re-advertisement: Consultancy Recruitment: “Landscape Analysis on Assistive Technology for Children and Adolescents with Disabilities in Iran”

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Consultancy on “Landscape Analysis on Assistive Technology for Children and Adolescents with Disabilities in Iran”

BACKGROUND

In line with the UNICEF Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy, access to Assistive Technology (AT) and relevant services is among the priority strategies. UNICEF will strengthen its investments, partnerships, product availability and technical assistance to help governments progressively realize universal access to AT for persons, particularly children, with disabilities. It will increasingly support the development and greater availability of affordable, quality and appropriate products that meet the diverse needs of children with disabilities in diverse contexts.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 15% of the Iranian population has a disability. The most common types of disabilities in Iran are physical impairments, followed by hearing and visual impairments. AT is crucial in promoting the independence and participation of people with disabilities, and Iranian government has recognized the importance of AT in improving the lives of people with disabilities and has taken steps to increase its availability. However, despite these efforts, there are still significant challenges in the procurement of AT in Iran, such as lack of funding, limited availability of specialized AT, few AT companies, weak government-market relations for disability-focused organizations, and inadequate distribution channels, which result in a significant disparity in access to education, employment, and other societal opportunities for people with disabilities.

OBJECTIVE / SCOPE OF WORK

The objective of this Landscape Analysis is to assess access to Assistive Technology for Children and Adolescents with disabilities in Iran (including Afghan refugee children) and propose recommendations for improvement. Through this study, we intend to explore the AT systems to ultimately build a national ecosystem around AT and reduce access barriers experienced along the AT access pathway (c.f. WHO-UNICEF Global Report on Assistive Technology). Assessing access to AT includes a review of accessibility, affordability, adaptability, availability, acceptability, and quality of AT. This review should also touch upon the whole cycle of access to AT for a CWD (including Afghan children with disabilities residing in Iran), including the assessment, fitting, training and rehabilitation services for use, repair, etc. However, the study should not replicate the evidence that is already available, by way of illustration, it worth noting that the rapid Assistive Technology Assessment tool (rATA) by WHO, intended for rapid mapping of need, demand, supply and user satisfaction with Assistive Technology), was recently undertaken in Iran. The scope of this study goes beyond rATA results with the objective to build a national ecosystem around AT based on the needs.

Furthermore, the landscape study covers the state of the Assistive Technology Sector in the country and provides recommendations on how the capacity of the innovation ecosystem can be tapped into to strengthen the Assistive Technology Sector in terms of market responsive product development, facilitating and charting pathways for access. AT includes products and related services that improve the functioning of children with disabilities. A critical bifurcation on the enabling technologies for children and adolescents with disabilities in the landscape analysis is reviewing two spaces of 1) assistive technologies (physical and hardware enabled technologies) 2) inclusive digital products and services (digital-enabled technologies).

The study will respond to several key questions including but not limited to the following:

1. Situation: What is the current situation of assistive technology (AT) system for children and adolescents with disabilities in Iran (including Afghan refugee CWD) considering the governance, budget and financing mechanisms, legislation, regulations and standards, service provision coverage, workforce and human capacity, delivery pathways, etc.

2. Challenges: What are the challenges and barriers in access to AT for children and adolescents with disabilities in Iran (including Afghan refugee CWD), taking into account accessibility, affordability, adaptability, availability, acceptability, and quality.

3. Social and Behavioural Change: What are the attitudes and perceptions of service providers and other stakeholders, including CWD (including Afghan Refugee children), their parents and caregivers towards AT for children and adolescents with disabilities in Iran?

4. Recommendations: What are the most effective ways to promote the use of AT among children and adolescents with disabilities in Iran? Including, but not limited to:

• • recommendations for UNICEF strategies and interventions from policy to practice

• recommendations on improving the system, based on the barriers

• specific recommendations for key system actors

• specific recommendations for improving Afghan refugee children’s access to AT

• • recommendations for the CWD Innovation Cluster on AT and the AT Sector on Physical and Digital Products and Services for CWDs

• best practices for AT procurement and distribution in other countries, and how can they be adapted to the context of Iran?

• Along with any proposed recommendation, what would be the expected impact of adopting the recommendation?

METHODOLOGY

The selected consultant and the team are expected to propose the methodology with detailed steps explained, in which required quantitative and qualitative methods in data collection and analysis are deployed. All ethical considerations and mitigation strategies should also be included in the technical proposal. Further details to be elaborated in the technical proposal, by the applicant.

