Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework

for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

1
 Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

SECTION-4
Form 5A4: Description of Approach, Methodology and Work
Plan for Performing the Assignment

2
 Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

3.1. Background of the Impact/Technical study

Bangladesh development context: Bangladesh is going to be graduated as a middle-income country
from the status of least developed country in 2026 due to its rapid socio-economic growth. During the
last decade from 2010 to 2019, it has achieved a remarkable economic growth of about 7% annually,
which is one of the highest in the world. The GDP growth rate during the last 2 years of pre-corona
period in 2017-18 and 2018-19 for has surpassed 7% and stood at 7.86% and 8.15% respectively.
During CORONA period, the country has achieved a growth rate of about 5.24% in 2019-20 and
5.47% in 2020-20211. After CORONA, in 2021-22 the economy has started to revive its previous high
rate of economic growth and is expected to achieve an annual growth of 7.25%.

Bangladesh like other countries is committed to double the agricultural productivity and incomes of
small-scale food producers by 2030, the important SDG goals set by the United Nations. The
governments are increasingly paying attention to remove hunger from the world. With this end in
view, the Government of Bangladesh has been trying to bring more lands under irrigation coverage
along with development of seeds, application of technology and balanced use of fertilizer.

Agriculture, one of the 3 pillars of economic development in Bangladesh, is expected to fulfil the first
two SDG goals by doubling the agricultural productivity and removal of hunger from the country.
With a modest cereal production of about 18 million tons in the beginning of its journey as an
independent country, its cereal production has stood at 52.6 million tons in 2019-20 occupying 4 th
position in the world2. It is the third largest producer of vegetables amounting to 16 million tons a
year. Despite shrinkage of water bodies, according to the estimates made by FAO, it occupies third
position in world production of sweat water fisheries. Resultantly, there was no famine as well as no
monga in the country. Now with a bigger population and a fewer arable land, the country is almost
self-reliant in food production. Likewise, it has become a net exporter of quite a good number of
agricultural products.

In spite of that a large part of Haor basin located in the north eastern part of Bangladesh, namely
Brahmanbaria, Habiganj, Kishoreganj, Netrokona, and Sunamganj are subject to very peculiar
conditions climate change and suffers from extensive annual flooding. Basically, one crop is grown there.
Often this area is subject to early flooding (flash flood) coming from Indian states of Assam, Meghalaya and
Manipur. This makes the livelihoods there extremely vulnerable and limits the potential for agriculture
production and enterprise growth. The poor communication network limits agricultural production
and marketing, discourages economic growth; access to markets, off-farm employment opportunities;
access to existing social services particularly health and educations. Resultantly, poverty is rampant in
this area. The Haor Basin covers an area of 860,000 hectares with a population of about 20 million.
The majority of the population in the Haor region is poor and a significant percentage is categorized
as ultra-poor. The Haor region produces about 16.5% of Bangladesh's total rice production. Fishing in
the Haors is an important income source for the local population. During the rainy season, the whole
area turns into one single water-body with no demarcation of paddy lands, rivers, canals and ponds
and becomes a huge treasure of fish. A recent study 3 indicates that climate change impacts in the
Haor region will disproportionately affect subsistent farmers particularly women. Maintaining
reasonably safe livelihoods in Haor areas under climate change scenario are becoming a major

1
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (2021)
2
USDA (2020)
3

48
 Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

challenge for the affected groups whose lives and livelihoods depend mainly on agriculture and
fishery. Climate change is becoming a great threat to national food security.

In order to improve the situation, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is working
with GoB through LGED in addressing the impacts of climate exchange through the Climate
Adaptation Livelihoods Protection Project (CALIP), the objective of which is to enhance the climate
resilience of local communities to the impact of climate change in the target areas. The focus is on
building the capacity of communities to adapt to climate change in ways that allow them to reduce the
potential damage, take advantage of new opportunities and to cope with the consequences of climate
variability. The Haor region is subject to flash floods, seasonal inundation, and high-intensity waves
that trigger erosion. Other climate change impacts reported include increasing temperature and
changes in rainfall patterns although rigorous scientific data are needed to validate these anecdotal
observations.

Disaster Risk Reduction and Management was the first approach to address disasters and focus on
development, relief and response before climate change on public view. Climate Risk Management
came next and focused on reducing vulnerability and then came the convergence of disaster risk and
Climate Change approaches, such as Climate Change Vulnerability Resilience. All these approaches
focus primarily on the perspective of vulnerability. The Northeast Haor region of Bangladesh
concentrates a large portion of the risks from the effects of climate change.

Pro-poor adaptation pathways framework with a detailed guideline is for local institutions
implementing development programs. The developing tools/guidelines that would subsequently be
used by government institutions in designing the best alternative strategies to protect assets of the
Haor people as well as to rebuild them from damages due to climate change-related disasters.

