International/Regional Consulting Firm (“Consultant”) on Communication and Outreach Support to implement the CAMP4ASB Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy

Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Aral Sea Basin (CAMP4ASB)

Terms of Reference for the International/Regional Consulting Firm (“Consultant”)

on Communication and Outreach Support to implement the CAMP4ASB Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy

1.     Background

The five Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan - are among the ECA Region’s most vulnerable countries to climate change and building resilience to climate’s mounting impacts is a priority for poverty reduction and shared prosperity in Central Asia[1]. On November 3, 2015, the World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved an allocation of US$38 million from the International Development Association (IDA) to finance the first phase of the CAMP4ASB regional program.

The Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Program for Aral Sea Basin (CAMP4ASB) aims to enhance regionally coordinated access to improved climate change knowledge services for key stakeholders in participating Central Asian countries as well as to increased investments and capacity building that, combined, will address climate challenges common to these countries. The program is implemented by the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (EC-IFAS) with support from the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CAREC) for day-to-day regional coordination and implementation.

To support the CAMP4ASB project implementation, a comprehensive 5-year Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy (CSES) was developed through a participatory process involving government representatives, policy makers, NGOs, academia, media and other key stakeholders. The Strategy also includes a detailed Action Plan, outlining key activities for the next 18 months of the project implementation.

The 5-year Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy aims to:

1)     Promote the work of CAMP4ASB, its goals and objectives and results

2)     Improve the understanding and build support for climate change issues in the region

The main objective of this assignment is to support the implementation of the Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy and its key strategic activities, as outlined in the Action Plan.

2.     Objectives of the assignment   

Under the supervision of the Regional Coordination Unit and CAREC Knowledge Management Unit (KPRM), the Consultant will ensure effective support related to the overall implementation of the CAM4ASB Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy with specific focus on the following activities:

1)      Promote the work of CAMP4ASB, its goals and objectives and results

2)      Improve the understanding and build support for climate change issues in the region

3)      Organize a regional photo-contest on Climate change and its impacts for the photographers, media and bloggers of the Central Asian countries

4)      Support the development of a short video documentary on Climate change issues in Central Asia

5)      Organize PR/media campaign of the Annual Climate Change Forum

6)      Conduct a workshop to raise awareness and understanding of media practitioners from Central Asia such as journalists, reporters and producers on the issues of climate change and the work of CAREC/CAMP4ASB

7)      Internal media training to build the capacity of the CAMP4ASB staff to effectively communicate with the media on the program’s key topics and issues

8)      Conduct regular media monitoring of climate related information (news, blogs, etc.) in Central Asia, synthesize them and share with PR Specialist at CAREC for further communication and outreach

9)      Develop the project’s branding and communication products

10)    Provide content to updating CAMP4ASB web site (climate.carececo.org) with regional and country-specific project results and climate-related information           

While the Consultant will operationalize the outlined specific activities, and provide support to RCU team along the course of the Strategy implementation.

3.     Scope of work and tasks

The Consultant is expected to undertake the following tasks:

1)     Promote the work of CAMP4ASB, its goals and objectives and results

·       Work collaboratively with key stakeholders (incl. mass media) to share information about CAMP4ASB and its progress in a timely manner.

·       Regularly share all updates and information on online and social media channels in Central Asia.

·       Support the Development of the Questions and Answers about the project (most critical 10 questions and answers about CAMP4ASB, that will help people to understand how it will work) and make it available publicly (web site, social media, newsletter).

·       Compile a database of CAMP4ASB key stakeholders with contacts and emails.

·       Conduct media campaign to share project information in the national and regional media (approach key national and regional media and offer expert interviews, including World Bank, CAREC in each country).

·       Organize regional online web-conferencing with key NGOs to discuss the project and climate-change related information.

·       Organize cross-regional field trip to showcase ongoing work in the region on climate change adaptation and mitigation to key stakeholders.

·       Organize capacity building event for key stakeholders based on their needs.

·       Organize participation of the mass media (including TV, radio etc.) at major project events, creation and distribution of press releases and post releases.

2)     Improve the understanding and build support for climate change issues in the region

·       Communicate country-specific mitigation and adaptation solutions for key stakeholder groups.

