RFP Invited for Supply Chain Gap Study in Bihar and Strengthening of the Rural Sanitation Supply

Supply Chain Gap Study in Bihar and Strengthening of the Rural Sanitation Supply

About Organization:

Water for People India initiated their operations in West Bengal in 1996 in Nadia and North 24 Parganas districts. Consistent with the global vision and mission, they exist to promote the development of high-quality drinking water and sanitation services, accessible to all, and sustained by strong communities, businesses, and governments. They aim to build capacities at the district level which will contribute to organizational commitments, thereby indirectly benefitting 14.8 million people. Water for People India implements programs through locally registered non-government organizations.

The Context:

There are two components to this TOR.

Part 1 - Supply chain Gap Study in Bihar 

The latrine building programs in Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal have been producing good results. There have been an estimated 31,000 latrines built since the program was initiated with 12,500 being built in the last 12 months. They have been supplied by a cohort of 85 cement ring outlets (also called POPs) across just 20 blocks. The efficiency of the process has gradually improved over the last 6 years and taken on an annual basis, Water For People’s investment has come down for every latrine built.

Through this Strengthening initiative, Water For People aims to understand the current landscape of rural latrine building in Bihar to design our further interventions.

Part 2 - Strengthening of Supply-chain through promotion of seven new Farmer Producer Organizations in Birbhum and Uttar Dinajpur districts, West Bengal and creation of up to 6 new sanitation micro enterprises in Sheohar, Bihar

Water For People India had initiated a sanitation program with Farmers producers’ organizations in Uttar Dinajpur and Birbhum. The intervention focused on introduction of tiger toilet technology to rural populace as well as delivery of Sanitation services through Farmer Producer Organization promoted POPs. So far around 3 FPOs have started ring production units through demonstration and marketing approaches. Tiger Worm supply chain has also been established through the construction of worm breeders in the area. In Sheohar, Bihar Water For People has been developing individual sanitation micro enterprises and at present there are around 12 POPs delivering sanitation related services.

Through this initiative, Water For People India aims to consolidate the work further in both the geographies and develop a sustainable and scalable sanitation supply chain by means of creating seven new Farmer Producer Organizations and six new sanitation micro enterprises.

Scope of Engagement:

Part 1: Sanitation Supply chain Gap Study in Bihar

 The study should explore the following hypothesis:

• That higher densities of POPs lead to higher latrine coverage in villages
• That the density of POPs is not uniform across the state and there are gaps in POP supply chains within Bihar which is impacting on coverage in the nearby villages.
• That the poor are gaining access to latrine in villages where extensive latrine building has already occurred. 
• That the businesses created are commercially viable, have adequate access to finance and therefore sustainable.
• That growth and the development of the POP supply chain can occur without dependency on donor funds

Part 2 - Strengthening of Supply-chain through promotion of new Farmer Producer Organizations in Birbhum and Uttar Dinajpur district, West Bengal and new sanitation micro enterprises in Sheohar, Bihar

The POP supply chain catalyzed by WFP India in Bihar and West Bengal has undergone a dramatic form of expansion within the last two years. New businesses have crowded-in into the cement ring supply chain and market forces have reduced the price of a single ring from INR 350 to INR 200. This expansion has been fueled by the increased demand for toilets within the communities and increasing latrine ownership and use. In an internal evaluation done in 2015 it was found that the 8 original POPs opened with the encouragement of our partner had expanded to 22 and a brief visit within February 2017 showed that the numbers had further increased. It is a rare example of spontaneous crowding within the sanitation sector. The aggressive crowding-in is an indication that the process could be taken to scale, but only if the competitive sale of cement rings can be efficiently and cost effectively be spread beyond the boundaries of the initial intervention. This mandate is the basis of our intervention design and we plan to expand the supply chain to new area and to work out the best method for cost effective geographical spread of POPs.   

Key Tasks & Deliverables:

For Bihar:

The agency should conduct the sanitation supply chain gap study exploring the hypothesis outlined above. They should submit the survey samples, tools and reports developed during the course and completion of study. 

For Birbhum and Uttar Dinajpur, West Bengal & Sheohar, Bihar

• Develop 7 new FPOs based PoPs in Birbhum and Uttar Dinajpur West Bengal
• Develop 6 new POPs in Sheohar, Bihar
• To research and better understand the process of spreading the POP supply chain to new geographical areas and from this, develop a cost-effective strategy for scaling.
• To test the assumption on which the process is based, namely
• The number of POPs is proportional to the number of latrines being built within an area.
• The latrines construction process is being managed and paid for by the household and this results in high latrine usage. The assumption is that the households would not to go to such efforts for something they did not want or use.
• The customers are satisfied with their latrine and this permanently changes their behaviour away from open defecation 

Duration of Engagement:

The duration of this assignment will be for a period of 7 months (March 2020 – September 2020).   Specific time lines:

• Gap study to be completed by May 2020. Submission of final study design, tools by 1st April 2020.
• Identification of 6 new POPs in Bihar should be completed by June 2020
• Identification of 7 new FPO promoted POPs in West Bengal should be completed by September 2020.

Application Process:

Interested parties should send a detailed technical & financial proposal, to indiacareers@waterforpeople.org referencing “Terms of Reference – Supply chain gap study & Strengthening of the rural sanitation supply” in the subject line by or before 1st March 2020.

Tags Environment and Sustainability Livelihood Rural Development Sanitation Water