Bangladesh: Conflict Consultant - USAID DFAP Bangladesh

**SCOPE OF WORK

Background:
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is collaborating with Helen Keller International (HKI) and Caritas Bangladesh (CB) on the implementation of a USAID-funded Development Food Assistance Program (DFAP) targeting vulnerable, food insecure households in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of Bangladesh. The five-year multi-sectoral food security program is currently in a start-up phase focused on intensive planning, recruitment, baseline assessments, and formative research. HKI, as the DFAP lead agency, will play a technical lead role on Agricultural Livelihoods, MCHN, Gender, and M&E. CB will be responsible for carrying out all field-level activities across all program sectors and managing relationships with local stakeholders in three of five targeted sub-districts (upazilas). Other local partners, yet to be identified, will implement field-level activities in the two remaining sub-districts and will report directly to HKI. CRS is the consortium’s lead on provision of technical assistance in the following areas: Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Conflict Mitigation, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), and savings-led microfinance (SILC). CRS is also responsible for providing capacity strengthening support to CB as well as to the government’s disaster management committees.

The DFAP’s overall goal is to “improve gender equitable food security, nutrition and resilience of vulnerable people in the CHT region of Bangladesh.” The DFAP seeks to achieve this goal through three main objectives:

1. Increased equitable access to income and nutritious foods for both males and females
2. Improved nutritional status of children under five years of age, pregnant and lactating women and adolescent girls
3. Strengthened gender equitable ability of people, households, communities, and systems to mitigate, adapt to and recover from man-made and natural shocks and stresses

A 2013 HKI food security assessment estimated chronic under-nutrition among children (height for age) in CHT to be 39%. The survey also showed prevalence of acute child under-nutrition among children under age five (weight for age) to be 10%. Additionally, the assessment found that 35% of households reported periodic food shortages and that only 12% of households reported eating from all 12 food groups essential for good nutrition during the previous week. There are myriad and complex causes of food insecurity in the CHT including extreme poverty, geographic isolation, environmental degradation, poor access to water, inadequate hygiene and sanitation practices, and gender inequality. In addition to these factors, other significant underlying causes to the region’s food insecurity are related to its political marginalization and its history of conflict particularly over land rights and other resources.

In 1960, the construction of Kaptai Dam inundated 40% of the prime cultivable lands in the CHT and displaced approximately 100,000 people, resulting in intensified shifting cultivation in all three districts of the CHT as those affected were resettled. This changed the CHT from being self-sufficient in cereals to becoming a food-deficit area. Then in 1971, the government began settling ethnic Bengalis in the CHT to ease population pressures in the plains. Each Bengali family received five acres of land; the government also commandeered land for army bases, roads, and industry. Currently approximately half of the population of the CHT is ethnic Bengalis. In response, the insurgent indigenous group Shanti Bahini carried out an armed rebellion throughout the 1980s and much of the 1990s, demanding autonomy for the CHT. Although stability was restored with the signing of the Peace Accord in late 1997, the accord has never been fully implemented and many CHT residents are landless or have minimal land. The insurgency also damaged much of the rural infrastructure and depleted natural resources. Intermittent violence and unease continue, including high profile kidnappings, attacks on indigenous people by Bengali settlers over land, human rights violations, violence against women, and military control that restricts movement, all of which discourage larger-scale development in the region as a whole.

Disputes between Bengali settlers and indigenous communities over access to land are one of the most deeply rooted causes of conflict. Before 1971, jhum lands were considered communal property and ownership was secured by consistent use. Few families registered their plots, so when refugees from the period of intense violence in the 1980s returned, many found their lands occupied and their livelihoods controlled by Bengali settlers. Land leasing arrangements from Bengalis or wealthier Jummia are mostly exploitative, with day labor being the other option, putting the landless in a vicious cycle of livelihood insecurity. Some former farmers are turning to fishing and other traditionally Bengali livelihood strategies, which prompts further conflict.
Discrimination and harassment are thought to occur because Bengalis consider indigenous people inferior and underdeveloped, due to different food production systems and consumption habits, women’s immodest attire, and inability to speak Bangla. Indigenous people, especially women, report experiencing discrimination and rudeness from public service providers. Despite the peace accords, non-Bengali ethnic groups do not trust the Bengali-dominated formal justice structure, turning more to their internal traditional structures headed by ethnic Karbaris (headmen) and Circle Chiefs.

In light of the above background, CRS/Bangladesh is seeking the service of a consultant to assist in conducting a comprehensive conflict assessment and analysis to help inform the DFAP strategy for mitigating conflict as a root cause to food insecurity and contributing to a culture of peace in the CHT.

Objectives:
Through conflict assessment, CRS seeks to map out and understand the history of conflict, sources of conflict, and the main stakeholders and adversarial groups involved with conflict as well as the trends, dynamics, triggers, and key drivers that contribute to (or help mitigate) conflicts in the CHT. The results of the analysis will be used to 1.) develop recommendations for the design/re-design of DFAP activities to ensure they are conflict-sensitive and 2.) assist target communities to put in place systems and strategies for early warning, prevention, and mitigation of conflict.