3.2. Location

The study area is located in 28 upazilas under 5 districts of north eastern part of Bangladesh in Haor
areas: Brahmanbaria, Habiganj, Kishoreganj, Netrokona and Sunamganj. In respect of no of upazilas
belonging to a district, Sunamganj with 11 upazilas is the largest district followed by Barhmanbaria
with 6 upazilas. Other districts contain 3-4 upazilas in each district

Table 4.1: Project districts and Upazilas

District Name of Upazilas Upazilas

Sunamganj Sunamganj Sadar, Tahirpur, South Sunamganj, Bishwainbarpur, 11
Jamalganj, Derai, Sulla, Chhatak, Dowarabazar, Dharmapasha and
Jagannathpur
Habiganj Azmiriganj, Lakhai and Baniachong 3
Netrokona Khaliajuri, Kolmakanda, Modon and Mohanganj 4
Kishoreganj Itna, Mithamoin, Astagram and and Nikli 4
Brahmanbari Nasirnagar, Nobinagar, Sarail, Ashuganj, Brahmanbaria Sadar and and 6
a Bancharampur
Total no of Upazilas 28

49
 Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

3.3. Objectives

Realizing the extreme livelihoods vulnerability in Haor areas, the objective of the overall assignment is
to develop a Framework for pro-poor adaptation pathways with a detail guideline to aid in
decision making and designing development programs for implementing pro-poor adaptation
strategies in the Haor Basin”. The framework will highlight the broad comparative desirability of
different adaptation pathways under different environmental (including climate change) and
socioeconomic scenarios for different poor/low-income groups.

The adaptation should include the following: i) DRR (Disaster Risk Reduction), ii) Agriculture, iii)
Migration, iv) Vulnerability reduction, v) Gender, vi) Economic development, vii) Water and
hydraulic management, viii) Ecosystem management. The adaptation pathway will be both visionary
and realistic for future government attention. Broadly describing each pathway has different strategies
in terms of how to address adaptation.

Target group

The main target groups for the assignment are (i) poor households living in the Haor and hard core
poor, (ii) smallholder farming households, (iii) small fishing households deriving the major share of
their income from fishing, (iv) women from poor households, and (v) small traders in local markets.
The poor or hard-core poor are either landless or marginal land owners. They are either share croppers
or agricultural workers earning their income from agriculture. During monsoon season they may have
some income from fishing. But substantial number of them migrate to urban area for temporary
employment and livelihood. Under the Haor Infrastructure Livelihood Improvement Project (HILIP),
some interventions are being provided, which are as follows: providing jobs and training preferably to poor
women and men through LCS for a source of additional income, providing access to water bodies through
Beel User Groups (BUG) to poor fishers, implementing the livelihood activities to enhance production,
diversification and marketing of crops/horticulture and poultry/livestock products by developing the
capacity of smallholder producers to participate in selected market-based value chain as well as by
establishing and supporting markets-based institutions, etc.

3.4. Scope of Services

The Consultant shall carry out the following tasks and incorporate the output in the draft report and
final report comprising the division of output as mentioned in the deliverables section.

Task I. Identify poor/low-income socio-economic groups in Haor region and understand their
poverty and socio-economic vulnerabilities to climate change,
Task II. Identify the drivers of vulnerabilities to environmental stressors, anthropogenic
stressors, climate change in the Haor region,
Task III. Identify and assess the risks and impacts arising from climate change that affect low-
income households and communities living in the Haor region (particularly groups
identified under Task I) and develop climate adaptation/mitigation options that will
address the identified risks and impacts.
Task IV. Develop a framework of pro-poor adaptation pathways for Haor area and select
suitable criteria/parameters/indicators to measure the success/viability of each
identified pathway.

50
 Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

Task V. Identify specific tools that can be used to support pro-poor climate adaptation
strategies in Haor areas.
Task VI. Evaluate the pro-poor climate adaptation pathways framework and conduct
consultation meetings/workshops with national and local level stakeholders and
relevant experts.
Task VII. Develop an arrangement or framework for monitoring implementation of adaptation
pathways to evaluate development programs for pro-poor adaptation and thereby to
aid adaptation decision making.
Task VIII. Organize a policy dialogue with policy makers to present the framework and seek
their feedback on what is feasible within the context of the Haor region.
Task IX. Set out a guideline of using the Pro-Poor Adaptation Framework to design a
development program targeting pro-poor adaptation strategies.

3.5. Geographic Location of the Study Area

51
Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

52
 Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

3.6. Responsibilities of the Consulting Firm

The following are the major responsibilities of the Consulting Firm:

 To address all the set of objectives of current assignment
 To identify sample households from among the poor/ultra-poor, small holders, small
fishing households and conduct their interviews
 To conduct in-depth discussion and consultative meetings with DPD, and project
consultants, project coordinators and upazila coordinators, CIGs, etc
 To conduct FGD sessions with beneficiaries
o To conduct KII with community leaders, local elite, teachers and DPD, and project
consultants, project coordinators and upazila coordinators, CIGs,
 To conduct physical observation of infrastructure facilities built by LGED
 To organize consultation meetings/workshops
 To conduct Policy Dialogue with policy makers
 Prepare and submit Inception Report, Interim Report, Draft Final Report and Final
Report.

