Deadline: 05-Sep-26
The World Food Programme (WFP) Iraq Country Office is seeking qualified research institutions, Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), and specialized civil society organizations to conduct a qualitative assessment of disability inclusion across selected WFP-supported project sites in Iraq. The assignment will examine accessibility, participation barriers, communication, services, and feedback mechanisms, with an indicative budget of 26,000,000 IQD (approximately US$20,000) for a three-month project.
What Is the WFP Iraq Disability Inclusion Assessment?
The World Food Programme is commissioning an independent field-level disability inclusion assessment in Iraq to better understand how persons with disabilities experience WFP-supported programmes and services.
The assessment complements WFP’s internal Disability Inclusion Self-Assessment. While the internal process examines organisational systems and practices, this field assessment will focus on the experiences of people with disabilities and their communities.
The assignment is aligned with:
- WFP Disability Inclusion Roadmap
- United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy
- Disability-inclusive humanitarian programming
- Community-based qualitative research
- Inclusive programme design and accountability
What Is the Purpose of the Assessment?
The main purpose is to identify whether WFP-supported assistance and programme locations are accessible, inclusive, and responsive to persons with disabilities.
The assessment will generate evidence about:
- Accessibility of programme sites
- Accessibility of WFP assistance and services
- Communication accessibility
- Feedback and complaints mechanisms
- Barriers to participation
- Experiences of persons with disabilities
- Experiences of caregivers
- Community perceptions of inclusion
- Existing good practices
- Opportunities for improving disability-inclusive programming
The findings will be used to strengthen future WFP programming in Iraq and inform the Iraq Country Office Disability Inclusion Capacity Action Plan.
What Will the Selected Organisation Do?
The selected entity will be responsible for designing and implementing a qualitative assessment.
Key responsibilities are expected to include:
- Developing the assessment methodology
- Designing qualitative research tools
- Identifying and engaging relevant participants
- Conducting field-level data collection
- Consulting persons with disabilities and caregivers
- Engaging local communities
- Assessing programme accessibility and inclusiveness
- Identifying barriers to participation
- Documenting good practices
- Analysing qualitative findings
- Developing practical recommendations
- Preparing and submitting the final assessment report
The approach should be participatory and disability-inclusive rather than relying solely on institutional or administrative information.
Who Should Be Consulted?
The assessment is expected to engage directly with people who experience WFP-supported services and programmes.
Potential participants include:
- Persons with disabilities
- Caregivers
- Community members
- Relevant local stakeholders
- Other groups involved in programme delivery or accessibility
Direct engagement is important because it allows the assessment to capture barriers that may not be visible through organisational reviews alone.
What Areas Should the Research Examine?
Accessibility
The assessment should examine whether persons with disabilities can physically and practically access relevant programme locations and services.
Programme Inclusion
Researchers should assess whether people with disabilities can participate meaningfully in WFP-supported activities.
Communication
The assessment should consider whether information about assistance and services is available in accessible and understandable formats.
Feedback Mechanisms
The research should examine whether persons with disabilities can safely and effectively use complaints, feedback, and accountability channels.
Participation Barriers
The assessment should identify social, physical, communication, institutional, or other barriers that may prevent people with disabilities from accessing or participating in WFP programmes.
Good Practices
Researchers should document approaches that are already working and could potentially be replicated or expanded.
Funding and Project Duration
The indicative budget for the assignment is:
26,000,000 IQD, approximately US$20,000.
The budget is expected to cover the full assignment, including:
- Assessment design
- Data collection
- Fieldwork
- Data analysis
- Reporting
- Project management
- Other necessary research-related activities
The expected project duration is three months.
Who Is Eligible?
The opportunity is intended for organisations with specialised expertise in disability inclusion and qualitative, community-based research.
Eligible applicant categories include:
- Research institutions
- Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs)
- Specialized civil society organisations
- Non-governmental organisations with relevant expertise
Applicants should be able to demonstrate experience in disability-inclusive research, humanitarian or development assessments, and community engagement.
Key Eligibility Requirements
Applicants should demonstrate:
- Experience in disability inclusion
- Experience conducting qualitative research
- Community-based research capacity
- Relevant humanitarian or development assessment experience
- Strong project management capability
- Ability to engage persons with disabilities directly
- Capacity to provide reasonable accommodation
- Ability to conduct inclusive consultations
- Ability to safely access diverse communities across Iraq
The organisation should also have appropriate safeguards and systems for conducting research with potentially vulnerable participants.
Why Disability Inclusion Matters
Disability inclusion is essential to ensuring that humanitarian and development assistance reaches people equitably.
Persons with disabilities can face additional barriers when accessing:
- Food assistance
- Community services
- Programme locations
- Information
- Digital or communication channels
- Complaint and feedback systems
A field-level assessment can help identify these barriers from the perspective of affected people and translate those findings into practical programme improvements.
