ThaiNGO

Terms of Reference

Adaptation and contextualization of ILO CSR Training Manual

Labour standards in global supply chains, How to meet them to become more competitive and sustainable

1. Background and rationale

The "Responsible Supply Chains in Asia" (RSCA) project (RAS/16/13/EUR) is a three year programme conducted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and financed by the European Union (EU). The project aims to contribute to an enhanced respect for human rights, labour and environmental standards by businesses engaged in supply chains in Asia including Thailand in line with international instruments on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) and Business and Human Rights. This initiative is one of the expressions of the EU's long-standing commitment to promote human rights, decent work and sustainable development, a pledge underpinned by the EU Treaties and reinforced in the European Commission's trade policy strategy of 2015 "Trade for All". It falls in particular under the Commission's commitment to identify opportunities for responsible supply chain partnerships and the EU's strategic approach to responsible business conduct, which is based on internationally agreed principles and guidelines. The specific objectives of the project in the Thailand is to

1. Increase understanding and knowledge of employer and business membership organizations (EBMOs), workers organizations, domestic enterprises, Multinational Enterprises, investors, businesses, civil society organizations (CSOs) and policy makers on CSR/RBC from the perspective of decent work.
2. Create a policy environment conducive to promoting a socially responsible conduct among businesses.
3. Increase opportunities for businesses to have dialogue on challenges and opportunities in relation to CSR.

In Thailand, the project focuses on two sectors: agriculture and vehicle parts sectors. Both sectors account for high numbers of workers and have important trade linkages to the EU. Agriculture exports from Thailand to the EU represent 15% of total exports. The sector accounts for approximately 31% of the employment in the country and 11.6 million workers. However, the sector also accounts for almost 60% of total informal employment in the country. Within the agricultural sector, the project will focus on the meat and fruit and vegetable sub-sectors, both of which account for a high number of jobs in the region and play an important role in trade linkages with the EU and in general within the Thai economy.

Vehicle parts are a growing industry for the country. More than 2,400 enterprises produce automotive parts in Thailand, which account for 450,000 workers. Many of them are tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers to larger buyers. These factories, some of which are subsidiaries of foreign MNEs, produce diverse components, from tires to structural components. The country represents an export hub in Southeast Asia, including for automotive components exports which were valued at US$13 billion in 2014.

One of the four components of the project is to organize training courses to strengthen the institutional and operational capacities of the government, workers’ and employers’ organizations as well as business in applying the principles of the MNE Declaration and CSR/RBC at all levels. The ILO, through MULTI unit and the SCORE programme, developed a CSR training manual on “Labour standards in global supply chains, How to meet them to become more competitive and sustainable”. To roll the training out in Thailand, RSCA is seeking a consultant to develop two training manuals which are adapted from the CSR training manual to fit to the context of Thailand. The first training manual shall target small and medium-sized enterprises[1] (SMEs) and future business leaders in general. The second training manual shall target businesses in the broiler sector, both at the processing factory and the farm level.

2. Objective and scope of assignment

The consultant will be tasked to adapt and contextualize the CSR training manual “Labour standards in global supply chains, How to meet them to become more competitive and sustainable” to fit with the needs of 1) small and medium-sized businesses in Thailand and the future business leaders, as well as 2) businesses in the broiler sector, in terms of the current institutional framework, regulations and laws, as well as through the inclusion of good practices in related to both sectors.

The adaptation of the CSR training manual will build on the aforementioned CSR training manual. For the manual targeting businesses in the broiler sector, in addition to the CSR training manual, it will take into consideration the good labour practices in the seafood processing industry namely its model of program as well as tools. The training manual shall be responsive to the demands of SMEs and future business leaders (i.e. Master degree students in business schools) as well as the industries of the broiler sector and easy to understand for the targeted audience through the use of language and case examples from the sectors. The delivering method will be human centered (tailor made to the need of users)/ participatory (as opposed to lecturing), innovative, and easy to be replicated.

3. Assignment

• Prepare a methodological framework and an action plan to implement the consultancy. It shall include an outline, methodology and a plan of adapting the handbook and power point (including a list of stakeholder to be included in the focus group, a proposed agenda, questions for the focus groups and interviews) as well as timeline and a clear structure of the training handbook in question.  
• For the SMEs and future business leaders, conduct a focus group discussion with the targeted audiences to identify their needs and demands on learning contents related to labour dimension of responsible business conduct and an appropriate delivering method.
• For the broiler sector, conduct a focus group discussion with targeted businesses (factories and farms) to identify their needs and demands on learning contents related to labour dimension of responsible business conduct and an appropriate delivering method. Then, conduct a consultation with stakeholders (businesses, employers’ organizations, workers organizations, government and non-governmental organizations) to identify risks/key issues which should be included and consider the priority of the training. The results of the discussion shall include labour risk assessment in the targeted supply chains, root causes analysis of the sector as well as potential guideline/solutions that should be included in the manual to address the root causes based on discussion.
• Review and revise the information presented in the CSR training manual and power point for trainers based on the result of the focus group discussion. The CSR training manual should correspond to the current situation in Thailand (trend, concept of corporate social responsibility/responsible business conduct/sustainability, relevant laws, policies, and initiatives). The revised handbook should also contain the following components;