3.7. Indicators to be used

Indicators for the study will be based on the Terms of Reference, project description and specifically on
the logical framework or sources of information needed in the project description. It is mentioned in
ToR that ‘the framework will highlight the broad comparative desirability of different adaptability
pathways under different environmental and socio-economic scenarios for different poor/low-income
groups’ including small holders, fishing communities, etc. Among others, the adaptation should be in
the following areas: (i) DRR, (ii) agriculture, (iii) migration, (iv) vulnerability reduction, (v) gender, (vi)
economic development, (vii) water and hydraulic management, (viii) ecosystem management, etc.
However, for finalizing the indicators the project management will be consulted. The following are the
tentative list of indicators to be incorporated in the proposed study.
Table 4.2: Tentative List of Indicators
Major area Indicators
1. Demographic and socio-economic

Demographic Age, sex, marital status, dependency ratio, household size,

Socio-economic
Migration
Ownership of assets
Poultry and livestock
Poverty situation
Anthropometric measurement
Literacy rate, enrollment of children, educational attainments,
occupation: primary and secondary, and existence of child labor.
Migration, time, type, duration and reasons; remittance and its
frequency, use of online banking or mobile financial services, etc.
Land, homestead and dwelling structure, household assets
(furniture, electrical and electronic appliances, agricultural
implements and equipment, modes of transport)
Livestock and poultry birds reared particularly ducks and their
type, number, valuation, consumption, sales, and mortality.
Number of meals eaten, type, quantity and valuation of foods
eaten; calorie intake; food deficit, time and duration, and coping
mechanism of food shortage
MUAC, weight and height; incidence of malnutrition: stunting,

53
 Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

wasting, anemia,
Economic Development Employment and its type: agriculture as well as non-agriculture;
wage rates and seasonal pattern by sex; Self-employment: type of
activities and seasonal pattern. Income and its sources, expenditure
and its main heads, savings, investment and indebtedness
Sources of energy Use of energy: lighting, fuel and others
Drinking water and sanitation Sources of water for domestic use: drinking, cooking, bathing, etc.
and type of latrine used.
2. Water resources use and management

Water and hydraulic Existing hydraulic structures including submersible

management embankments/roads; sources of irrigation: surface and ground
water, availability of water during January-April, adequacy of
water; problems & solution
Flood, its frequency, No of floods including flash/early floods, their frequency, duration
consequences and and effects; type of floods and extent of their severity and damage,
management probable mitigation measures in Haor areas.
Disasters and Disasters and their types in Haor areas, disaster reductions, erosion
vulnerabilities and their of dwelling houses, roads and markets due to wave and wind
reductions actions, vulnerabilities and shocks.
Climate change Rainfall, temperature, cyclones, floods, erosion, lightening over the
years, and their consequences on economy and livelihoods;
assessment of risks
3. Agricultural production

Land operation Land operation: own, share cropping, mortgage, lease/rent; Type of
cultivated land: irrigated and non-irrigated, flooded and flood free,
adequate drainage and poor drainage facilities
Agriculture Crops grown and quantity of their production, cropping intensity,
yield per ha, productivity of selected crops and their value; crop
loss and its reasons, and problems faced.
Consumption and marketing Consumption and sales of agricultural output, channels of
of products distribution, farmgate and market price.
4. Fisheries resources

Open water fisheries Type of open water bodies for fish and aquatic animals: fish spices,
its quantity of catch, own consumption and sales and problems
faced
Water bodies
5. Ecosystem Management

Flora and Fauna Type of flora and fauna

Afforestation and Area afforested and deforested, tree spices, number of fruit and
deforestation timber trees along the road and their valuation
Use of fertilizer and Type of fertilizers used: chemical, organic/green.
pesticides Type of pesticides used and
6. Women Development

54
 Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

Women’s employment Employment status: employed, self-employed, unemployed; type

Participation of women in
various family decisions
Mobility
of employment: agriculture as well as in non-agriculture; wage
rates and seasonal pattern; Self-employment: type of activities and
seasonal pattern.
Children’s education and marriage, family entertainment, use of
income earned by women, marketing of produce having direct
involvement of women, etc.
Mobility of women to UP and UZ for health care services and visit
of market centers.

3.8. Approaches and Methodology

Study Area: Study area includes 5 districts located in Haor basin of Brahmanbaria, Habiganj,
Kishoreganj, Netrokona and Sunamganj districts (Table 4.3). It is seen from Table 4.1 that the number
of Upazilas belonging to project districts are not equal. Say for instance, the number of project
Upazilas in Sunamganj district is highest at 12, followed by Brahmanbaria at 6. In Habiganj, the
number of project Upazilas is minimum at only 3. Hence, it would not be appropriate to select equal
number of Upazilas from each of the project districts. In order to arrive at the number of sample
Upazilas belonging to each district, PPS procedure has been adopted. The results have been rounded
up and presented in Table 4.3. It is seen that the number of sample Upazilas in Sunamganj is proposed
at 3, from Bramanbaria at 2 and from each of Habiganj, Kishoreganj and Netrokona at 1. Thus, the
total number of Upazilas is 8 (eight).
Table 4.3: Study areas
SL Districts # Upazilas PPS No of sample UZ
1 Sunamganj 11 3.08 3
2 Habiganj 3 0.84 1
3 Netrokona 4 1.12 1
4 Kishoreganj 4 1.12 1
5 Brahmanbari 6 1.68 2
Total 28 7.84 8
(100%) - (29%)

3.8.1. Conceptual Framework

The proposed Pro-poor Adaptation Framework would be carried out as part of the HALIP/CALIP
Project in the Haor regions of 5 districts. The region is subject to flash floods, seasonal inundation,
and high-intensity waves that trigger erosion. Other climate change impacts reported include
increasing temperature and changes in rainfall patterns although rigorous scientific data are needed to
validate these observations.