In designing the methodology, the views of various stakeholders, in particular children and adolescent boys and girls with disabilities, their parents and caregivers, as well as OPDs, should be taken into consideration. Also, as far as possible, liaising with governmental bodies and UN agencies working in areas related to CWD, should be included.

The Methods proposed for the study should be comprehensively captured in the technical proposal.

ACTIVITIES, DELIVERABLES AND TIMELINES, PLUS BUDGET PER DELIVERABLE

Terms of Payment/Remuneration:

As full consideration for the services performed by the consultant under the terms of the contract, UNICEF shall pay the total amount of contract as per below instalments, upon certification that services have been satisfactorily performed and against submission of Invoice and signed Certificate of Payment (CoP).

• • • 1st instalment – upon delivery of the deliverables of Phase # 1- Amount: 15% of the total cost
  • 2nd instalment – upon delivery of the deliverable Phase #2- Amount: 50% of the total cost
  • 3rd instalment – upon delivery of the deliverable Phase #3- Amount: 35% of the total cost

QUALIFICATIONS, SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE AND ADDITIONAL COMPETENCIES

• The consultant will be assuming the role of the team lead. The team composition should include expertise in both Disability/Rehabilitation and Technology sides. The number of team members should remain reasonable on par with the tasks and functions needed to undertake the deliverables.
• An advanced university degree (Master’s) or higher level in related fields for each main team member.
• Minimum three years of professional experience or research on fields related to disability and/or AT, including data assessment and proven experience in developing analytical works for each main team member.
• Knowledge and experience in AT international agenda, recent initiatives and reforms, key concepts, and strategies, as well as AT national provision (policy, legislation, funding, capacity development) to exist in the team as a whole.
• Experience of working with Organizations of Persons with Disabilities in the team as a whole is an asset.
• Ability to synthesize knowledge and effectively express ideas in writing; and ability to coordinate with external partners.
• Strong analytical, writing and communication skills; ability to draft text clearly and concisely in English and Persian.
• Fluency in English (oral and written)
• Persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply; required accommodations would be discussed and supported per organization's capacity.

CONDITIONS OF WORK

The work will be done inside of Iran. The consultant should have office space and equipment independent of UNICEF. The nature of the work requires desk research, focus group discussions, stakeholder engagement, interviews, surveys, and other forms of engagement with the stakeholders, all of which will be accommodated by the consultant.

The consultant shall take out and shall maintain for the entire term of the Contract, for any extension thereof, and for a period following any termination of the Contract reasonably adequate to deal with losses: (i) insurance against all risks in respect of its property and the equipment used for the performance of the Contract; (ii) workers' compensation insurance, or its equivalent, or employer's liability insurance, or its equivalent, with respect to the consultant personnel sufficient to cover all claims for injury, death and disability, or other benefits required to be paid by law, in connection with the performance of the Contract; and, (iii) liability insurance in an adequate amount to cover all claims, including claims for death and bodily injury, products and completed operations liability, loss of or damage to property, and personal injury, arising from or in connection with the consultant’s performance under the Contract, including liability arising out of or in connection with the acts or omissions of the consultant’s personnel, agents, invitees, subcontractors, or the use, during the performance of the Contract, of transportation vehicles.

The consultant must ensure the physical and psychological safety of the children and adolescents as well as other stakeholders’ when interacting by applying the safeguarding guidelines. The consultant shall be responsible for any costs or claims associated with any illness, injury, death or disability of the consultant Personnel, if any. The consultant shall ensure that all of his/her Personnel used to perform obligations in connection with this Contract are adequately covered by insurance for any service-related illness, injury, death or disability. UNICEF accepts no responsibility for providing any corresponding insurance coverage.

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION

Technical Criteria (total of 80 points):

Overall Application (10 points)

• Completeness and quality of the submitted application

Consultant Capacity, Core Capabilities, and Qualifications (35 points)

• Profile/CV; Education; Academic Record; Competencies, Capabilities, and Reach (Network); Competitive advantage over other consultants
• Track record of expertise and experience in AT; Range and depth of experience with similar projects (Number of customers, size of projects, team); The results achieved or performance reports of previous projects; feedback from references/previous employers

Proposed technical proposal (Method and Approach, Feasibility, and credibility) (35 points)

• Project management, monitoring and quality assurance process for the project
• Assessment of the effectiveness of the proposed approach (content, method, approaches, network)
• Innovative approaches
• Quality of data analysis and synthesis methods
• Approach informed by benchmarking best practices (in line with UNICEF’s methods, approaches, and best practices)
• Compliance with Child Rights and alignment with underlying principles in Design and Approach

Financial Criteria (total of 20 points)

Required Supporting documents / Application Process

NOTE FOR APPLICANTS:

Supporting Documents required at this stage:

⃝ Curriculum Vitae of the team lead and all main team members

⃝ A Cover Letter detailing your interest, qualifications and suitability.

