Individual Consultant to Produce Disability Inclusive and Accessible Knowledge Products and Design Measures for Reasonable Accommodation and Disability Inclusion Within Commission Activities

Contract

This is a National Consultant contract. More about National Consultant contracts.

Background

Background

The Chapter 12 Commissions are designed as drivers of change for Zimbabwe’s implementation of democratic values and constitutionalism as per the Zimbabwe Constitution. Collectively, the Chapter 12 Institutions serve the common purpose of contributing towards a democratic Zimbabwean society by steering the country towards constitutionalism as a shared value. Through their respective mandates, the Chapter 12 Commissions are critical to improving the quality of governance, encouraging transparency and accountability, fostering inclusion, advancing gender equality, promoting the rights of marginalized groups, strengthening justice and rule of law, and ultimately leading to national unity, peace and reconciliation.

It is against this backdrop and as part of the broader support to the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Framework (UNSDCF) priorities to the entrenchment of human rights and democracy as outlined in section 233 of the Constitution, that United Nations participating agencies (PUNOs), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Women and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), under the coordination of the United Nations Resident Coordinators Office (UNRCO), have co-developed the Support to Chapter 12 Commissions Project with Chapter 12 Commissions, referred to as Project 223.

The project’s output 2 has joint activities that focus on persons with disabilities to ensure all Commissions are inclusive of the needs of persons with disabilities. In line with this, the services of a consultant are sought to conduct a mapping exercise on disability inclusion including through knowledge productions as well as designing measures for reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities in all Chapter 12 Commissions work. Throughout this assignment, the Consultant will be guided by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with

Disabilities (CRPD) and its optional protocols, other international best practices and instruments as well as active engagement of relevant Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe ratified the CRPD in 2013 and remains committed to promoting the meaningful engagement of persons with disabilities and their representative organizations in development processes.

Overall objective of the consultancy

In close consultation and meaningful engagement with Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), conduct a mapping exercise on existing disability inclusion including on knowledge products in all Chapter 12 commissions and identify gaps that need to be addressed to ensure standard guidelines and knowledge products in line with international best practice for all commissions.

Duties and Responsibilities

Scope of Work

In close consultation with the participating UN Agencies (PUNOs) providing technical support to Chapter 12 Commissions, and OPDs, the consultant shall:

Activity 2.2 Produce disability inclusive and accessible knowledge products

• Conduct a rapid mapping on disability knowledge products on persons with disabilities and their accessibility to this population group in all Chapter 12 Commissions;
• Develop a checklist of existing knowledge products. List should include but not limited to the following:
  • Policies/frameworks/plans on persons with disabilities;
  • Recruitment, appointment and promotion procedures;
  • Provision of knowledge products delivered in accessible formats for different disability types such as braille, easy to read documents;
  • Knowledge products that are systematically designed to reach out to marginalized and commonly Left Behind Disability groups such as women and girls with Disabilities, persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, visual and hearing impairment, among others;
• Conduct a mapping of, and compile a list of open access knowledge products developed by OPDs in Zimbabwe, in the region and in accordance with International best practises that can be adopted by Chapter 12 commissions;
• Identify gaps that need to be addressed following the mapping exercise;
• Identify broad gaps on inclusion in Chapter 12 Commissions which may militate inclusive approaches;
• Provide recommendations for products that need to be adopted based on the results of the mapping exercise in compliance with the principles of the CRPD;
• Propose measures towards reasonable accommodation in delivery of governance services of Chapter 12s.

Activity 2.3 Design measures for reasonable accommodation and disability inclusion within commission activities

• Develop guidelines for Reasonable Accommodation of persons with disabilities in all Chapter 12 Commissions such as:
  • Human Resource Policy;
  • Standard Operating Procedures;
  • Accessibility and mobility at office premises and during events/activities;
  • Training, transfer, deployment and retention of staff with disabilities;
  • Internal training of commissions staff particularly those who directly engage with the general public;
  • Other measures which conform to international best practices to foster disability inclusion.