The study will include both quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative methods include
survey of households located in the Haor areas. Qualitative methods include Key Informants
Interviews (KII) with project personnel, UZ engineers, local government and community leaders, and

55
 Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with project beneficiaries in the sample areas. In addition, local,
regional and national workshops will be organized to develop Pathways Framework.

The following steps would be undertaken for capturing the multifarious adaptation pathways, which
are shown in the figure 3.1.

Planning Phase: This is the most important phase of the whole study process. Activities include
collection and review of DPP, PAD, Baseline Data of CALIP Project (if any), periodical Monitoring
and Evaluation Reports and other relevant documents; review of relevant project documents, selecting
sources of both quantitative and qualitative data, determining methods of data collection, consultation
with the project management. Finalization of research questions, developing indicators, developing
data collection instruments, study sample and study area selection, etc. Inception Report will be
prepared with the above-mentioned information and submitted to LGED.

Preparatory Phase: At this stage methodology and data collection instruments will be finalized
addressing the comments of the client. Field investigators will be recruited and trained, administration
and quality control in data collection. The data instruments will be tested in the similar conditions to
determine the efficacy of the tools and to have feedbacks from the respondents. The data collection
tools will be revised incorporating the feedbacks obtained in the field tests. The final version of the
instruments will be shared with the client for approval. The data collection instruments (questionnaire,
interview schedules, checklists for focus group discussions) will be printed and distributed to the
enumerators and consultants for use. Other materials for field data collection will be procured and
arrangement will be made for traveling of the consultants and the enumerators to the field.

Implementation Phase: In this phase the enumerators, the field supervisors, facilitators, other field
staff and experts will be fielded with a plan of data collection through different techniques. Activities
in this phase will involve collection of data and their quality control. At this stage the data will be
collected applying qualitative and quantitative methods. Quantitative data will be collected by
administering questionnaire from sample households while qualitative data will be collected through
focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interview (KIIs, formal and informal discussions,
purposive visits & observations, etc). During their field visits, the consultants will enquire with local
community about the wave action and flooding and their consequences on roads, markets, houses, etc.
Quality in data collection will be strictly observed. Checking and rechecking of filled-in questionnaire
will be done by the field supervisors and experts

Data Management Phase: In this phase collected data will be edited, outliers will be dropped, open
ended responses will be coded and data will be entered in the computer using excel or MS Excess
sheets as per data analysis plan, which will be developed by Data Analyst. Data will be analyzed
using suitable software like SPSS, STATA, etc. Analyzed data will be interpreted and synthesized
into information as per objectives of the study and will be presented in tabular form.

Dissemination and Reporting Phase: A number of consultation meetings/workshops will be

conducted with national and local level stakeholders and relevant experts, among others, for
developing and evaluation of pro-poor climate adaptation pathway framework. In addition, a policy
dialogue with policy makers will be organized for presenting the framework and seeking their
feedbacks on what is feasible within the context of Haor region. Ultimately, the objective of all these
meetings and policy dialogue is to set out a Guideline of using Pro-poor Adaptation Pathway
Framework to design a development program targeting pro-poor adaptation strategies.

56
 Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

As per ToR, four reports will be prepared. The first report will be known as Inception Report
containing methodology and study approach, data collection instruments, work plan, etc. The Report
will be submitted within 3 weeks after signing the contract and presented before the LGED officials.
The Interim Reports containing the tables/data generated from field survey, KII, FGD, field visit and
secondary sources, will be submitted within 4 months of signing the contract. The Draft Final
Report to be submitted after completing 6 months of signing the contract will incorporate all tasks in
the scope of services shown in ToR. This will be presented in a workshop. The Final Report and
Pathway Framework will be submitted within the contract period after the incorporation of
comments and feedbacks from HILIP/CALIP.

Fig. 3.1: Phase Wise Activities Involved in the Study

57
 Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

 Collection of Project Documents: DPP, PAD, Baseline survey reports, if any,

periodical Monitoring Reports if any and other related documents
 Review of Literature: collected documents, reports.
 Finalization of indicators.
Literature
 Identification of data sources
Review
 Finalization of data collection techniques.
& Desk Work
 Sample size finalization and sample distribution;
 Identification of poor/low income socio-economic groups.
 Development of DCTs (Data Collection Tools).
 Preparation and submission of Inception Report
 Finalization of Sample Frame and area for data collection
 Recruitment and training of field staff.
 Field-testing and finalization of survey instruments.
 Multiplication of data collection instruments.
Preparatory
 Collection of other goods required for data collection
Phase
 Mobilization of field staff
 Mobilization of experts in the field for supervising field activities and
discussion with stakeholders.
 Collection of data using all instruments including household questionnaires,
Data Collection KII and FGD guidelines, field visits, etc
Phase  Survey management and applying quality control mechanism
 Initial data editing and triangulation of data.
 Development of table plan;
 Data editing, entry in the computer using MS ACCESS, and data cleaning.
Data  Data analysis using SPSS or STATA.
Management  Synthesis of information as per ToR and technical proposal.
Phase  Generation of tables, graphs and charts, curves, etc and calculation statistical
parameters.
 Preparation of Interim Progress Reports.
 Development of a framework of pro-poor adaptation pathway for the Haor
area
 Conduct of consultation meeting/workshops with national and local
stakeholders and relevant experts;
 Development of a framework for monitoring implementation of adaptation
pathway to evaluate development programs;
Dissemination,
 Organization of a policy dialogue with policy makers to present the
and Reporting
framework
Phase
 Preparation and submission of a Draft Final Report covering all tasks in the
scope of services.
 Presentation of Draft Final Report in a workshop
 Preparation of Final Report incorporating suggestions and comments
provided in the workshop

