Consultancy to Produce Best Practice Videos for Diaspora Emergency Response

1. Background and Context

The Danish Refugee Council, Civil Society Engagement Unit has been supporting diaspora organizations since 2010, focusing on diaspora originating from countries affected by man-made crises where DRC is an active responder. DRC views diaspora as part of an extended civil society of their countries of origin/heritage, and supports diaspora’s engagement in humanitarian assistance, early recovery/reconstruction, and development work, and is based on a recognition that the much-debated divide between these fields are of no consequence to diaspora engagement. In terms of activities, we specialize in capacity development, networking, and consultations, research and advocacy, as well as project support and advisory services.

DEMAC, the Diaspora Emergency Action & Coordination network, is one of the Civil Society Engagement Unit’s projects. DEMAC is a global initiative aiming at enhancing diaspora emergency response capacity and coordination with the institutional humanitarian system. The objective is to contribute to transforming the humanitarian landscape by laying the ground for a deeper understanding of diasporas as humanitarian actors with different modus operandi for the implementation of aid in practice, identifying and opening potential spaces for engagement, cross-fertilization and increased coordination between diaspora, and institutional relief providers.

The current phase of the DEMAC platform will further consolidate DEMAC as a permanent platform – a one-stop-shop – for enhancing mutual knowledge and coordination between diaspora humanitarian actors and the international humanitarian system. An important part of this current phase is a series of case studies capturing the impact, outreach, and organization of diaspora emergency responses in five selected countries – three focus countries and two real-time reviews of ongoing diaspora responses.

Over the next year, DEMAC will use information gained from these case studies to develop an operational framework including tools guidelines, and resources in support of diaspora organizations’ emergency engagement. DEMAC’s website, as well as Social Media channels, will be the main avenue for dissemination and sharing of such material, as well as the case studies themselves, information about diaspora initiatives, useful links, events material relevant to the diaspora, local organizations, and other humanitarian actors.

DEMAC is financed by USAID from July 2020 until July 2022. To read more, please visit www.demac.org.

2. Purpose

DEMAC’s ambition is to have standardized guidelines, tools, and resources in place to support enhanced engagement and coordination between the humanitarian system and diaspora organizations in ongoing and new humanitarian crises. Whenever possible, diaspora stakeholders, as well as relevant data and information on their responses, will be sought integrated into tools and mechanisms already existing as part of formal coordination efforts.

DEMAC organizes its guidelines, tools, and resources according to the intended target group and will consist of a section targeting the institutional humanitarian actors and another targeting the diaspora organizations.

Following a strong recommendation from diaspora organization members, DEMAC is currently developing a Best Practice Resource Guide for diaspora emergency responders. Based on the guide, DEMAC would like to produce short videos for the selected practices and lessons learned from previous diaspora-driven emergency responses. This will cover documentation of diaspora emergency responses, partnerships between diaspora and UN/INGOs, partnerships with local NGOs, etc.

The consultancy to produce the Best Practice Guide has been advertised separately and aims to develop:

o One Best Practice Guide narrative report composed of 10 to 15 chapters/topics.

o 10 short and user-friendly Best Practices cards (via PowerPoint).

· 5 based on lessons learned from previous diaspora-driven emergency responses.

· 5 based on humanitarian actors’ approaches.

o 5 Scenarios for the Best Practices Guide to be turned into short videos.

The scenarios for videos will be developed together by the best practice guide and video production consultants. Scenarios will be based upon the topics of 10 cards. Following the approval of scenarios by the project team, the consultant will then be able to draft the shooting script, followed by video production.

For this reason, the Civil Society Engagement Unit wishes to hire a consultant for the creation of 5 videos.

For this project, the primary point of contact within DRC will be Raphaël Capony, DEMAC Coordinator, [email protected].

3. Planning and Implementation

The outline of scenarios for videos are planned to be finalized by the end of September 2021 in close collaboration and consultation with the Best Practice Guide Consultant and the DEMAC team/DRC Diaspora Programme.

Specifications:

Duration and quantity:

DEMAC aims to produce 5 videos of 1:30-3:00 minutes long each.

Video Format:

DEMAC would like to produce videos of various formats with a mix of styles and sources, such as interviews, photos, videos, illustrations, and animations. Not all videos are expected to have the same format. All videos should be produced in 2D. The videos will be of educational and informative nature, sharing experiences of fellow diaspora organizations and actors. The exact features and format for each video will be agreed upon with the consultant following the approval of the video scenarios.

The videos will be disseminated and shared via social media – often also via WhatsApp. The final format of the videos needs to recognize that in terms of format, size, and length.

Language and Imagery:

The language used in the videos should be clear, simple, and personal, avoiding technical language. It is vital that the imagery and language used in videos are inclusive, diverse, non-discriminative and non-stereotypical, gender-sensitive, and provide multicultural perspectives when depicting personal stories or general best practices. The content and storytelling should be personal – and, if thematically possible, following a storyline.

Sources for Video:

The best practice guide report and cards will be used as main sources for video production. However, for the videos showcasing the best practices from some of the diaspora organizations, it is expected that the consultant will travel to visit the organization representatives and record the interviews. The travel will be limited to the European region and in compliance with Covid-19 rules and regulations. Travel-related expenses will be reimbursed by the project and should not be included in the financial offer.

