Leveraging ICT for Growth, Employment & Governance Project

Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) Information And Communication Technology Division

Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology

BCC Bhaban, 14-E/X Agargaon, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka 1207

8181381, fax: 8181383, e-mail piu.lict@bcc.net.bd Web Site: http://www.bcc.net.bd, www.lict.gov.bd =======================================================================================================

EOI REF # 56.109.007.00.00.042-2014 -755 Date: 11 November 2014

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI)

For

Delivery of Middle Management Training Services for IT

and IT-Enabled Services Industry

(Contract Package # S31)

Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC), an organization of

Information & Communication Technology Division,

Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information

Technology has received financing from the World Bank

toward the cost of the Leveraging ICT for Growth,

Employment and Governance Project (LICT) (IDA credit

no.: 5025-BD), and intends to apply part of the proceeds for

payment of services related to Delivery of Middle

Management Training Services for IT and IT-Enabled

Services Industry.

The objective of this assignment is to recruit a leading skills

assessment, development, and certification organization to

develop and implement a program to provide IT/ITES middle

management and/or supervisory skills training and

certification for the IT/ITES industry of Bangladesh.

The Scope of the Services include, but not limited to (i)

Provide Inception Report, (ii) Analyze Skills & Roles Gaps,

(iii) Develop Middle Management Role Specific Skill Set

Dictionary, Standards and Skills Development Framework,

(iv) Develop Embedded Middle Management Training

(EMMaT) Process, (v) Design and Develop Course

Curriculum, (vi) Develop Content, (vii) Pilot, Evaluate and

Refine and (viii) Implement Mass Rollout.

The Leveraging ICT for Growth, Employment and

Governance project, invites qualified firms to submit

Expression of Interest (EOI) for Delivery of Middle

Management Training Services for IT and IT-Enabled

Services Industry.

Interested firms should provide information demonstrating

that they have the required qualifications and relevant

experience to perform the assignment. The selection criteria

are as follows:

Certificate of Incorporation/Registration of consultants (firm).

At least 5 years of experience in conducting similar assignments in home and abroad; preferably with

international experience in at least 2 countries .

Other experiences of the firm(s) for IT and IT-Enabled Services Industry.

Availability of appropriate skills among staff.

International Accreditation.

Availability of resources

Support services of the firm

The attention of interested Firms is drawn to paragraph 1.9 of

the World Banks Guidelines: Selection and Employment of Consultants under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits & Grants by

World Bank Borrowers January 2011 (Consultant Guidelines), setting forth the World Banks policy on conflict of interest.

Consultants may associate with International/National Firms

in the form of a joint venture or a sub-contract to enhance

their qualifications, but should mention whether the

association is in the form of a Joint-Venture or of a Sub-Contract. In the case of a joint venture, all members of such association should have real and well-defined inputs to the assignment and it is preferable to limit total number of firms

including the associates to a maximum of three.

The procurement process would be Quality and Cost Based

Selection (QCBS) method in accordance with the procedures

set out in the World Banks "Guidelines: Selection and Employment of Consultants under IBRD Loans and IDA

Credits & Grants by World Bank Borrowers" dated: January

2011.

Interested firms may obtain Terms of References (TOR) at

the address below during regular office time 9:00 to 15:30

hours (GMT+06:00) on all working days. They may also

obtain the same in the BCCs official website: www.bcc.net.bd. The notice of request for EOI is available

on the websites: CPTU (www.cptu.gov.bd).

Expressions of Interest (EOI) must be delivered in a written

form with all relevant information and documents

establishing eligibility to the address below by 15 December

2014 in three sets (1 Original + 2 Copies ) and clearly marked

Expression of Interest for Delivery of Middle Management Training Services for IT and IT-Enabled Services Industry.

The authority reserves the right to accept or reject any or all

EOIs, or annul the process at any stage without assigning any

reason(s) whatsoever and without incurring any liability to

the affected applicant(s).

