Providing Inclusive Education and Learning Support for Out-of-School Internally Displaced Children and Those at Risk of Dropping Out in Sulaymaniyah Governorate

Call description

UNICEF seeks a partner for an inclusive education intervention in Iraq, in Sulaymaniyah Governorate, particularly Bazian and Piramagrun. The intended participants are 2,000 vulnerable internally displaced children and adolescents aged 6–17: 200 out-of-school children (10%) and 1,800 children at risk of dropping out (90%). The intervention includes remedial and catch-up education, foundational literacy and numeracy, psychosocial support and structured learning, with particular attention to girls, overage learners and children with disabilities. The eligible organisation categories are not established in the supplied call extract.

The call gives a project start date of December 20, 2026 and an end date of September 20, 2027. These are the stated project dates; the supplied extract does not specify a separate permissible duration range.

Priorities and eligibility

Which organisation categories may apply as lead partners, and what registration, screening or exclusion conditions apply? The supplied call extract identifies UNICEF and the partnership opportunity but does not establish these conditions. The general template describes a prospective partner, not a call-specific eligibility determination.

The call lists assessment criteria covering accountability to communities, local experience and presence, cost effectiveness, an innovative approach, and clarity of activities and expected results. These concern, among other things, inclusive participation and response to feedback, local relationships, reasonable resource use and realistic alignment with expected results.

The response is to strengthen the capacity of 80 teachers and learning facilitators. Schools and learning centres are to be selected with education authorities using vulnerability, displacement, dropout risk, learning needs and service gaps. Sustainability measures include education-authority coordination, school follow-up, family and community engagement, and referral and reintegration pathways.

What is the complete intended wording of the individual referral and follow-up arrangement in the expected results? The supplied PDF extraction leaves that sentence incomplete. The broader requirement for referral and reintegration pathways is clear, but the omitted condition should not be reconstructed from the extract.

The call's education targets include at least 80% regular attendance, at least 85% continued engagement in education activities and support for at least 70% of targeted out-of-school children (140 children) to enrol or re-enrol in formal education pathways. At least 70% of children completing baseline and endline assessments are expected to show measurable improvement in literacy and/or numeracy.

Funding and application requirements

The call directs applicants to the UN Partner Portal for information and application. The supplied general UNICEF template encourages preparation using the electronic concept note platform; when that platform is used, it instructs the applicant to export the completed concept note as a PDF and submit it to UNICEF through the portal. The extract does not establish another call-specific submission channel.

The concept note calls for a problem statement using disaggregated data, an explanation of affected people and barriers, and a programme approach explaining how change will occur. It also asks for practical gender, equity and sustainability measures and ratings, and for implementation risks and proposed mitigation.

The concept note's results framework links outputs to activities, implementation periods and activity-level budgets. Each programme output should have indicators with a baseline, target and means of verification: the data source used to measure the indicator. For a response to this call, the high-level result statement should be linked to the call's expected results.

The call links to the supplied UNICEF concept note template. The general guidance says its template should be used for concept notes responding to a UNICEF-issued call, and that the overview should reference the call identifier. The supplied template is in English and says prospective partners may also use the Arabic, French, Russian or Spanish template. Confirm the linked template and any call-specific language rule.

Does this call require any additional application documents, prescribe a submission format for concept notes prepared outside the electronic platform, or restrict the template language? The supplied extracts identify the template and portal route, but do not resolve those call-specific points. The PDF preview may not capture all content or annexes.

The call's indicative budget field contains a dash, not an amount. The supplied extract therefore does not establish a total allocation, per-project ceiling or lot amounts. The concept note asks for a costed prospective-partner contribution and a costed request for UNICEF funds and supplies; those fields alone do not establish a minimum partner contribution.

What funding envelope, if any, and what partner-contribution or consortium funding conditions apply to this opportunity? The indicative budget is blank in the supplied call extract, while the template requests both partner and UNICEF contributions. Confirming these conditions matters before determining whether the specified reach and activities can be costed within an available award.

The application deadline is November 16, 2026. The call lists November 11, 2026 as the clarification request deadline.

The template asks applicants to show their planned contribution and UNICEF request for each activity, and to identify in-kind supplies and the responsible provider. Effective and efficient programme management is a standard output; its costs must be allocated in proportion to their contribution to the programme, and it does not need performance indicators. These plans are part of the concept note; the supplied evidence does not establish that they are separate attachments.

Recommendations

The assessment criteria make it useful to connect local capacity, community accountability, practical delivery and the budget in the proposal; the criteria do not expressly require a connected presentation. Describe existing local experience accurately, explain accessible feedback and complaints arrangements, and show how the proposed activities and resources support the call's expected results. The supplied evidence does not establish any applicant's capacity or likely assessment outcome.

The programme design needs to connect learning support with retention and return to formal education, rather than treat classes alone as the full response. Poverty, child labour, documentation and transport are among the barriers identified, while girls and children with disabilities may face additional barriers. Explain how children will be identified, supported and followed up with families and education authorities, including accessible and age-appropriate approaches. The extract does not prescribe a particular package of financial assistance.

The learning-improvement target applies to children completing both assessments, so a monitoring plan should address participation in those assessments as well as results. The call also expects pre- and post-training assessment and follow-up observation and mentoring for teachers. Specify how attendance, learning, referral outcomes and teacher practice will be measured, and how results will be disaggregated, without assuming missing baselines.