The UNDP Strategic Plan 2018-2021 embraces the complexity of development and commits the organization to helping countries find faster, more durable solutions to achieve Agenda 2030.? In line with this, the organization has begun incubating?a number of?strategic initiatives aimed at ensuring UNDP is ‘fit for purpose’ to deliver a new generation of solutions in line with the challenges the world faces.??

One such key strategic initiative is the Accelerator Lab Network.? The initiative is a recognition that increasingly interrelated development challenges require going beyond business as usual and single point, linear and silver bullet responses in development.? Instead, they call for interdisciplinary approaches and non-linear solutions that crowd in the collective efforts of a wide variety of partners and tap into local insights and contextual, sticky knowledge of citizens.?? The initiative is also a recognition and an investment in the emerging momentum among a growing number of UNDP Country Offices for marrying disruptive, cutting edge methodologies with contextual, country-based insights and expertise to accelerate learning, progress and impact toward the SDGs.?

With this in mind, the?UNDP intends to build the largest and fastest learning global network of Accelerator Labs (initially setting up 60 labs in 82 countries) embedded within UNDP’s global architecture and country platforms that embody the new organizational offering to transform the collective approach to development.?

The network will surface and reinforce locally sourced solutions at scale while mobilizing a wide and dynamic partnership of actors contributing knowledge, resources and experience.? The initiative is meant to transform our collective approach by introducing new protocols, backed by evidence and practice, which accelerate the testing and dissemination of solutions within and across countries. This will enable the global community to collectively learn from local knowledge and ingenuity at a speed and at a scale that our societies and planet require. This will be achieved by:

• Building on locally-sourced solutions, finding things that work and expanding on them;
• Rapid testing and iteration to implement what works and go beyond the obvious solutions;
• Combining the best understanding, ideas and expertise to generate collective knowledge;
• Accelerating progress by bringing expertise, creativity and collective intelligence to bear.

SUDAN

UNDP in Sudan has consistently promoted innovative initiatives since 2014 as an enabler to doing development efficiently and tackle barriers to development pathways. In partnership with the government, private sector, incubators and civil society organizations, Country Office (CO) has undertaken initiatives that applied design thinking, human centered approach, to create solutions on better citizen engagement towards building peace and social cohesion; behavioral insights to understand pathways of radicalization and determine programme response to prevent violent extremism, telecom big data to measure proxy multi- dimensional poverty, crowd sourcing through radios to obtain perceptions on public service delivery, as well as promotion and capacity building of youth on social innovation. These initiatives were conducted within ongoing projects or as test pilots facilitated by the CO Innovation Task Force.?

Sudan is one of the selected country offices amongst 60 countries for the launch of UNDP’s global network of Accelerator Lab in 2019, embedded within UNDP’s global architecture and country platforms. The establishment of the lab will support CO’s objectives and ongoing efforts in applying up to date social and policy innovation concepts, tools and approaches to address most complex and emerging development challenges in the country. Social and policy innovation for UNDP Sudan means

pursuing new approaches, ideas and solutions combining multiple disciplines, types of actors and sectors, to put effective capacity and processes at the core of public service delivery and social progress right from initial nudge through scale and systemic change.

In particular, Sudan CO envisions the Accelerator Lab to build on the latest thinking from the fields of complexity science, lead user innovation, collective intelligence and data innovation to co-create solutions and accelerate development impact through improved, efficient and inclusive responses in support of UNDP’s current and upcoming priorities on local governance, economic stabilization and sustainable livelihoods amongst others.

Learning Loop Report

As a shared responsibility between the Head of Experimentation, Head of Exploration, and Head of Solutions Mapping, working out loud is an exceptionally important activity of the Accelerator Lab. The Learning Loop Report is going to communicate, showcase and feature findings from exploration and sensing, experimentation, and solution mapping activities. And that includes:

• Findings on future trends.
• New methodologies and approach the Lab is utilizing
• Findings of field research
• Share insight from country specific experience??
• Share findings and insights from lead user methodology and the steps followed to identify and work with lead users
• Showcase portfolio logic
• Reflecting insights from individual experiments
• Showcase trainings and workshops delivered by the Accelerator Lab??

