RFP for Strengthening participation of Persons with Disabilities in the workplace

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About the Organization

As the lead United Nations agency on international development, UNDP works in 170 countries and territories to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality. We help countries develop policies, leadership skills, partnerships and institutional capabilities to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Our work is centred around six core development areas, known as our signature solutions: poverty and inequality, governance, resilience, environment, energy and gender equality.

UNDP’s mandate is to end poverty, build democratic governance, rule of law, and inclusive institutions. We advocate for change, and connect countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life.

About the Proposal  

Strengthening participation of Persons with Disabilities in the workplace

According to the National Census 2011, there are 2.68 crore Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) in India, constituting 2.21 percent of the total population (44% being women). It is widely documented that PwDs are more likely to experience adverse socioeconomic outcomes, such as educational barriers, access to adequate healthcare and social care, higher poverty rates, and continue to face barriers to exercise their constitutional and legal rights. They are also less likely to be employed and participate in the country’s labour force, most confined to jobs in India’s informal economy.

inactive (that is, neither in employment nor unemployed) in the labour market due to manifold barriers, compared with four in ten persons without disabilities. They also continue to face stigma and patronizing attitudes, including within the private sector, whereby they can be perceived as a cause for charity in need of protection and passive assistance rather than active citizens who contribute to the economy and their society. Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, including factors like gender, race and sexual orientation, can contribute to further marginalization.

Some reported challenges faced by PwDs in seeking employment include low literacy levels, lack of access to skills and technology, misinformation, prejudice and access to information on job opportunities; a combination of many of these factors leading to their inadvertent exclusion from India’s formal workforce.

Despite sound legal frameworks, through India’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 2006 and its national application through the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, these challenges related to equal opportunity and representation of PwDs in India’s workforce remain real and constant.

According 2023 workforce data reported by Nifty 50 constituent companies as part of their annual disclosures, only 10% of these 50 companies reported having more than 1% PwDs on their rolls, with four of them being public sector companies, the latter being unable to meet the mandated reservation of 4% in all jobs for PwDs, in compliance with the 2016 law. Such abysmal representation of PwDs speaks directly to a lack of an enabling environment and infrastructure for PwDs in the corporate sector and poor implementation of the equal opportunity principles embodied in the law. Data on PWDs in India is significantly under-reported, limited, and outdated, and this poses another substantial challenge.

The 2030 Agenda explicitly incorporates the rights and needs of PWDs across the sustainable development goals (SDGs 4,8,10,11), demonstrating a foundational commitment to inclusivity and equity in achieving sustainable development for all. Furthermore, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) establishes the corporate responsibility on the subject, offering tools for businesses to respect the rights of PwDs within their operations, value chains, business relationships, and in society at large.

Given this context, it is critical that India’s economic growth story is aligned and supported through active private sector participation in creating an inclusive and equitable work ecosystem, that enables enhanced access to opportunities and well-being for Persons with Disabilities.

Description of the Required Services:  

The purpose of this assignment is to deepen engagement and dialogue with the private sector in India (especially Small and Medium Business Enterprises and Representatives of cluster and district industry associations and chambers) for creating an enabling work environment for persons with disabilities, leading to their enhanced employment and participation in India’s workforce. The Service Provider is expected to achieve this through specifically designed modules (as power point presentations) and workshops (atleast 4 in person workshops – two in tier 1 cities1 and two in tier 22 cities) for business representatives, aligned with national and international legal frameworks on the subject and customized to the current baseline of the Indian Private Sector on disability inclusion.

The content and workshop development as part of this assignment need to offer practical actions to the private sector in strengthening their existing policies and infrastructure on ensuring equal opportunity for persons with disabilities.

The overall objective of this assignment is to:

• To advance UNDP's commitment to the "Leave No One Behind" agenda by focusing on innovative and strategic approaches that enhance participation and improve outcomes for PWDs, specifically in relation to the private sector.
• To deepen understanding of the private sector (especially Small and Medium Business Enterprises and Representatives of cluster and district industry associations and chambers) on the rights of persons with disabilities including creation of enabling work environments for persons with disabilities by businesses.
• To unpack specific challenges and barriers faced by persons with disabilities in the context of business activities, including labour rights – proposing concrete actions for business consideration and uptake.

Description of Expected Outputs to be Delivered:

At the very minimum, the Service Provider is expected to cover the following deliverables:

• Development of Training Modules
• Workshop delivery: including organization and execution; interactive sessions
• Stakeholder engagement
• Monitoring and evaluation including final report

The key deliverables include:

• An inception report, outlining the implementation plan with timelines, areas to be covered in the training modules, stakeholder mapping and business outreach plan, pre and post assessment questionnaires, proposed outputs timelines.
• A comprehensive training module on disability inclusion for the private sector. This will be based on any necessary primary and secondary research and stakeholder mapping required.
• Delivery of atleast 4 in person workshops for business representatives (with 2 workshops each conducted in tier 13 and tier 24 cities respectively and atleast 25 participants in each workshop). This will include cost of venue and related logistics (food arrangements etc.).
• A final report (maximum 7-10 pages) outlining the key learnings from the workshop, along with a summary of the pre and post assessment questionnaire undertaken by the business representative.

Eligibility

• Demonstrated experience of at least 5 years working on the rights of persons with disabilities, with a deep understanding of the disability rights ecosystem in India.
• Should have a proven track record of designing, implementing, and management of workshops and training programs on promoting DEI policies and accessibility requirements, with successful execution of at least 5 assignments for government, public sector, private sector, or industry bodies related to inclusive employment practices and accessibility requirements.

How to Apply

Deadline: 14-Aug-24 @ 08:00 AM (New York time)

Offers must be submitted directly in NextGenERP supplier portal following this link: http://supplier.quantum.partneragencies.org using the profile you may have in the portal.

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Tags Disability and Inclusion Entrepreneurship Healthcare and Healthtech Others