Deliverables

It is anticipated that the selected consultant will deliver:

• An inception report with a detailed plan of action (of 5 pages maximum) with clear timelines and data collection methodology for the assessment (within 3 days from contract signing);
• A first draft detailed assessment report on the mapping exercise (within 35 working days from contract signing);
• Facilitate workshop to validate the Report and knowledge products including production of the workshop report (dates to be advised by UNDP);
• Final report with recommendations to address identified gaps and challenges for Activity 2.2 and 2.3. This should include copies of knowledge products recommended for adoption in both electronic and print. (within 6 days after validation workshop);

Report format

The expected report format shall cover, but not limited to, the following in the table of contents:

• Forewords;
• Abbreviations;
• Definition of key terms;

• Executive summary;

• Introduction and background;

• International best practices in institutional knowledge products for persons with disabilities;
• International best practices for the meaningful engagement of persons with disabilities in Chapter 12 institutions;
• International best practices for reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities in relation to public institutions;
• Overview of existing disability inclusive products per commission:
• ZHRC products;
• ZGC products;
• ZMC products.
• Identified gaps;
• Recommendations for standard products and guidelines for adoption;
• Way forward/Next steps;
• Annexes: to include among other things, samples of proposed knowledge products and guidelines for reasonable accommodation for Persons with Disabilities;
• Conclusion, list of chapter 12 commissions’ knowledge products reviewed.

Timeline and duration

It is anticipated that the consultancy will be finalized within a period of 45 working days over a period of 3 calendar months.

The final report together with all the associated raw data and relevant files, including photographs etc., should be delivered to UNDP by 1st March 2023 at the latest.

Reporting

The consultant will report directly to UNDP and UNESCO but will work closely with the Zimbabwe Media Commission, the Zimbabwe Gender Commission and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission.

Milestone Payment Schedule

• 25% upon submission and approval of inception report with a detailed plan of action (10 pages maximum) with clear timelines and data collection methodology for the assessment;
• 25% upon submission first draft detailed assessment report on the mapping exercise;
• 25% upon facilitation of workshop to validate the Report and knowledge products including production of the workshop report;
• 25% upon submission and approval of final report with recommendations to address identified gaps and challenges for Activity 2.2 and 2.3. This should include copies of knowledge products recommended for adoption in both electronic and print.

Competencies

• Commitment to UN core values, particularly human rights;
• Ability to work in multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural teams;
• Ability to work under pressure against strict deadlines;
• Ability to present complex issues persuasively and clearly;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion and age sensitivity and adaptability.

Required Skills and Experience

Education:

• Master's degree in human rights, law, social sciences or any other related field.

Experience:

• At least 5 years’ experience in the field of disability inclusion with proven experience working with persons with disabilities and their representative organizations;
• Experience working with Chapter 12 Commissions will be an added advantage;
• Strong analytical and research skills.

Language:

• Excellent communication and writing skills in English.

Application Procedure

Interested Individuals are requested to submit a proposal on this platform which includes the following:

• A CV highlighting the relevant experience;
• A technical proposal showing how the task will be undertaken;
• Financial proposal and budget breakdown based on expected daily rates and initial work plan.

Please group all your documents into one (1) single PDF document as the system only allows you to upload one (1) document.

Incomplete applications will not be given consideration.

Please note that only applicants who are short-listed will be contacted.

Evaluation Criteria

The award of the contract shall be made to the Consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the ToR.

• Technical Criteria weight: 70%;
• Financial Criteria weight: 30%.

Selection Criteria

Technical Evaluation: Constitutes 70% of total evaluation:

Note: Only candidates who have obtained a minimum of 70 points (70%) on the technical evaluation will be considered for the financial evaluation.

Financial Evaluation: Constitutes 30% of total evaluation.

Please submit an all-inclusive lump sum price based on a daily fee. Financial proposals must be all inclusive and must be expressed in USD. The term "all inclusive” implies that all costs (professional fees, communications, consumables, insurance, etc.) that could possibly be incurred in discharging this assignment should be factored into the financial proposal.