Background

In late August 2019, a tropical storm and low pressure over Lao PDR caused flooding in six provinces: Khammouan, Savannakhet, Champasak, Saravan, Sekong and Attapeu. As per available estimates from the National Disaster Management Organisation on 8 September 2019, almost 400,000 people are affected, 14 people lost their lives and there’s significant damage to agriculture, houses and infrastructure.  Estimated capital exposure is about US$ 753.4 million. According to preliminary assessment from UNITAR-UNOSAT, within 60,000 sq.km. of Southern Lao PDR, about 1,000 sq.km. appears to be flooded where over 1.6 million people live.

In 2018, floods affected all 18 provinces in Lao PDR resulting in loss and damage equivalent to 9.6 percent of the Government budget in that year. The Government of Lao PDR is currently implementing the Flood Disaster Recovery Framework to address needs and bring the economy back on track with the objectives of the 8th National Economic and Social Development Plan (NSEDP).

The impact of the 2018 and 2019 floods on people and their livelihoods has been compounded by additional vulnerabilities. The World Bank estimates that 18 percent of population in lower middle-income countries live with disabilities. Although there are no confirmed numbers, it is estimated that the percentage of people with disabilities is higher in Lao PDR, due to accidents from unexploded ordinances (UXOs) in rural areas.

In responding and recovering from the current disasters, the special needs of people with disabilities should be addressed. The purpose of this consultancy is to build the capacity of the government to more effectively take action in improving the resilience of persons with disabilities to climate related disasters.   The Human-centred Design Consultant shall provide design thinking expertise and develop a proposal specifically tailored to persons with disabilities with a focus on disaster risk early warning systems.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Consultant is expected to develop a proposal for funding following an inclusive process of design thinking with key stakeholders in Lao PDR.

Pre-Consultation Preparation

Preparation of workplan and review of the experience of incorporating HCD and design thinking approaches in disaster risk reduction, early warning systems, persons with disabilities work. This will include the following deliverables:

-     Workplan and methodology for the overall engagement

• Review of the experience of incorporating HCD and design thinking approaches in disaster risk reduction, early warning systems, persons with disabilities work
• Customizing survey for national context and prepare an administration strategy

Consultations and engagement with national government agencies and local government units, Disabled Persons’ Organisations (DPOs), persons with disabilities, and other stakeholders

Consult identified stakeholders to understand the context and opportunities and (specifically with the DPOs) to co-design the field work.  This may include the following

• Identification of gaps and opportunities.
• Design of the country-level HCD/Design thinking workshop, including mapping of stakeholders to be involved
• Facilitation of the country-level workshop
• Field visits to rural/remote sites with country office colleagues to conduct research
• Presentation/validation of HCD process findings to national stakeholders
• Workshop documentation reports

Conduct HCD workshops and/or design thinking experiences:

• By working closely with national experts, consultants, government agencies, DPOs, CSOs, NGOs, identify appropriate tools - user journey map, service map, interviews, ethnographic observation that can specify and help develop a detailed understanding of the bottlenecks and user “pain points” in the preparedness and responses of persons with disabilities to climate related disasters.
• Conduct ethnographic research on the lived experiences of people with disabilities and how they are impacted by disasters/climate change: collect stories, observations, field diaries, etc.
• Analyze and document the user experience of people with disability with regards to the services currently provided by the government or civil society when it comes to disaster risk early warning system, disaster information (using tools such as user journey maps) and language on disaster risks.
• When feasible, conduct ethnographic research to highlights patterns of beliefs of service providers (e.g. government workers) targeting people with disabilities.
• Detail possible methodologies to facilitate process simplification and re-design/ enhancement of existing processes in disaster information dissemination and reception.
• Assess the scope and opportunities for digitization of local services, including through the use of accessible technology solutions.
• Make recommendations on effective and efficient solutions to the pain points for persons with disabilities and create a map of how these solutions can be facilitated and how they should be budgeted through a report summarizing the key insights from the ethnographic work: identifying key patterns and insights that can inform the prototype development phase of the project. This should include: gaps, pain points, recommendations; User journey maps that identify touchpoints, pain points and part of the service provision that are currently working well; Photos, videos, and any documentation that can help illustrate with vivid examples the lived experience of people with disabilities.
• Identify technological partners and requirements to support the solutions.

Plan for resources and the required steps for the eventual implementation of recommended and selected solutions:

• Provide an outline of a work plan and a resource plan (including national and international expertise) for the roll out of recommended and selected solutions, including an SOP.
• Provide success criteria to review the outcome of the experiment and if required, to refine the design.
• Provide a monitoring and evaluation framework to evaluate success of the solution once implemented using mixed methods.
• Other tasks as agreed between UNDP team and consultant

Expected Outputs and Deliverables

Competencies

• Experience in the region on issues of sustainable development, disaster risk reduction, early warning systems
• Extensive knowledge on addressing risk reduction from a human rights perspective
• Knowledge of policies and plans concerning disaster risk reduction (from a national and international perspective)
• Demonstrable success in developing projects, with conceptually coherent narratives and log frames, and successfully mobilizing resources

Required Skills and Experience

The position requires post graduate degree in economics, education or social sciences, or any relevant field

At least 4 years of experience in human-centered design thinking, co-creation and innovation; experience in action-oriented research in development issues is required

Knowledge and background in issues concerning persons with disabilities, and disabled persons’ organizations and previous experience working with persons with disabilities on accessibilities issues