Voiceover and subtitles:

The subtitles and voiceover recording in different languages will be provided by the project team and the consultant will need to apply subtitles to the videos. In case the consultant has the capacity to also produce/record voiceover, please feel free to indicate this in the technical and financial offers.

Copyright and Royalties:

The project budget needs to include all copyrights and royalties for images, videos, animations, illustrations, music, and sounds. The consultant needs to ensure that the respective royalties are obtained for long-time use of the videos (more than ten years). The consultants will be able to use DRC’s image library for DRC’s own pictures, as well as royalty-free music, sounds.

Examples:

DEMAC has identified few examples of good videos that are available publicly:

· Example 1 – Rules of war (in a nutshell) | The Laws of War

· Example 2 – Your Zakat for education will #SaveDreams this Ramzan

· Example 3 – Help Syria this Ramadan

· Example 4 – Humanitarian needs in Ukraine will be more severe in 2021

· Example 5 – Mental Health and Psychosocial Support for Returnees in West and Central Africa

However, these are only suggestions for a better understanding of expectations and should not be used as blueprints for DEMAC videos. Creativity, new ideas, different formats, styles, and suggestions are most welcome and appreciated.

4. EXPECTED OUTPUTS AND PAYMENT SCHEDULE

Outputs/Deadline/Payment

· 5 scenarios for the videos/ 1 October 2021/ 20%

· Video 1 & 2/ 15 November 2021/ 30%

· Video 3 & 4/ 30 December 2021/ 30%

· Video 5/ 20 January 2022/ 20%

The exact timeline of the consultancy will be agreed upon at the contract stage.

5. TIMEFRAME

The consultation is expected to run from the 1^st of September 2021 until the 30^th of January 2022.

6. MINIMUM TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS OF THE FULL-SERVICE AGENCY

· Proven track record of short educational video production for social causes with global reach.

· Experience in video production for humanitarian organizations will be an advantage.

· Interviewing skills are essential.

· Animation and illustration skills are essential.

· Excellent communication skills, both written and oral in English.

· Sensitivity to a diversity of religious, racial, cultural, and national backgrounds.

· Flexibility and timeliness in the production and delivery of videos.

· High-end technical equipment to ensure state-of-art video production and relevant expertise in storytelling, animation, illustration, and video recording.

7. PROCEDURE FOR SUBMISSION OF QUOTATION MINIMUM TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

Interested companies and freelancers should submit the following items in response to these terms of reference:

· Annex A. RFQ Tender Template

· Annex B. DRC General Conditions of Contract

· Annex C. Supplier Code of Conduct

· Annex D. Supplier Profile and Registration Form

· CV(s) of potential consultants

· A technical proposal (no more than 10 pages) that covers (i) the consultant’s suitability for the assignment, and (ii) suggested process and design. Please do not include financial offer/information in this document.

· Detailed budget– the bidders should provide a cost-breakdown of the total figure indicated in the RFQ Tender Template. Please keep financial and technical bids separate from each other.

· Work samples of similar assignments (1-3)

8. PROPOSAL EVALUATION

For the award of this project, the evaluation criteria below will govern the selection of offers received. The evaluation is made on a technical and financial basis.

The proposed offers by bidders will be evaluated using, inter alia, the following criteria, and points will be allocated in a scale from 1 to 10 for each of the criteria stipulated below:

Full-service agency qualifications (60 %) (documented with the work samples and CVs)

• Previous relevant work experience

• Portfolio of past projects

• Professional qualifications

Proposed services (40 %)

(Documented with the technical proposal supporting documents; interview process)

• Content of the proposal suitable for the requirements

• Only the top 3 candidates will be interviewed as part of the selection process

Total – 100%

All bidders must obtain an average score of at least five for the total technical scoring to proceed to the financial evaluation. The financial offer will then be weighed against the technical offer.

9. WITHDRAWAL/TERMINATION

This agreement shall be effective as stipulated in the contract upon signing.

DRC may terminate this agreement with immediate effect on the occurrence of any irregularities, anomalies relating to the services provided, and non-compliance with any terms and conditions as agreed upon in the contract. DRC may terminate this agreement with immediate effect if the provided design material is of very poor and unacceptable quality.

In the event of a major natural disaster, war, or major civil or political unrest the contract may be renegotiated and jointly revised between the two parties recognizing any consequent change in the environment for implementation.

10. CONFIDENTIALITY

All information presented, obtained, and produced is to be treated as DRC’s property and is considered as confidential for all other purposes than what is outlined in the terms of reference.

11. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

All questions regarding this RFQ shall be submitted in writing to Nuri Sharashidze [email protected] and Taina Piippola [email protected]. On the subject line, please indicate the RFQ number – RFQ-DKHQ-CSEU-PR_00157238.

Bids shall not be sent to the above emails. *Please check Annex A – RFQ Tender Template for submission instructions.

All questions during the tender period, as well as the associated answers, will be published under this tender at: DRC | Tenders