3.8.2. Methodology
Methodology is the most important part for any study as it explains the procedures and methods
through which the same would be carried out. This section includes a discussion on the study area,

58
 Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

survey population, sample selection procedures, instruments to be used, implementation strategy,

quality control mechanism, data management and analytical procedure etc. Considering the objectives
of the study, time and types of respondents, both qualitative and quantitative approaches will be
undertaken. in this study to conform to the objectives as stated in the TOR. In this aspect, the
following methodology has been proposed. Necessary changes will be made (if required by the client)
during undertaking the assignment according to the client’s requirement (if any) during inception
stage. The methodology will involve the following steps:

3.8.2.1. Study Design

At the beginning of the study a schedule of activities will be identified (Inception Report) and
developed to attain the objectives as stated in the TOR. A definite plan will be drawn assigning
responsibilities of activities to be performed by the team members. The schedule of activities will
show the sequences of activities with time frame, persons to be deployed or informants to be
contacted. The design will include both quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques for
primary data. As a part of quantitative approach, a household sample survey will be conducted among
the rural population living in the influence areas of selected union and community roads in the HILIP
areas using a pre-designed questionnaire. On the other hand for qualitative data collection using Focus
Group Discussion (FGD) with beneficiaries and Key Informant Interview (KII) with stakeholders
including engineers and project personnel working on the project. Physical observations of roads and
other infrastructure will also be undertaken using checklists for assessing their existing condition. In
addition, a number of consultation meetings/workshops will be organized at local and national levels.

3.8.2.2. Data Sources Identification

For successful completion of the proposed study, two sources of data - primary and secondary, will be
required. The main source of primary data, as shown below, will be the sample survey, focus group
discussion (FGD) and key informant interviews (KII).

Figure 4.2: Data Source

Data Source

Secondary Primary Data

Data Source Source

Physical Observation Quantitative Data Qualitative

(HH Survey) (FGD & KII)

 Focus Group Discussion

(FGD)
 Key Informant Interview (KII)
 Stakeholders’ consultation
meetings/workshops

3.8.2.3. Data Collection Tools Development

59
 Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

A survey instruments (questionnaire, checklists) will be developed to collect necessary information

on the socio-economic status of the target population; land use; cropping intensity; cropping pattern;
coverage of major crops, vegetable, fruits; availability and consumption of agriculture products;
harvesting, storage and processing practices; access to the market & credit; knowledge based skills of
farmers, status of technology transfer & adoption, occupation and employment, household income
and expenditure; nutritional status; uses agricultural equipment & their impact, means of
communication before and after the project, time required for movement from one place to another,
etc. The following instruments for collection of primary data for this survey:
 Questionnaire for HH survey
 Guidelines for Focus Group Discussion (FGD)
 Checklist for Key Informant Interview (KII)
 Checklist for physical observation of the study area
 Guidelines for stakeholders’ consultations/workshops at different levels
 Guidelines for Policy Dialogue

All instruments will be finalized at inception stage in consultation with the Project authority / client
representatives.

3.8.2.4. Recruitment and Training of Field Staff (Supervisors and Enumerators)

For field level data collection, 4 supervisors will be recruited for a period of 2 months each including
training and field test. Similarly, for data collection from sample households, 16 enumerators for a
period of 2 months each will be recruited from amongst the panel of qualified and experienced field
workers maintained at CRDS office in Dhaka. The supervisors will have minimum master degree
with at least 3 years of work experience in the relevant field. On the other hand, enumerators will
have graduate level education with 3 years of field data collection experience. Besides, 2 Quality
Control Officers (QCOs) will be recruited to oversee the activities of data collection teams. Thus,
there will be 4 Teams consisting of one supervisor and 4 enumerators in each team. In total there will
be 22 field personnel including enumerators, supervisors and QCOs. In addition to sample survey of
households, these teams will conduct KII, FGDs and physical observations, etc. Each team will be
deployed to work in 2 Upazilas for a total period of 2 months.

After recruitment, training for 3 days will be imparted to the supervisors and investigators in
conducting field investigation and HH survey, building rapport with the respondents, fill-in the
questionnaires and quality control.