Sd/-

Project Director

Leveraging ICT Project for Growth, Employment and

Governance Project

Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC)

BCC Bhaban

Plot # E-14/X, Agargaon, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar,

Dhaka 1207. Tel: +88-02-8181381, +88-02-81440785

Fax: +88-02-8181383

E-mail: pd.lict@bcc.net.bd

Terms of Reference (ToR) for Delivery of Middle Management Training Services for IT

and IT-Enabled Services Industry

1. Objective of Assignment

The objective of this assignment is to recruit a leading skills assessment, development, and

certification organization to develop and implement a program to provide IT/ITES middle

management and/or supervisory skills training and certification for the IT/ITES industry of

Bangladesh. Almost all the IT/ITES companies (both home & abroad) face continuous

challenges in growth lacking adequate supervisory and mid-level management human

resources. A leading local management academy and a credible global IT/ITES company will

build the appropriate mid-level resources managed by the hired firm; for roles in IT/ITES

companies as team leaders, associate managers, managers, etc. Bangladesh could further

build a competitive advantage through the availability of such mid-level skills; and the

assignment should build on the similar training programs.

2. Scope of Services

i. Provide Inception Report: Provide an Inception Report that contains a description of

start-up activities, the detailed work plan, methodologies, the list of personnel involved and

their roles and responsibilities, and an estimate of the time allocation for the involved

personnel from both the Government of Bangladesh and the organizations team. In addition, to provide a business plan that spells out the resources to be deployed and the results

proposed to be achieved. The business plan should also propose long term, sustainable

business model options for the Program.

ii. Analyze Skills & Roles Gaps: Conduct research and analysis of the gaps and

weaknesses with regard to middle management skills and roles availability in Bangladesh for

the global and local IT/ITES industry. Based on this analysis identify specific skill areas

where training will be necessary. The analysis should be systematic, multidimensional and

conducted in collaboration with relevant partners - including leading international and local

IT/ITES companies, academic institutions, governments, international standards bodies and

industry/trade associations. It should cover the current talent and training situation and

provide recommendations on prioritized areas for IT/ITES industry middle management

skills development. The analysis should also recommend changes in curriculum and

pedagogy required as part of broader education reforms in Bangladesh.

iii. Develop Middle Management Role Specific Skill Set Dictionary, Standards and

Skills Development Framework: Develop a comprehensive dictionary of skills required for

the IT/ITES Industry together with standards for each skill set category, create a database of

job role profiles and performance indicators for various middle management functions. These

standards should be developed in close collaboration with the relevant partners described

above, and have their explicit support in terms of quality and relevance. To also develop a

skills development framework to be used for planning and aiding in development of the

middle management training program, and be based on internationally proven frameworks for

middle management that is adapted for the local needs.

The various roles of the Middle Management of the IT/ITES Industry are as following

(Please note that this is an indicative list from experience, not from a rigorous IT/ITES

Industry study in Bangladesh. So the ongoing Bangladesh IT/ITES Industry Statistics

Gathering and Strategic Planning and the above-mentioned Skills Gap Analysis activities will

contribute in revisiting / fine-tuning the mentioned roles):

1. Project manager (PM);

2. Product Manager;

3. UX (User Experience) Design lead;

4. Tech Lead/Lead Architect;

5. QA Lead/Manager;

6. Lead Business Analyst/Lead Use Case Engineer;

7. Lead Systems Analysis/Systems Analysis manager;

8. Lead Data Scientist

9. Technical Documentation Lead

10. Lead Test Engineer

11. Marketing Manager

12. Finance & Accounting Manager

13. HR Manager

14. Admin Manager

15. Operations & BPO Manager

All of the above Middle Management roles must possess the following five skills and

attributes to be successful middle managers to grow large world-class successful IT/ITES

companies:

1. Basic Strategic management skills with Business model Generation 2. Clear & Ethical Communication Skills 3. Ethical Leader with Essential Coaching and Team Building Skills 4. Productivity Tools Basic Hands-on Expertise 5. Basic Financial Management & Analytical Expertise

iv. Develop Embedded Middle Management Training (EMMaT) Process: Develop

an extensive embedded Middle Management Training Process, which will integrate on-the-

job project works and off-site residential training. The following is a tentative embedded

layered training model that the selected firm may consider and fine tune depending on the

analyzed skill gaps.

