Background

The People’s Republic of Bangladesh (GoB) has an estimated population of 161 million. The majority of the population is young: approximately 75 million are under 25 (27% 0-14 and 38.14% 15-24). Among those, 46.40% are women (approximately 35 million). The Cox’s Bazar (CXB) district is located in Bangladesh’s Chittagong Division, a coastal area bounded by Myanmar and the Bay of Bengal. CXB is home to 2.3 million Bangladeshi nationals and approximately 900,000 Rohingya from Myanmar, hosted by the GoB in 34 camps. Due to lack of available land, the camps remain highly congested giving rise to a plethora of unmet basic needs. These areas are also beset with other problems such as malnutrition, disease and violence as well as continued vulnerability to trafficking, prostitution and drug peddling among other social problems. The overall population of Cox’s Bazar district has also become vulnerable to increasing criminological phenomena related to serious crimes, where different forms of organized crimes overlap and intertwine. The area is and has been vulnerable to arms, narcotics and human trafficking and human smuggling, armed robbery against ships, money laundering and transnational crime. The population in camps also appears to be affected by such criminal environment due to the proximity of the porous border with Myanmar. The port city of Chittagong makes the district more attractive to criminals as the port can be used as an entry/exit point for all types of illicit trafficking.

Bangladesh is also a destination and transit country for illicit drugs – particularly methamphetamines locally known as ‘yaba’, smuggled through the porous Myanmar-Bangladesh border. There has been a sharp increase in the supply of, and demand for, synthetic drugs across East and Southeast Asia and in Bangladesh. According to the latest trends and patterns of ATS, seizure data has indicated the movement of significant and increasing quantities of methamphetamine tablets being trafficked from Myanmar to Bangladesh. This is bound to affect communities in and around CXB. The westward flow of methamphetamine tablets from Myanmar to Bangladesh has increased continually in the past 10 years. The Bangladesh-Myanmar border can be marked with vulnerabilities and sources of national security concerns for the GoB. In conclusion, this particular border region has become a global flashpoint due to a large-scale influx of populations originating from Northern Rakhine State in Myanmar, illegal trade in goods, narcotics, small arms and light weapons (SALW), and human trafficking and human smuggling from Myanmar to Bangladesh destined also for India, the Middle East and Central Asia.

Challenges relating to drugs and crime are a source of insecurity not only for Cox’s Bazar, but also the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) and Bangladesh as a whole. There is a need to examine the situation further in order to ensure timely and appropriate action to address the mentioned criminal impacts. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), as guardian of bedrock UN conventions against crime and corruption, and as a lead provider of assistance to implement the drug Conventions and the global counter-terrorism instruments, as well as UN standards and norms on crime prevention and criminal justice, helps countries address acute threats to peace and security and achieve progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. UNODC has been delivering technical assistance in the South Asia region for over two decades, covering six countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Such assistance has been delivered in Bangladesh, through its Programme Office in Dhaka. As the UN’s key agency on drug control and crime prevention, UNODC is well positioned to undertake this project, in close collaboration with UNHCR, the GoB, civil society and concerned UN Agencies.

Introduction:

UNODC is currently implementing a project in Bangladesh with the aim to build knowledge, capacities and resilience to counter the threats of drugs and crime in Cox’s Bazar. Through this project, UNODC aims to address the drugs and crime challenges in Southeast division of Bangladesh, bordering Myanmar, specifically Cox’s Bazar. The project aims to strengthen existing efforts of government, NGOs and UN agencies in Cox’s Bazar by generating evidence on drugs and crime, and safety challenges, building capacities of families, caregivers, government and criminal justice interlocutors to respond to such challenges and create awareness among affected populations.

The project shall address the overarching strategic objective of “Building capacities and resilience to counter the threats of drugs and crime in Cox’s Bazar” through the delivery of two pillars under UNODC mandates:

Pillar I: Research and analytical work to generate evidence on the drugs and crime situation, increase knowledge and understanding of drugs and crime issues and expand the evidence base for policy and operational decisions;

Pillar II: Family skills-based programmes to strengthen capacities of families and caregivers to prevent negative social outcomes in children.

The project will adopt an integrated programmatic approach by drawing national, regional and global UNODC expertise to deliver activities in Bangladesh. Furthermore, the project would contribute to the implementation of the UNODC Regional Programme for South Asia (2018-2021), especially subprogrammes 1 (Transnational organised crime), 2 (Drugs) and 5 (Crime prevention and criminal justice).

