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1. Background
Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation and Kolektiv d.o.o. make up the consortium for MarketMakers – a Project supported by the Swiss Government. The Project aims to create hundreds of jobs for young women and men in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in the services industries as well as to encourage young people to enter self-employment and enterprise startup. MarketMakers’ third phase began in June 2021 and runs for two years, until the end of May 2023.
This Request for Services (RfS) refers to Bit Alliance’s and The Association of Business Service Leaders’ (ABSL) in BiH efforts to increase the quality and quantity of measures for workforce supply in the Information Technology (IT) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sectors, which are crucial for the growth of both sectors.
Canton Sarajevo has recognised the need to support the fast-growing IT and BPO sectors through a public measure for capacity building of skills relevant for employment in those sectors. The same should be replicated in other areas of BiH to support employers’ growth and youth employment. For that reason, efficiency, efficacy and recommendations for improvement and replication of the Canton Sarajevo’s measure need to be explored and documented in the form of a case study. The case study should present the number of individuals who increased their skills and found employment throughout the years, and eventually the possibilities of replicating the measures in other areas in BiH, guaranteeing the highest potential for success. Areas with the greatest potential for success are Zenica, Banja Luka, Mostar and Tuzla, having the highest number of IT and BPO companies and employers.
2. Overall Objective(s) of the Assignment
The overall objective of the Assignment is to provide a thorough analysis and guidance on government-provided business support measures that contribute to the growth of IT and BPO companies and, therefore, promote employment opportunities for young people. This can be achieved by replicating and adapting measures that have shown to be successful in Canton Sarajevo.
The main purpose is to produce a brief case study to determine the efficiency of the measures and define how they can be improved from the perspective of governments and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The case study should be followed by a plan for the replication of IT/BPO measures from Canton Sarajevo to other administrative units. The Service provider is expected to work closely with the Bit Alliance and ABSL to replicate the measures, thus increasing the number of companies that use the measures.
3. Scope of Work and Principal Activities
The main task of the Service provider is to lead the process of analysis of existing measures in Canton Sarajevo, to identify areas for improvement, as well as lead the procedural steps for replication of measures to other administrative units, i.e. cities, towns, or cantons with the highest potential for impact, as well as the highest interest. The selected service provider should prepare everything for replication and assist the Bit Alliance and ABSL to advocate replication in at least two additional administrative units where there is a high concentration of IT/BPO companies that could benefit from the measures. Apart from creating a case study of the existing measures and suggestions for their improvements, the Service provider is expected to develop an action plan for advocacy and replication of measures, and support Bit Alliance and ABSL in the replication process in the chosen/selected administrative units. The Service provider will work closely with Enterprise Development Agency (EDA) from Banja Luka, Bit Alliance and ABSL as sector-leading organisations which should be the main partners of the government in promoting strategic support to the growth of IT/BPO industries.
Activities that should be included in the proposal, but not limited to, are the following:
- Case study and historical analysis of efficiency and efficacy of measures in Canton Sarajevo (number of public calls, number of applications, number of accepted applications, number of people trained, number of people employed post-training, and the total amount allocated to those measures).
- List of recommendations for existing measures in Canton Sarajevo which will be solicited through the organisation of at least two focus groups with companies that have applied (regardless of if they received funds or not) and companies that are familiar with the measures but decided not to apply for various reasons. The recommendations will be collected and presented to the government, as well as the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Recommendations will include how the measures can be improved and promoted better. These activities will require communication with the relevant government institutions, companies, Bit Alliance and ABSL.
- Assessment of administrative units with the highest potential for replicating/adopting the scheme. Focus on Banja Luka, Mostar, Tuzla and Zenica.
- Advocacy plan and support to the Bit Alliance and ABSL to replicate the improved measures.
- Support the replication process in at least two locations. During the process of adoption of measures in other administrative units, extensive technical support will be provided to governments willing to adopt the new measures by EDA and the Service provider through technical assistance in the creation of public calls, applications, and other forms necessary for the successful adoption of measures.
- Organisation of a peer learning event to showcase the scheme implemented in Canton Sarajevo to other administrative units. The event should be attended by representatives of Canton Sarajevo, representatives of ministries of other administrative units (ministries of economy/entrepreneurship from other cantons of FBiH, the Republic of Srpska and Brcko District) and the expert community (experts, consultants, and representatives of institutes). The goal is to share knowledge to prepare the ground for the adoption of new measures. The event will be financed by MarketMakers.
- Regular communication and collection of feedback from EDA, Bit Alliance and ABSL throughout the Assignment.
More information on time schedule, communication, reporting and debriefing, as well as other details related to the RfS is available here:
