1. Background

Learning Together is a collaborative project that started between Ukraine and Finland in summer 2018. The work is currently scheduled to last until July 2023. The project is implemented by FCG International.

The project focuses on supporting the New Ukrainian School (NUS) reform, especially in 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 a task of designing and implementing a mass media campaign called “Value of Education” including topic of “Responsible Parents” as an integrative part of school education. This Terms of Reference (ToR) is an invitation to submit bids for this assignment.

2. Objective

The results of the international study on the quality of education PISA were published in 2020. Those show that Ukrainian students are significantly behind the average indicators in OECD countries: by 23 points in reading, 39 in mathematics and 22 in science. In Ukraine more than 26% of the between school variation was explained by social, cultural and economic background of schools and students whereas, e.g., in Finland the corresponding percentage was about 7 %. This means that all the students do not have equal opportunities in learning.

A follow up study of PISA (OECD 2010, Pathways to Success: ISBN 978-92-64-07749-2) explained how knowledge and skills at age 15 shape future lives of students.

The planned “Value of Education“ campaign is supposed to follow the same theme and promote the appreciation of education among the general public, parents and pupils / students. It should highlight the importance of education in general and the NUS reform especially. The campaign should point out that the knowledge, skills and competences generated in NUS are those that are important for future citizens and connected to real life and employers’ needs in the 21^st century. Academics and HR professionals of different fields will be used e.g. to explain what kind of expertise they are looking for.

The “Responsible Parents” campaign is planned to highlight the importance of home-school collaboration among parents and teachers.

Teachers and principals often count on parents to help them create a positive learning environment in their schools. The family-school partnership can take multiple forms, e.g. parents discussing education matters with their child, helping with homework, supervising their child’s progress through education, communicating with school personnel, participating in decision making and taking part in school activities.

PISA 2018 has shown that on the average the score in reading was higher in those countries and economies where more parents discussed their child’s progress on the initiative of teachers, and that positive memories remained even after calculating GDP per capita and other forms of parental involvement in school-related activities. Simply put, this means that parents and teachers can work together effectively to improve student learning. 

The “Value of Education” campaign with “Responsible Parents” topic as campaign’s integrative part is planned to run for one year with an estimated budget of EUR 54,000.

The objective of the Service Provider is to design and implement a mass media campaign to strengthen target groups’ esteem in the value of education in general and NUS especially.

3. Scope of Work

The Service Provider will be contracted to:

3.1. Design and implement a communication program “Value of Education” with the topic “Responsible Parents” as its integrative part. The campaign can include various mass-media channels (TV, radio, press, social media) as well as different forms of communication materials. Formats, tools and methods of communication of information materials are not limited to those described in this document, the Service Provider can offer own ideas. These can be:

•   a media campaign and/or digital campaign, special project, landing page “Value of Education” with separate topic “Responsible Parents” in partnership with national and online media (Internet, TV, radio, press, social networks);

•   the topics of a media campaign may include, but are not limited to, the topics outlined below:

       °   why do we talk about the value of education in wartime?

       °   safe educational environment, including the safety of learning in wartime

       °   emphasis on the access to education for all, especially in wartime (using real concrete examples of pupils/students and teachers: from temporarily occupied territories to abroad);

       °   the importance of preserving Ukrainian education:

•        examples of Estonian, Polish and other schools, which have provided Ukrainian children with the opportunity to master the “Ukrainian part of the curriculum”: Language, Literature, History of Ukraine;

•        examples of children studying in two schools - foreign and Ukrainian;

•        examples of organizing studies for IDPs;

•        examples of returning to studies in de-occupied territories;

•       the creative idea of the campaign should also represent values introduced in the State Standard for Basic Secondary Education:

       °   respect for pupil’s / student’s personality and recognition of the priority of pupil’s / student’s interests, experience, own choice, aspirations, attitude in determining the goal and organization of the educational process, support for cognitive interest and perseverance;

       °   ensuring equal access of each pupil / student to education without any form of discrimination against educational process participants;

       °   compliance with the principles of academic integrity in the interaction of educational process participants and the organization of all types of educational activities;

       °   development of a pupil’s / student’s free personality, support of his or her independence, entrepreneurship and Initiative, development of critical thinking and self-confidence;