Duties and Responsibilities

The overall objective of the assignment, which falls under Pillar I of the project on generating evidence on the drugs and crime situation and expanding the evidence base for policy and operational decisions, is to support the conduct of qualitative and quantitative research. Specifically, in preparation for the quantitative survey, a desk review and a programme of qualitative research is to be conducted, including focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and ethnographic participant observation. The desk review should include analysis of administrative data on the populations and current crime trends in Cox’s Bazar and the host community. In addition, the desk review should map the different actors involved in the response to crime and any research already conducted on the crime situation, or related crime situations within large refugee communities and their interactions with host communities.

Specific objectives:

• To gather administrative data on, among other things, population make-up and crime trends affecting the area of Cox’s Bazar;
• To liaise with local officials and community and civil society leaders to prepare for a programme of qualitative research to be undertaken starting in Q4 2020; and
• To draft a desk review on the crime situation in Cox’s Bazar concerning both the refugee and host populations.

Scope of work and expected outputs/ deliverables:

As a part of the project activities, UNODC would like to engage a Junior Research consultant, to work jointly with a Lead Research consultant, to support a desk review and a programme of qualitative research, including focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and ethnographic participant observation. The desk review should include analysis of administrative data on the populations and current crime trends in Cox’s Bazar and the host community. In addition, the desk review should map the different actors involved in the response to crime and any research already conducted on the crime situation, or related crime situations within large refugee communities and their interactions with host communities. This information will provide the basis for a quantitative survey which is previewed in the Phase II of the project (to be confirmed later in the year).

Specific deliverables and payment terms:

Note:

• Technical Proposal must include the timeline, methodology and specific plan of actions
• If the consultant anticipates some absolutely necessary field travel, it should be budgeted in the proposal;
• Any kind of miscellaneous charges i.e. Internet, phone etc. would not be reimbursed;
• Please note proposals without the financial proposal will not be considered.

Time frame:

The contract will be for 40 working days from July to October 2020.

Reporting and communication:

The Junior Research consultant will work jointly with the Lead Research consultant, and under the overall supervision of the Representative/Deputy Representative UNODC Regional Office for South Asia, the direct supervision of the National Programme Coordinator, UNODC Programme Office for Bangladesh, in close coordination with and oversight of the Research Officer, Crime Research Section, Research and Analysis Branch, UNODC Headquarters, and in coordination with the project team in the UNODC Programme Office for Bangladesh.

Competencies

• A good understanding of the local context and cultural sensitivity, specifically in the area of drugs and crime;
• Experience in the usage of computers and office software packages (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc.);
• Good planning and organizational skills;
• Proficient writing, editing, and oral communication skills in English and excellent communication and drafting skills in Bangla.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• University degree or equivalent in the field of social sciences, criminology, statistics, or an alternative relevant field;

Experiance

• At least 2 years of experience in carrying out research or surveys in the national context of Bangladesh, or in a closely related field;
• Experience and understanding of qualitative methods, including crime and victimization surveys;
• Experience working with government officials in the South Asia region, with particular focus on Bangladesh.

Cumulative analysis-

The award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant up on Cumulative Analysis/evaluation and determined as:

• Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
• Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation;

Only candidates obtaining a minimum 70% mark in technical evaluation will be considered eligible for financial evaluation.

Technical Evaluation Criteria (Total 70 marks)

• Educational qualification - 20 marks
• Experience in carrying out research or surveys in the national context of Bangladesh - 20 marks
• Basic understanding of qualitative methods, including crime and victimization surveys - 20 marks
• Experience working with government officials in the South Asia region, with particular focus on Bangladesh – 10 marks

Financial Evaluation (Total 30 marks)

All technical qualified proposals will be scored out 30 based on the formula provided below. The maximum points (30) will be assigned to the lowest financial proposal. All other proposals received points according to the following formula:

p = y (µ/z)

where:

• p = points for the financial proposal being evaluated;
• y = maximum number of points for the financial proposal;
• µ = price of the lowest priced proposal;
• z = price of the proposal being evaluated.

The financial proposal shall specify a total lump sum amount, and payment terms around specific and measurable (qualitative and quantitative) deliverables (i.e. whether payments fall in installments or upon completion of the entire contract). Payments are based upon output, i.e. upon delivery of the services specified in the TOR. In order to assist the requesting unit in the comparison of financial proposals, the financial proposal will include a breakdown of this lump sum amount (including travel, per diems, and number of anticipated working days).

Financial Milestone

DOCUMENTS TO BE INCLUDED WHEN SUBMITTING THE PROPOSALS

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications:

Proposal

• Technical Proposal including the timeline, methodology and plan of action;
• Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP;
• Personal CV, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references;
• Financial Proposal: Financial Proposal has to be submitted through a standard interest and availability template which can be downloaded from the link below:

http://www.bd.undp.org/content/dam/bangladesh/docs/Jobs/Interest%20and%20Submission%20of%20Financial%20Proposal-Template%20for%20Confirmation.docx