Request for Tender to Carry out Research

Request for Tender to Carry out Research on The National Chaplaincy for the Deaf – Reach Deaf Services, Deaf Village Ireland, Cabra, Dublin

Background Information

Reach Deaf Services, formerly known as the Catholic Institute for Deaf People provides a range of services for Deaf/ Hard of Hearing adults and young people. As part of our services we are responsible in partnership with the Archbishop of Dublin and the Irish Episcopal Conference (IEC) and for providing Chaplaincy services across Ireland. These services are provided through four Chaplains , three of whom are employed directly by Reach Deaf Services.

The Chaplaincy service has been in operation for over 150 years providing spiritual, liturgical and pastoral support in the following areas:

One-to-one support and support given to families around the country.
Support to the Holy Family School.
Support to the boys and girls attending Holy Family School who stay on the boarding campus. (Saint Joseph’s and Saint Mary’s)
The Deaf community using Deaf Village Ireland
The Deaf community in Northern Ireland

Over the last number of years, the face of the Deaf community and their demographics have changed with the focus moving away from the greater Dublin area. It is now necessary to deliver services to the Deaf community across Ireland.
Some of the reasons why demographics have changed are:

• Department of Education mainstreaming policy
• Deaf people have moved out of institutional settings and back into the community where they live an independent life with appropriate supports

Chaplaincy Services
The following services are provided by the Chaplaincy;

• To participate in school and adult prayer, faith formation. Deaf people are invited to exercise ministry and service in the church
• To respond to the pastoral needs of Deaf people by Chaplains being available to advocate, support and liaise with church, statutory and voluntary organisations
• To increase the awareness of the presence of Deaf people within parishes, communities and dioceses.
• To provide Deaf friendly ISL pastoral support; hospital and advocacy support
• To provide ISL Interpreting for – liturgical special occasions such as baptisms, communions, confirmations, weddings or funerals

Context

Reach Deaf Services provides a range of services to all members of the Deaf Community who require it regardless of religion, faith or non-faith. With this objective, and based on recent consultations with the President of Reach Deaf Services, the Archbishop of Dublin and the IEC, it has been agreed to commission research to investigate and review the existing service, as well as evaluate its future requirements.

The research will be guided by a Steering Committee, and it is envisaged that the main areas of focus will be:

• The needs of the Deaf community for Chaplaincy Services
• The governance structure of the Chaplaincy Service
• The sustainability of the Chaplaincy service to include succession planning and financial support

The full terms of reference for the research will be provided. However, specific areas of interest include:

• An understanding of what the current perception of the service is and how the needs of the Deaf community are being met.
• The identification of what the current and future service needs are and how they might be met and examine the nature of the service required/requested and the quantum of demand
• The comparison of services for Deaf communities in other countries.
• The examination of other faiths/ non faith services and identify how they currently, if at all, provide services to those within their communities who are Deaf especially around such events as births, weddings deaths etc.
• A review of the governance, staffing structure/arrangements, future strategy and financial stability of the chaplaincy service and the provision of recommendations on how best this might operate.
• The identification of models of funding with recommendations on how these may be implemented.

In carrying out this piece of research, the Chaplains knowledge and experience in this area will be an important input to the initial data gathering phase. Other key stakeholders are the Archbishop of Dublin and the IEC.

Deliverables

Updates to the Steering Committee will be provided through interim progress reports and presentations.

Key requirements

Tender applications must meet the following criteria which must be included in tender submissions:

Essential

• Ideally the successful tender would be from a Deaf background or have a demonstrated knowledge of working with the Deaf community
• Evidence of relevant completed AND/OR published research
• Evidence of clear knowledge and experience of qualitative and quantitative approaches and methodologies
• A comprehensive proposal and plan for carrying out the project in a timely manner, addressing all the objectives as set out above.

Desirable

• Knowledge of Chaplaincy Services

Specification scoring and award criteria.

• Each tender will be scored against the following criteria with weighted scoring for each section.
• Candidates’ qualifications and experience – 40
• Time frames for the project – 20
• Previous research experience and track record on successful research projects – 20
• Cost – 10
• Added value – 10

Budget

The maximum budget allocated for this work is €5,000.

Location

It is expected that this work will be a mix of desk based research and face to face meetings with key stakeholders.

Closing date

The closing date for applications is 24 April 2024.

For further information please contact
Mary Stringer
CEO of Reach Deaf Services

Contact details below.
Mobile, text, videocall: 0872328084
Email: mary@reachdeafservices.ie