Supporting the implementation of the Awareness Raising Campaign on Social Security in Iraq At International Labour Organization

Call for Expressions of Interest from local NGOs for Mobile Theatre
March 2025 – October 2025
1. BACKGROUND
As part of a Joint UN Programme on Social Protection in Iraq funded by the European Union, the International Labour Organization (ILO) seeks to enhance awareness and understanding on accessing social security benefits across Iraq. This initiative aligns with the objectives of the new Social Security Law No. 18 in Federal Iraq and the current social security legislation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The goal is to support the extension of social security coverage and improve inclusion for both formal and informal workers.
To achieve this, the ILO plans to engage a local NGO to perform a mobile theatre across all the governorates in Federal Iraq, if feasible, in the KRI, to raise workers’ awareness of their social security rights, and employers’ awareness of their social security responsibilities and obligations. Special attention must be given to ensuring that theatrical messages are responsive and tailored appropriately to the specific social security needs of women, men, young workers (both female and male), and workers with disability as well as migrant workers and members of their families.
The ILO together with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA) and the Lapis Group has already developed messaging for the National Campaign launched on 5 November 2024 to mark the first anniversary of the Law No 18. NGOs are required to use and build upon the overall vision of the National Campaign and those messages. Along the implementation of local awareness raising activities, applicants may propose to fine-tune the messaging to better fit their local context and target audiences based on lessons they document.
This initiative will be implemented over an 8-month period, from March 2025 to October 2025, and will involve close coordination with the ILO, MoLSA Local Departments of Social Security and tripartite committees established in selected governorates.
2. SCOPE OF WORK
Interested NGOs are invited to submit proposals, detailing how they can:
1. Organize and Manage Mobile theatre
Organize and manage mobile theatre performances across the country (North-South) to deliver engaging and culturally resonant messaging on the importance of social security for employers and workers in the formal and the informal sectors. The applicants are expected to develop draft synopsis, scripts and performance scenarios, select tentative casts and propose the route for a mobile theatre across the country and places for performance, making sure that locations with the lowest social security enrolment among formal and informal workers are covered.
Mobile theatre performances should be tailored to workers and employers in the priority sectors, where social security coverage is either very low due to high levels of informality (e.g. agricultural sectors, construction, manufacturing, gig economy), or the sectors with high potential to expedite enrolment (e.g. oil and gas, trade).
Depending on the capacities, applicants may choose to focus on Federal Iraq or the KRI governorates only. However, preferences will be given to applicants capable to effectively cover both regions. In covering FI and KRI, it is important that all governorates in both regions are duly covered.
2. Fine-tune messaging to Specific Audiences:
• Further develop messaging to be promoted through the mobile theatre specific to:
– Informal workers, focusing on sectors such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing, gig economy (e.g. food delivery, logistics and transportation services) and artisanal crafts.
– Formal sector workers not covered by social security, including those in private schools, retail, hospitality, and small businesses.
– Ensure messaging is tailored to:
o Unique challenges that women and men of different ages, including those with disability, face in accessing social security;
o Specific challenges that migrant workers and members of their families face in exercising social security rights in Iraq.
• Print, reproduce and disseminate awareness raising materials developed for the National Awareness Raising Campaign at the events and interventions managed by the NGO.
3. Coordinate with Key Stakeholders:
• Collaborate closely with the ILO and local Social Security Departments, as well as local workers’ and employers’ organizations, sectoral cooperatives/associations and other relevant stakeholders to align efforts and messaging.
• Work with Youth Committees under the Ministry of Youth and/or Sports and the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities in Federal Iraq, and the Ministry of Culture and Youth in KRI to leverage their networks for reaching to different populations.
• Partner with national institutions supporting women, such as the Iraqi Women Directorate, to ensure messaging resonates with women’s specific needs.
• Coordinate with local NGOs selected to support awareness raising campaign at the local level to align activities in certain locations to multiply the impacts.
4. Taking stock and reporting:
• Identify, collect and document local success stories on the extension of social security to specific types of workers (e.g. female, migrant, workers with disability, domestic workers, contributing family members), workers in specific occupations and/or sectors (e.g. agriculture, construction), and produce further communications materials based on those (e.g. videos, posters, stories in local newspapers).
• Document lessons learned throughout the mobile theatre and provide a detailed report at the end of the 8-month period.
• Collect feedback from stakeholders and beneficiaries to inform future campaigns.
3. USE OF AWARENESS RAISING CAMPAIGN MATERIALS AND VISIBILITY
NGOs are encouraged to print, reproduce and disseminate awareness raising materials developed for the National Awareness Raising Campaign at the events and interventions they implement and manage. The awareness raising materials will be made available by the ILO and MoSLA DSS.
Any other documents, materials, publications or other visibility and awareness raising items produced by NGOs in the course of delivering activities under the current ToRs must be aligned with the branding and communications requirement developed for the National Awareness Raising Campaign on Social Security. Further information and detailed guidance will be provided by the ILO and MoSLA DSS.
4. DELIVERABLES, TIMELINE AND PAYMENT SCHEUDLE
NGOs are expected to deliver the following: (Check the Link Below)

1. REQUIRED BACKGROUND QUALIFICATIONS, EXPERIENCE AND COMPETENCIES

The contract shall only be awarded to NGOs with the following qualifications, experience and competencies:

1. Organizational Capacity and Experience

• At least 3 years of proven experience in implementing awareness-raising campaigns or similar outreach activities at the community and national levels.
• A strong track record of working with diverse stakeholders, including government entities, workers’ organizations, employers’ organizations, and community groups.
• Prior experience in organizing or participating in mobile theatre, creative arts for awareness raising and effectively engaging audiences through participatory, creative and innovative means.
• Familiarity with social security systems and labour rights in Iraq, including challenges faced by informal workers, women, persons with disabilities, and migrant workers.

