LRPS-2024-9190889 "Demonstration of an integrated ECCD model for children aged 0-3 years in RMG factories and interlinked community child-daycare centers through the MOTHERS@WORK Initiative”

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR INSTITUTIONAL CONTRACT

(above US$ 2,500)

 

Title of the assignment

Demonstration of an integrated ECCD model for children aged 0-3 years  in RMG factories and interlinked community child-daycare centers through the MOTHERS@WORK Initiative

Goal

To have a scalable integrated Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) model for the children aged 0-3 years at the RMG workplaces and interlinked community-based child-daycare centers demonstrated through the MOTHERS@WORK initiative

Objectives

To develop, demonstrate and document on a scalable integrated Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) model for the children aged 0-3 years to be implemented at the RMG workplaces and interlinked community-based child-daycare centers through the MOTHERS@WORK initiative.

Location

Selected 20 RMG factories and interlinked community daycare centres (Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Chattogram), to be finalized as a task in the contract

Estimated Duration

July  2024 – June  2026 (24 months)

Technical Supervisor

Nutrition Officer, UNICEF Bangladesh

 

 

1. Background

Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) is a child's right and a prerequisite for reaching sustainable development goal number 4.2. It is particularly significant during the first 36 months of a child's life, where 80 per cent of brain development occurs. Investing in ECCD yields substantial returns, including higher adult incomes and better health and nutrition outcomes. Despite the benefits many  children especially from deprived communities lack access to quality ECCD.

The Nurturing Care Framework for early childhood development (WHO, UNICEF & World Bank Group, 2018) launched at the World Health Assembly in 2018 encapsulates a coordinated approach to meet health, nutrition, protection, stimulation, and adult care needs of young children and provides a roadmap for action.

Bangladesh has a robust enabling legal and policy framework for ECCD including Comprehensive ECCD Policy (2013), Child Daycare Centre Act (2021), comprehensive integrated ECCD Strategy for below three years children (2022) and a ECCD package (Training module and Tools) for the PHC platform. However, all those ECCD efforts are center-based siloed approaches on a restricted scale, and there is no scalable model for 0-3-year-olds following comprehensive nurturing care components across various sectors and platforms. UNICEF ’s Country Programme 2022–2026 designated ECCD as a cross-cutting priority for supporting the Government of Bangladesh to implement ECCD related polices and demonstrate ECCD programs through various platforms including RMG workplace based programmes.

The RMG sector is a $20 billion driver of economic growth in Bangladesh, employs an estimated 4 million workers, over 60% are women. Approximately 73% of mothers working in the RMG sector leave their children with grandparents or other /family members while residing separately from them. This arrangement deprives these children of  essential  nurturing care crucial for early childhood development, leading to poor health, nutrition and delayed developmental milestones.

According to Bangladesh Labour Code 2006 Sec-94, a sector with 40 or more female workers must provide day-care services for children under 6 years old. However,  inadequate capacity and lack of ECCD services, with only 63 low-cost government community based day-care centres in the country , 35 of which are in Dhaka, raise concerns about their quality and utilization..[1] Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand the situation and scope  of ECCD services for children aged 0-3 years  in  RMG workplaces and in the surrounding communities. This understanding will facilitate the customization of the existing  ECCD services package/model developed for the rural PHC platforms incorporating nurturing care components of good health, adequate nutrition, responsive caregiving, early learning, safety and security. This includes the adoption of child day care act into the RMG workplaces through the MOTHER@WORK initiative and interlinked community-based child day care centers.

MOTHERS@WORK is a national initiative developed and launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), and the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE)  with technical support from UNICEF-Bangladesh . This initiative aims to create an enabling workplace environment towards maternity rights protection,  breastfeeding and child-care support for the working women and their children.  The initiative is scaled up to 353 RMGs through public-private sector partnerships. However, there is scope for strengthening ECCD interventions. To address this gap, UNICEF is collaboration with the relevant stakeholders , plans to develop a scalable integrated ECCD service model for children aged 0-3 years. This model will be adopted through the MOTHERS@WORK initiative at the RMG workplaces and interlinked community daycare centers to meet the needs of the children and their caregivers working in RMG sector and promote nurturing care practices for holistic child development.

