ABOUT COWATER INTERNATIONAL

Cowater International is a leading global development consulting company and has successfully delivered a portfolio of over 2,500 projects and assignments in more than 95 countries. We work with governments, private sector actors and communities implementing projects that support socio-economic development, institutional strengthening, environmental improvements and advance equal opportunities for all. We are a diverse and experienced team committed to building a better tomorrow for the people we serve.

ABOUT THE GREAT PROGRAM

GREAT, a 10-year flagship initiative of Australian Government, managed by Cowater International since 2016, focuses on women’s economic empowerment in Vietnam’s ethnically diverse north-west region. Utilising a market systems development approach, GREAT is working with partners to sustainably grow the agricultural and tourism sector in Lao Cai and Son La. The provinces fertile land, natural beauty and cultural diversity, presents significant economic opportunity for areas’ ethnic minority women, including those with disability..

The objectives of the GREAT Program are:
Objective 1: Women, particularly ethnic minority women living in Son La and Lao Cai provinces have improved economic benefits.
Objective 2: Women, particularly ethnic minority women living in Son La and Lao Cai provinces, have increased confidence and social status, including more balanced workloads and greater decision making within the home, workplace, and community.
Objective 3: Women, particularly ethnic minority women and household members living in Son La and Lao Cai provinces benefit from more gender responsive, inclusive, and effective provincial and national policies, plans, strategies, and programs.

Disability equity is an important program priority to ensure economic opportunities also reach, benefit and empower people with disabilities (PwD) within the market systems that GREAT is seeking to build. We work to ensure interventions in market services and systems are accessible and engender meaningful participation, including through mainstreamed and targeted interventions for disability. PwD as employees and entrepreneurs bring uniquely valuable insights, innovations and capabilities to tourism and agricultural markets, but experience uniquely different and compounded barriers to access and participation than ethnic minority women. This difference in experience among GREAT beneficiaries means GREAT has had to develop specific disability measures to enable tourism and agricultural sectors maximise the economic potential that PwD bring. As program implementation is well underway, GREAT is expecting some tangible results for disability equity, and thus there is a need for capturing this unique market experience.

Communication is critical to sharing Australian Government and GREAT successes, scaling up impactful practices, and strengthening the program’s capacity for influence and advocacy. GREAT is keen to harness our program results by continually adapting and improving market practices for greater disability equity. Hence, GREAT is seeking a service provider to develop a suite of communications products for the general public and targeted stakeholders to promote best practices for our market partners and implementors, and other development practitioners experiencing similar disability challenges and opportunities.

These communications products will be one key step in a broader communications process.

Step 1: A separate activity to develop technical knowledge products on disability equity within the GREAT is underway and can be used as source material for the development of communications products. Core findings and achievements captured in these knowledge products (such as case studies, policy briefs and good practice notes) will need to be translated into visually attractive communications stories and materials.

Step 2: This TOR will focus on the development of a suite of communications products for the general public and targeted stakeholders to promote best practices for our market partners and implementors, and other development practitioners. More detailed described below.

Step 3: The service provider will work with GREAT to identify suitable channels to distribute the communications products developed from Step 2 to maximise reach to the target audience.

SUMMARY OF ASSIGNMENT

GREAT is seeking a service provider (preferably an organisation) who can capture stories of change for disability equity in the market systems development of tourism and agricultural sectors, and/or cross cutting sectors of digital transformation and business leadership. They would translate lessons learnt from knowledge products and best practices in disability inclusive market systems development through a range of polished fit-for-purpose communications products (in collaboration with GREAT experts). The production of products could include (but not limited to):

– Video shorts for social media and web channels
– Infographics
– Interactive articles which can be leveraged to be published on mass media channels
– Videos
– Events

The service provider would develop and execute a dissemination and advocacy plan for both promoting GREAT achievements through media channels and for strategic advocacy to target stakeholders of disability programming best practices.

Objectives of disability equity communications include:
• Influencing development programing practices through documenting and sharing knowledge on best practices for adaptive management. Target audience: development practitioners, donors and government.
• Inspiring market changes and uptake of best practice in disability inclusive market systems development through sharing success stories and practical business measures for enhanced disability inclusion in the agricultural and tourism value chains, and cross cutting sectors. Target audience: development practitioners, donors, private sector and government.
• Advocating for government support for an enabling business environment and employment market accessible for PwD through strategic communications with key government actors. Target audience: government and donors.
• Normalising disability visibility in business and community through celebrating and promoting disability voices, perspectives, strengths and achievements in business to mass audiences. Target audience: private sector and government.