⃝ Two references to be introduced to provide testimony on past performance.

⃝ Sharing samples of similar successful projects delivered is a plus.

If long listed, you will be receiving an email, requesting you to submit a technical proposal and a corresponding financial offer, within a one week period:

⃝ Technical proposal for maximum 120 business days (including methods, sampling, consultations with stakeholders, data collection and management approaches, ethical considerations, reporting)

⃝ Financial offer (detailed itemized Gantt Chart for 120 business days with financial component for each activity)

• Fee for services to be provided – based on the deliverables in the Terms of Reference
• Wherever possible, indicate the itemized cost of the travel (air tickets etc.).

If short-listed based on the submitted application package, you may be contacted for an in-person interview, to discuss further details.

Appendix 1: Principles in Design and Approach

The following principles in addition to the standard considerations should be taken into contemplation other principles and guidelines are embedded in UNICEF values and guidelines.

Equity and Inclusiveness: UNICEF has an equity focus that informs the targeting of interventions and the need to address the specific barriers affecting marginalized groups. This is particularly important for integration of the minority and refugee adolescents as well as children with disabilities. Children in street situation, children at risk, refugee children, out of school children, children with disabilities and special needs, children with low socio-economic status, etc. are to be prioritized.

Life-cycle approach: UNICEF’s mandate spans the whole life cycle of children and adolescents and can ensure coherence and continuity in programming.

Participation and Engagement: Participation is a fundamental right of every child – children of all ages, from all communities, of all abilities, and in all parts of society. The perspectives of children are essential to ensure that the policies, services and facilities they use or affect them reflect and address their concerns, ideas and priorities. Children have unique insight into their own lives, which will offer important perspectives that are likely to be missed if excluded.

Child Safeguarding and Protection: Children and adolescents should be protected before, during, and after their participation in the programme. This includes physical, mental, and other aspects of their well-being and online, digital, and other environs to which they are exposed to. UNICEF guidelines for safeguarding, child (online) protection, and privacy protection as well as the global conventions and guidelines such as the ILO Convention No. 138 are to be considered during implementation. In addition, it includes consent from the parents or legal guardians for participation in the study, if any. Ref: UNICEF’s Child Safeguarding Toolkit for Business (2018)

Gender Sensitive and Responsive: The analysis of needs and capacities should also be at least gender sensitive and responsive.

Risk-informed Development-Based Interventions: This programme should be considered as a risk-informed development intervention with the set objectives.

Leveraging Networks and partnerships: Partnership and wide network engagement are keys to a successful delivery. The emphasis here is on technical support that well-positioned partners can provide; given their comparative advantage and network reach.

Monitoring and Evaluation: A robust Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) System should be in place with indicators. UNICEF will co-develop an M&E System with indicators for the pilot and main implementation phases.

References

Burd, H. & Hallsworth, M. (2016) Making the change: Behavioural factors in person- and community-centred approaches for health and wellbeing.

Hutchinson, S. (2013) Performance management: Theory and practice. London, UK: CIPD

UNICEF (2018) Child Safeguarding Toolkit for Business, May 2018.

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UNICEF offers reasonable accommodation for consultants/individual contractors with disabilities. This may include, for example, accessible software, travel assistance for missions or personal attendants. We encourage you to disclose your disability during your application in case you need reasonable accommodation during the selection process and afterwards in your assignment.

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations and UNICEF, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles and will therefore undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Background checks will include the verification of academic credential(s) and employment history. Selected candidates may be required to provide additional information to conduct a background check.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.

Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations and UNICEF’s policies and procedures, and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultants and individual contractors are responsible for determining their tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws.

The selected candidate is solely responsible to ensure that the visa (applicable) and health insurance required to perform the duties of the contract are valid for the entire period of the contract. Selected candidates are subject to confirmation of fully-vaccinated status against SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) with a World Health Organization (WHO)-endorsed vaccine, which must be met prior to taking up the assignment. It does not apply to consultants who will work remotely and are not expected to work on or visit UNICEF premises, programme delivery locations or directly interact with communities UNICEF works with, nor to travel to perform functions for UNICEF for the duration of their consultancy contracts.

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Added 8 months ago - Updated 8 months ago - Source: unicef.org