UNICEF Thailand is seeking a qualified institutional contractor (company, academic institution, and/or foundation) with demonstrated expertise in disability inclusion, inclusive and special education, and assistive technology to conduct a “landscape mapping of assistive technology (AT) for education of children with disabilities” in Thailand.   1. Background The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) states that inclusive education is a fundamental right for all children. Article 7 of the CRPD obliges States Parties to take all necessary measures to ensure the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by children with disabilities on an equal basis with other children. According to Thailand’s 2022 Disability Survey, 60 per cent of children with disabilities aged 5-17 years were attending school at the time of the survey, compared to 97 per cent of regular children. The school attendance rate decreases for older children. The rate of attendance for boys with disabilities drops from 80.1 per cent (5-9 years) to 66 per cent as they reach secondary school age (10-17 years), while for girls with disabilities, this rate drops from 90.7 per cent to only 54.7 per cent . A similar trend is found in Office of Basic Education Commission administrative data on enrolment and progression of Children with Disabilities (CWDs) in school education. UNICEF recognizes that assistive technology is a fundamental prerequisite for children with disabilities to engage in social interactions, access education, and develop into productive and responsible members of society . Assistive technology (AT) is an umbrella term for assistive products and their related systems and services that can support persons with permanent or temporary functional difficulties to improve their functional ability and enable their participation and inclusion in all domains of life . Assistive technology is important across the lifespan; and access to assistive technology for children with disabilities is often the first step for childhood development, access to education, participation in sports and civic life, and getting ready for employment. For many children, access to assistive technology is the determining factor between fully realizing their rights and experiencing deprivation. Assistive technology plays a critical role in enabling children with disabilities to claim their right to education by removing barriers to access, participation, and learning. Encompassing a broad range of tools—from screen readers and speech-to-text software to augmentative communication systems and adapted digital learning platforms—assistive technology ensures that children can engage meaningfully in the curriculum, communicate with teachers and peers, and demonstrate their abilities in inclusive settings . Without access to appropriate assistive technology, many children face systemic exclusion from education, limiting their potential and perpetuating cycles of marginalization. As a form of reasonable accommodation, assistive technology helps operationalize legal and policy commitments under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and Sustainable Development Goal 4, which call for inclusive and equitable quality education for all. It empowers children with disabilities to participate on an equal basis with others, supports their independence, and enhances their visibility as active learners and rights-holders.   2. Objectives, Purpose & Expected results UNICEF Thailand is seeking a qualified institutional contractor (company, academic institution, and/or foundation) with demonstrated expertise in disability inclusion, inclusive and special education, and assistive technology to conduct a “landscape mapping of assistive technology (AT) for education of children with disabilities” in Thailand. The purpose of this consultancy is to strengthen evidence and understanding of the current assistive technology (AT) ecosystem in Thailand’s education sector—focusing on children with disabilities—, compare to the provision and integration of AT in peer countries and global good practices, and identify opportunities for strengthening equitable, inclusive, and sustainable access to AT through policy and systems reform. The findings will inform actionable recommendations for stakeholders, including the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, and UNICEF, to align national practice with global standards.   3. Description of the assignment Assistive technology is a continuously changing and growing field especially in relation to rapid advancement of digital technology and evolving needs of people with disabilities. This landscape mapping exercise will scope assistive technology which is entitled to children with disabilities and children with functional difficulties by laws, legislation, policies, regulations, and publicly funded of each country. The exercise does not include assistive technology in the market which children or families buy at their own expense. In addition, the scope of this assignment is assistive technology used for education purposes only. In education, assistive technology supports learning and educational participation for students with disabilities or learning challenges, helping them access and engage with curriculum. Assistive technology in health focuses on enabling individuals to maintain or improve their physical, sensory, and cognitive functioning, promoting well-being and independence. While distinct, AT in health and education can sometimes overlap. For example, a student with vision impairment might use a screen reader in both educational and personal settings. In that case, the criteria to distinguish between AT in education and AT in health should be clearly defined in the inception phase and consistently utilized in the review. The assignment also involves reviewing and building on the available scan of laws, legislation, policies, regulations, publicly funded programmes and current practices which provide assistive technology in education for children with disabilities and functional difficulty in Thailand and in other leading countries – both structural and aspirational peers like Malaysia, Indonesia, Canada, USA, UK, Japan, Australian, Taiwan and Korea. The systematic review of available documentation and research, together with qualitative and/or quantitative data collection are required to examine current utilized and available trends of AT amongst education institutions in Thailand, including where possible estimated costs and budgets. The research will cover both desk-based research and field-level data collection and consultation. The primary objective of data collection is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the issue at hand. Consequently, the coverage and sampling size will be strategically designed to fulfill this objective and do not necessarily need to be representative of the entire population. The scope is focused on assistive technology that supports learning, participation, and inclusion in formal and non-formal educational settings for children with disabilities and children with functional difficulties, as recognized under Thai law and CRPD obligations.   