The EMMaT Process will cover both the vertical (i.e. above mentioned 15 skills) &

horizontal (i.e. above mentioned 5 skills) integrated training. The horizontal training will be

for all trainees regardless of their background or department. In a brief the horizontal training

will cover the core fundamental IT skills & international standard practice of processes, tools

& techniques used by middle management employees all over the world. The vertical training

will be for trainees in respect to their background/department or based on the middle

managers potentiality from other backgrounds. In brief, the vertical training will cover the background & department specific specialized training which will be applicable in the

context of IT/ITES industries of Bangladesh. The foundational training duration will be 15

days & the track specific basic skills training for 15 days. The trainees will return to their

organization to apply the knowledge of foundational & basic skills training as a part of their

assignment. The assignment duration will be 1 month. The vertical training will start after the

completion of 1 month assignment period. The duration of vertical training will be 1 month

again in the training institute. In the vertical training there will be virtual companies for

simulation. In this virtual simulated environment the trainees will learn how to integrate both

horizontal & vertical training knowledge effectively & efficiently.

v. Design and Develop Course Curriculum: Develop a streamlined IT/ITES middle

management training course curriculum that is based on the global skill set standards and

framework, aligned with the specific skill requirements in the case of Bangladesh, and has explicit support of the relevant partners in terms the curriculums quality and relevance. In addition, a curriculum map should be developed for the short, medium and long term skills development.

The various courses for the Middle Management training are as following (Please note that

this is an indicative list from experience, not from an extensive IT/ITES Industry study in

Bangladesh. So the ongoing Bangladesh IT/ITES Industry Statistics Gathering and Strategic

Planning and the above-mentioned Skills Gap Analysis activities will contribute in revisiting

/ fine-tuning the mentioned courses below):

1. Business Communication 2. Leadership & supervisory/Team Management 3. Business Development & Software/IT service Marketing & Selling Techniques 4. Business/System Analysis 5. Portfolio, Program & Project management 6. Estimation & Project Costing of Software 7. Financial Management (Incl. budgeting, accounting, taxation) 8. Operation management of BPO 9. Online marketing & Advanced SEO 10. Brand Management of Products & Services 11. Challenges & issues of productization of Software 12. HR Management & Balanced Scorecard 13. General Project & Document management tools & Techniques 14. IT Service Management 15. Quality & Process Improvement 16. International Negotiation 17. Technical Writing 18. Agile Project management 19. Web & Data Security 20. Cloud Computing & Cloud Development 21. User Experience 22. Software testing (Incl. test automation) & quality Assurance 23. Software Matrices (Risk Management, testing & procedure) 24. ITIL Information Technology Infrastructure Library 25. Information Security 26. Data Science / Big Data 27. Software Design/Architecture (SOA, TDD, Arch Patterns etc.) 28. Software Engineering & testing 29. Productivity Tools for Software Development (incl. source/version control tools) 30. Information System Audit 31. IS Security & Audit 32. Business Process Management 33. Innovation Management 34. Professional & Ethical Leadership 35. Time Management

vi. Develop Content: Based on the curriculum map, develop appropriate and prioritized content

for certification in close collaboration with relevant partners. The developed content should have their

explicit support in terms of relevance and quality, and cover comprehensive middle management

skills considering above mentioned skills & courses.

vii. Pilot, Evaluate and Refine: To pilot the Program with an initial batch of at least 100 local

trainees, and to benchmark results against an international control group. To conduct an evaluation of

the pilot to prepare a detailed report to recommend strategies and action plans for improving the