3.8.2.5. Field-Testing, Finalization and Printing of Survey Instruments

At this stage, the draft instruments will be tested in one of the non-sample areas near Dhaka. In the
pre-test special attention will be paid to the following issues:
 To find out the strength and weakness of the instruments
 To determine whether the respondents/participants understand questions
 To observe the synchronization of questions asked
 To determine the correctness or appropriateness of skip pattern
 To determine the time required for completing an interview
 To observe the ability of the field staff to administer the questionnaires

60
 Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

After testing, the data instruments will be updated, modified and finalized incorporating of feedbacks
from field test and comments on the draft instruments from HILIP/LGED.

3.8.3. Sample Design

3.8.3.1. Quantitative Sample Size:
For households to be surveyed in the Haor areas from 5 north eastern districts, samples will be
determined using the following formula

Where,
n= Sample size
Z= The value of standard normal variate (Z table) at 95% confidence level is 1.96
e= Maximum allowable error margin is 4%
p=Maximum variability of the population at 50%. i.e. (0.5)
q=1-p=0.5
de= Design effect in a multi-stage household sample distribution in Haor areas is assumed to be 1.75

By putting these values, we get the minimum sample size 1,050. For adjustment of non-responses at
5% and rounding in 5 project districts, let us fix the household sample size at 1,216. This would mean
that the targeted household sample size is 1,216/8=152 per upazila. Sample households will be
selected from Haor areas in a number of stages as shown in (Fig.4.3).

Figure 4.3: Stages of Sample Selection

District 1st Stage

Upazila 2nd Stage

Union 3rd Stage

Households 4th Stage

61
 Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

3.8.3.2. Allocation of samples by sample areas:

There are 5 project districts: Brahmanbaria, Habiganj, Kishoreganj, Netrokona and Sunamganj. It was
mentioned earlier that that 3 upazilas from Sunamganj, 2 from Brahmanbaria, 1 each from Habiganj,
Kishoreganj and Netrokona districts. From each upazila, we propose to select 1,216/8 or 152
households. In order to select these households, 2 unions will be selected purposively. The first union
will be selected in the place where the Upazila Parishad is located and the second upazila will be
located in the remote area. Thus, there will be 8x2=16 unions. From each of the selected unions, 2
villages will be selected randomly. Thus, the total number of villages will be 16x2=32. Prior to the
selection, list of villages will be collected. From each village, 37-38 households will be selected
randomly. This procedure will give us the total number of sample households at: 38 x 2 x 2 x 8 =
1,200.
3.9. Data Collection
Monitoring data will be collected through the following participatory methods for primary and
secondary data collection.
i) Desk Review of Secondary Information: The project documents such as DPP, PAM, RRP,
progress monitoring reports particularly quarterly/monthly from LGED HQ or field office etc. will be
collected from the project management unit (PMU). In addition, ssecondary data will be collected
from published and unpublished reports..
ii) The Logical Framework of HILIP/CALIP: The objectives of the project will be clarified
through logical framework. Logical framework will aid in the identification of the expected causal
links—the “program logic”—in the following results chain: inputs  processes  expected
outputsoutcomes impact. It will lead to the identification of performance indicators at each
stage, as well as risks which might impede the attainment of the objectives. A logical sequence of
structured approach will lead to successful completion of the assignments. With this description it
would be useful to demonstrate our understanding of the essence of the issues/problem.

3.9.1. Quantitative Data Collection:

i) Questionnaire Survey: For quantitative data collection a questionnaire survey will be
conducted among the poor households living in the selected villages in o5 administrative project
districts of Haor: Brahmanbaria, Habiganj, Kishoreganj, Netrokona and Sunamganj. The sample for
household survey will be conducted in two stages. In the first stage the main target population will be
selected from among (i) poor households living in the Haor and hard-core poor, (ii) smallholder
farming households, (iii) small fishing households deriving themajor share of their income from fishing,
(iv) women from poor households, and (v) small traders in local markets. The poor or hard-core poor
are either landless or marginal land owners. Share croppers and agricultural labour may belong to this
group
.
ii) Required number of household sample from each sample village numbering 32 will be
randomly selected.

3.9.2. Qualitative Data Collection:

For qualitative data collection several techniques will be employed. These are as follows:

62
 Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

iii) KII: Key Informants interviews (KIIs) will be conducted with the district project coordinator
(DPC), Upazila Project Coordinator (UPC), and CIGs from 16 selected unions, DPD and project
consultants at project HQ levels. A total of 35 key informant interviews will be conducted.
iv) FGDs: Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) will be conducted with participation of the poor both
male and female. There will be 16 FGDs, taking one from each project union. Participants will be
selected from the poor households.
v) Direct Physical Observations: Purposive visits will be done by the consultants to see about the
floods, disasters, vulnerabilities in the of Haor districts. They will observe the conditions of roads,
bridges, culverts, houses, markets, etc. In addition to observation, some samples of road soils, sand
and RCC materials will be observed.
vi) Organization of consultation meetings/workshops: Consultation meetings/workshops will be
organized at local and national level stakeholders and relevant experts. UNO, Upazila LGED
engineers, Upazila Agriculture Officers, Cooperative Officers, Livestock and Fisheries officers, NGO
officers posted at UZ level, local UP chairmen, members, CIG office bearers, District officials, UPCs
and other relevant field personnel will be invited to participate in the meetings/workshops.
vii) Policy Dialogue

3..9.3. Implementation of Field Activities

The field work will be implemented in time with the proposed methodology mentioned above. All
steps, as described under the respective sections of the methodology, will be followed most perfectly
and systematically.