 

1. Purpose and Objectives

UNICEF aims to implement an integrated ECCD model for 0-3 years following Nurturing Care Framework (NCF) through RMG workplace based programme (MOTHERS@WORK) in collaboration with relevant government agencies, and private sector associations and selective RMG factories. Main purpose of  this assignment will be to develop, demonstrate and document on a scalable  ECCD model for 0-3 years old children at the RMG based child-daycare and interlinked community  based child-daycare centers.  The specific objectives of this demonstration programme will be as follows:

 

1. Explore the situation and scopes of integrated ECCD services for the 0-3 years old children at the RMG workplaces and interlinked community- based child-daycare provisions and accordingly develop/adopt/customize the package (training module, parenting education curriculum, tools, play materials etc.) for a demonstration.

 

1. Implement and assess the impact and scalability of the integrated ECCD intervention model for 0-3 years old children at the RMG based child-daycare and interlinked community-based daycare, identifying key factors for success and areas of improvement through process evaluation of a demonstration programme. 

 

1. Develop and disseminate knowledge products and policy recommendations based on the demonstration findings.

 

1. Description of Assignment

Building on the systematic review conducted on ECCD in Bangladesh, national ECCD strategy for 0-3 years, demonstrated ECCD model (package) for Primary Health Care (PHC)  platform specific  to the 0-3 years old children, UNICEF plans to develop, demonstrate and document on a scalable ECCD model for RMG workplace based and inter-linked community-based child-daycare centers to promote nurturing care practices for the respective child-daycare providers and working parents.  This is to help good health, adequate nutrition, creating opportunity for early childhood learning, and responsive caregiving in a secure, safe, gender-transformative, and disability-responsive environment.

The selected agency will conduct a systematic desk review/literature review of key documents,  journal articles, program documents, to develop/design/adopt a contextualized ECCD intervention package for 0-3 years old children at the RMG and inter-linked community based child-daycare centers. Following the development of the ECCD package  (training module, parenting education curriculum, tools, play materials etc.), agency will undertake the demonstration of package implementation including process monitoring and tracking on the ECCD milestones to understand the  at the 20 RMG workplaces and 06 interlinked community based child-daycare centers. A baseline and endline assessment are also to be included for identifying the key factors for success and areas of improvement following a process evaluation, develop and disseminate knowledge products and policy recommendations based on the demonstration findings of the proposed ECCD model. Documentation on the  implementation process and ECCD milestone monitoring system/data, lessons learning, best practices, outcome of scalability assessment and analysis will be the included in the critical deliverables.

 

Key tasks of the assignment are outlined below-

• Review and explore the existing CEED package/tools implemented at  the PHC platform under the MoHFW and adopt/customize for RMG based MOTHER@WORH initiative/Child-daycare provisions and interlinked community based child-daycare centres  
• Design the methodology, develop appropriate assessment tools, materials and full implementation plan for the proposed development and demonstration programme on the integrated ECCD RMG model for 0-3 years including baseline, midline and endline assessment
• Develop/adopt package and conduct field implementation (demonstration), collect data at baseline, midline (9 months in), and endline (18 months in); and hold feedback works with key stakeholders on findings and creation of action items for use
• Prepare baseline, midline and endline assessment report and share findings with relevant stakeholders before finalization
• Prepare final full report on demonstration programme with recommendations for dissemination with government counterpart and other stakeholders and facilitate dissemination workshops
• Prepare strategic knowledge products (Policy briefs, advocacy materials etc.) for various target audiences, based on the knowledge register and disseminate according to the implementation plan, with tracking of outcomes and results of efforts
•  Documentation include the bellow essentially

1. Identified scopes for RMG based intervention and interlinked community child day-care provisions;
2. Adopted ECCD package for 0-3 years children of RMG workers to be implemented at the RMG based platforms;
3. Capacity readiness (Training with, operational plan with guidelines/modules/curriculum) tools of the RMG based platform and channel (e.g., Child Day-care centre, PHC centre, child care providers, PHC provider, working parents etc.);
4. Implementation process and ECCD milestone monitoring system/data, lessons learning, best practices and
5. Outcome of scalability assessment and analysis.

 

Inception report including findings from desk review, review of existing documents & data sources and specification of assessment tool/questionnaire, finalized primary data collection methodology including sampling techniques, detailed implementation matrix are to be produced. The agency will conduct field visit for primary data collection comprising both qualitative and quantitative data after consensus with relevant stakeholders and government counterparts at baseline, midline and endline of 18 month implementation of the RMG model. The agency will also produce dissemination materials and organize the national dissemination workshop as guided by UNICEF to support advocacy and scale-up opportunities among key stakeholders, with learnings incorporated. In addition to the final report, the dissemination materials should include the policy brief and PowerPoint presentation for use in policy dialogues/roundtable, and journal manuscript(s).