How the Assessment Is Expected to Work
Step 1: Design the Methodology
The selected organisation should develop a clear qualitative research methodology appropriate for the Iraqi context.
The methodology should explain:
- Research questions
- Participant groups
- Data collection methods
- Sampling approach
- Accessibility arrangements
- Safeguarding measures
- Data management procedures
- Analysis methods
Step 2: Develop Inclusive Research Tools
Research tools should be designed so that persons with different disabilities can participate meaningfully.
This may require reasonable accommodations and accessible communication approaches.
Step 3: Conduct Community Engagement
Researchers should engage directly with persons with disabilities, caregivers, and relevant communities in selected WFP-supported locations.
Participation should be voluntary, informed, safe, and respectful.
Step 4: Collect Qualitative Evidence
The assessment should gather detailed information about participants’ experiences, perceptions, challenges, and recommendations.
Qualitative methods can help explain why barriers exist rather than simply measuring how many people encounter them.
Step 5: Analyse the Findings
The research team should identify recurring themes, barriers, accessibility gaps, good practices, and differences between participant experiences.
Step 6: Develop Actionable Recommendations
Recommendations should be practical and clearly linked to the findings.
They should help WFP identify improvements in:
- Programme design
- Accessibility
- Communication
- Community engagement
- Accountability
- Feedback mechanisms
- Disability inclusion capacity
Step 7: Prepare the Final Report
The final report should present the evidence clearly and provide recommendations that can inform future programming and the Iraq CO Disability Inclusion Capacity Action Plan.
What Makes a Strong Applicant?
A competitive applicant should demonstrate more than general research experience.
Strong applications are likely to show:
- Disability expertise: Specific experience working with persons with disabilities.
- Participatory research: Experience engaging communities directly.
- Qualitative research skills: Ability to conduct interviews, discussions, and thematic analysis.
- Local access: Capacity to work across diverse Iraqi communities.
- Inclusive methods: Ability to provide reasonable accommodation.
- Humanitarian experience: Familiarity with humanitarian or development programmes.
- Strong safeguarding: Clear procedures for protecting participants.
- Action-oriented reporting: Ability to convert research findings into practical programme recommendations.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Applicants should avoid:
- Treating disability inclusion as a purely administrative issue
- Relying only on desk research
- Failing to involve persons with disabilities directly
- Using research tools that are not accessible
- Providing generic recommendations unrelated to evidence
- Underestimating fieldwork and accessibility requirements
- Failing to address safeguarding and informed consent
- Providing insufficient evidence of relevant qualitative research experience
- Ignoring the needs of caregivers and community members
- Proposing a methodology that cannot realistically be completed within three months
Why This Opportunity Matters
The assessment provides an opportunity to strengthen disability-inclusive humanitarian programming in Iraq through direct community evidence.
Its value lies in connecting institutional disability inclusion efforts with the lived experiences of persons with disabilities.
The findings can help WFP identify practical improvements to programme accessibility, participation, communication, accountability, and service delivery.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the WFP Iraq Disability Inclusion Assessment?
It is a qualitative field-level assessment designed to understand the experiences, barriers, and needs of persons with disabilities in selected WFP-supported project locations across Iraq.
Who can apply for the assessment assignment?
Eligible applicants include research institutions, Organizations of Persons with Disabilities, and specialised civil society or non-governmental organisations with relevant disability inclusion and community-based research experience.
How much funding is available?
The indicative budget is 26,000,000 IQD, approximately US$20,000, for the complete three-month assignment.
What type of research is required?
The assignment requires qualitative, community-based research involving direct engagement with persons with disabilities, caregivers, and communities.
What topics will the assessment examine?
The assessment will examine accessibility, programme inclusion, communication, participation barriers, feedback mechanisms, community experiences, and good practices within selected WFP-supported project sites.
Do applicants need experience in disability inclusion?
Yes. Demonstrated expertise in disability inclusion is a key requirement, alongside qualitative research, project management, and relevant humanitarian or development assessment experience.
What will happen to the assessment findings?
The findings will provide actionable recommendations for improving WFP’s disability-inclusive programming and will contribute to the Iraq Country Office Disability Inclusion Capacity Action Plan.
Conclusion
The WFP Iraq Disability Inclusion Assessment seeks an experienced organisation capable of conducting inclusive, community-based qualitative research with persons with disabilities and their communities.
With an indicative budget of 26,000,000 IQD and a three-month implementation period, the assignment provides an opportunity for qualified research institutions, OPDs, and specialised NGOs to generate practical evidence that can improve accessibility, participation, accountability, and disability inclusion across WFP-supported programmes in Iraq.
For more information, visit UN Partner Portal.