Key activities:
Key activities of this consultancy will include:
● Performing a literature review of past conflict assessments conducted in the CHT (or similar contexts) along with a review of existing policies, laws, peace accords, legal or traditional dispute resolution systems, etc. intended at addressing conflict.
● Performing a literature review of past and current programs conducted by government, UN, or NGOs intended to address and mitigate conflict in the CHT (or similar contexts). The review should include any relevant impact evaluations, operations/formative research, best practices, lessons learned, and relevant implementation tools or guidance.
● Reviewing DFAP project documentation (ie, proposal, Logframe, DIP, M&E plan, etc.) and holding discussions with key project staff from HKI, CRS, and Caritas
● Developing necessary assessment design, tools, and schedules and providing appropriate training to project staff and enumerators in data collection methods.
● Carrying out a qualitative assessment of the conflict dynamics in the CHT employing a variety of techniques:

1. Key informant interviews of stakeholders such as government officials, tribal/traditional leaders, religious leaders, cultural figures (ie, artists, musicians), and other influential community members.
2. Focus group discussions with different groups at the community level (ie, youth, women, men, groups of varying ethnicity/religion, PWD, the elderly, etc.)
   ● Conducting a quantitative household perception and KAP survey in the target communities regarding conflict. The survey should employ appropriate sampling techniques and allow for statistically significant disaggregation of results by age, gender, ethnicity, religious group, geographic administrative unit, etc. Appropriate questions should be developed to allow for measuring impact of program activities over time.
   ● Producing a mapping/inventory of different forms/sources of artistic expression (artwork, theater, song, dance, etc.) in the CHT. Results of the mapping should be used to inform potential vehicles for dissemination of messages and sensitization strategies.
   ● Developing a comprehensive DFAP conflict mitigation strategy containing the following components:
3. BCC strategy:
   ▪ identification of potential interventions (either stand-alone or existing project activities) for dissemination of messages through existing government/traditional institutions, religious institutions, art/music/theater, radio, etc.
   ▪ recommendations on the design of new or adaptation of existing IEC materials (ie, posters, pamphlets, videos, radio spots, etc.)
4. Conflict sensitivity strategy:
   ▪ Recommendations for ensuring project activities do not contribute to or further exacerbate conflict.
   ▪ Identification of already-planned DFAP activities that have the potential to contribute to mitigation/resolution of conflict if programmed appropriately.
5. Conflict early warning strategy:
   ▪ Proposing a system for tracking potential drivers and triggers of conflict to be implemented through existing community-based groups or government institutions to be facilitated by DFAP staff.
   ▪ Proposing strategies/contingency plans for response mechanisms aimed at de-escalating and defusing conflict if/when trigger thresholds are reached.
6. Gender and other cross-cutting issues:
   ▪ Recommendations for special considerations and measures to be taken to address gender-related issues or other concerns such as inclusion of PWD and other extreme vulnerable or marginalized groups.
   ● Reviewing DFAP field staff structure and recommending training needs for successful implementation of the above strategy.

Deliverables:

Study design:
o Detailed work plan/schedule
o Assessment methodology
o Data collection tools and questionnaires

Final assessment report :
o Written in English
o Presenting key findings and recommendations according to objectives and key activities outlined in this scope of work, incorporating feedback from CRS, HKI, Caritas and other relevant stakeholders.
o Approximately 30 pages in length with necessary annexes and include an executive summary, introduction, background, scope and limitations, methodology, key findings and recommendations.

All datasets gathered and analyzed during the consultancy.
Debriefing meetings with DFAP leadership, relevant community stakeholders, and USAID.

CRS Roles/Responsibilities:
● Logistical support for all necessary transportation, lodging, per diem/meals, translation services, and IT support.
● Provision of all key project documentation
● Field staff availability for assisting in data collection and/or hiring additional enumerators
● Provision of smartphone devices for data collection if necessary
● Provision of in-country staff or local consultant to act as a local resource and assist in technical support to the consultant
● Review of study design/tools and draft reports

Place of Performance:
Assessments will be conducted in the Bandarban region of Bangladesh. Some activities may be coordinated from Dhaka and/or Chittagong. Due to current security restrictions, foreigners may not be able to travel outside of Dhaka.

Period of Performance:
April 3 to May 15, 2016 (start date is flexible depending on availability of consultant)

Key Milestones and Schedule:
Study design: April 3
Literature review: April 10
Enumerator training: April 17
Data collection (quantitative and qualitative): May 1
Data entry and analysis: May 8
Submission and presentation of final report: May 15

Qualifications:
● Minimum 5 years applied experience in research and Monitoring & Evaluation experience in conflict mitigation, peacebuilding, or development programs
● Master’s degree or PhD in Conflict Resolution, Sociology, Anthropology, or other related social science field
● Strong knowledge and experience working in South Asia and prior work experience in Bangladesh; familiarity with and prior work experience in the CHT an asset
● Ability to draw on existing contacts, networks, and other resources in Bangladesh an asset
● Proven quantitative and qualitative research skills (candidates should provide a copy of a previous conflict assessment report produced)
● Knowledge of the use of conflict management curriculum, behavior change communications techniques through media or the arts, and development of conflict early warning systems and mitigation strategies

Candidates should send an expression of interest, a CV, a writing sample of past conflict assessments/studies conducted, proposed budgeting plan, and three professional references to tony.castleman@crs.org by January 4, 2016.