Program, and refine the Program based on the agreed recommendations of the Evaluation Report.

viii. Implement Mass Rollout: Implement mass rollout of the Program across Bangladesh, train

master trainers, and provide middle management for an estimated 1,000 trainees. In addition, to

implement a business model for the Program that is internationally recognized, financially self-

sustaining and affordable for aspirants seeking employment in the IT/ITES industry by the end of this

consultancy service. A final report is to be prepared to highlight the next steps to be taken by

Bangladesh for the Program, including future steps on training content development, certification

process, local capacity building, and program accreditation.

For building local capacity in the host country, the selected consultancy will impart training to local

faculty in the areas of exam proctoring, interpretation of assessment results and developing of metrics

for quality enhancement of educational programs. This capacity building would occur within an

overall knowledge transfer framework proposed and developed by the consulting firm. Besides

delivering training for capacity building, the knowledge transfer mechanism would also specify how

the transfer of knowledge products and material (documents, reports, questions banks, software)

would happen during the course of assignment.

3. Reporting and Time Schedules

S/No. Deliverable Timing

(Months after

Contract

Signature)

i. Inception Report, Business Plan & Skills Gap Analysis.

Stakeholders Workshop I

1

ii. Middle Management Skill Set Standards and Framework,

and design and development of Curriculum

4

iii. Embedded Middle Management Training (EMMaT) Process 4

iv. Program Accreditation and design and development of

Training Matching Grants

4

v. Content, certification processes and credentialing program 4

vi. Pilot rollout, Evaluation Report and Refinement 4

vii. Mass Rollout and Marketing 5 30

viii. Business Model Implementation 5 - 30

4. Local Implementation Partner

In Bangladesh, the middle management training organization will work in a close partnership

with a leading local training or educational institution which will be its local implementation

partner. The host institution will provide inputs in all stages of inception, design, and

implementation of the Program for IT/ITES middle management skills. The host institution

together with the GOBs relevant agencies will also help the assessment organization build linkages with universities and training institutes in Bangladesh.

5. Qualification and Experience of Firm and Team

FIRM

Leading assessment organization with experience of rolling out similar assessments in

at least two countries

Demonstrated capability in design, development and delivery of middle management

skills development and certification programs for the IT/ITES sector in particular; as

evidenced by the qualifications and experience of professional staff, and the

institutional experience of the bidder

At least 5 years of experience in conducting similar assessments

Should have conducted similar training program for at least 300 trainees in previous

years

Testing frameworks and content should have wide industry acceptance including

support of at least one leading industry association for the IT/ITES industry

Should have strong partnerships with reputed testing organizations

There should be no conflict of interest between the skills assessments undertaken by

the firm and any training, placements or other related activities of the firm.

TEAM

Team leader: Minimum of 5 years experience in a leadership role in designing and

conducting middle management training for the IT/ ITES sector; experience in at least

2 countries that are significant global players in IT/ITES; successful track record of

collaborating with one or more IT/ITES industry associations.

Expert in middle management skills gap analysis; and developing skills dictionaries,

standards and framework. Minimum of 5 years international experience in these areas

with successful track record of working in or collaborating with three or more leading

IT/ITES companies on such training activities; successful track record of working in

or collaborating with one or more leading academic institutions on subjects relevant to

training for the IT/ITES sector.

Expert in middle management curriculum design, content development and

certification: Minimum of 5 years international experience in the areas of curriculum

design, content development and certification relevant to the IT/ITES industry;

successful track record of working in or collaborating with three or more leading

IT/ITES companies on such training activities; successful track record of working in

or collaborating with one or more leading academic institutions on subjects relevant to

training for the IT/ITES sector.

Expert in financial analysis and performance metrics: Minimum 5 years experience

in the area of financial analysis, business models and performance metrics; advanced

degree in finance or accountancy; experience of making financial projections and

budgets for large scale training related activities.