Enrolment of Resource Agency for Financial Literacy Programme in Eastern Uttar Pradesh (Project locations Jaunpur, Mirzapur and Sant Ravidas Nagar Districts).
 United Nations Development Programme
 Location: Eastern Uttar Pradesh
 Last Date: May 5, 2010
 Email: bids.india@undp.org (Reference: DevNetJobsIndia.org)

 Date of Issue: 21 April 2010
Closing Date: 5 May 2010

Expression of Interest ( EoI)

Post Title: Enrolment of Resource Agency for Financial Literacy Programme in Eastern Uttar Pradesh (Project locations Jaunpur, Mirzapur and Sant Ravidas Nagar Districts).

Duty Station : Eastern Uttar Pradesh

Duration : Six Months

UNDP seeks expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced professional agencies based or intending to operate in Uttar Pradesh – who are interested in executing activities under the mentioned project. The purpose of this EOI is to short-list and select a few agencies, who will be subsequently contracted to work as Resource Agency in these districts jointly with UNDP. In view of that UNDP is soliciting EOI from the competent agencies to engage directly with the UNDP at the field level.

BACKGROUND:
In Uttar Pradesh, UNDP has recently launched a women’s empowerment with project support from the IKEA Social Initiative. The project, titled “Strengthening Women’s Social, Economic and Political Empowerment in Jaunpur, Mirzapur and Sant Ravidas Nagar of Uttar Pradesh”, builds on the social empowerment processes initiated under an earlier project Bal Adhikar Pariyojana, implemented by UNICEF with support from IKEA Social Initiative in these districts. The project adopts an integrated approach in the 500 project villages to simultaneously strengthen the key dimensions of women’s empowerment – social, economic and political. The project’s immediate objective is that “By 2013, women supported by the project in Jaunpur, Mirzapur and Sant Ravidas Nagar districts achieve a secure and enhanced income and effectively participate and contribute to decision-making in domestic and public spheres”. In these 500 project villages, women were organised into 1,640 Self Help Groups during 2000-2007.

Located within the women’s empowerment framework, the project will execute the following strategies:
* Deepen and broaden the process of social mobilization to cover 50,000 women organized in 4000 self-help groups and further grouped at cluster and federation levels;
* Expanding economic opportunities and choices that lead to sustainable increase in their household incomes and enable them to play an enhanced and strategic role in the economic sphere; and
* Enhancing political participation and representation of women so that they contribute effectively in local decision-making and demand quality public services.


The project will bring to the women and their groups high quality technical and advisory services and will link them with district administration, financial institutions and technical agencies to access information and additional resources. The project will support establishment of strong institutions and networks of women with the capacity to sustain the results beyond the project period. The project will establish strong linkages with the State Government to advocate on women’s empowerment issues within the overall rubric of poverty reduction and livelihood promotion of the poor. It will also engage with district administration and state government to widely replicate successful strategies tested in the project area. The project has a strong linkage with the strategies and objectives of the following UNDP programmes with the Government of India: (a) Poverty Reduction– projects on State Level Support to Livelihood Promotion and Financial Inclusion and (b) Democratic Governance– projects on Capacity Building for Local Governance and Access to Justice. Overall, it is designed to contribute to achievement of Millennium Development Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, and Millennium Development Goals 3: Promoting gender equality and empowering women.

The present project of UNDP is housed in a rights based framework focusing on social, economic, legal and political empowerment of women. The project is already partnered with a few Community Facilitating Organizations (CFOs) and implementing the social and political empowerment programmes in the project locations. In view of the project objective in general and with special reference to economic empowerment it is targeted to build the capacity of SHG women in the project area by imparting financial literacy programme. Hence the enrolment of Resource Agencies opted for financial inclusion of the target group subject to following:

Resource Agency for implementing Financial Literacy Programme for SHGS

Women in selected development blocks of project area were organized into Self Help Groups (SHGs) by field-based partner organizations during the period of 2000 to 2007. Most of these SHGs are functioning since then satisfactorily. However, the review about functions of these SHGs revealed the need to expand their vision and scope, as their activities had remained to thrift and credit. As such there is a need to link them with formal financial institutions so that they can have access to formal credit facilities from such institutions. Financial literacy will be helpful to them for preparing their family budget. The real understanding on their financial position will also help them to realise the need for changing their income sources and its implementation will be the base for changing their mind set. Ultimately they will prefer to make alterations or additions in their existing income source by accepting more innovative and suitable career option or their livelihood. In view of this, it is important to build their capacity on financial aspects so that they assess their day-to-day financial life and adopt financial discipline in their life.

It is expected that the proposed trainings will help them to understand the need and scope of financial literacy and benefit of keeping financial discipline in their day-to-day life which will result into linkage with formal financial institutions and base for accepting better income source for their life.

