Bangladesh: Consultancy to Develop Appropriate Livelihoods Strategy for SHOUHARDO III

Objective:

In many respects, people living in the deep Haor and remote Char, are the most vulnerable PEP households with which SHOUHARDO III works, yet the interventions under Purpose I are not always the most appropriate, year-round opportunities for them. SHOUHARDO III’s MTE recommended that the program develop a livelihoods strategy tailored to the deep Haor and remote Char context. By promoting context specific livelihood opportunities for both areas, the program will help to increase limited resilience capacities of PEP households in the program area.

The study will result in the design of a livelihood strategy for the deep Haor and remote Char areas, especially for the lean period which occurs during the monsoon or flood season when agriculture activities are not possible. The consultants hired for this work will be expected to recommend specific interventions and activities mainly related to off-farm IGAs and employment pathways that will improve livelihood of the participants during the monsoon (flood) season.

The specific objectives of the study are to assess both the demand and supply side of off-farm IGA and wage earning market particularly during the lean period. These include:

1Demand Side

On the demand side, the objectives of the study are to:

a. Identify the impact group(s) in the deep Haor and remote Char areas upon which the program wants to have impact;

b. Identify economic sectors that have growth potential, market demand, the potential for pro-poor participation, and the distribution of benefits in these economic sectors;

c. Provide an identification and analysis of specific off-farm IGAs and wage earning opportunities for PEP to increase their incomes;

d. Identify specific sectors/industry requirements (e.g. skills, competencies, assets, etc.) necessary to access these sectors, in addition to barriers to entering each sector, and constraints to economic growth in each sector;

e. Identify specific market opportunities that are suitable for women’s and female youth’s participation;

f. Provide an analysis of the characteristics of economic opportunities (i.e. daily wage labor, part time work and entrepreneurial labor);

g. Provide an analysis of potential income levels that could be earned from identified market opportunities;

h. Identify gaps and challenges for potential employers to identify and retain quality employees or for entrepreneurs to operate viable enterprises;

i. Identify specific partners/lead firms with interest in providing opportunities to qualified PEP; and

j. Provide an analysis of potential pathways to access identified employment opportunities.

2Supply side:

On the supply side, objectives of the study are to:

a. Explore in what sectors PEP men, women and youth work and within those areas:

• Determine required skill sets (off-farm IGA and wage earning) required to earn an income

• Identify how they got into that income opportunity

• Identify barriers they had to overcome and how they overcome them in order to be able to work

b. Determine to what level PEP persons are keen on extending their income options both in terms of the type and duration during the year;

c. Determine the community level structures that would be beneficial in building new or strengthened livelihood options; this could include producer groups, marketing groups, and other types/processes to access information;

d. Explore the capital building options participants have for both self-employment and skill development; and

e. Where skills need to be built to engage in new income sources, specifically:

a. Identify training opportunities available for PEP to participate in, emphasizing short-term skill trainings such as vocational trainings;

b. Identify specific gaps in technical trainings available that could be provided based on market needs and other findings from study;

c. Analyze the quality, accessibility (e.g. distance and costs) and market relevance of available trainings, focusing on short term skill trainings; and

d. Identify the type of support required by PEPs to access identified training opportunities by identifying (i) employers’ expectations and requisite skills for self-employment on the one side, and (ii) skills, aspirations and work attitudes of PEPs on the other side.

DELIVERABLES:**

The person hired to undertake this study will be required to submit deliverables upon which remuneration will be based. The deliverables are detailed as follows:

a. An analysis of different impact groups from PEP households, ranging from those dependent on sharecropping in the winter and fishing in the summer, to households dependent on different types of daily wage labor, including migrant day labor year-round, or households that have limited labor capacities who are dependent on other households;

b. An analysis of specific market opportunities for PEP men and women in the deep Haor and remote Char areas of SHOUHARDO’s target areas;

c. An analysis of the income potential for identified off farm income opportunities particularly during lean (flood) period;

d. A two-day training for SHOUHARDO staff (i.e. CARE and partner NGO) on how to conduct a value chain study;

e. An analysis of the barriers to entry and/or growth for identified off-farm IGA and wage earning opportunities and the potential interventions required to address them;

f. A detailed analysis of skill requirements by sectors;

g. A detailed analysis of existing trainers capacities/capabilities by required skill sets;

h. Recommendations for potential partnerships and networks for engagement with respect to obtaining skills and earning a sustainable income;

i. Specific recommendations on market opportunities suitable for PEP especially women;

j. Recommendations on potential pathways to access identified market opportunities; and

k. Recommendations on pathways for change and the interventions necessary to induce movement on the pathways broken out for each impact group.

Please download relevant documents from here

CARE Bangladesh is inviting interested potential consultants/firms/company /companies to submit their best proposals in the form of soft copy in non-editable mode (PDF/Scan) with your organization letterhead pad or on email body through email : farhana.kabir@care.org or in the form of hard copy in quotation box kept at CARE Bangladesh Dhaka Office (7th Floor) on or before 15 November, 2018.