 

1. Methodology for demonstration modelling and documentation

The methodology for the demonstration programme and process documentation will follow the mixed methods, with both a quantitative survey on the key beneficiaries of interventions, caregivers, service providers, and stakeholders, and qualitative methods in the form of small focus groups discussion, in-depth interviews and key informant interviews, and observation. There will be three levels of data collections including baseline, midline, and endline. Detailed on the exploration and methodologies for data collection, analysis, system/information generation are to be finalized during the project's inception phase in consultation with UNICEF. The detailed plan (e.g. approach/methodology) must be presented to UNICEF for clearance prior to field work (through an inception report). The tool(s) and other data collection instruments for desk review and primary data collection shall be presented to UNICEF for technical inputs and clearance. The Agency is expected to obtain ethical approval as applicable. All data will be owned by UNICEF. The Agency, with UNICEF co-authorship, may submit a journal manuscript upon consent from UNICEF. For the suitability and scalability assessment/analysis, the following working definitions are to be used:

Acceptability

The perception among stakeholders (including private) sector that an intervention is agreeable

Adoption

The intention, initial decision, or action to try to employ a new intervention

Appropriateness/

Relevance

The perceived fit or relevance of the intervention in a particular setting or for a particular target audience or problem

Feasibility

The extent to which an intervention can be carried out in a particular setting or organization

 

Fidelity

The degree to which an intervention was implemented as it was designed in an original protocol, plan, or policy

 

Implementation cost

The incremental cost of the implementation strategy (for example, how the services are delivered in a particular setting). The total cost of implementation would also include the cost of the intervention itself.

 

Coverage

The degree to which the population that is eligible to benefit from an intervention actually receives it

 

Effectiveness

Up to what level the intervention meet the purpose. Time between graduation and placement, quality of work/job, earning, upskilling reskilling opportunities etc.

 

Sustainability (endline)

The extent to which an intervention is maintained or institutionalized in a given setting, including options for coping with any changes

 

Ethical and other considerations

This body of work, both programmatically and in all evidence generation, will be held to the highest standards employed by UNICEF. This means, the agency will abide by the following:

• UNICEF Procedure for Ethical Standards in assessment, Data Collection and Analysis
• UNICEF Strategic Guidance Note on Institutionalizing Ethical Practice for UNICEF demonstrated programme/Piloting
• The agency is expected to explain ethical considerations for the proposed demonstration programme, specifically spelling out how these above guidelines will be followed/met including training of all data collectors and supervisors in terms of guidance on ethics and communication skills.
• Special focus should include ethical considerations/ strategies to prevent or avoid any infection and outbreak spread. 
• Ethical clearance letters for the data collection should be attached in the annexure of all evidence generation reports. Each report should include a section that describes the exact way ethical considerations were identified and addressed as part of design, implementation, and analysis/writing.
• Any sensitive issues or ethical concerns arising during implementation should be raised with UNICEF right away. 
• All data collected through this body of work (programme implementation and evidence plan execution) are the intellectual properties of UNICEF and shall not be used for purposes other than those approved by the registered Institutional Review Board during the ethical clearance. 
• Additionally, the evidence generation and programmatic elements should be human rights-based (including child rights) and gender sensitive. All applicable data will be disaggregated by sex, age, and disability.

 

1. Deliverables

The following deliverables for this ToR include:

No.

Deliverable

Deadline

Payment schedule

1

Inception report including findings from desk review, review of existing documents, package, detail workplan to develop/contextualize  the ECCD package for RMG model, methodology/approach  for the model demonstration, data collection and documentation outlines

0.5 month after signing contract

20%

3

Final baseline report after incorporating feedbacks and including findings sharing workshop with GOB and other relevant stakeholders

2.5  months after signing contract

15%

4

Customised ECCD package (to be printed and procured)  including Training module, Operational plan, IEC tools , ECCD – play materials

3.0 months after signing contract

15%

5

Operational Plan on the ECCD service package demonstration including process monitoring/ECCD milestone tracking and quarterly reports/result sharing (1st quarterly report 6.0 months after the signing the contract)

6.0 months after signing the contract

Every quarter after starting the ECCD service implementation

10%

6

Final endline report – including demonstration assessment outcome and facilitating findings sharing workshop with GOB and other relevant stakeholders

21 months after signing contract

10%

7

Final Documentation report and other knowledge management products including implementation process, success factors, areas of improvement, key  recommendations for model demonstration at scale and policy advocacy

22 months after signing contract

20%

8

Dissemination of findings with government, private sector counterparts and other stakeholders following endorsement of the package and operational plan

22 months after signing contract

10%

 

1. Reporting requirements

All deliverables should be submitted to UNICEF’s focal person, the Nutrition Officer. These will be accepted only after the ECCD team in GoB and UNICEF approves. The agency will have to maintain close liaison with the ECCD Team through UNICEF’s focal person. Brief periodic communication on activities will be conducted through out the duration of the contract, with the modality and platform jointly agreed upon between UNICEF and the contracted institution.

