Request for Proposals: Consultant to support self-assessment of the implementation of National Action Plan on Forced Labour (2021-2025) Deadline: 20th February 2025, 5 PM (GMT +8) A. Background Malaysia has ratified ILO fundamental Conventions on Minimum Age Convention (C. 138), Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (C. 182), and Forced Labour Convention (C. 29), which are of relevance in combatting child labour, forced labour and human trafficking. ILO C29 calls for commitment of Member States to “suppress[ing] the use of forced or compulsory labour in all its forms within the shortest possible period.” The Recommendation 203 accompanying the Forced Labour Protocol 2014 encourages Member States to take preventive measures on forced labour including initiatives to address child labour and promote educational opportunities for children, both boys and girls, as a safeguard against children becoming victims of forced or compulsory labour. The ILO C182 calls for each Member State to design and implement programmes of action to eliminate as a priority the worst forms of child labour. Such programmes of action shall be designed and implemented in consultation with relevant government institutions and employers' and workers' organizations, taking into consideration the views of other concerned groups as appropriate. The National Action Plan on Forced Labour (2021 – 2025) (NAP-FL) was developed to devise essential tools for policy and programming toward the eradication of forced labour in the country, alongside the National Action Plan on Trafficking in Persons (2021-2025) (NAP-TIP). Collectively, the NAPs sought to provide a comprehensive approach to the issues of forced labour and child labour exploitation in Malaysia, including through increasing commitment and engagement by the ILO tripartite constituents on addressing forced labour and child labour issues. These NAPs are currently under review and process is underway for the development of subsequent phase of the NAPs for 2026 onwards. Additionally, the Government of Malaysia also released the National Baseline Assessment on Business and Human Rights and announced its intentions to develop the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAP-BHR) which seeks to “help businesses align with international human rights standards, guide business of all sizes in incorporating human rights due diligence and address any harm that arises”. NAPBHR is slated to be launched in 2025.1 As such, the Ministry of Human Resources of Malaysia (MOHR) is conducting a self-assessment of the implementation of the NAP-FL with a view to developing its next phase. This includes rigorously taking stock of what has been achieved, identifying gaps and challenges to address forced labour, child labour, and human trafficking, and enhancing mechanisms for greater coordination and synergies between the various NAPs. A zero-draft of the next phase of the NAP-FL was developed by the ministry officials. ILO seeks to provide support to MOHR to conduct the self-assessment exercise and to develop the draft further. B. Objectives This call seeks proposals to support the self-assessment by the Government of Malaysia of the effectiveness and impact of the National Action Plan on Forced Labour (2021-2025) (NAP-FL). It aims to facilitate the self- 1 https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/12/1146313/national-action-plan-business-human-rights-be-launched-2025 2 assessment of the progress made towards the eradication of forced labour in Malaysia, identify challenges and gaps in the implementation of the NAP-FL, and offer actionable recommendations for the development of the subsequent phase of the NAP-FL (2026 onwards). The specific objectives include: ▪ Facilitating the self-assessment of the implementation of the NAP-FL. Formulate analytic framework through which the self-assessment exercise can be conducted, develop a workshop program to develop capacity to design, monitor and evaluate, as well as to implement NAP-FL, and to collate feedback and inputs from government officials, employers’ organisations, workers organisations and civil society organisations on the implementation of the NAP-FL. ▪ Identification of key achievements and best practices. Document significant achievements and successful initiatives and highlight best practices and innovative approaches that can be scaled up. ▪ Identification of challenges and gaps. Based on consultation with government officials, assess the gaps in policy, legislation, enforcement and coordination among stakeholders that have hindered the effective implementation of the NAP-FL. Consultant is also expected to identify challenges and opportunities for synergies between the various NAPs. ▪ Stakeholder-driven recommendations. Suggest improvements to the existing strategies; recommend measures to enhance stakeholder engagement, coordination, and resources allocation for the effective implementation of the NAP-FL and synergies with other NAPs. ▪ Support the development of the next phase of NAP-FL. Review and propose improvements to the zero draft of the next phase of NAP-FL. Also ensure that the recommendations align with international standards and best practices, particularly those set by the ILO. Based on the above, the consultant will develop one 30-page self-assessment report. The report is expected to be developed collaboratively and through extensive consultation with officials of the Government of Malaysia, particularly those of the Ministry of Human Resources (MOHR). This exercise is expected to contribute to the promotion social dialogue, collective ownership, transparency, and accountability in the implementation of NAP-FL and increase in Monitoring & Evaluation skills and strategic planning among stakeholders. C. Scope of Work The consultant will be responsible for the following tasks: ▪ Facilitate a self-assessment of the NAP-FL, including its objectives, strategies, and implementation mechanisms, by formulating the analytic framework through which the self-assessment could be conducted. A mandatory component of this framework is proper consideration of the role of labour inspectors, its resources and manpower requirement in order to adequately meet the aspirations of the NAP-FL. ▪ Facilitate a workshop with government officials on designing, monitoring and self-assessment, and implementing national action plan on forced labour. This workshop is also aimed at gathering comprehensive feedback from government officials and to support capacity building. ▪ Identify key achievements, challenges, and gaps in the implementation of the NAP-FL and overlapping strategies between NAPs. ▪ Conduct interviews and consultations with relevant stakeholders, including government officials, employers' and workers' organizations, and other concerned groups. Analyse information collected from various sources to provide recommendations that are stakeholder driven. ▪ Develop a detailed self-assessment report with recommendations for the next phase of the NAP-FL. Additionally, the consultant is expected to present the report to the government and social partners. D. Expected Outputs 3 Outputs. The following are the expected outputs from the consultant: 1. An inception report outlining the overview of policy development on forced labour, child labour, and human trafficking in Malaysia, framework for conducting self-assessment including its methodology and proposed metrices, work plan, and tentative agenda for the workshop with government officials. 2. Facilitate a workshop on designing, monitoring and self-assessment, and implementing national action plan on forced labour. 3. Comments to the zero-draft of the next phase of NAP-FL. 4. A final self-assessment report incorporating feedback and providing comprehensive recommendations on the next phase of NAP-FL. 5. Presentation of the self-assessment report to officials of Government of Malaysia and other stakeholders. E. Deliverables and estimated timelines Deliverables: The Consultant is expected to submit the following, to the satisfaction of the ILO: • Deliverable 1: Inception report containing the self-assessment methodology and proposed metrices, work plan, and tentative agenda for the 4-day workshop with government officials. • Deliverable 2: Draft self-assessment report, incorporating findings from the workshop, other consultations and feedback on the zero-draft of the next phase of the NAP-FL. • Deliverable 3: Final self-assessment report and a PowerPoint presentation summarising the findings and recommendations. Estimated timelines: For further elaboration by selected Consultant(s), the following work is expected to be implemented over the course of 35 days. Tasks Tentative Schedule Estimated Work days Preparation of inception report 28 February 2025 1 Comments to the zero-draft of the next phase of NAP-FL 3 March 2025 1 Conduct desk review of relevant forced labour, child labour, human trafficking, and business and human rights materials 4th March 2025 – 7 March 2025 3 Conduct individual / group interviews with social partners and other stakeholders 10 March – 28 March 2025 15 Workshop with government officials 7 April – 11 April 2025 5 Draft self-assessment report 14 April – 18 April 2025 5 Review by MOHR and ILO 28 April – 16 May 2025 - Revise and finalise self-assessment report 19 May– 22 May 2025 4 Workshop with social partners and other stakeholders TBD 1 Total 35 F. Terms of payment Payments will be made as follows: • First payment: 25% upon submission of the inception report and comments to the zero-draft of the next phase of NAP-FL. 4 • Second payment: 15% upon facilitation of the workshop with government officials on designing, monitoring and self-assessment, and implementing national action plan on forced labour. • Third payment: 30% upon submission of the draft self-assessment report incorporating findings from the workshop, and individual/group interviews. • Fourth payment: 30% upon submission of the final study, narrative brief and PowerPoint presentation. G. Contract modality A Request for Proposals will be issued wherein eligible individuals and research institutes can apply. The ILO will issue either an External Collaborator (Consultancy) contract to the selected individual, or a Service Contract to the selected research institute. H. Qualifications and selection criteria The consultant/s is expected to possess the following: ▪ Advanced university degree that is relevant to the present inquiry. This may include degrees in Law, Economics, Political Science, Social Sciences, Migration, Public Administration, or Development Studies. ▪ At least 5 years of professional experience in the field of forced labour, child labour, human trafficking, or related human rights issues. ▪ Demonstrable analytical and research skills. ▪ Excellent report-writing and presentation skills. ▪ In-depth knowledge of ILO conventions and protocols related to forced labour and child labour and its linkages with the wider international human rights framework. ▪ Familiarity with the socio-economic and public policy landscape of Malaysia would be an advantage. ▪ Fluency in English, with excellent written and verbal communication skills. Selection will be based on the following criteria: ▪ Understanding the policy development relating to forced labour, child labour, and human trafficking in Malaysia. Demonstrable ability to link these issues with sustainable business practices and/or institutional set-up of Malaysia is an advantage (30%) ▪ Clear formulation of the analytical framework for self-assessment, research instruments or tools to be used with key informants as well as identification of target groups and individuals for qualitative interviews or focus group discussion. This includes a proposed strategy to reach key informants and draft agenda of the workshop with government officials designed to facilitate self-assessment (40%). ▪ Experience and capacity in conducting related research, such as development of NAPs or independent evaluation of policies or projects, as demonstrated by reference to previous work and / or CV of individual or main consultant and team and qualifications (30%) I. Application procedure ILO invites consultant/s to submit a technical and financial proposal separately to [email protected], with “ADVANCE Consultant for NAPFL Self-Assessment - Concept Note” and “ADVANCE Consultant for NAPFL Self-Assessment – Financial Proposal” as the subject for respective documents. 5 The technical proposal should strive to be a near-complete version of the inception report. Accordingly, it should contain: ▪ Brief overview the policy development relating to forced labour, child labour, and human trafficking in Malaysia ▪ Framework for self-assessment, including proposed methodology and metrices. ▪ Proposed workplan ▪ Proposed agenda for a 4-day workshop with government officials designed to develop capacity to design, monitor and evaluate as well as to implement NAP-FL, identify synergies between the various NAPs and to collect feedback on the gaps, challenges and opportunities for the implementation of NAP-FL. ▪ CV of individual or main consultant and team (if applicable) to be attached as annex. The financial proposal should detail the proposed workplan in weeks, accompanied by a budget (fee and all out-of-pocket expenses) and staffing proposal (if applicable). Submitted proposals will be evaluated by the ILO which will apply two-stage self-assessment process with technical self-assessment done in the first stage and self-assessment of financial proposals done in the second stage. Application deadline is 20 February 2025, 5 PM (GMT +8).