CONSULTING FIRM TO DEVELOP A DIGITAL TOOL FOR LABOUR ATTACHES/CONSULAR OF IGAD MEMBER STATES At International Labour Organization

Background

The governance of migration processes and the protection of migrant workers is becoming a central issue in the context where migration is “a key feature of today’s world of work and one which raises complex policy challenges” (ILO 2014: 1), with the increasing complexity of the nature and composition of today’s international migration movements. Many workers, including those from the IGAD region – particularly those in low-skilled occupations – are vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, and forced labour in different regions, while labour migration if well governed can offer benefits to both origin and destination countries and migrant workers themselves. Migrants (particularly female migrants and migrants in an irregular situation) are also increasingly prone to the impact of crises in countries of transit and destination through legal and practical limitations (lack of access to consular services) to accessing protection and assistance: a situation that remains largely underreported or included in policy responses. Promotion and protection of the welfare of migrant workers while addressing such abuses and minimizing risks involved in migration requires a wide range of measures and effective coordination between countries of origin and destination.

Improving the welfare and protection of migrant workers requires adequate strategies from their countries of origin, including the appointment and deployment of labour attachés or consular officials who operate within the consular functions defined by the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (United Nations, 1961) and article 5 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (United Nations, 1963). While the institution of labour attachés has a long history originating in developed countries (Hauck 1948), their role under labour migration processes in the South has shifted to mainly focus on the welfare and protection, and decent working and living conditions of their nationals in the countries of destination.

Therefore, labour attachés need to be competent and knowledgeable in several areas: international legal instruments, treaties or agreements, labour market situation in the countries of origin and destination, and policy, legal and regulatory environment affecting labour in both countries. They should have skills in diplomacy and tact, counselling, negotiation, conflict management, conciliation and arbitration, language (of the host country), and research and networking, among others. Moreover, personal traits such as commitment and dedication are essential. It is also critical that the training they receive should be adequate to perform their jobs effectively. Some of the challenges faced by labour attaches while providing consular services are: physical distance, inadequate human resources compared to the number of migrants in destination countries, inadequate or absence of legislation to guide access to remedies, expensive legal costs, irregular/undocumented migrants, and more importantly understand the BLAs/MOUs of the country of destination and home country.

These officials are usually appointed by the Ministry of Labour (or other mandated Ministries), and are part of the diplomatic missions abroad, charged with functions relating to labour relations between the country of origin and the host country. Many IGAD Member States are aware that the role of labour attaches and consular becomes even more important, during COVID 19 crisis, where witnesses of Migrant workers exploitation in countries of destination in particular in the Arab countries are widespread. However, many IGAD Member States have not appointed or are still in the process to appoint labour attaches in the Middle East Countries. There is a limited number of labour attaches in function, while there are more officials who play the role of labour attaches in the Embassies or Consular of IGAD Member states in the Middle East Countries. Most of them including labour attaches in function are not familiar with the existing relevant tools that could enable them being more effective in their role in protecting migrant workers and contributing to the migration-development nexus.

In order to support IGAD and its member states aspiration towards a free movement regime, the ILO is implementing the EUTF funded project ‘Free Movement of Persons and Transhumance in the IGAD Region (FMPT): Improving Opportunities for Regular Labour Mobility’. The overall objective of the project is to improve opportunities for regulated labour mobility and decent work within and beyond the IGAD member States through the development of models of intervention, in the broader context of free movement of persons and labour mobility in the region.

In the framework of the FMPT project, the ILO is organizing a capacity building training on protection of migrant workers targeting labour attaches and consular of IGAD member States in the Arab States. This training will be complemented by the development of digital tool for labour attaches on protection of migrant workers. The digital tool will support the sustainability of the training with possible inclusion in relevant curricula of target professional schools and continuous self-training and upgrading of labour attachés and consular on how to defend Migrant workers’ rights.

The aim of the current assignment is to complement the training by developing a digital tool for labour attaches on protection of migrant workers. Therefore, this ToR is developed to hire the service of a consulting firm to develop a digital tool for labour attaches on protection of migrant workers which is interactive, user friendly and accessible, among other things.

1. Objective

The main objective of this assignment is to develop a user-friendly digital toolkit for labour attaches/consular, particularly from IGAD Member States, building on the 4 days training workshop and incorporating relevant content to ensure and improve the effectiveness of these officials in the protection of migrant workers under their jurisdiction and contribution to labour migration governance. This tool will support the sustainability of the capacity building initiative with possible inclusion in relevant curricula of target professional schools and continuous self-training and upgrading of labour attachés and consular on how to defend Migrant workers’ rights.

