1. Background
As the world is embarking on the last Decade of Action towards achieving the 2030 Agenda, the motto Leaving-No-One-Behind (LNOB) needs to be urgently enacted. Disability Inclusion and Rights agenda has therefore become a very high priority across the UN system, seeking to support Member States to effectively implement the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). More particularly, on the UN corporate side, in June 2019, the UNSG launched the first-ever United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy (UNDIS), that establishes the foundation for systemic and sustainable change on disability inclusion across all pillars of the United Nations system. The UNDIS is a mandatory “Accountability Framework” for all UN Agencies, both at Headquarters and country levels.
Acknowledging these global challenges and strategic developments, UNESCO has set up an Intersectoral Task Team on Disability Rights and Inclusion, under the leadership and coordination of Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences (ADG/SHS). Through this new platform, disability issues shall be advanced from the angle of inclusion and rights, harnessing on the unique expertise from all UNESCO’s Sectors, to ensure impactful interventions for persons with disabilities at the national level, facilitate the upscaling of promising initiatives, and better position the Organisation within the UN system.
The UNESCO Task Team is mandated to conduct a strategic mapping of programmes and frameworks that exist within UNESCO worldwide, which should highlight the unique strength and values the Organisation can bring at the global, regional and national levels, and contribute to inform the discussions on strategic programing in the field of disability rights and inclusion.
2. Area of Work
Worldwide, it is estimated that 15% of the population have some type of disabilities, and face various barriers to inclusion. [1] This reality has become even more dramatic since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been noted that persons with disabilities had a higher level of vulnerability to the virus due to a likelihood of poor health at 42%, while the reduction in travel services and the implementation of restrictions have further compromised their living conditions.**[2]**
In compliance with the CRPD standards and requirement, UNESCO has a unique mandate to contribute to advancing the rights of persons with disabilities in many development sectors. As stated by Ms Audrey Azulay, UNESCO Director General, “we cannot allow persons with disabilities to be deprived of their fundamental right to participate fully in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the societies where they live.[3] From the CRPD perspectives, UNESCO has specific responsibilities and expertise in the fields of Education, Sciences, Culture, and Communication and Information, in support of Member States. UNESCO is a member of the UN Partnership for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD) and sits in the Management Committee of the affiliated MPTF. As such, the Organization takes part in designing the UN strategies and implementing programmes on disability inclusion at the global, regional, and national levels.
Throughout the years, UNESCO has deployed and leveraged various functions to deliver its work on disability rights and inclusion, which provides solid grounds for interventions at both the Headquarters and Field Offices level. These functions include: Standard-Setting; Laboratory of Ideas; Clearing House; Capacity-building; and Catalyst for international cooperation. In 2021, UNESCO seeks to further structure its programmes and interventions on disability issues in a strategic manner, in order to consolidate impact, upscale good practices and extend geographic coverage, ensure quality, and invest on the unique potential and contributions of the Organisation. The strategic mapping should be the first step towards such a strategic programming, by providing (i) an analytical mapping and typology of the existing frameworks and programmes; and (ii) a strategic analysis of UNESCO’s potential, added values, and niche areas that can shape a UNESCO Global Disability Strategy in the medium term.
3. Assignment
The contractor will be expected to perform the following tasks:
a. Conduct a literature review of UNESCO’s existing strategic documents and framework in order to clearly identify and analyse the level of commitment of the Organisation in the field of disability inclusion and rights; the existing programmatic entry points across the five Major Programmes; as well as the normative frameworks under UNESCO’s mandate, and the reports from UNESCO’s Internal Oversight Service (IOS) on inclusion in the Education programme;
b. Analyse the outcome of the existing projects and programmes on disability inclusion and rights that have been implemented by UNESCO worldwide (Headquarters and Field Offices) within the Medium-Term Strategy for 2014-2021 (document 37 C/4), and produce a typology of the interventions and their impacts. The contractor must develop a relevant typology model that can facilitate discussions on strategic programming.
c. Compile and cluster the research work, publications, tools, and communication materials that have been produced by UNESCO within the Medium-Term Strategy for 2014-2021 (document 37 C/4), in order to highlight the collection of resources that are available for corporate learning, programming and planning, as well as for knowledge and information management purposes.
d. Conduct online interviews with UNESCO Senior Managers, the ITT members, Directors of Field Offices, Programmes Officers, and key resource persons in order to understand better the scope of work, and the strength and weaknesses of the existing programmes, identify the niche areas and added values UNESCO should further invest on, and analyse the partnership schemes that exist and should be leveraged.
e. Conduct online Focus Groups Discussions (FGD) with partners and beneficiaries of UNESCO’s ongoing programmes, in order to understand the impacts for persons with disabilities, the national institutions, as well as the Organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs).
f. Develop a benchmark of Disability Strategies of the most relevant UN agencies and Development Aid Agencies, and conduct a SWOT analysis (workshops and meetings must be in online formats) of UNESCO’s interventions in the field of disability inclusion and strategy, in such a way that can inform UNESCO’s strategic discussions on its potential Global Disability Strategy.
g. Propose a draft Global Disability Strategy that can feed into UNESCO’s strategic planning in the medium term. Such a draft must translate UNESCO’s mandate and field of expertise into strategic interventions, identify the unique added value the Organisation can bring within the UN System, and learn from the ongoing programmes worldwide. Facilitate online workshops that can help shape strategic discussions within UNESCO.
4. Timeframe and Deliverables **
The above-mentioned tasks must be undertaken within a period of 120 days from the date of signature of the contract.
The expected Deliverables are the following:
· Analytical typology of UNESCO’s key interventions in the field of disability inclusion and rights worldwide;
· Inventory of UNESCO’s tools, and knowledge and communication products that can be strategically leveraged in the field of disability inclusion and rights;
· Draft Global Disability Strategy capturing UNESCO’s main strength and expertise that can make a difference within the UN System. This should include a detailed SWOT analysis, as well as an analysis of potential partnerships and resources mobilisation UNESCO should invest on.
[1] UN Flagship Report on Disability and Development| 2018 - Realizing the SDGs by, for and with persons with disabilities, 2018, p.24.
[2] Mind the gap: how Covid-19 measures have highlighted the daily discrimination faced by disabled people, July 2020.
[3] Message from Ms Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, 3 December 2020.
How to apply:
1. How to apply
Interested parties may submit the EOI with:
A Technical proposal
List of experts in the team
A Financial proposal
to vacancies.harare@unesco.org, with Subject “Strategic Mapping of UNESCO’s work on Disability Inclusion and Rights”.
Deadline for submission is 14 September 2021, 12 midnight Paris Time.
See the Call on UNESCO's Website: https://en.unesco.org/news/call-expression-interest-strategic-mapping-unescos-work-disability-inclusion-and-rights