Living Independently and Being Included in the Community (LIBC) with Disabilities.

Dear Prospective Applicants:

The United States Government, represented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID/Bangladesh) is seeking Concept Papers from qualified organizations that will foster the equal rights of all persons with disabilities to live independently and be included in the community (LIBC).

In compliance with the Agency's Disability Policy, USAID continues to work toward fuller inclusion of people with disabilities in our foreign policy and development efforts.  All awards (grants or cooperative agreements) under this request for concept papers applications will be administered through and managed by USAID/Bangladesh.

USAID/Bangladesh seeks concept notes that foster the equal rights of all persons with disabilities to live independently and be included in the community (LIBC), in accordance with CRPD Article 19

Based on the LIBC framework, concept notes will address the challenges that persons with disability in Bangladesh face for living independently and being included in the community. In doing so, interested applicants shall examine the opportunity for a wide range of advocacy and public awareness activities for both relevant stakeholders and beneficiaries; establish mechanisms to ensure access to available services for persons with disability; and utilize existing set-ups to engage persons with disability in mainstream community activities and development programs.  The promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment will be thoughtfully considered into the main objectives, activities, and monitoring and evaluation plans of all applications. Within the LIBC framework, USAID/Bangladesh will prioritize submissions that demonstrate robust participation and involvement of disabled persons organizations (DPOs).

Illustrative activities may include but are not limited to:

• Increase public outreach and advocacy activities: In Bangladesh, most of the citizens are not aware of the rights of disabled people as stated in section 16 of Bangladesh Disability Rights and Protection Act (DRPA) 2013. The proposed intervention will develop and disseminate culturally sensitive public education campaigns for beneficiaries and other stakeholders’ i.e. family, community, local authority, DRPA committee members, service providers, educational institutions to ensure wider dissemination of information on disability rights. The activity will also actively engage with the Bangladesh Ministry of Social Welfare, DPOs, service providers and other relevant stakeholders to implement the Bangladesh Disability Rights and Protection Act of 2013, at both the local and national level to ensure access to services and foster a climate of non-discrimination against people with disabilities.

• Establish mechanisms to ensure access to available services: The DRPA establishes both national and local level committees as the primary forum for resolving disability rights disputes. However, in reality, most of the local level committees’ are inactive. The proposed intervention will work with DRPA local level committees, grassroots DPOs, local authorities, government and private entities, educational institutions, Disability Service Centers, employers and other stakeholders so they can proactivity engage with person with disabilities (PWD), to understand their needs and link them to available community services including education, health, livelihood training, employment, etc.

• Mainstream person with disabilities in community activities and development programs: Successful efforts to mainstream PWDs require effective and efficient coordination across a broad range of stakeholders. To ensure coordinated and effective partnerships, the activity will work with the DRPA committees, local authorities, government and private entities, Disability Service Centers, employers and other stakeholders so they can understand the issue more deeply and ensure reasonable accommodation for PWDs. The activity will make sure that both men and women with disabilities are empowered economically, helping them mainstream into the community more sustainably. The activity will also ensure that PWDs are active members of the union level committees and DRPA local level committees so that they can articulate their needs and ensure that they are part of the national policy dialogue and an integral part of the mainstream development agenda.

• Development and effective implementation of deinstitutionalization strategies and plans to transition away from institutional care settings for persons with disabilities;

• Provision of accessible, affordable, and sustainable community-based supports and services to facilitate persons with disabilities living independently and being included in the community;

• Development and/or effective implementation of laws, policies, and practices that support persons with disabilities exercising their legal capacity, freedom of choice, and control over decisions affecting their lives with the maximum level of self-determination and interdependence in society (e.g. through supported vs. substituted decision-making);

• Establishment and/or strengthening of consumer-controlled disability resource centers (often referred to as “independent living centers” in the U.S.) that promote the full independence and participation of persons with disabilities in society, including through advocacy related to the rights of persons with disabilities;

• Adoption and/or effective implementation of monitoring mechanisms related to living independently and being included in the community, including ensuring such mechanisms prioritize DPO participation.

  Proposed projects should complement and be reflected in USAID/Bangladesh’s Country Development Cooperation Strategy located at: https://www.usaid.gov, and/or other strategy documents and be guided by the values and provisions set forth by the CRPD.

  Projects that address targeted needs of persons with disabilities may be considered. Projects that highlight the needs of marginalized groups, such as women and girls, individuals who are deaf, deaf-blind, those with developmental or psychosocial disabilities, and members of the LGBTI community are encouraged. All programs, regardless of implementing partner, must verify significant involvement of persons with disabilities, especially women with disabilities in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the project.