate with these institutions to co-design a structured, modular academic program on ESG and sustainability tailored for the RMG sector.

This initiative aims to address current capability gaps among local educational providers, empowering them to deliver high-quality, industry-relevant ESG education. By elevating the instructional and curricular capacities of these institutions, the assignment will facilitate systemic transformation across the RMG supply chain and other export-oriented sectors.

A core component of this collaboration will be a structured knowledge transfer mechanism, through which the engaged academicians will support partner institutions in understanding global ESG frameworks, evolving compliance expectations, and emerging sustainability practices.

The collaboration will also aim to bridge global ESG knowledge with Bangladesh’s regional and local industrial realities, ensuring that international sustainability frameworks are contextualised and applicable within the national production ecosystem. At the same time, insights from the local industry context will inform the adaptation and relevance of global ESG discourse.

The resulting academic programs will target a broad group of professionals. These include factory professionals working in compliance, HR, and sustainability functions. It will also be open to graduates/undergraduates seeking ESG-focused careers, development professionals working on social or environmental impact, and staff from global brands and buying houses. Industry associations and institutions engaged in sustainability advocacy may also benefit.

By engaging experienced academia to strengthen the capabilities of local institutions, the initiative will build a robust, self-sustaining national ESG ecosystem. It will help position Bangladesh to meet global compliance expectations while creating long-term value for its industrial workforce and institutions.

3. Scope of the assignment

The selected academic institution(s) will:

The table below elaborates on some key deliverables of the assignment.

Table 1: Summary table

4. Duration of the Assignment

The duration of the assignment will tentatively be from 1 April 2026 to 15 November 2026, as agreed between both parties

5. Documents Required for Submission

Interested academic institutions are requested to submit:

6. Sustainability and long-term goals

This collaboration is envisioned as a first step toward building a long-term, institutionally embedded ESG education ecosystem in Bangladesh. Over time, the developed modules may be integrated into university curricula, allowing students in business, engineering, environmental science, and related fields to gain foundational ESG knowledge.

The initiative also aims to support the creation of faculty-led knowledge hubs that promote applied research, industry dialogue, and continuous content development. In the long run, the programme will help build a domestic pool of ESG professionals and contribute to a sustainable service market that meets growing compliance demands across export-oriented sectors.

7. Selection criteria

The evaluation will follow a Quality and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) method, where the Technical Proposal will carry a weight of 80% and the Financial Proposal will carry a weight of 20%. Only proposals meeting the minimum technical requirements will proceed to financial evaluation.

The following selection criteria are generally applicable for the evaluation of the potential academic partner:

8. Reporting

The institution will report directly to the PROGRESS Team Leader and collaborate closely with the PROGRESS Programme team, providing regular updates. Additionally, is expected to maintain seamless communication with team members to ensure timely execution of project tasks and adherence to strategic objectives. 

9. SUBMISSION OF LEGAL DOCUMENTS

It is mandatory for the bidding institution to submit documentary evidence demonstrating its legal status. Acceptable legal documents may include, but are not limited to, a certificate of legal establishment, university charter or relevant accreditation/approval from the appropriate authority, certificate of incorporation (where applicable), and any other valid legal registration documents appropriate to the nature of the institution. The contracting authority reserves the right to request additional legal documents from the selected institution during the contracting stage.

10. Submission Guidelines

This ToR will remain open until 31 August 2026, with proposals accepted on a rolling basis. Interested academic institutions may submit their proposals at any time until the assignment requirements are fully met. Early submissions are strongly encouraged, as evaluations will be conducted continuously.

Interested academic institutions are requested to submit their complete proposal package electronically in PDF format, with the technical proposal and financial proposal submitted as separate files.

 The electronic copy of the proposal and all required supporting documents should be emailed to bd.progress@swisscontact.org. The email subject line must clearly state: “Concept Note and Financial Proposal for Academic Partnership: Institutional Capacity Building for ESG and Sustainability Education.”

Swisscontact reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals without assigning any reason. Applications that do not meet all submission requirements will be considered non‑compliant and will be disqualified without further evaluation