Key messages of the campaign (to be refined with selected service provider):

High level

• GREAT is supporting Vietnam develop inclusive markets, particularly in agriculture and tourism sectors, digital transformation and business leadership in Son La and Lao Cai provinces, that is accessible to all, including persons with disability.
• PwD are a powerful resource for economic growth in Vietnam, as people with capabilities needed in the workforce and as business leaders. People with disabilities are people with capabilities.
• When you include and empower people with disabilities as employees and business owners, everyone benefits – the household, the community, the business sector and the national economy – not just the PwD.

Tailored messaging could be

• Reasonable adjustments to a business for disability access can be easily and economically achieved, and the benefits outweigh the costs
• You can trust that PwD as workers and service providers in tourism, hospitality and agriculture, provide high quality good and services.
• PwD provide unique perspectives and experiences that can drive business solutions and innovations in tourism and agriculture – collaborate with them
• PwD are an asset to a business brand/image as it signals the business is community minded and values all people
• Other messages, depending on the operational context
Potential sectors to be highlighted:
• Digital Transformation
• Women’s Entrepreneurship and Leadership
• Hospitality Training
• Tourism Destination Management
• Bamboo shoot
• Medicinal plants

PROCESS AND DELIVERABLES
The service provider and GREAT team are expected to work closely together to complete the key steps as outlined below:

• Briefing with GREAT team to understand background and priorities
• Develop concept and action plan, including dissemination and advocacy strategy, for suite of disability communications and knowledge products
• Survey suitable stories of change and translate knowledge products for promotion advocacy
• Produce engaging and persuasive communications products
• Implement strategic dissemination and advocacy with target audiences
• Evaluate and report on campaign results

The key assignment deliverables are:

• Draft communications concept and work plan, including identification of appropriate dissemination partners (in English)
• Finalised communications campaign concept and work plan (in English)
• A number of communications products for the GREAT program to be produced (target to be established) (in both Vietnamese and English)
• A significant number of audience is reached via communications activities (target to be established)
• An evaluation report of the campaign (about 5 pages)

The specific timing of each step and deliverable will be discussed after signing the contract.

BUDGET
The maximum budget available is AUD 20,000 and needs to cover all costs needed to design, deliver, and evaluate the communications campaign (excluding travelling, accommodation and meal costs).

ELIGIBILITY
This opportunity is open to organisations with the following experience:

• Communications firms with strong profile with minimum 5 years of experience in communications, marketing and media campaigns
• Experience in delivering communications geared at diverse target audience groups, including but not limited to production of videos, articles and implementation of online/offline events
• Strong relationships with media agencies, including television, and online news both locally in Vietnam, regionally and internationally
• Experience in formulating and compiling compelling and persuasive stories of change, using strong evidence, high levels of safeguarding and research ethics protocols and ability to tailor them for different uses with a range of key stakeholders
• Excellent analytical skills and report writing skills in both Vietnamese and English
• Understanding and experience of disability inclusion and economic empowerment in the agricultural and tourism sectors is preferred

EVALUATION PROCESS
An evaluation of proposals will be based out of a maximum of 100 points and composed of:

• Creative concept: 30 points
• Organisational experience and team: 50 points
• Proposal’s value for money: 20 points

A final budget will be negotiated with the preferred Applicant that is inclusive of all activity costs.

The successful Applicant will need to sign a contract that is compliant with Cowater International’s Head Contract with the Australian Government including the full copyright ownership of all deliverables from this assignment.

HOW TO APPLY

Proposals then need to be sent to recruitment@aus4equalityvn.org before 5pm Hanoi time on 5 December 2025 with the subject line “Application for GREAT Disability Equity Communications Campaign”. Late applications will not be considered.

The proposal needs to include:

(i) A cover letter
(ii) Business registration of the Applicant
(iii) The Applicant’s experience relevant to the assignment and proposed team member (maximum four pages)
(iv) Proposed concept (Applicants may choose the length and format for presenting their concept. Note that clear, concise proposals will be more favorably reviewed.)
(v) Proposed budget – Please send quotation for the proposed activities. We will finalise the budget upon agreement with the selected Applicant.