The request for tender is for contract services to run the Someone Like Me Art Competition for 2022.Given the uncertainty around the future impact of COVID-19 in the autumn and winter of 2022-23, applicants are requested to provide options for either an in-person competition, an online competition, or a blended version of both to cover all scenarios.

The aim is to involve as many of the 3,300 primary schools (mainstream and special schools) in the Republic of Ireland, as possible. Applicants should ideally aim for a start date in September and completion around the UN’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December 2022, however, the NDA will be open to other suggested start and completion dates if the need arises to delay the competition due to the public health advice that has been issued at the time. 

The primary audience for the competition will be the pupils and teachers in these schools. The secondary audience will be the parents, families and friends of those who enter. The tertiary audience will be the wider public who will view the public relations campaign around the competition.

The competition has been running in its current format since 2016. In 2022 NDA published a review of the competition. The review provided a lot of information around what schools and classes are entering the competition, what they like about the competition and what could be improved. It gathered information from schools who have not participated, many of whom said they didn’t remember receiving the competition information. The review was not able to determine the effectiveness of the competition in raising awareness about disability. Therefore, tenderers will be required to assist the NDA in implementing some of the recommendations that have arisen out of the review including those to gather information about the effectiveness of the competition.