Service Contract for the coordination of the “Improve your Agri-business” roll-out by newly trained trainers

PROJECT BACKGROUND

1. GENERAL BACKGROUND

The forced displacement crisis has increased in scale and complexity in recent years. According to UNHCR, 79.5 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide at the end of 2019. Forcibly displaced persons (FDPs), including refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) face specific vulnerabilities, including loss of assets and psychological trauma, limited rights, lack of opportunities, a protection risk as well as a risk to be out of school, and a lack of planning horizon. In addition, the communities hosting FDPs also struggle to pursue their own development efforts. 

In response to the considerable challenges facing FDPs and host communities, a new partnership initiative titled: ‘PROSPECTS' Partnership for improving Prospects for host communities and forcibly displaced persons, was launched by the Government of the Netherlands, that brings together the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank. Through the PROSPECTS partnership, the five partner agencies aim to leverage their comparative advantages and areas of expertise to programme complementary and interdependent interventions that address education and skills, employment and protection challenges. The partnership spans eight countries, namely Egypt, Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Sudan, and Uganda and covers the period 2019-2023.  

2. PROSPECTS IN LEBANON

Within the framework of the PROSPECTS programme in Lebanon, the ultimate objective of ILO’s intervention is to promote access for Syrian refugees and vulnerable host communities to decent work opportunities (rights to work); and to ensure that while working, the workers from these communities have safe working conditions and social protection (rights at work), in line with International Labour Standards More specifically, and in line with overarching priorities, the three overarching pillars under which ILO will be working include: education and learning; employment with dignity; and protection and inclusion. 

The Education & Learning pillar will aim to improve the learning outcomes for children and market-relevant skills of adolescents and youth living in Lebanon. The Employment with Dignity pillar will address the pressing challenges in the Lebanese context. The main aim of the programme within the employment pillar is to ensure enhanced economic opportunities and decent employment for vulnerable Lebanese host communities and Syrian refugees, with a focus on sectors such as agriculture and digital skills with potential for growth, job retention, and creation. The Protection & Inclusion pillar will increase protection and inclusion for refugees and host communities through strengthening of legal, policy and enabling environment for protection, social protection, and inclusion.  BACKGROUND

In Lebanon, the ILO’s focus in the Partnership is on enhancing resilience of Lebanon’s crisis-hit labour market and creating better livelihoods for both Lebanese host communities and Syrian refugees. It is doing so by promoting the development of market-relevant skills, enhancing employment placement services and labour market governance, strengthening social protection schemes, and promoting micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) and sectors with potential for decent job creation. 

A focus is placed on the agricultural sector as a sector that traditionally holds job opportunities for both vulnerable Lebanese communities and Syrian refugees. To help vulnerable farmers increase profitability and incomes ILO is planning to roll out its Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) programme. The SIYB programme is a management training programme developed by the International Labour Organization (ILO) with a focus on starting and improving small businesses as a strategy for creating more and better employment for women and men, particularly in emerging economies.  With an estimated outreach in over 100 countries, it is one of the world’s largest programmes in this field.  

In Lebanon, the project is planning to specifically use the Improve your Business (IYB) programme that comprises 6 modules (marketing, costing, buying and stock control, record keeping, planning, and productivity) to help agricultural producers better manage their farms. To do so, ILO has adapted the Improve Your Business (IYB) modules to the specific needs of agricultural producers in Lebanon and developed the “Improve your Agri-business (IYAB) training. The ILO is now planning to train and certify a network of IYB trainers in collaboration with selected local partner organizations. 

To this end, the ILO has organized two 2-week training of trainers’ workshops, facilitated by a SIYB Master trainer, for trainer candidates from different local organizations. As per the SIYB quality assurance system outlined in the SIYB implementation guide, the trainer candidates now need to organize one training for farmers or agri-businesses in order to demonstrate their competencies to become SIYB trainers.

The objective of this assignment is thus to support and coordinate the roll-out of the IYAB training by the training candidates and ensure that trainer candidates receive the technical and financial support to roll out the training. 

SCOPE OF WORK AND METHODOLOGY

Trainer candidates are asked to team up in pairs of two to organize one training of a duration of 3-5 days for a minimum of 14 farmers or agri-businesses (7 beneficiaries per trainer). Both trainers should be present during all days of the training to deliver training topics and observe the individual and group work during the workshop. In exceptional cases, trainer may team up in teams of 3 to conduct the training, in which case the number of farmers or agri-business trained should be a minimum of 21 (7 beneficiaries per trainer). 

The work described above will entail the following:

• Conducting training needs assessments for beneficiaries willing to participate in the IYAB training
• Selecting participants of the training based on their common training needs
• Printing copies of the required IYAB training manuals and other training materials required for the training
• Organizing logistics of the training
• Delivering a training of 3-5 days with a minimum of 7 beneficiaries per trainer 

• Conducting after training follow up to the participants including field visits to provide individual counselling and collect data on results and impact of the training 
• Develop one ‘case study’ of one beneficiary

Each of the 25 trainer candidates will receive the amount of USD 1,000 as a partial reimbursement of costs associated with the training roll-out (for stationary, material printing, venue, catering and/or transport cost reimbursement of trainees)

This assignment aims to coordinate and support the process of rolling out the training as described above. Specifically, this will require:

• Advising and supporting trainer candidates as needed in the logistical preparations for the workshop 
• Monitoring the roll-out by trainer candidates and ensuring that roll-out respects the above-mentioned steps and requirements
• Keeping track of the progress of trainer candidates with regard to the training roll-out, collecting all the produced documents and report to ILO and the SIYB Master trainer any logistical problems that might occur.
• Ensuring that each trainer candidate receives the lump sum of USD 1,000 following the delivery of the training
• Delivery of a final brief to ILO with results of the roll-out, flagging any issues/challenges that might have faced. 

DELIVERABLES 

Based on the above-mentioned tasks, the services provider is expected to deliver a short report of 1-2 pages outlining progress and results of the training roll-out as well as any lessons learnt and problems that may have occurred. This report shall be delivered no later than 30 September 2022. The report shall contain:

• A list of trainings conducted by the different trainer candidates including dates, location, and topics (modules) of these trainings
• Information on costs associated with these trainings for logistics, material, venues, catering, transport etc.
• Proof that the lump sum of USD 1,000 has been transferred to all trainer candidates following the training delivery
• Information on any lessons learnt and any problems that occurred during the process

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

The consultancy firm shall have experience in organizing and managing events and trainings. 

SUPERVISION AND LOGISTICAL ARRANGEMENTS

The consultancy firm will perform his/her assignment under the supervision of AIMS Technical Officer and the overall guidance of ILO PROSPECTS Chief Technical Adviser for Arab States. 

TIMEFRAME AND ESTIMATED BUDGET

The consultant will receive the sum of USD y (USD x for technical support + USD 25,000 to be distributed to the 25 trainer candidates as lump sum) after successful completion of the training for beneficiaries as outlined above, no later than 30 September 2022.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE 

100% of contract value (USD y + VAT) shall be settled via an international bank transfer to the firm’s FRESH DOLLAR ACCOUNT upon the delivery of the aforementioned deliverables to the satisfaction of the ILO.