The digital toolkit is expected to be interactive, user-friendly, accessible and sustainable as follow:

• Interactive: The toolkit is expected to be interactive learning and reference materials for intended users,
• User-friendly: The toolkit is expected to be user friendly, simple and practical in its structure, content, presentation style and internet/connection bandwidth requirements. In addition, the toolkit is expected to use audio visual, graphic art, animation and voice over to present content in a user-friendly manner,
• Accessible: The toolkit should take into account limited internet access or other circumstances that limit access to the mechanism and designed in a way that is accessible for users both online and offline,
• Sustainability: The toolkit should be designed in such manner that additional/up to date information can be entered at the backend by trained ILO staff without hampering the old data and without shutting the toolkit.

2. Target Audience/Users

The main users of the toolkit, among others, will include

• Labour attachés based in Middle East and GCC countries working to protect migrant workers from IGAD member states,
• Labour attachés based in IGAD member states and working to protect migrant workers in Middle East and GCC countries,
• Newly appointed labour attachés to protect migrant workers from IGAD member states working in Middle East and GCC countries,
• Embassy officials who are engaged in attending to migrant workers’ protection issues where Labour Attachés are not present,
• MOFA focal points in charge of Middle East and GCC countries,
• Training institutions where the potential labour attaches and MOFA focal points are trained,
• Government officials, policy makers and practitioners working on the issue of labour migration governance at national, regional and international level, including those involved in the preparation of Bilateral Labour Agreements (BLAs)/MOUs with Middle East and GCC countries,
• Experts working for national governments, regional and international organizations working on migration and labour migration governance issues,
• Social partners, civil society organizations and non-government organization working on the issue of migration and protection of migrant workers,
• Academic institutions, training centres and research institutions, think thanks engaged in training, policy development, advocacy and advisory services to improve labour migration governance.

3. Deliverables

• Inception Report: The consulting firm is expected to submit a detailed inception report explaining firm’s understanding of the ToR/assignment, methodology, work plan and general outline of the toolkit.
• Develop outline of the toolkit: Drawing on the inputs provided at the inception phase of the assignment, the firm is expected to develop a detailed outline of the toolkit. This may include narration and visual presentation of the outline of the toolkit.
• Develop annotated content and method of presentation: The consulting firm is expected to develop annotated content of the toolkit drawing on the training session for labour attaches and other relevant references. The consulting firm will also elaborate the method and style of presentation of the content which among others will include text, audio/narration, audio visual and graphic arts. Once a consensus is reached on the content and method/style of presentation, the consulting firm is expected to further develop content based on the agreed method/style. The training session to be provided by the ILO to labour attaches will be an opportunity for the consulting firm to identify and collect some good practices in the function of labour attaches, collect some essays and make some recordings that could be of interest as contents to factor in the Digital tool to be developed. The workshop will also be an opportunity to review and incorporate inputs to the draft outline for the digital tool. The views of the participants will be also taken on the architecture of the Digital tool. The topics for the training and their content will be provided to the consulting firm. The modules of the digital tool will be developed around the following preliminary topics: (i) General overview: labour migration dynamics in the IGAD-Middle east corridor and major challenges, opportunities and risks involved as well as the migration – development nexus. (ii) International frameworks on protection of migrant workers: this will look at normative frameworks and all international and regional instruments. (iii) Understanding and sharing information on labour market needs of countries of destination. (iv) Bilateral labour agreements (BLAs) – drafting, negotiating, implementing, monitoring and evaluation. (v) Fair Recruitment practices. (vi) Migrant workers’ access to information and basic services in the country of destination. (vii) Conflict management and resolution – techniques and skills. (viii) Gender issues in the migration cycle. (ix) Access of migrant workers to justice. (x) Access of migrant workers to Labour inspection. (xi) Migrant associations and other support organizations – experiences and lessons. (xii) Migration and development – diaspora, remittances. (xiii) Role of embassies, consulates and labour attaches.
• Developing the toolkit: Once content is developed in the agreed format, the consulting firm will develop the toolkit as per the outline agreed on deliverable point 2 for review and feedback to ILO, IGAD and other key stakeholders.
• Testing: The toolkit will be shared with a group of experts in the IGAD region and over as relevant for review and testing.
• Finalization and Deployment: Once the review and testing is completed, the consulting firm will deploy the toolkit for users on the ILO website with links to IGAD Secretariat website and the websites for embassies and consulates of IGAD Member States in Middle East and GCC countries.
• Handover: The consulting firm will hand over all the content, source code, documentation, management right to the ILO.
• Maintenance of the toolkit: The consulting firm is expected to monitor and provide maintenance service for at least one month after deployment. Further, users shall provide feedback to the consulting firm on any issues arising due to usage.

