UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Centre Call for Concept Note

UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Centre Call for Concept Note
Using mobile and social technology to improve access
to HIV services, access to justice, and the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons

The deadline for submission of a concept note with an
accompanying budget is Monday, 6 August 2012.


Background
Mobile technology and social networks are new and
increasingly dominant modes for accessing information amongst young people,
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, and people in Southeast
Asian urban centers. Mobile technology and social networks are a new
opportunity for UNDP and partners to engage people on issues relating to HIV,
health and the human rights of LGBT people. Indeed, UNDP released a report in
2012 on the use of mobile technology to support human development and
democratic governance objectives noting that “mobile technologies are starting
to have an indelible impact on human development, enhancing democratic
governance and other development areas such as health, education, agriculture,
employment, crisis prevention and the environment.”[1]

The International Telecommunications Union noted that the
mobile phone penetration rate was 73.9% across the Asia-Pacific region in
2011.[2] In 2011, over 421 million users across the Asia-Pacific had mobile
phone internet subscriptions, a growth of over 45% from 2010.[3] In addition,
there has been an explosion in the use of social networks in the Asia-Pacific
region, for example, ASEAN estimates that there were over 66 million social
networks users within the 10 ASEAN countries in 2010.[4]

Utilizing mobile technology also enables the linking of
social networks and location sensitive information, allowing for the tailoring
of information that is both specific to the location of the user and is likely
to be of interest, for example information that has been provided by peers. The
easy access to relevant information facilitated by mobile technology can
significantly contribute to an improved understanding of human rights of LGBT
people and provide a pathway to HIV and health service providers and social justice
advocates that provide assistance which are sensitive and appropriate to LGBT
people and HIV key affected populations.

Young people, including gay men and other men who have
sex with men and transgender people, under the age of 25 account for more than
40% of all HIV transmissions.[5] Many of these young people are also more
vulnerable to human rights abuses. To effectively reach these people who are in
most need for HIV and sexual health services and legal information and access
to justice services, development partners and community based organizations
must engage with the social networks and platforms that young people are
utilizing.

UNDP Asia Pacific Regional Centre is calling for concept
notes to develop a mobile phone application which is integrated with existing
peer networks and is location sensitive. The mobile phone application should be
cross-platform, easy to use and aesthetically attractive for young people and
LGBT people. The content of the mobile application should include at a minimum:

· HIV and
health services that are friendly to young men who have sex with men and
transgender people in urban settings

· Human
rights and access to justice services that is friendly to LGBT people in urban
settings

· Localized information regarding laws, policies and human rights

· Peer-based or social network based interactions to facilitate improved health
and human rights

This project is supported in part by the ISEAN-HIVOS
Multi-country Global Fund Programme:  Strengthening community systems to
reduce vulnerability to and impact of HIV infection on MSM and TG in Insular
Southeast Asia grant. This grant aims to support the strengthening of community
systems and improve the human rights of sexual minorities these countries,
including through information and communication technologies in Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines and Timor Leste. The Principle Recipient of this
grant is Hivos Regional Office for South East Asia based in Jakarta, Indonesia.
UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Centre is the regional technical assistance
provider.

Project to be awarded
Under this call for concept a note, the project to be
awarded is to produce an integrated, multi-country strategy and develop a
cross-platform mobile application.

Outputs
1.       Develop
a ‘HIV and human rights social media and mobile application development
strategy’ targeting LGBT populations in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Timor-Leste and Thailand.
2.       Produce
and test a cross-platform, HIV and human rights mobile application model based
on the above strategy in English that integrate the minimum following
functions:
a.       Localized men who have sex with men and
transgender friendly HIV and health services centers in urban settings
b.      Identified and localized human rights and access
to justice services providers that are friendly to LGBT people
c.       Linked to peer-based or social network based
interactions to facilitate improved health and human rights
d.      Clear marketing strategy linked to existing LGBT
social networking sites and service providers.
3.       Submit
a costed proposal to expand the above application to additional languages and
countries including Chinese (Simplified), Indonesian (Bahasa), Japanese,
Korean, Malay and Thai. This activity is subject to the availability of
funding.

Eligibility Requirements
- Be a non-state, civil society, not-for-profit media,
communication and/or technology organisations in a developing country
- Exhibit previous experience on developing mobile and
web-based social media technology
- Demonstrated relationships and engagement with private
sector technology, social media and/or marketing partners
- Demonstrate relationships with regional and/or local
HIV, development and human rights civil society organizations including men who
have sex with men and transgender persons
- Demonstrated experience organizationally or of key
personnel on issues relating to HIV, health and LGBT human rights
- Exhibit previous regional and national engagement with
multi-lateral institutions, national human rights institutions (NHRIs), civil
society organizations, the United Nations or other international stakeholders
- Be formally established a not-for-profit organization
and not seeking governing power
- Demonstrate that the organization’s mandate, values and
ways of working are guided by principles of Human Rights and Human Development

Dates and Milestones
July 2012
                           
Call for the development of the Concept Note on using mobile and social technology
to improve access
September
2012             
Final HIV and human rights social media and mobile application development
strategy’ developed and submitted
January
2013                    
Cross-platform, HIV and human rights mobile application model tested and
submitted
February
2013                 
Expand the above application to additional languages and countries


Please submit Concept Note to the following:
Mr Edmund Settle
Policy Specialist
Human Rights and Governance
HIV, Health and Development Team
UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Center
Email: edmund.settle@undp.org 
  Ms Kaori Nakatani
Technical officer
Human Rights and Governance
HIV, Health and Development Team
UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Center
Email: kaori.nakatani@undp.org 
 
The deadline for submission of a concept note with an
accompanying budget is Monday, 6 August 2012.