 

For the reports/documentation, the suggested format is as follows

• Table of contents, list of annexes/figures/tables, etc.
• List of Acronyms
• Executive Summary (2 – 5 pages)
• Introduction & Background
• Study Purpose and Objectives
• Methodology, including ethical considerations and limitations
• Findings
• Conclusions and Lessons Learned
• Recommendations
• Annex (including data collection tools, IRB approval letter, etc.)

 

1. Qualification requirement of the company/institution/organization

Qualification of the agency: 

• National firm with technical expertise in ECCD concepts, design, and model implementation, including Daycare, Nurturing Care framework and Family Friendly Policies
• Strong experience in conducting social science-related implementation research, including high quality data collection tool design, and feeding back results real-time to programme implementers
• Experience in implementation and evaluation of ECCD models for 0-3 year children in Bangladesh
• Experience in working with RMG workplace based programmes
• Technical understanding of latest gap analysis in ECCD models, globally and in Bangladesh
• Deep knowledge of adult learning methods, positive caregiving, and with the focus on social welfare, child protection, community development and social protection/ social assistance;
• Extensive knowledge and experience with qualitative and  quantitative  data analysis, and demonstrated competency in analysis using relevant software;
• Strong experience in successful advocacy and dissemination with evidence/data;
• Experience in developing knowledge management plans and subsequent knowledge products for dissemination and advocacy purposes;
• Strong oral and written skills in English and Bangla;
• Familiarity with UN systems and procedures, management and monitoring tools is desirable;
• Experience developing policy recommendations, policy briefs, and accompanying data visualizations for government, community level and technical/academic audiences;

 

Qualification requirement of the team (optional)

Professional requirements of the individual(s) and/or team(s) for the assignment including required experience, skills and qualifications are required as given below:

• Team lead with postgraduate (preferably PhD) degrees in social science, or , public health, and with specific expertise on  early child development or related demonstration/implementation research/programme specially with 0-3 years old children , intervention  and tool designing
• At least one team member with 10+ years of experience in conducting demonstration on ECCD related evidence generation programme specially with 0-3 years old children
• At least one team members with 10+ years of experience on ECCD programme and experience in working with private sector like RMG factories
• At least one team member with 10+ years of experience in designing monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems for integrated programmes
• At least one team member with 10+ years working with relevant government ministries and private sectors  specially on  advocacy on policy /programme changes

 

H. Package development, operationalization, and effectiveness analysis

Proposal is to include detail approaches and methods to be followed  including the timeline

 

EVALUATION CRITERIA FOR TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

 CATEGORY

POINTS

OVERALL RESPONSE

* Understanding of, and responsiveness to, UNICEF Bangladesh Office requirements;

* Understanding of scope, objectives and completeness of response;

5

METHODOLOGY AND DETAILED TIMELINE

* Quality of the proposed approach and methodologies (both quantitative and qualitative);

* Suitability of the approach: To what extent the methodology is designed in response to the needs of the TOR;

* Quality of proposed implementation plan, i.e how the bidder will undertake each task, and time-schedules;

*Risk and ethics assessment: recognition of the risks/peripheral problems and methods to prevent and manage risks/peripheral problems.

* Presentation on the methodology and activity plan to conduct the demonstration programme and assessment and process documentation

(35)

10

 

10

 

 

5

 

5

 

5

ORGANISATIONAL CAPACITY and PROPOSED TEAM

* Professional expertise of the firm/company/organization, knowledge and experience with similar projects, contracts, clients and consulting assignments

* Team leader: Relevant experience, qualifications, and position with firm;

* Team members: Relevant experience, skills & competencies;

* Organization of the team and roles & responsibilities;

(20)

10

 

10

5

5

    TOTAL MARKS

        70

 

For this RFP, the Technical Proposal has a total score of 70 points. Bidders must score a minimum of 49 points to be considered technically compliant and in order, for the Financial Proposals to be opened. A financial proposal has a total score of 20 points. The final selection of the bidder will be based on a quality and cost basis as specified in the RFP.