       °   building a culture of a pupil / student healthy lifestyle, enabling harmonious physical and mental development, well-being;

       °   creating an educational environment that provides an atmosphere of trust, without any form of discrimination against educational process participants;

       °   affirmation of human dignity, honesty, mercy, kindness, justice, empathy, mutual respect and mutual assistance, respect for human rights and freedoms, the ability for constructive interaction of pupils / students with each other and with adults;

       °   formation of pupils’ / students’ active civic position, patriotism, respect for the cultural values of the Ukrainian people, their historical and cultural heritage and traditions, and the state language;

       °   nurturing pupils’ / students’ love for their native land, responsible attitude to the environment;

       °   the format, tools, ways to disseminate key topics, values, and messages of the campaign depend on the creative idea and are not limited to the ones set out in this document.

The campaign should start in NOVEMBER 2022 and last for 1 year.

The supervision of the campaign will be carried out by the staff of the Learning Together project, RST team and MoES. The Learning Together project will perform general coordination and decision-making, RST and MoES’ experts would provide expertise and consulting.

Targeted groups: general public, but especially parents and pupils / students, teacher higher education institutes, IDPs, inhabitants of de-occupied territories, Ukrainian refugees abroad and Ukrainian educators abroad. 

Involvement: The Service Provider will involve all targeted groups into the 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, e.g. workshops, seminars and billboards. In campaigns, the visual identity of the Learning Together project, NUS reform and MoES will be used. 

In campaigns, the visual identity, roles and key messages of the Learning Together project, NUS reform and MOES will be used and should be explicitly communicated. 

3.3. Collaborate with the project’s communication experts and 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 various NGOs, think tanks, companies, brands, businesses, higher education institutions, 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 and reporting.

4. Expected Deliverables

The Service Provider will submit the following deliverables:

4.2. Design creative concept of communication campaign, develop creative ideas of its implementation;

4.1. Present ideas and a communications plan for the mass media campaign: the key messages of the campaign and explain how the delivery of those can be measured by KPIs. Outputs, outcomes and impact of the campaign should be included into the communication plan as main reference point for all the activities planned.

The Proposal should also contain the suggestion on how the info-materials produced during the campaign could be used further (e.g., digitalized, printed in the form of manuals, posters, etc. after the end of campaign).

4.3.  HRBA and inclusion of the vulnerable groups should be covered in the creative proposal.

4.4. Provide an Inception Report outlining the activities to be undertaken, including an implementation plan with exact timelines.

4.5. Implement the campaign.

4.6. Write monthly Progress Reports describing accomplishments of each sub-campaign, including media monitoring results with quantitative indicators on the audiences reached.  Coordinate them with the project’s communication expert.

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

5. Budget

The budget for the assignment is EUR 54,000. The budget, details of the assignment, terms and conditions will be specified in the contract between FCG International Ltd (Contractor) and the Service Provider. Payment milestones will be based on the acceptance of the key deliverables by the Cluster 2 working group including project’s and external experts.

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 planned activities to manage the assignment, including an operational work plan with timelines.

6.2 Breakdown of costs

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

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:

Technical Proposal:

     •   Relevance of the approach and implementation methodology

     •   Expected impact of the proposed methodology

Organization:

     •   Previous experience on similar assignments, at least one nationwide communication campaign implemented, preferably in the education sector

     •   Proven knowledge of the education sector or related field.

The key qualifications of the Service Provider’s team:

     •   Availability of resources: the possibility of the organization to allocate a dedicated team of specialists who will work on the campaign

     •   Master’s degree in the field of public relations, journalism, marketing or similar area

     •   A minimum of five years of professional experience in media campaigns, development communications, public relations, journalism, marketing or another related field

     •   Experience of working with Ukrainian governmental organizations (in carrying out socially focused campaigns)

     •   Readiness to establish 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.

An interview, where the best candidates will be invited, shall consist of a 30-minute presentation and a 15-minute Q&A session.       

8. Deadline for Proposals

The timeline of the tender is as follows:

1. If bidders would like to receive additional explanations about the tender, written questions should be sent to the following email address: [email protected] until 2 November 2022.
2. All bidders will be provided with answers to all requests for clarification requests until 4 November 2022.
3. The final proposal must be submitted by 15 November 2022 (COB) to the following email address:  [email protected]

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