Disability Strategy Review-Consultancy

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives. Founded in 1933 at the request of Albert Einstein, the IRC offers lifesaving care and life-changing assistance to refugees forced to flee from war or disaster. At work today in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, we restore safety, dignity, and hope to millions who are uprooted and struggling to endure. The IRC leads the way from harm to home.                                        

The IRC opened the country program in Afghanistan in 1988. Our programs span the range from humanitarian relief to early recovery and development activities, focusing on child protection, education, economic wellbeing, health, and power. The IRC works in 9 provinces throughout Afghanistan, among which some of the most security volatile, and employs over 700 staff.

Purpose of the consultancy:

Afghanistan is home to more than 1.5 million people with some kind of physical disability as a result of the ongoing conflict. The IRC Afghanistan is looking for an eligible, qualified, technically competent consultant to conduct a disability strategy review. The disability strategy review will define programing appropriate and principled entry points, funding opportunities, partners, and builds IRC’s buy-in through the process.

Methodology:

The IRC anticipates that the completion of the deliverables (specified in the next section) will require/include reviews of the existing secondary data, collecting primary data and Afghanistan contextual documents. The following can be considered as a model framework:

• KIIs with key stakeholders including but not limited to government, local partners, think tanks, academic institutions, donors and experts (10-15)
• KIIs / Survey with IRC Afghanistan staff (8-10)
• KIIs / Survey with IRC Technical Unit and Regional staff (5-7)

Deliverables and Reporting Requirements:

There are three key deliverables for this review process:

Deliverable 1: Strategy Development Framework and work plan (20% of the total payment)

Endorsed by the IRC, the strategy development framework should include:

• Summary of strategy development framework (timeline, collection methods, key actions, or other tools deemed necessary by the consultant and the IRC Afghanistan)

The specific tasks of this consultancy will be defined in agreement with the selected consultant during the framework development. 

Deliverable 2: Draft Review Report (60% of the total payment) 

The consultant will deliver a draft review report and strategy to the IRC by April 30^th, 2021 which will include the following sections:

Mapping stakeholders, including donors and other organizations (including women-led organizations, civil society organizations), engaged disability programing.

Review of recommendations on types and quality of disability interventions, gaps and barriers to successful implementation, and actors that should be engaged;

Provide reflections on key enabling and impeding factors that affect the success in disability programing; 

Mapping of key government actors and departments responsible for disability programing.

Identify opportunities and role of IRC in disability sector based on historical experience, technical areas, and resources available.

Interviews with IRC staff, partners, and donors.

Provide directions for the IRC to become a disability-friendly employer and strategies to identify and recruit people with disabilities

Support IRC to identify potential partners (in particular local) and relevant actors that will help expand its disability portfolio by building on the technical expertise and focus areas of our work.

Share a list of recommendations for IRC’s future interventions in each sector.

Co-facilitate a disability programing workshop (remote) to validate findings from the strategy review.

1. Based on the findings of the sub-sector review, the consultant will organize a design workshop (could be remote or in-person) where he/she will present the findings as well as kick start the design process of the disability strategy.
2. Draft disability strategy

• Summary of key findings from the sub-sector review
• Review of current IRC Afghanistan programming and mapping of IRC’s strengths and weaknesses against government/donor strategies and stakeholder landscape to mainstream disability into programing and become more inclusive when it comes to implementation
• Key strategic direction in mainstreaming disability in each sub-sector

Deliverable 3: Final Reports and presentation (20% of the total payment)

• Finalize the strategy review report following feedback from the IRC
• Present the validated strategy review report to the IRC Team in one workshop (consider remote interactive meeting)

• Key strategic direction where the IRC should focus on

• Share a folder with all research related report, documents, etc

The IRC anticipates that completion of the three deliverables under this consultancy will take around 12-15 days of commitment.