·       Underline the benefits of regional cooperation on climate issues for key stakeholder groups.

·       Build understanding of the economic and social benefits of mitigation and adaptation solutions among key stakeholder groups.

·       Organize cross-regional web-conferencing to discuss the issue of regional cooperation.

·       Compile policy brief and case-studies to showcase the benefits of climate-change adaptation and mitigation solutions for country’s economy (including economic projections, scenarios) and disseminate through all channels.

3)     Organize a regional photo-contest on climate change and its impacts for the photographers, media and bloggers of the Central Asian countries

·       Develop a concept note and a specific ToR for the regional photo-contest.

·       Disseminate information about the Photo-contest through public channels, NGO networks, social media, partners and public advertising where possible.

·       Form a jury panel for the photo-contest.

·       Assign the prizes and criteria for the selection.

·       Develop timeframe and follow up on the contest timeframe.

·       Finalize the submissions and organize a selection procedure.

·       Announce the winners and handover all the submission to RCU/CAREC team.

·       Develop a final report.

4)     Development of a short video documentary on climate change issues in Central Asia

·       Develop a concept note for the documentary;

·       Participate in the selection committee to identify media partner for producing a documentary (unless there is no relevant consultant working with the firm);

·       Coordinate the script writing, including identifying the heroes, timeframe, speakers and other elements of the documentary;

·       Coordinate the feedback and finalization of the documentary;

·       Provide marketing and promotion of the documentary.

5)     Organize Annual Climate Change Forum PR/media campaign

·       Develop a concept note and a specific ToR for the Annual Climate Change Forum PR/media campaign

·       Disseminate information about the Forum through public channels, NGO networks, social media, partners and public advertising where possible.

·       Develop timeframe and follow up on the Forum PR/media campaign timeframe.

·       Conduct a post-Forum survey to assess the Forum's effectiveness.

·       Develop a final report on the results of the Forum PR/media campaign; comprising the Forum agenda, contact list, outcomes (including media publicity generated), recommendations and lessons learned.

6)     Conduct a regional 2-day media training workshop for journalists on Climate Change issues

·       Conduct a desk-research/ interviews with potential participants to identify current and past training programs focused on climate change issues in the region of Central Asia conducted by other partners.

·       Based on the results of the desk research develop a comprehensive training program that will offer a fresh training content.

·       Identify speakers and experts as necessary to present expert content at the workshop.

·       Identify and incorporate a field-visit to one of the project’s sites.

·       Design a pre- and post-survey (questionnaire) to assess the effectiveness of the workshop for all media practitioners in attendance.

·       Conduct the training for media representatives from Central Asia with a focus on CAREC work and climate-change issues in the region.

·       Ensure evaluation of the training.

·       Final report on the results of the training workshop; comprising the workshop agenda, contact list, outcomes (including media publicity generated, if any), recommendations and lessons learned.

·       Conduct a post-workshop survey (approx. 3 months after the training completion) to assess the workshop's effectiveness and potential media publicity.

7)     Conduct an internal 1-day capacity building workshop that will support CAMP4ASB team in delivering effective media interviews

·       Conduct a brief needs assessment to identify most important topics to cover.

·       Based on the results of the assessment develop a workshop program that will cover the following issues: key messages delivery, preparing for difficult questions; techniques to control media interview.

·       Conduct the training to improve CAMP4ASB team’s ability to develop successful media interviews.

·       Conduct the workshop evaluation.

·       Final report on the results of the training workshop. Internal media training to build the capacity of the CAMP4ASB experts to effectively communicate with the media on the program’s key topics and issues.

8)     Conduct regular media monitoring of climate related information (news, blogs, etc.) in Central Asia, synthesize them and share with PR Specialist at CAREC for further communication and outreach

·       Carry out regular media monitoring and analysis of archival (past/recent) and retrospective (present/future) climate-related information in Central Asia/

·       Synthesize the information and provide reference links to the original source of information. Based on this synthesis provide the content for the website page, which is about to start for the CAMP4ASB visualization purposes.

·       Accompany every information product by photo and visuals (e.g. info graphs).

