Company to undertake baseline and follow-up surveys - Garment Sector - Cambodia

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by financing private sector investment, mobilizing private capital in local and international financial markets, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. IFC’s vision is that poor people have the opportunity to escape poverty and improve their lives. In the Mekong region, IFC manages the Mekong Private Sector Development Facility (MPDF), an advisory services program covering Lao PDR, Vietnam and Cambodia. IFC MPDF's donors are Australia, Canada, the European Union, Finland, IFC, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.

In September 2007, IFC MPDF, in cooperation with ILO-Better Factories Cambodia launched Supervisory Skills Training for Cambodia’s garment sector. This project will span 18 months and is expected to train 2,000 – 3,000 supervisors in 47 factories. The project is expected to improve relations between supervisors and workers, which in turn will result in better labor relations and improved productivity.

IFC MPDF plans to conduct a randomized evaluation of the Supervisory Skills training program with at least 5 factories in order to determine the impact of this project and draw lessons for improving the training. The evaluation, which will involve comparisons between factories that have had the training and factories that have not, will be carried out under the leadership of IFC MPDF, in cooperation with professors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University. In order to carry out this evaluation, IFC MPDF requires services from a local research company (hereafter called ‘THE COMPANY’) which will work in partnership with IFC MPDF and a team from MIT and Harvard.

SCOPE OF WORK

THE COMPANY will conduct surveys with selected garment factories under the technical guidance of IFC MPDF and the MIT/Harvard Team. THE COMPANY will:

• Comment on the survey approach, instruments and sampling methodology recommended by IFC MPDF and the MIT/Harvard Team;
• Translate and test the survey instruments and revise them if necessary;
• Hire, train and supervise the required surveyors and data entry personnel, or use THE COMPANY’s existing staff;
• Before any training starts, conduct the Baseline Survey through either face-to-face interviews and/or written questionnaires with factory managers/owners, supervisors, and workers from both the ‘control’ and ‘treatment’ group factories. It is expected that baseline surveys will be collected from at least 5 factories, covering in total, approximately 500 supervisors and 3,000 workers. This Baseline Survey should be completed by August 1st, 2008.
• Conduct the Follow-up Survey with both the ‘treatment’ and the ‘control’ group factories 4 months after the last supervisor in the ‘treatment’ group has been trained;
• Provide interpretation and translation services, as required, by IFC MPDF and the MIT/Harvard Team;
• Enter data from both Baseline and Follow-up surveys in an agreed-on format. All data must be entered twice to ensure accuracy. THE COMPANY will thus submit all three data files (data entry version 1, data entry version 2, and a file combining both versions) to the MIT/Harvard Team who will check all data for accuracy. THE COMPANY will be expected to make corrections if needed;
• Produce 2 reports, one on the Baseline Survey and a second on the Follow-up Survey which will include a description of the research methodology, analysis and discussion of the findings, relevant statistics, conclusions and recommendations.

THE COMPANY must have demonstrated experience in conducting survey research, and general knowledge of Cambodia’s private sector and its’ garment industry. THE COMPANY must be able to mobilize qualified surveyors, data entry personnel and analytic staff, and must have the logistical capacity to carry out the surveys within the time frame specified by IFC MPDF and the MIT/Harvard Team.

Location and Terms

The assignment will take place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from June 1, 2008 to approximately 30 December 2008.

Submission of Proposals

IFC MPDF would like to invite consulting companies to submit their proposals, including a cost estimate and CVs for key personnel, by May 20, 2008 to the following address:
LHanh@ifc.org (via email)
Or via mail to:
Mrs. Seda Nuon, IFC-MPDF, 70 Norodom Blvd, Sangkat Chey Chun Neas, Phnom Penh, P.O Box 1115
Tel : 855 23 210 922 / Fax : 855 23 215 157

Only short-listed firms will be contacted for an interview. All materials will be handled in the strictest confidence.