CFCV-02/2022/C-DHK1: International Consultancy to develop a Diaspora Strategy in Bangladesh

Request for Proposal (RfP)

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is looking for a “International consultant to support the development of a national strategy on diaspora engagement into national and local development of Bangladesh” under the project “Global Programme on Making Migration Work for Sustainable Development” as per the Terms of Reference (ToR) below:

1. Nature of the consultancy:

Bangladesh is one of the major labour sending countries in the world, with around 13 million of its nationals present in more than 170 countries. In the 2020-2021 fiscal year, with remittances amounting to around USD 24.77 billion, migration continues to be an important contributor to development and one of the largest contributors to the country’s GDP (Bangladesh Bank 2021). With short-term migration positively impacting the lives of migrants, many of the emigrated Bangladeshi continue to stay overseas for longer and maintain a certain degree of relationship with their own communities through economic, social and cultural interactions. This group is categorized as Diaspora and while there is no accurate data of the number of Bangladeshi diaspora members across the world, it is estimated that around 2.4 million Bangladeshi are permanently live abroad either as citizens or with other valid documents in as many as 162 countries. These Bangladesh diaspora have immense potential to make substantial contributions to Bangladesh’s development through their financial contributions and sharing their skills, expertise, technology, and knowledge.

Global frameworks such as the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (GCM) explicitly highlights the need to engage diaspora in development. In addition, the importance of diaspora engagement has also been recognized in national policies of Bangladesh. The Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Policy of Bangladesh 2016, in its scope, explicitly includes the important role of Bangladeshi diaspora and the migrant workers for sustainable national growth and development. The “Action Plan for the Implementation of the Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Policy 2016” of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment (MoEWOE) sets some target activities focusing on the diaspora communities. The current national planning instrument, the 8th Five-Year Plan July 2020 – June 2025, stresses on designing innovative tools for development financing by tapping into the wealth of the diaspora population. The 7th Five-Year Plan FY 2016—FY 2020 already recognized the diaspora more specifically as agents and beneficiaries of the country’s development, focusing on the importance of their contribution. Also, it suggested engaging this essential group in various development activities through effective measures by acknowledging their contributions. The GoB, inspired by the “leave no one behind” in 2030, attempts to integrate the diaspora communities in the development process.

Nonetheless, the diaspora has not received sufficient attention in strategy and policy formulation to support the national development plans and interventions. There needs to be a comprehensive Diaspora Strategy to ensure that the diaspora community can be actively engaged in national development. A recently conducted study on Diaspora, titled “Ensuring Active Inclusion of Diaspora in Bangladesh’s National Development”, concentrates on demonstrating the benefits of diaspora engagement and finding ways to link the Non-Resident Bangladeshi (NRB) in the development process in Bangladesh. It used the PIE Framework (Philanthropy, Investment, and Expert Affiliation) in its Analysis (Monem, 2018) to address this issue that the GoB needs to engage the diaspora community in an effective and efficient way which would link them with different developmental activities and allow them to contribute adopting the “PIE Framework”. A recent study of IOM (2021) on Ensuring Active Inclusion of Diaspora in Bangladesh’s National Development also suggested that a “Diaspora Engagement Strategy” could play a pivotal role in embarking on the pathway for the inclusion of Bangladeshi diaspora in national development.

Against this backdrop, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) under the project IOM-UNDP Global Programme on Making Migration Work for Sustainable Development (Phase III) envisages to provide support to the government of Bangladesh in developing a national strategy on engagement of the diaspora into national and local development for enhancing developmental impacts and harnessing the Bangladeshi diaspora potentials for national development.

2. Tasks to be performed under this contract by the consultant:

The overall objective of this consultancy is to provide expert support to a national consultation in the development of the National Strategy on the engagement of the diaspora into national and local development plans, programmes and initiatives of Bangladesh.

The main responsibility of the International Consultant will consist in providing the overall guidance to the process of development and validation of the National Strategy on Diaspora Engagement into national and local development of Bangladesh. The International Consultant will be working closely with and advising the National Consultant who will be carrying out the assignment, incl. desk review, collecting data, coordination and direct communication with the national stakeholders, analysis, and drafting of the initial draft of the strategy and its validation with the national partners. The International Consultant will be reviewing and providing feedback to the main deliverables of the assignment.

The specific tasks of the assignment for the International Consultant are:

• To provide advice, guidance during the initial planning phase of the assignment, incl. the development of the detailed Workplan, incl. communication modalities with the National Consultant.
• To provide guidance to the National Consultant during the inception phase, including the development of the detailed methodology of the assignment, identifying relevant stakeholders for the interviews, materials for the desk review and programmes/policy frameworks for in depth analysis, developing data collection tools (interview guides, etc.).
• To provide advisory support to the National Consultant during desk review, data collection and analyzing and development of the initial draft version of the strategy, by reviewing the documents prepared by the national consultant, inception reports, desk review findings and results of the interviews and identifying the initial structure and content of the diaspora strategy.
• To review the draft version of diaspora strategy and provide specific recommendations for improvement

Tangible and measurable outputs of the work assignment:

• Reviewed and feedback provided to Detailed Workplan, incl. the modalities of coordination/communication with the National Consultant, IOM Bangladesh Migration Governance Unit and HQ Programme Management Unit.
• Reviewed and feedback provided to the methodological note for the assignment: defining the approach, methodology, and tools to be used, proposed selection of the stakeholders for the interviews or focus group discussion, the list of documents and publications for review.
• Reviewed and feedback provided to the inception report on the main results of the desk review and field research and recommended initial structure and content of Diaspora Strategy.
• Reviewed and feedback provided to the draft version of the National Diaspora Engagement Strategy.
• Developed policy brief (four pages in English) summarizing the diaspora strategy

3. Timeline:

· The total duration for this assignment will be for 8 months.

4. Deliverables:

Category B Consultant will be hired to deliver a report on a three-installment payment basis:**

· First deliverable – Final inception report

· Second deliverable – Final diaspora strategy based on the desk review, assessment, and feedback from key stakeholders

· Final deliverable – Publishable report and policy brief summarizing the Diaspora Strategy

5. Qualifications and Competencies:

• Must be an expert who has completed minimum master’s degree in Public Policy, Social Sciences, Migration Studies, International Development, International Relations, or related field with at least eight years of relevant professional experience. PhD is an added advantage.
• Advanced knowledge of migration and socio-economic development nexus, including on existing approaches, strategies, and practices on diaspora engagement for sustainable development at the national and local levels.
• Solid experience in providing expert support in development of national policy/strategy level documents.
• Sound knowledge and demonstrated capacity in designing the tools and methodology and developing national strategy.
• Solid understanding of migration sector and government structures of Bangladesh.
• Demonstrated ability to draw lessons from relevant international, regional, and national practices and processes.
• Excellent presentation, oral and written communication skills.
• Proficiency in English and good analytical, drafting skills.
• Ability to deliver according to specified timeline while maintain quality of the output.
• Computer literacy, especially Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
• Strong organizational, analytical, and writing skills.
• Ability to timely understand the Organization’s structure and portfolios.
• Ability to work effectively and harmoniously in a team of colleagues of varied cultural and professional backgrounds.
• Practical experience of how-to multitask, prioritize and work independently.

6. Travel Required:

Home-based, no travel involved. None except for in-person meetings with stakeholders (or virtual can be conducted upon confirmation of stakeholders given the COVID-19 situation).