• Linkages and brief references to the Tripartite declaration of principles concerning multinational enterprises and social policy (MNE Declaration), the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (OECD guideline) and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
• For SMEs and future business leaders, provide requirements on social compliance in general. For the broiler sector, map requirements on social compliance in the broiler sector (such as ETI, Sedex, AMFORI, company’s code of conduct) of key buyers and multi stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) in the targeted sectors in order to identify common requirements needed to be met by local businesses. The common requirements on social compliance of key buyers will be simplified to assist businesses in the broiler sector to understand key buyers’ requirements and its linkage to international labour standards. This will help suppliers to prepare themselves to have solid basis on social compliance and able to meet common/minimum requirements. It will also help the sector identify priority topics for the CSR training.
• Self-assessment tools
• In each chapter of the handbook, references should be made to international labour standards, principles under MNE Declaration, laws and regulations, guideline, and industrial norms.
• Include examples, cases of good practices and noncompliance that commonly occur in Thailand.
• Frequently asked questions sheet developed over the course of the work based on the interactions with key stakeholders.

• Prepare pilot training agenda and hand-outs for the training for SMEs and future business leaders and for businesses in the broiler sector (In Thai and English).
• Conduct a pilot training for SMEs and future business leaders and for businesses in the broiler sector (In Thai).
• Analyze lessons learned during the training and prepare a report for each group (In English).
• Make the required amendments in the manuals (In Thai and English).

4. Expected outputs

The outputs are

• A methodological framework and an action plan (In English)
• One report on focus group discussion with SMEs and future business leaders and one report on focus group discussion with businesses in the broiler sector (In English).
• One report on the result of pilot training for SMEs and future business leaders and one report on the result of pilot training with businesses in the broiler sector (In English).
• CSR training manual and power point for businesses and future business leaders in general (in Thai and English)
• CSR training manual and power point for businesses in the broiler sector (in Thai and English)

5. Deliverables and timeframe (THA D4)

The consultancy is expected to be completed within a period of September and October 2019.

6. Terms of payment

The budget proposal should include a clear breakdown of costs covering the consultancy including daily fee and travel costs (to include UN standard DSA rate). 

This amount shall be the sole remuneration and includes provision for any incidental expenses. The consultant shall not in any circumstances be entitled to any payments other than those expressly provided for under the contract.

The payments for this consultancy will be made as follows:

• First payment: 20% will be paid upon submission of deliverable No.1 and 2; 
• Second payment: 40% will be paid upon submission of deliverables No. 3 and 4;
• Third payment: 40% will be paid upon submission of deliverables No. 5 and 6.

7. Confidentiality Statement

All data and information received from ILO for the purpose of this assignment are to be treated confidentially and are only to be used in connection with the execution of these Terms of Reference (TOR). All intellectual property rights arising from the execution of these ToR are assigned to the ILO. The contents of written materials obtained and used in this assignment may not be disclosed to any third parties without the expressed advance written authorization of the ILO.

8. Administration, Reporting and Coordination

The contract for this assignment will be issued by the ILO Office in Thailand. The Office space, equipment, other logistics arrangements in the course of this work as well as travel insurance will be organized by the consultant himself/herself. The adaptation of handbook will be conducted under the direct supervision of the National Project Coordinator, who will be liaising closely with the Enterprises Development Specialist and the Programme Manager in the ILO ROAP office in Bangkok. The Multinational Enterprises and Enterprises Engagement Unit in ILO Geneva will provide technical support, in close collaboration with the Decent Work Team in Bangkok and the ILO Office in Thailand.

9. Qualifications and experience

• University degree and Master’ s degree in development, law, economics, social sciences or related field.
• National and international experiences in global production systems and/or manufacturing sectors in Thailand, including the food processing and auto parts sector.
• Knowledge and extensive experience working on RBC/CSR in the targeted sectors is an advantage.
• Demonstrated experience in working with the private sector on social compliance and conducting assessment in Thailand and other countries.
• Previous experience with development of training materials and conducting interactive training.
• Strong oral and written communication skills; ability to present and facilitate sessions and content in plain language.

• Demonstrated ability to meet deadlines.
• Consistently approaches work with energy and a positive, constructive attitude.

10. Submission of proposal

Interested candidates are invited to submit

• Proposal, preferably 3 pages maximum, defining the planned methodology for adapting CSR training manual to the context of Thailand and collect examples in the targeted sectors.
• An updated CV and detailed references for similar work undertaken by the candidates.
• Suggested daily rate and/or a lump sum financial proposal with cost break down.

All proposals shall be submitted electronically to rsca@ilo.org. The proposal shall be submitted by 2^nd September 2019 (by 16.30 Bangkok Time) with “Adaptation of ILO CSR training manual as the subject of the email. Please also specify if the proposal targets only one sector.

All proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria:

· Quality and strategy of technical proposal

· Estimated cost of the study

· Qualification and experience of proposed consultant

The selection process will be competitive. Only candidates with the qualifications and a complete proposal will be short listed and contacted.