TARGET GROUP:

Women SHG Members from Jaunpur, Mirzapur and Sant Ravidas Nagar of IKEA-UNDP Project. Approximately 35,000 SHG members are to be trained in Financial Literacy during the project period.

METHODOLOGY:
Any scientific conducive approach suitable to develop a cadre of trained human resources in financial literacy who can cater the need of financial literacy programme for the specified target group during the project period and also to take care of such demand beyond the project period.

OUTCOME:
Project will bring out a cadre of resource personnel for the financial literacy in the project locations who will cater the project requirement primarily and will continue the process in the future. It will also help 35000 women SHG members to have linkage with financial institutions besides motivating them to opt for a suitable career option specifically for self employment or entrepreneurship.

OUTPUT:
It is expected that the resource agency will work holistically to meet the project requirement. However, it will ensure that out of the trained beneficiaries at least 50% of them will be keeping linkage with financial institutions in a very effective manner.

SELECTION PROCEDURE:
UNDP will assess methodology, competency, credibility, human resource as well as organizational structure and experience in socio, economic, political empowerment initiative of the agency in general and financial literacy in particular. Based on the assessment a few agencies will be short-listed for whom the modus operandi will be shared to help the agencies to submit their techno-commercial bid. After analyzing the bids suitable agencies may be awarded the assignment. However, the agency should be capable to carry forward the following:

* Assessment of the beneficiaries in the project locations to finalise the methodology for project intervention and to ability to finalise the materials/tools either through modification of existing materials or developing a set of new materials.
* Capacity to develop a cadre of resource persons/ agencies in the project locations and capable to execute the assignment within the time-frame in consultation with the Project Monitoring Committee
* Ability to make alliance/ partnership with existing community facilitating organisations and implement the field level programme effectively as per the need of beneficiaries by holding the project objectives and approach
* Capable to oversee project objectives and will develop suitable monitoring, evaluation, reporting and process documentation templates as per the need of the project.
* Capability to manage the size of the target group in defined areas and competency to ensure at least 50% success rate by defining suitable indicators

Required Expertise
The agency should have:
• developed a cross culturally validated Financial Literacy Model for rural poor or must have implemented a nationally accredited model for rural poor in general and SHG members in particular;
• minimum 3 years experience in execution of projects related to socio, economic development and with a clear emphasis in financial literacy.
• sound understanding of socio, economic, cultural and political knowledge of the area and capable to implement the field level programme in Hindi;
• worked in Uttar Pradesh (preferably in Eastern Uttar Pradesh) and required to have an infrastructure with competent human resource capable to meet with the requirement in Hindi as well as English;
• sound knowledge on the issues of SHGs besides clear understanding required for financial inclusion;
• demonstrated expertise in coordination of training interventions at field level, documentation, as well as expertise in data and situation analysis;
• ability to reach the field level target with a sufficient number of well trained staff who can carry out the tasks;
• recorded proved track record in the performance of project execution

How to Apply:

Interested organizations are invited to submit an expression of interest (EOI) with the following details:

Profile of the organization:
- Brief overview of the organization
- year of establishment
- main areas of expertise (thematic and sector),
- Past client organizations (credentials)
- Operational Head of the Organisation with designation, address and contact details
- Address and contact details of Head office and office(s) in Uttar Pradesh

Human Resource:
In Head Office
- No.of Subject Experts with sector
- No.of Management Experts
- No.of Financial Experts
- No.of Field Level Functionaries

In Field Office at Uttar Pradesh (excluding the Head Office)
- No.of Subject Experts with sector
- No.of Management Experts
- No.of Financial Experts
- No.of Field Level Functionaries
- Head of the Field Office with contact details

Project Details:
- Major projects executed by the organizations with Project details such as donor, project area, duration, number of beneficiaries, outcome, etc.
- Programmes implemented by the organization for Financial Inclusion with details such as donor, project area, duration, number of beneficiaries, outcome, etc.
Annexure
- C.Vs of functionaries who should be working in the project in full-time basis
- Proof the project executed in financial literacy

Submission of EoI

Applications (EOIs) should be sent by email to bids.india@undp.org or addressed to the Procurement Division, United Nations Development Programme, 55, Lodi Estate, New Delhi 110003.
Deadline for submission is 5 May 2010, 7 PM (IST).

Note: Company’s/ Bidders are requested to mention the EOI Title / the EOI applied for, in their mail.


Download ATTACHMENT
Strengthening Women’s Social, Economic and Political Empowerment in Jaunpur, Mirzapur and Sant Ravidas Nagar of Uttar Pradesh (Add-on Component for the IKEA Social Initiative supported UNICEF Child Rights Project in Uttar Pradesh)