About RT4D

The Regional Trade for Development (RT4D) initiative is funded by both the Governments of Australia and New Zealand. It assists ASEAN Member States (AMS) in meeting their commitments and realising the advantages offered by the Agreement establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area, or AANZFTA, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP.

Through the AANZFTA Implementation Support Program (AISP) and the RCEP Implementation Support Program (RISP), RT4D provides tailored support to enhance the capabilities of ASEAN Member States by strengthening skills, building networks, facilitating policy options and ensuring that trade benefits everyone, including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), women and people with disabilities.

The Governments of Australia and New Zealand have committed up to AUD 48.7 million to fund RT4D from 2020-21 to 2027-28.

Project Summary

The RCEP Implementation Support Program (RISP), implemented by the RT4D Facility, aims to support AMS to realise the full benefits of RCEP through the provision of capacity-building support and access to technical expertise.

The following project is approved under RISP.

• Project name: Promoting the utilisation of RCEP, especially in digital trade, through better understanding and enhanced engagement of the private sector, MSMEs and women-led businesses.

• Project Objectives: In celebration of the third anniversary of RCEP’s entry into force, this project aims to reinforce the practical utilization of RCEP commitments by MSMEs and women-led enterprises through the following objectives:

o to assess the awareness and utilization of RCEP among MSMEs, women led businesses in Viet Nam, identifying gaps and areas for improvement. 

o to address identified gaps by raising awareness and improving communication on RCEP benefits among MSMEs and women-led enterprises, especially in digital trade, through capacity-building workshops and the development of user-friendly materials to enhance understanding and utilization.

o to strengthen collaboration between the MSMEs and women-led enterprises, and policymakers to improve FTA implementation and support. 

Aus4Growth is looking for an individual with proven and extensive experience of 10+ years leading and managing economic development projects or policies and institutional change, preferable in the context of international development in Vietnam or Southeast Asia.

Aus4Growth is looking for an individual that has over 15 years' experience working in the energy space and have a strong background in renewable energy transition and sustainability, energy generation and grid capacity modernisation, electricity market reforms, and pricing frameworks.

BCG is seeking a highly experienced Team Leader that will be responsible for providing on-the-ground leadership, technical expertise, and operational oversight for the Aus4Growth program based in Hanoi, Vietnam. 

Aus4Growth is seeking a dynamic individual who will play a crucial role in driving momentum and coordination across A4G's domain strategies and early activities.

Aus4Growth is seeking an individual who has proven experience leading and managing trade/economic development projects or policies, preferably in the context of international development.

About the Proposal

People living with disabilities often encounter substantial barriers which can hinder them from having full and meaningful participation in society. Such obstacles can make those living with disabilities more vulnerable to all forms of exploitation, violence, abuse and exclusion.

Despite the magnitude of the problem and the critical need for improved understanding and responses, the current research and action surrounding the nexus of disability and trafficking in persons remains limited. The recent study conducted by the Australian government-funded ASEAN-Australia Counter Trafficking program (ASEAN-ACT), has identified significant gaps – whether in laws, policy, and practices including in victim support and data – which will require all stakeholders to work together towards the full and meaningful participation and inclusion of persons with disability in countering trafficking in persons.

ASEAN-ACT seeks to provide small grants for selected Organisations of Persons with Disability (OPDs) and/or relevant Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam building on the success of similar initiatives in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. The grant intends to foster changes in policy and practices towards counter-trafficking responses, ensuring they are more inclusive of and sensitive to the needs of persons with disabilities.

Overview on Investing in Women:

Investing in Women: Women in Inclusive Sustainable Economic Recovery (IW) is a multi-country Australian Government initiative in Southeast Asia that seeks to accelerate women’s economic empowerment through increased and equitable opportunities in the private sector, contributing to inclusive, sustainable economic recovery and growth in targeted countries. Our objective is to support women to thrive in the workplace and succeed in business. 

Building on the results, partnerships and lessons established under the first seven years of the program, IW’s new phase will extend and deepen Australia’s contribution to advancing gender equality in Southeast Asia through influencing and growing an ecosystem of policymakers, business leaders, capital providers and women’s economic empowerment actors. 

Positioning women at the centre of economic resilience and accelerating their economic empowerment is critical to achieving a wide range of sustainable development objectives in Southeast Asia. As the region recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, gender-sensitive economic recovery strategies will be critical to prevent further deterioration in women’s economic empowerment indicators as seen during COVID-19. Focus on an inclusive recovery seeks to harness the productivity, skills, capacity, talent, innovation, and leadership that women offer, and realise the benefits of women’s economic empowerment for themselves, their families, and their communities. 

IW continues the ambitious agenda of advancing women’s economic empowerment through: 

• Workplace Gender Equality (WGE) – We support Business Coalitions that work with influential businesses on shifting workplace cultures, practices, and policy barriers to achieve workplace gender equality, with member companies together employing more than one million people; 

• Enabling Policy Reforms – We support locally identified reform agendas that promote women’s workforce participation, generate support for the business case for WGE, and build the case for the value and importance of the care economy to business, the economy and women’s economic empowerment;  

• Campaigns and Communities of Practice – We support locally driven campaigns in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam that highlight positive examples of gender equality to strengthen public support for women’s economic participation. Through fostering a community of gender equality advocates, IW will continuously build evidence that supports the broader adoption of progressive attitudes and behaviours; and 

• Gender Lens Investing – We work to increase investment in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that disproportionately benefit women in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. We do so by increasing capital providers’ demand for Gender Lens Investing strategies and products, catalysing the supply of financial instruments available to small businesses owned or led by women, and investing in the growth of SMEs that support women through a ‘fund of funds’ strategy.  

In collaboration with corporations and business leaders, policymakers and implementers, capital providers, entrepreneurs, and advocates, we are working with those who are driving change for women's economic equality in our region. 

Investing in Women supports the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 Agenda and the leveraging of private sector investments to achieve the Goals. The SDGs recognise that gender equality is not only an essential human right, but a necessary foundation for peaceful, prosperous and sustainable societies.  

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has contracted Abt Associates Australia to implement Investing in Women. Abt Associates Australia is a mission-driven, global leader in research, evaluation and implementing programs in health, social and environmental policy and international development. 

Investing in Women’s new phase is anticipated to be up to AUD 80 million in value, initially for four years (from January 2023 to June 2027), with an option to extend for a further six years. Initial countries of focus will be at least Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, with some activities engaging at a regional level. Further information about Investing in Women can be found on the website: www.investinginwomen.asia.

PARTISIPA is seeking qualified organisations or consortia — to support applied research that will inform future programming to improve the climate resilience of the water sector in Timor-Leste.

Tetra Tech International Development Pty Ltd (Tetra Tech International Development) as the managing contractor of the Aus4Skills Program on behalf of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Vietnam, is seeking proposals from service providers to design and deliver a Knowledge Exchange to Australia on Public Sector Reform (the “Activity”) for up to 20 senior leaders from the Foundational Partners of the Vietnam Australia Centre. The Activity will facilitate the exchange of knowledge and best practice and the enhancement of skills and development of strategies between Australia and Vietnam on key topics related to public sector reform which are of relevance to Vietnam’s current reform process, and provide an opportunity for Vietnam and Australia to strengthen institutional links.

A detailed description of the Activity is included in Part B, Scope of Services.

To submit a proposal to design and deliver the Activity the lead business must be an Australian non-governmental organisation, consulting firm, training organisation or tertiary institution.

It is intended that a single organisation (either alone or as the lead of a consortium) be contracted to design and deliver the Activity.

All communications regarding this RFT should be directed to: procurement@aus4skills.org