4. Timeline

The assignment is expected to be completed in a maximum of five months period from the date of signing of the contract.

1. Required Competencies and Qualifications

• The consulting firm is expected to have reputable experience in designing developing digital toolkits of similar nature and be able to present portfolio of previous toolkits, apps and similar digital tools using open-source programming language,
• The team leader should hold master’s degree in software engineering, computer science or similar from a reputable university,
• The proposed team members need to have at least 5 years of experience eon migration and labour migration issues especially on development of training materials and content,
• The proposed team members need to have experience in photography, videography recording and editing, animation, voice over recording and so on,
• The proposed team members need to have at least 3 years of experience and excellent knowledge of Java and XML and other open-source programming languages, graphic designing and animation,
• Ability to solve problems creatively and adapt her/his style, creativity and imagination while enjoying creative work,
• Understanding and Knowledge of the subject matter (labour migration) and the target group,
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing, ability to accommodate feedback.

2. Evaluation Process and Criteria

• The evaluation process would be as shown below. In summary, the proposals will be evaluated on a weighted score of 70/30 for Technical/Financial relative score of 70/30.

Technical proposal evaluation criteria

• In evaluating the technical proposal, the score allotted in the next table shall be used.

Evaluation Dimension Max. Score

1. Service provider’s experience and portfolio of previous works 30

Criteria:

– Possess master’s degree in software engineering, computer science or similar from a reputable university,

– Proven reputable experience in designing & developing digital toolkits of similar nature and be able to present portfolio of previous toolkits, apps and similar digital tools using open-source programming language,

– Team members need to have at least 3 years of experience and excellent knowledge of Java and XML and other open-source programming languages, graphic designing and animation,

– Proven understanding and Knowledge of the subject matter (labour migration) and the target group.

2. Methodology 20

Criteria;

– quality, clarity and responsiveness of the proposed methodology, tools and process,

– Creatively and Innovation to make the toolkit interactive, user friendly and accessible,

– Proposed sustainability strategy.

3. Quality of Technical proposal for assignment 20

– The proposal responds comprehensively to the TORs,

– Realistic implementation and management plan,

– Major risks and mitigation options identified.

Total 70

N.B: The minimum total score required from the technical proposal to qualify before proceeding to the evaluating of the financial proposal will be 49/70 which is an equivalent of 70% score.

Evaluation of the Financial Proposal

The financial proposal offers having passed the technical review and qualified will be considered. The financial offer will account for 30% of the final score. The maximum number of points assigned to the financial proposal will be allocated to the lowest priced proposal. All other price proposals receive pro-rated points according to the following formula: p = y (x/z), where: p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal x = price of the lowest priced proposal z = price of the proposal being evaluated. The proposal obtaining the overall highest score, after adding the score of the technical and the financial proposals, is the one that offers best value for money.

The financial proposal should detail all lines of envisaged expenditure. For each line, the unit cost, the quantity of units, and the total cost should be provided.

Technical and Financial Proposal evaluation will be based on the following percentage combination.

Technical Proposal 70

Financial proposal 30

Total 100

1. Deliverables with payment Schedule

Payments upon submission to ILO satisfaction of the deliverables and in line with the following payment tranches:

Deliverables

1. Inception Report
2. Outline of the toolkit
3. Annotated content and method of presentation
4. Toolkit Developed as per the outline agreed on deliverable (2)
5. Testing: The toolkit shared, reviewed and tested
6. Toolkit finalized and Deployed
7. Handover to the ILO: Content, source code, documentation, management right Second tranche: 50% of total payment
8. Maintenance of the toolkit: Monitor and provide maintenance service for at least one month after deployment. Further, users shall provide feedback to the consulting firm on any issues

Payment tranches:

• First tranche: 30% of total payment (Deliverables 1 to 3)

Time frame: 4 Weeks

Payment tranches:

• Second tranche: 50% of total payment (Deliverables 4 to 7)

Time frame: 12 Weeks

Payment tranches:

• Third and Final tranche 20% of total payment (Deliverables 8)

Time frame: 1 month

Note: As ILO procedure the office will not cover receiver’s side bank charges

1. Management Arrangements

The consulting firm will work under the direct supervision of the project Chief Technical Advisor and Technical Officer based in Djibouti. S/He will also get technical back stopping support from other experts in the region and Headquarters as needed. All information and assets related to the toolkit will be property of the ILO Country Office for Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia.