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. Using 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.

While people with disabilities (PwD) are not an explicit principal target beneficiary of GREAT, disability equity remains a key program priority to ensure economic opportunities also reach, benefit and empower 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, agricultural and cross cutting sectors to 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 to capture this unique market experience and translate them for policy and program management.

Currently data on disability equity is dispersed in both formal and informal channels, including in qualitative results embedded in GREAT’s Management Information System database, program reports to partners and as project-level subject matter knowledge held by partners and project officers.

Communication and advocacy are 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. As a first step, GREAT would like to highlight program progress and capture both the policy and programming lessons that can help influence policy and program decisions and meaningfully embed disability equity in livelihood and market programs. Hence, GREAT is seeking a service provider (either a technical expert or a consultancy organisation) to develop useful knowledge products that can guide best practices for our market partners and implementors, and other development practitioners experiencing similar challenges and opportunities.

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

Step 1: This TOR is focused on developing technical knowledge products on disability equity. The products capture stories of change, recommendations for adaptive management, lessons learnt to influence policy and programming, and to highlight successes and demonstrate the importance of effective disability integration in building markets.

Step 2: the knowledge products can then 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 the general public and targeted stakeholders to promote best practices for our market partners and implementors, and other development practitioners.

Step 3: A broad-scale communications campaign is currently underway to amplify whole-of-program achievements. The communications campaign is separate from, but complementary to, this more targeted need for disability-focused equity advocacy and learning effort.

A broad-scale communications campaign is currently underway to amplify whole-of-program achievements. The communications campaign is separate from, but complementary to, this more targeted need for disability-focused equity advocacy and learning effort. Once knowledge products are developed, a separate process (including separate procurement) will be undertaken to translate the progress and achievements captured in the knowledge products into a suite of communication products to promote and celebrate the program’s successes in disability equity. This includes stories of change for PwD entrepreneurs, employees and the market actors enabling the market changes for greater disability participation.

SUMMARY OF ASSIGNMENT

GREAT is seeking a service provider who can capture stories of change and lessons learnt for disability equity in the market systems development of tourism and agricultural sectors, and/or cross cutting sectors of digital transformation and business leadership. These stories of change will be captured in a series of analytical products (knowledge products) that document lessons learnt and advocate recommendations for best practices in disability inclusive market systems development in collaboration with GREAT experts.

Objectives of disability equity knowledge products:

• Influencing development programing practices through documenting and sharing knowledge on best practices for adaptive management
• 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
• Advocating for government support for an enabling business environment and employment market accessible for PwD through strategic communications with key government actors.

The specific types of knowledge products should be proposed by the service provider and confirmed with GREAT; each product needs to be fit-for-purpose for its advocacy intent. The service provider will need to:

• Map key stakeholders who should be targeted in sharing knowledge products, including an analysis of what they need to know and the format best suited for uptake
• Devise a strategy for advocacy of the knowledge products
• Using a combination of desk based data analysis and supplementary interviews with key informants, compile and synthesize research
• Draft a suite of fit-for-purpose knowledge products, such as case studies, policy brief, good practice note, essays, etc.

Themes and issues could include (but not limited to):

• Policy and business enabling environment reforms needed for PwD meaningful participation in market systems
• The business case for reasonable adjustments and including PwD in market value chains
• Practical means of changing social norms and economic practices for greater PwD participation
• Mainstreaming disability equity in non-disability targeted programs and the perils of retrofitting
• The economic potential of PwD participating in Vietnam’s digital transformation and in agriculture and tourism sectors, and what is needed to achieve this

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 knowledge products
• Survey and research for disability stories of change, including gathering data and forming a narrative from PwD beneficiaries and formal and informal market actors (family carers, community leaders and members, lead businesses and government officials). Research is mostly desk based with supplementary interviews with target informants.
• Produce engaging, persuasive and fit-for purpose knowledge products
• Implement strategic dissemination and advocacy with target audiences
• Evaluate and report on advocacy results
The key assignment deliverables are:
• Draft knowledge concept and work plan, including identification of appropriate dissemination partners (in English)
• Draft suite of knowledge products (3-5) for the GREAT program (in both Vietnamese and English)
• An evaluation report of the advocacy (approx. 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

ELIGIBILITY
This opportunity is open to service providers with the following experience:

• Expertise in research and writing a range of analytical knowledge products (policy briefs, position papers, good practice guidance notes, etc) for a range of audiences.
• Expertise in advocacy strategies for research uptake
• Understanding and experience of disability inclusion and economic empowerment in markets and value chains strongly preferred

EVALUATION PROCESS
Please send your proposal to develop knowledge products on disability equity within GREAT’s market systems, outlining your concept, methodology and approach and proposed products.

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

• Proposal: 60 points
• Organisational experience and team: 40 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 Friday, 26th December 2025 with the subject line “Application for GREAT Disability Knowledge Products”. 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.