2. Technical Expertise

• Expertise in designing and delivering targeted messaging for different demographic and occupational groups, such as informal workers, formal sector workers not covered by social security, and vulnerable populations.
• Capacity to tailor messaging to address gender-specific, disability-related, and migration-related challenges in accessing social security.
• Experience in creating culturally sensitive and contextually appropriate communication materials, including videos, posters, and print publications.

3. Partnership and Coordination Skills

• Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with government bodies, such as the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, and local Social Security Departments, local workers’ and employers’ organizations, sectoral cooperatives, and community-based organizations.
• Capacity to engage with institutions supporting women, youth, and marginalized groups to ensure inclusive and impactful interventions.

4. Creativity and Innovation

• Ability to conceptualize, organize, and manage creative events and theatrical performances that resonate with local audiences.
• Innovative approaches to engaging diverse populations, including urban, rural, and displaced communities.

5. Monitoring, Reporting, and Documentation

• Experience in collecting, documenting, and disseminating success stories, lessons learned, and stakeholder feedback from outreach campaigns.
• Strong capacity to produce detailed and well-structured reports summarizing campaign outcomes, challenges, and recommendations for future efforts.
• Established mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions and adjusting strategies as needed.

6. Geographic Presence and Local Knowledge

• A solid understanding of Iraq’s sociocultural landscape, including Federal Iraq and/or the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
• An ability to operate in all the governorates in FI and/or KRI, or both. Preferences will be given to NGOs and proposals capable to work in both FI and KRI.

7. Resource Management

• Adequate financial and human resources to implement the proposed activities within the 8-month timeframe.
• Qualified staff with expertise in project management, communications, and community engagement.

8. Compliance and Accountability

• Compliance with ethical standards and best practices in engaging stakeholders, particularly vulnerable groups.
• Commitment to transparency and accountability in financial and operational reporting.

Interested NGOs are encouraged to provide evidence of their qualifications, including examples of past projects, partnerships, and achievements, in their proposals.

1. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS AND SUBMISSION PROCEDURE

The ILO invites interested local NGOs to submit their proposals comprising of technical and financial parts as per the requirements specified below.

1. Organizational Background:
   • Overview of the NGO’s experience in social campaigns, public outreach, and working with local communities; details of prior work in promoting social or economic rights.
   • Record of specialisation in organising theatrical performances, cultural events or other events and interventions for awareness raising.
   • CVs/resumes of key personnel to be involved in managing and implementing activities under the current ToRs, as well as supporting the reporting.
2. Mobile theatre Approach:
   • Clear geographic coverage and a rout for mobile theatre movement. It is critical to make sure that remove areas and areas with low social security coverage and high concentration of workers from the priority sectors of agriculture, construction, manufacturing, oil and gas, gig and trade, are covered in the respective governorates. The applicants should also specify whether they intend to cover FI, KRI governorates or both.
   • Detailed description of mobile theatre activities, their goals and objectives, target audiences among workers and employers (e.g. specific types of workers, specific sectors), expected outcomes and impacts, proposed synopses and draft scenarios of performances.
   • Strategies for reaching out to formal and informal enterprises of different sizes, and to formal and informal female and male workers, young workers, workers with disability, migrant workers with and without social security coverage.
3. Detailed Budget and Timeline:
   • Detailed budget in USD or IQD[1] for the 8-month period – NGOs should submit a detailed budget, including all costs for personnel, logistics, materials, and decorations and dresses, etc.
   • Timeline of activities with milestones linked to deliverables.
4. Monitoring and Evaluation Plan:
   • Approach to documenting lessons learned, success stories and evaluating campaign impact.
5. Commitment to Coordination:
   • Statement confirming willingness to collaborate with the ILO and local Departments of Social Security.

Technical and Financial proposals must be submitted in English and/or Arabic in PDF format, with each page duly signed and dated. The Financial Proposal should be valid for 90 days after the deadline for submissions.

Interested NGOs should submit their applications comprising of technical and financial proposals to iraq-procurement@ilo.org with the subjects “Awareness Raising – Mobile Theatre” no later than 9 February 2025.

1. Evaluation Process and Criteria

Proposals will be reviewed and evaluated by an Evaluation Panel, to determine compliance with the requirements specified in these Terms of Reference.

A two-stage procedure will be utilized in evaluating the Proposals, with evaluation of each Technical Proposal constituting 70 points being completed prior to any Financial Proposal which constitute 30 points being opened and compared.

Each Technical Proposal (70 points) is evaluated on the basis of its responsiveness to these Terms of Reference according to the criteria described below. The minimum passing score is 50 points:

1. 30 points for understanding of the Terms of Reference and the aim of the services to be provided, clarity of the proposal, overall methodological approach, appropriateness of geographical scope and rout, understanding of specific needs of the target audiences, the selection of scenarios and scrips for performances and overall estimation of potential challenges and opportunities;
2. 20 points for feasibility of the implementation and management plan with a timeline related to the different activities;
3. 10 points for proven experience in similar activities and prior experience in mass awareness raising in Iraq.
4. 10 points for competence of key personnel and coordination experience.

During the second stage of the evaluation, the Financial Proposals (30 points) of all qualified NGOs which have attained at least the minimum score during the technical evaluation (50 points) will be compared. The maximum number of points – 30 points – will be assigned to the lowest Financial Proposal submitted by applicants. All other Financial Proposals will receive points in inverse proportion.

The process of evaluating the proposals will be based on the percentage combination of Technical and Financial elements.

ILO Web Link: https://www.ilo.org/resource/vacancy-notice/theatre-awareness-raising-activities-iraq