·       Conduct interviews and expert opinion exercise on topics related to climate change to back up the information products generated in the context of CAMP4ASB.

·       Update existing CAREC’s mailing list by beneficiaries, who are eager to be recipients of climate-related updates both in the context of CAMP4ASB and CAREC’s interventions.

·       Track the level of communication and outreach of the information products (news, project updates, meetings, etc), which have been done in the context of CAMP4ASB.

9)     Development of the project’s branding and communication products

·       Development of CAMP4ASB infographics, detailing the climate change issues in Central Asia and CAMP4ASB interventions (planned or existing).

·       Development of a generic CAMP4ASB brochure.

·       Support a preparation of the templates for country-specific infographics, brochures and other communication materials.

·       Compile policy briefs and case-studies and disseminate through all channels.

10) Provide content to updating CAMP4ASB web site with regional and country-specific project results and climate-related information

·       Plan and produce CSE outputs for regional and major national activities (news, interviews, cross-country exchanges, capacity building etc.) of the climate-related information through regular media monitoring and analysis for regular updates on the website (climate.carececo.org), especially to exchange information and raise awareness in the context of the CAMP4ASB project.

·       Provide the content and write-up of the CAMP4ASB related updates (news, program profile, etc.) and support KPRM PR Specialist in communication and outreach.

·       Create and disseminate quarterly CAMP4ASB newsletter.

#	Tasks	Deadline/Period
1	Development of the work plan	By the end of September 2017
2	Promote the work of CAMP4ASB, its goals and objectives and results	Regularly
3	Improve the understanding and build support for climate change issues in the region	January -August 2018
4	Organize a regional photo-contest on Climate change and its impacts for the photographers, media and bloggers of the Central Asian countries	27 November 2017
5	Support the development of a short video documentary on Climate change issues in Central Asia	20 December 2017
6	Organize PR/media campaign of the Annual Climate Change Forum (Date of the Forum - last week of November)	October-November 2017
7	Conduct a workshop to raise the awareness and understanding of media practitioners from Central Asia such as journalists, reporters and producers on the issues of climate change and the work of CAREC	January-March 2018
8	Internal media training to build the capacity of the CAMP4ASB staff to effectively communicate with the media on the program’s key topics and issues	January-March 2018
9	Conduct regular media monitoring of climate related information (news, blogs, etc.) in Central Asia, synthesize them and share with PR Specialist at CAREC for further communication and outreach	Quarterly
10	Develop the project’s branding and communication products	15 November 2017
11	Provide content to updating CAMP4ASB web site (climate.carececo.org) with regional and country-specific project results and climate-related information	Regularly, at least 6 information products per month

4.     Qualification and experience requirement

·     As least 7 years of relevant experience in public relations or communication, marketing and outreach activities targeting a wide range of stakeholders (e.g., government agencies, development partners, academia, civil society) on nature protection, climate change and environment management issues.

·     Experience working on communication and outreach in Central Asian countries highly desirable.

·     Experience in conducting PR/media campaigns to cover high-level international events.

·     Presence of a pool of media / journalists from Central Asia.

·     Experience in the preparation and filming of short video documentary (script writing, identifying the heroes and speakers, setting the timeframe, and other elements of the documentary).

·     Experience in organizing and conducting training for journalists.

·     Experience in developing branding and communication products.

·     Strong analytical, research, communication and advocacy skills as well as experience in contributing to generation of high quality knowledge products and communication materials.

·     Fluency in written and spoken English and Russian.

5.     Location

Regional Consultant will work distantly with a few missions to the countries of Central Asia.

Timeline and Reporting

The estimated duration of the consultancy will be September 2017 – August 2018.

The Regional Consultant shall report to the CAMP4ASB RCU Coordinator.

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[1] CAMP4ASB Project Appraisal Document, 2015.

Interested organizations/experts may review the detailed Terms of References following the link below and submit their Expressions of interest (EOI) to Sanzhar Mustafin at smustafin@carececo.org and camp4asb@carececo.org not later than September 18, 2017.

Detailed Terms of References is available on link

Please note that only short listed candidates will be contacted.