Negotiated procurement procedure with open competition for the development of a learning package on disability-inclusive Health in humanitarian action

Humanity and Inclusion, also known as Handicap International, and its German National Association Handicap International e.V., (hereafter also: HI) are successfully implementing different projects worldwide. Within the Phase 3-Leave No One Behind project, we aim to develop an accessible learning package to be delivered Face to Face (hereafter: F2F) or online, consisting of 7-9 modules on Disability-Inclusive Health in Humanitarian Action.

Context / Background

In 2019, the launch of the IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action marked an important point in efforts to ensure that persons with disabilities are fully included as both beneficiaries and actors in humanitarian response. A Reference Group (hereafter: DRG) was set-up to sustain gains made and further advance disability inclusive humanitarian action, for a real impact to be seen ‘on the ground’.

The DRG is a platform fostering cooperation between UN, International Agencies, NGOs and organizations of persons with disabilities in promoting disability inclusive humanitarian response, including, but not limited to, supporting the development, dissemination and implementation of key guidance materials, including the IASC Guidelines. Within the framework of Phase 2 of the Leave No One Behind (hereafter: LNOB) project, the Working Group 1 of the DRG developed in 2021 and 2022 a Learning Package of 7 modules on “Introduction to Inclusive Humanitarian Action” around the introduction and cross-cutting chapters of the IASC Guidelines.

Phase 3 of the LNOB project supports the operationalisation of the IASC Guidelines on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities through foundational and pilot activities on various levels. Phase 2 of the Leave No One Behind project demonstrated an ongoing need for expert sector-specific skills and knowledge on inclusive humanitarian action. Based on the already developed materials of Phase 1 and 2, the ongoing regional and global capacity development initiatives on quality Health programming and the volume of support requests by humanitarian actors – including capacity development on disability-inclusive Health – , Phase 3 will develop, pilot, and globally disseminate two sector-specific learning packages in an inter-agency approach. The learning package on disability-inclusive Health will be based on and complementary to the aforementioned learning package to support the operationalisation of the IASC Guidelines for Health actors.

The Online and Face to Face learning modules aims to sensitise, increase understanding and support first skills development among Humanitarian Actors on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in Health programming, e.g. needs assessments, planning and monitoring, as well as accountability to affected population. The work of this consultancy is financially supported by the “Phase 3 – Leave no one behind!: Mainstreaming Disability in Humanitarian Action” project, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.

Description of the required service

We are looking for a consultant or group of consultants to compile and develop content to support the design of an accessible learning package that can be delivered face to face or online comprising of seven to nine modules depending on needs identified from Health actors, 60 to 180 minutes each. The direct target audience of the learning package are those implementing health services in humanitarian action, as well as trainers and facilitators (with and without disabilities) who will deliver the learning package themselves with and without disabilities from the humanitarian field working in the Health sector.

The learning package on inclusive Health will be aligned with Chapter 15 of the IASC Guidelines and adapt the standard modules from the DRG learning package on inclusive humanitarian action to the Health context, ensuring coherence and avoiding duplication, as well as co-creating and/or adapting additional modules based on the needs and priorities of Health actors, aligned to the IASC Guidelines and global Health standards using existing learning modules as much as possible. Preliminary consultation around gaps indicate that access to quality health care, inclusive health emergencies, communicable disease and/or accessible communication for health professionals are likely subjects to feature in the modules.

The content and produced files should then be adapted based on feedback received from an advisory group of Health actors that will be built for the purpose of contributing to this learning package, adhere to accessibility standards for persons with different types of impairments and combine presentations of key messages and concepts with scenario-work, exercises and self-reflections. A facilitator guide adapted from the pre-existing DRG modules needs to be developed for the learning package, including a section on inclusive facilitation. Pre-existing training materials should be sourced from Health actors to contribute to the learning package.

The facilitator guide and the content of the learning sessions are to follow a modular structure and need to be developed with flexibility in mind. Flexibility in this regard means that any of the modules can be tailored to different humanitarian contexts, actors and/or humanitarian sectors.

The facilitator package should include interest and needs assessments and self-evaluation forms for each, training participants and facilitators.

The consultant should be engaged in the aforementioned advisory group of Health actors to ensure cohesive communication as to the contents and design of the learning package.

Accessibility policy

All documents of the training package should follow international standards of accessibility as according to the WCAG 2.2 standards.

This means that the documents (including pdf, word files, and ppts), texts, images, forms, sounds, etc. should be accessible, meeting the varying requirements of persons with different types of impairments and being understandable by as many people as possible without discrimination based on impairment, gender, age, or other factors.

Deliverables

• Disability Inclusive Health Learning Package:
  • Preparatory work – Regular meetings with Humanitarian Health Actors as part of an advisory group, literature review of pre-existing inclusive Health capacity building materials.
  • Creation / adaptation of learning package – PowerPoints including suitable illustrations and activities for content; a Facilitator Guide including session plan with details of each module, its contents, and learning technique; Interest and Needs Assessments; Evaluation sheets for learning sessions participants and facilitator/ trainer; Group and Individual Worksheets, including scenarios, videos, sound bites or case studies; relevant resources including but not limited to handouts.

Bidder’s profile

• Background in social sciences, public health or other health-related field (Masters-level preferrable)
• At least 5 years of experience in designing, implementing and/or evaluating health programs
• Previous experience with HI and/or in humanitarian response/Fragile and Conflict-Affected Situations is an asset
• Proven experience on working on disability inclusion, protection, and Health
• Experience on working on age, gender, protection, and Health is an asset
• Commitment and knowledge of health equity, inclusion, and participation using disability, gender and age lens
• Proven strong experience in packaging content for interactive face-to-face learning and sensitization modules, as well as Training of Trainer packages for humanitarian audiences (samples of work will be requested upon shortlisting)
• Strong intercultural skills
• At ease with distance and autonomous work, respecting deadlines
• Experience working with audiences in an inclusive manner, that is persons with and without disabilities
• Demonstrated experience in working with accessible online collaboration platforms for learning such as e.g. Padlet, Mural, Jamboard, Cryptopad or similar
• Knowledge and/or experience in producing accessible digital materials
• Excellence in English

As persons with disabilities were involved in most of the learning modules developed, we strongly encourage, also for this piece of work, applications of consultants that are persons with lived experience of disability and/or consultants that are working in partnership with Organizations of Persons with disabilities.

Contract and Sub-contracting

We intend to conclude one contract for the service as described in this call. An award in form of separate lots is not envisioned.

Sub-contracting for specific works such as the creation of graphics, accessibility checks, or similar is allowed but needs to be disclosed to and approved in writing by HI and has to be coordinated by the main contractor. Disclosure of intend to sub-contract certain parts should already be stated in the initial bid.

Note, that sub-contracting does not release the winning bidder from its responsibility to HI and the winning bidder needs to ensure that any sub-contract adheres to the agreed upon standards, code-of-conduct and other contractual agreements.