1.   Background

Learning Together is a four-year collaborative project that started between Ukraine and Finland in July 2018, and was joined by the EU in late 2018. The work is scheduled to last until July 2022. The Project is implemented by FCG International.

The project focuses on supporting the New Ukrainian School (NUS) reform, especially in the primary education, and is designed around three main clusters and cross-cutting elements. These clusters are (1) teacher preparation, (2) education promotion, and (3) education environment.

Learning together is now seeking to contract a qualified and experienced media company or other suitable organization to undertake work associated with the design and implementation of a mass media campaign called The New Generation of Teachers. The purpose of this Terms of Reference (TOR) is to call for competitive proposals for this task. This assignment focuses on education promotion.

1. 2.    Objective

The basis of the campaign raises from the following issues: teachers feel themselves and their work under-estimated in the society; their social status is low, and it is difficult to attract the best candidates to become teachers. At the same time teachers are the key-players of a successful NUS reform.

The objective of the Service Provider is to design and implement a mass media campaign to strengthen the positive identity of teachers in the society, and to promote teachers’ self-esteem. Another purpose is to provide what kind of knowledge, skills and competences modern teachers need to have. The idea is to let teachers know that they are important, valued, their work is appreciated.

The campaign is called “A new generation of teachers” and it is a part of the Communication Strategy of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (https://mon.gov.ua/storage/app/media/media/MOES%20Com%20strategy%202019-2022.pdf).

3. Scope of Work

The Service Provider will be contracted to:

3.1. Design and implement a communications program for “A new generation of teachers” including the following formats:

⦁       A media campaign “A new generation of teachers” in partnership with national mass-media channels (TV, radio, press, social media)

⦁       “Welcome pack” for new teachers

The campaign should be starting in January 2020 and last for a year.

The supervision of the campaign will be carried out by the staff of the Project Learning Together and MOES.

Targeted groups: parents, teachers, pupils, students of the high-schools, student teachers in  the pedagogical higher educational institutions and the society.   

Involvement: The Service provider will involve school administrators, donors and the communication campaign.

3.2. Conceptualize, layout, format, and design all promotional materials and activities of the campaign. This may involve campaigns using appropriate media such as print and posters, advertisements in newspapers, radio, TV, web campaigns, social media, knowledge management activities such as workshops and seminars, and billboards. In campaigns, the visual identity of the Project Learning Together and MOES will be used. 

3.3. Collaborate with MOES press service in production of press releases, blogs, brochures, and organize press briefings, and media visits resulting in different media articles.

3.4. Cooperate with other possible actors such as NGOs, Think tanks, companies, brands, businesses, media professionals, and key opinion leaders and donors.

3.5. Document and report about activities highlighting progress, achievements and impacts of the campaign. Daily media monitoring and monthly analysis.

4. Expected Deliverables

The Service Provider will submit the following deliverables:

4.1. Present a ideas and communications plan for the mass media campaign

4.2. Design creative concept and layouts of related materials

4.3. Draw up an Inception Report outlining the activities to be undertaken, including an implementation plan with exact timelines

4.4. Implement campaign

4.5. Write Progress Reports describing accomplishments of each sub-campaign. 

4.6. Submit a Final Report which shows the methodology used, activities undertaken, successes, challenges, results (planned and unplanned), lessons learned, and future recommendations.

5. Budget

The maximum Grand Total Budget for the assignment is 45 000 €. The budget, details of the assignment, terms and conditions will be specified in the contract between the FCG International Ltd (Contractor) and the Service Provider. Payment milestones will be based on the acceptance of the key deliverables by the Project Management Team.

6. Submission requirements

The Proposal must include the following:

6.1 A Technical Proposal not exceeding 10 pages in length including the intended approach and the planned activities in the management of the undertaking, including an operational work plan with timelines.

6.2 Breakdown of costs

The budget breakdown must include two separate sections: “Fees of experts” and “Other Costs”. The fees shall be defined on rates based on working days or working months. Other Costs must be broken down to correspond the Technical Proposal and Work Plan. The Budget Breakdown must be in Euros.

6.3 The Curriculum Vitae of the consultant and each member of the team (if a team approach is used).

6.4. Official documents proving the status of the organization and the document proving the financial capacity (annual turnover and profit/loss) of the organization.

Copies of registration documents (including a copy of the certificates of state registration of legal entities which the Participant plans to apply for the provision of services, a copy of the tax certificate; an Extract from the Statute indicating the activities).

Other relevant supporting material may be attached as an annex. 

The Proposal must be in English.

7. Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on Quality (90% weight) and Price (10% weight).

The quality of the proposal will be evaluated based on the following:

Organization:

• Previous experience on similar assignments, at least one implemented nationwide communication campaign, preferably in the education sector
• Proven knowledge of the education sector or related field

The Service Provider’s team’s qualifications:

• A master’s degree in the field of public relations, journalism, marketing or alike
• A minimum of five years of professional experience in media campaigns, development communications, public relations, journalism, marketing or in another related field
• Experience of working with Ukrainian governmental organizations (in providing the social oriented campaigns)
• Availability to established relationships with potential partners from the Ukrainian business community
• Capability and proven experience in developing and executing mass media campaigns, and designing messages in various formats (press releases, websites, success stories, blog entries, tweets, TV, radio etc.) targeting a variety of audiences
• Ability and proven experience in taking initiative and working effectively under pressure
• Familiarity with branding compliance
• Excellent written, oral and interpersonal skills; excellent communication skills in Ukrainian and English
• Familiarity with the New Ukrainian School reform will be an asset.

Technical Proposal:

• The relevance of the approach and implementation methodology
• the expected impact of the proposed methodology

An interview, where the best candidates  will be invited to, consists of 30 minutes presentation and 15 minutes for Q&A.   

8. Deadline for Proposals

The timeline of the tender is as follows:

All tenderers are requested to indicate their interest to submit their proposal by 31.01.2020 via email ([email protected]).

In case the tenderers want to have further clarification on the competition, written questions must be sent via email ([email protected]) by 04.02.2020.

All tenderers will be provided with answers to all clarification requests by 06.02 2020.

The final application must be submitted by 11.02.2020 via email to [email protected].

Please note that all written communication must be in English. Further instructions for the tender are given only from the email mentioned above. Advice obtained from other sources may be disregarded in the tender evaluation.