Duties and Responsibilities

• Edit and Design two learning loop physical reports

Accelerator Lab will be providing the content of this reports. Your role is to edit the content and work on designing a format for the report that has the Accelerator Lab Network and Accelerator Lab Sudan flavor. Also, the Learning Loop Report, as a product of UNDP, needs to be in compliance with UNDP’s rules and regulations.

• Design two online interactive versions of the two learning loop reports

The online interactive version of the report would have a similar content of the physical copy however different visualization and different enabling features.

• Support Sudan Horizon Scanner interactive media and research related tasks

With the head of exploration and the Sudan Horizon Scanner team, the interactive media specialist will contribute to the ideation, research, visualization, branding and interactive media features of the Sudan Horizon Scanner platform

• Support the visualization and interactive media features of Entry Points for Transition survey

With the head of exploration, interactive media specialist will design and help in data visualization of the results of Entry Points for Transitional Period Survey

• Deliver finished products.

You will deliver a total of 100 hard copies of the Learning Loop Report, the online interactive report and a detailed report on their came about for future internal use of the Accelerator Lab.

• Support the exploration function of the Accelerator Lab.

The interactive media specialist will support the Head of Exploration in their working out loud function by advising on which experimental interactive media tools to use that can put the Accelerator lab at the forefront of exploration.

• Producing Sudan Explorer Monthly Magazine.

The interactive media specialist along with the head of exploration and the research assistant will lead the design and production of the Sudan Explorer monthly magazine in both its versions, print and online.

Institutional Arrangement

The interactive media specialist will work under the direct supervision of the Accelerator Lab Sudan’s Head of Exploration and in close liaison with UNDP Sudan staff.

Duration of the WorK

The total duration of this activity is from 1st December 2019 until November 30th, 2020. The total numbers of working days required are 230 working days.

Duty Station

Khartoum, Sudan. The Contractor is expected to work at the UNDP office with frequent meetings outside of the office but no need to travel to the field locations outside Khartoum.

Criteria for longlisting

• Sudanese’s National
• Master’s degree

The IC modality is expected to be used only for short-term consultancy engagements.  If the duration of the IC for the same TOR exceeds twelve (12) months, the duration must be justified and be subjected to the approval of the Director of the Regional Bureau, or a different contract modality must be considered.  This policy applies regardless of the delegated procurement authority of the Head of the Business Unit. 

Evaluation Criteria and selection of the consultant

The offers received from the candidates will be evaluated using combined scoring method. The combined scoring method assesses the offers with technical merits of the proposals – where the qualifications and methodology will be weighted a maximum of 70%, and later combined with the price offer which will be weighted a max of 30%. Only offers received minimum 70% of technical weightage (49 points) will be invited to submit the financial offer.

Competencies

• Demonstrates integrity by modeling the UN’s values and ethical standards;
• Promotes the vision, mission, and strategic goals of UNDP;
• Displays cultural, gender, religion, race, nationality and age sensitivity and adaptability;
• Treats all people fairly without favoritism;
• Ability to work with a multi-cultural and diverse team

Required Skills and Experience

• Expertise in interactive media and report design is an asset.
• A master’s degree in Digital Technologies, Communications, Multimedia studies, Journalism or any related master’s in Media.
• Minimum of 2 years of work experience in media production;
• Ability to liaise and communicate with a range of national and international partners;
• Ability to analyze large amounts of data to identify key messages and indicators for easy visualization and clear communication of complex analyses
• Experience in content creation for innovation for development is an asset.
• Minimum 1 year work experience in creative productions.
• Excellent spoken and written English and Arabic communication skills.
• Being comfortable around ambiguity and have a grasp on topics entertaining complexity science and system thinking

For full details regarding the TOR and Offerors Letter please see the below links: -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/avmv4a0wp1pwn8d/Offerors%20Letter%20-Interactive%20Media%20Specialist.docx?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/plm8wq0erhqr05j/ToR%20Interactive%20Media%20Specialist.pdf?dl=0