In implementation of Reconnaissance Field Visits, Office Visits, Household Survey, Traffic survey,
Road-side shops survey, FGDs and KIIs, strategies will be followed so that the field activities
supplement one another in order to minimize time, efforts and budgetary requirement. One of such
strategies will be the selection of places/sites of Field Visits, Office Visits and FGDs in such a way
that maximum activities can be accomplished with minimum visits/travel. Recruitment of
enumerators and supervisors and their training, pretesting, and data collection will be carried out
within the planned time period. The supervisors and enumerators will be given 3 days training on
different aspects of the proposed survey. They will be trained and oriented on field data collection and
will be provided with necessary support from CRDS head office.

Field Supervisors will check all completed questionnaires and conduct a minimum of 2% percent call-
backs in order to verify the accuracy of the data recorded and, where necessary, at least 10%
responses will be verified.

3.9.4. Management and Quality Control Measures

i) Quality Control Measures
The Team Leader will lead the survey team of consultants. The Team Leader along with other
consultants will provide training to data collectors and supervisors for their capacity building. A filed
program will be issued and shared with IMED and finally circulated among the key and non-key
experts to follow. The field staff will collect field data and subsequently will check those.

63
 Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

The supervisors will supervise the day-to-day work of the field staff under his jurisdiction. S/he will
stay in field helping data collectors in collecting data correctly and will verify the filled in
questionnaire for logical checking. They will check all completed questionnaires and conduct a
minimum of 2% percent call-backs in order to verify the accuracy of the data recorded and, where
necessary verification of at least 10% responses deemed. The consultants team members will also
supervise the activities of the field staff and will verify the consistency of the collected data and
compare it with the secondary data. The client may also undertake checking visits and the approve
field programme may help them in identifying the location of a field team.

The enumerators' bias will be reduced through their rigorous training. They will closely interact with
supervisor in the field and will discuss their problems every day, which would help them in removing
misunderstanding or misconception of any parameter. Apparent underestimation or overestimation by
any respondent will be checked against data collected by him/her during the survey periods. The
questionnaire will be so designed as to have some built-in checks to detect wrong reports.

ii) Field Editing of Questionnaire

At the end of the survey, all filled-in questionnaires will be checked for completeness, consistency
and correctness. If any error is detected, it will be corrected through telephone call. There are two
types of such editing: field editing and office editing. Field editing is done by the enumerator
administering the questionnaire. Verification of information is also conducted by supervisors. Office
editing is done at the office by a person other than the enumerator. Each and every filled in
questionnaire will be checked for error and inconsistency in the office.

3.10. Data Management

3.10.1. Quantitative Data Management
Data management includes registration, editing and coding, data entry operators’ training,
development of data entry program, data entry, data verification and cleaning, development of
tabulation plan, generation of output tables and data analysis. These entire activities will be the
responsibility of Data Analyst.

i) Registration of filled in questionnaire

The questionnaire/checklist (Input formats) will be collected from the field and recorded in the
registration book according to some predetermined format. One Research Officer will be responsible
for registration of filled-in questionnaire. S/he will make the questionnaire available to the data
editors, coders and entry operators.

ii) Editing and Coding

Each filled-in questionnaire will be edited for consistency checks, for completeness. Some questions
will be pre-coded while the open-ended responses will be given code numbers according to
instructions given by the data analyst.

iii) Data Entry

64
 Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

Data entry will be done as per the data entry program developed by the data analyst. The data entry
will be in MS Access, a computer aided program. The following would be the stages in
computerization and processing of the collected data:
 Visual check for identification of apparent error
 Developing data input program

iv) Data Cleaning

The Consultant will mainly rely on logical verification of entered data with the questionnaires.
Devising suitable in-built computer programmes will further strengthen this. If any data will be found
illogical, it should be corrected properly.
 One to one matching of the data cleaning
 Apply consistency and logical check in further cleaning the database;
If necessary, in some cases, fresh data may be collected from field.

v) Data Analysis and production of output tables

The data analysis will be done keeping in view the objectives of the study and will follow the output
tables designed by the consultants of the team. Analysis plan will be developed based on duly
approved output tables. Some descriptive statistics will be used such as mean, variance, mode,
frequency, standard deviation, etc. For judging significance of the parameter student t-test, pair t-test
will be used. For analyzing the factors affecting participation of the households in different
interventions of given by the project, Chi-square Test, and Regression Analysis, if applicable, will be
done. Cross matching and synthesis of output tables will be done for presentation and report writing
purposes.

3.10.2. Qualitative Data Management

Focus Group Discussion: In most of the cases, the FGD data generally is open ended. Firstly, we
will list the answers issue wise, then we will code each answer and rank them higher to lower level. In
FGD, mostly the perception, opinion and attitude of the beneficiaries will be reflected especially on
livelihood development as a result of improvement of roads and other infrastructure. It should also
include the possibility of cropping diversification, prospects of agricultural mechanization,
employment situation, food security, food consumption pattern, nutritional status, strengths, disasters
and vulnerabilities, floods and their severity, disaster risks reduction mechanism and their pathways
etc. The findings of the FGD will be analyzed and will be used for triangulation.