4. Deliverables and Timeline The objectives of the study are both distinct and linked. Hence, despite the deliverables being scheduled in a linear timeline as below, the work processes are expected to be implemented both sequentially and concomitantly as per what is considered fit for the study. Deliverables* Indicative timeline INCEPTION (estimated 20 working days) Project kick-off meeting October 2025 1. Inception Report highlighting the shared understanding on agreed deliverables and their format, methodology, process, and timelines; October 2025 2. Draft report on policy and system review and landscape mapping of Thailand’s AT. November 2025 3. Draft international comparative analysis against at least three global case studies November-December 2025 4. Ethical approval (IRB approval) December 2025 DEVELOPMENT Phase I (estimated 40 working days) 5. Final tools and quant-qual methodology for analysis on AT access and utilization and for user envisioning session November-December 2025 6. Collect primary data and/or secondary data, conduct user envisioning sessions or focus groups December 2025 – January 2026 7. Draft analysis on AT access and utilization and stakeholder engagement summary January – February 2026 8. Draft policy and programmatic recommendations to promote a more sustainable and inclusive AT integration in Thailand’s education system February 2026 FINALIZATION (estimated 10 working days) 9. In-person presentation of major findings to stakeholders in Bangkok March 2026 10. Final report which contains: a. Policy and system review, landscape mapping of Thailand’s AT, international comparative analysis, analysis on AT access and utilization, stakeholder engagement summary and policy and programmatic recommendations b. Executive summary of final reports (max 20 pages) c. Presentation of major findings of the study April 2026   5. Reporting requirements Besides the reports as part of deliverables indicated above, monthly online meetings between UNICEF and the award contractor are required for update on progress and development. Note: All reports as part of the deliverables (such as inception report, draft report and final report) must meet the quality standards of UNICEF. - Methodological rigor will be given significant consideration in assessing the quality of deliverables. In terms of ethical compliance, the research should be guided by the UNICEF Procedure on Ethical Standards in Research, Evaluation, Data Collection and Analysis (https://www.unicef.org/evaluation/media/1786/file/UNICEF%20Procedure%20on%20Ethical%20Standards%20in%20Research,%20Evaluation,%20Data%20Collection%20and%20Analysis.pdf) Where applicable, the approval of an ethical review board will be a prerequisite for the research and must be obtained during the inception phase.   6. Location and Duration - The assignment duration is foreseen from October 2025 – April 2026, during which time all tasks are expected to be completed and all deliverables achieved. The detailed timeline will be agreed between UNICEF and the awarded contractor. Bidders are expected to include their specific timeline in the technical proposal, which is subject to review and approval by UNICEF. - The assignment will be mostly completed at the contractor’s premises. The contractor will be responsible for acquiring resources and facilities required for its completion, including any travel arrangements. - Travel is expected based on the geographic focus defined in the methodology. Travel cost shall be factored in the financial proposal. - If health and safety concerns are present, the FGDs and KII will be conducted virtually, and a contingency plan should be in place.   For full details, please refer to the attached Terms of Reference. This tender will be run through the UNICEF e-submissions system (UNGM). By clicking on the blue ‘Express Interest’ button in the UNGM tender notice, the full UNICEF e-submission system instructions to bidders document (including instructions on how to access the tender documents and submit an Offer) will be automatically emailed to the ‘contact persons’ included in your UNGM registration. Alternatively, the full UNICEF e-submission system instructions to bidders document is publicly available on the UNICEF supply internet pages here: https://www.unicef.org/supply/index_procurement_policies.html . In the tender management site, if you navigate to the documents tab and opt in to confirm your intention to submit a Bid – you will then see the mandatory placeholders for documents that must be attached prior to submitting your Offer (you will also see if there are any mandatory questionnaires to complete). As such, you are recommended to `opt in` well before the submission deadline so you are clear exactly what documents are required to be uploaded prior to completing your submission. Please note that in order to access the full-set of tender documents through UNICEF’s e-submissions system, vendors must: (1) be registered with UNICEF in UNGM as a company/NGO; (2) have successfully completed all mandatory information currently required by UNGM when registering. Please ensure that any files submitted as part of your bid are not corrupt or damaged in any way. Please exercise caution when using compressed files. Any corrupt or damaged files may lead to your Bid being invalidated. All vendors are strongly recommended to regularly log-in to the UNICEF e-submissions system to check for any deadline extensions, new clarifications, new correspondence or updated tender documents relating to this tender. Should you have any questions against this solicitation, please submit your queries to Tongchanok Sonsawangphol at [email protected] with CC to: [email protected] - no later than 1 September 2025 so that all queries could be clarified and circulated to all bidders before the deadline. The closing date of e-submission on UNGM is 8 September 2025 at 10.00 AM Bangkok time. Kindly note that this will be the final extension of the submission deadline. No further extensions will be granted. We look forward to receiving your proposals within the given timeline. Best regards, UNICEF Supply team