3.11Reporting: According to ToR, a number of Reports will require to be generated as part of

this assignment. These are:

3.11.1. Inception Report

The consultant will submit an Inception Report within three weeks after signing the contract of the Impact
Study. The Report would provide the detailed implementation arrangements and the planned
activities based on the initial assessment on sampling procedure, selection of study areas and
methodologies for data collection, quality control, data analysis, means of physical observation of
areas including infrastructure, markets, homestead, houses, etc along with data collection
instruments and tabulation plan. The Report will also include a detailed work program for conducting
the study in all the 32 sample areas. The major findings of the Report will be presented before the

65
 Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

HILIP management. After getting comments and feedbacks from the client, the Inception Report will
be finalized.

Preparation and Submission of Interim Report

Based on the analysis of field data obtained from quantitative and qualitative survey, Interim Report
will be prepared by the team leader and his team members. This Report would be submitted to PMU,
HILIP within 4 months of signing the contract.

3.11.2. Preparation and submission of Draft Final Report

The major findings of the Draft Final Report will include the analysis of data collected from the Haor
areas through the survey of the poor and ultra-poor households, KII and FGDs, and the findings from
local and national stakeholders’ consultation meetings/workshops and policy dialogue. In other words,
this will include all tasks mentioned in the scope of services and will be submitted after completing 6
months of the contract in 10 copies. This Report will be presented in a workshop to be participated by
the HILIP management, consultants and LGED high officials.

3.11.3 Preparation and submission of Final Report

The draft Final Report along with pathway framework will be finalized after incorporation of
observations, comments and recommendations of the participants and will be submitted in 10 copies
along with soft copy in MS Word (in DVD) and submitted within the contract period.

3.12. Timeframe for Deliverables

It is expected that the study will be started on 16 March, 2022 and will be completed in 03 (three)
months. The study would be conducted as per the following schedule.

Table 4.1: Deliverables and Due Dates

Sl.
Deliverables Due date
No.
1. Inception Report 21 July, 2022 i.e three weeks after signing the contract
(we are assuming that the contract will be signed on 01
July 2022 at the latest)
2 Interim Report 30 October 2022
3. Draft Final Report 10 January, 2023
5 Final Report 29 January, 2023

3.13. Work Plan (Form 5A5)

3.13.1. Field Work Plan
The Work Plan detailing the main activities of the assignment, their content and duration, phasing and
interrelations, milestones and delivery dates of the reports is presented as Figure-4.4 in this Section.

66
 Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

In preparing the work plan care has been taken to see that the same is in consistent with the proposed
technical approach and methodology and work schedule.

The work plan includes work in the office as well as field. The field work here involves data
collection of different items of activities from different sample areas. The field activities include in
short the following work giving estimated day requirement person days. For data collection 05 (five)
infrastructure construction supervisors and another 05 (five) enumerators will be employed for a
period of 03 (three) months each.

3.13.2. Overall Planning

Effective and practical work plan is an important factor for timely completion of the assignment. A
work plan depicts the activities and given time periods for completion of each activity, and ultimately
help completing the whole job within scheduled timeframe. The date of commencement is not
specifically stated in the RFP document but tells it to be completed within seven months. Accordingly
we have considered if awarded it is expected to be started on July 01, 2022 in the preparation of the
work plan. The work plan is based on the “approach and methodology” of our proposal. The works to
be performed in the accomplishment of the assignment have been classified as major activities. The
time frame of each activity is drawn as Gantt Chart. The form specified in the RFP document has been
adapted for the preparation of the work Schedule using MS Project software. Accordingly the details
of the Work Plan for activities along with their anticipated time of occurrence and duration are
presented in Figure 3.4 (FORM TECH-5). Any delay of signing the contract will lead to delay in
commencement of work and accordingly the time planned for individual activity may be shifted.
The activities have been divided in five major tasks and subtask have been assigned time to
accomplish the work. The total work plan includes field work plan and work plan at CRDS office.
The activities in the office include literature review, data management and analysis and preparation of
reports and consultation with the client. The field work plan includes collection of different types of
data, supervision and quality control. Above information includes time for movement. This activity
schedule/work plan will be reviewed and refined at the stage of project inception. In line with the time
frame mentioned in the TOR a work plan for a period of about 90 days ending on June 15, 2022 has
been prepared. Overlapping of works has been considered while preparing work schedule in order to
complete the assignment in time.
In devising the work schedule, we have considered 5 working days in a week but in the field work 7
working days will be treated as working days. Detailed work schedule is given in the following table
(Table 3.2) below:
3.13.3. Work Schedule
The exact date of commencement of the assignment is not given in the RFP document. However, it is
assumed to start the work from 01 July, 2022 and is expected to be ended before February 2023 . The
duration of the study will be 07 months starting from the date of signing contact.

In designing the work schedule, we have considered 01 July, 2022 as the starting day. In the prepara-
tion of the work schedule below Friday and Saturday has been considered as non-working day in a
week, However, in the field these days will be treated as working days. The following work schedule
designed to complete the assignment in time.

67
Proposal on “Develop Pro-Poor Adaptation Pathways Framework
for the Haor Region in Bangladesh”

68