TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR) FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A DOCUMENTARY TO CLOSE THE WOMEN ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT PROJECT BY WE EFFECT

1. Introduction

We Effect is inviting consultancy services, companies, or individuals to submit tenders to develop a documentary showcasing the impact and outcomes of the Women’s Economic Empowerment Project.

We Effect is a global development organization founded in 1958 by the Swedish cooperative movement. Operating in over 20 countries across Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Africa, the organization focuses on poverty reduction and sustainable development through a human rights-based approach. It partners with member-based organizations, including farmer groups, housing cooperatives, and savings associations, to empower communities, especially women, by ensuring equal access to resources and opportunities.

In Zambia, We Effect collaborates with local organizations to support smallholder farmers, promote gender equality, enhance climate resilience, and strengthen housing and financial inclusion. The Women’s Economic Empowerment Project, implemented in selected districts of the Southern, Eastern, and Western provinces, aims to advance women’s participation in agricultural value chains, affirming their contributions and promoting equality.

The project objectives are to:

1. Increase women’s agency and decision-making power at household and community levels to address barriers to women’s economic empowerment.

2. Address institutional barriers that limit women’s economic advancement in agricultural value and market chains.

3. Strengthen women’s voice and collective power at community level to increase access to, control of and ownership of productive (e.g. physical assets, land) and financial assets among women through women-led cooperatives, land tenure and financial inclusion.

The core strategy is to strengthen cooperatives of women and men living in poverty through membership-based democracy, long-term economic thinking, social responsibility and transparency.

On this call, we are seeking the services of a qualified consultant to produce a one-hour documentary (1 hour), eight short 3-minute videos extracted from the main documentary for social media posting, 2 visually appealing portraits of each respondent highlighting the impact, lessons, and key outcomes of our project. These videos must explicitly highlight the project successes, challenges, and community stories from the: Mumbwa, Chadiza, Chipata, Lundazi, Kaoma, Choma, Kalomo, and Zimba Districts. The District Women Development Associations will support the consultant with respondents and locations. The final documentary will serve as a closing highlight of the project, while the short videos will be shared on social media to increase outreach.

2. Objectives of the Assignment

Guided by the We Effect Communications and Advocacy Officer, the consultant will apply their skills and knowledge to:

Document the achievements and impact of the project through a one-hour documentary. (highlighting women’s participation at different nodes of the value chain).
Create eight short 3-minute district-based videos extracted from the main documentary interviews to be used on social media.
Highlight the voices of beneficiaries and stakeholders explicitly with clear subtitles where the respondents use their local language.
Showcase best practices, challenges, and lessons learned.
Ensure ethical journalism standards, including obtaining consent before data collection using, We Effect’s consent form.
Produce a high-quality documentary film using interviews, videos and photographs that were generated during the various meetings, with Voiceover commentaries in English.

The format of broadcast and filming proposed will have to conform to the standards: 16/9, 25 pictures/sec, full HD, AVI, MPEG 2, MPEG 4 or MOOV for the diffusion and for the shooting: full HD, or 4k and with the ability to convert the same video to verbatim (audio spot).

3. Scope of Work

The consultant/s will be expected to:

Conduct background research by talking to the Project Manager at We Effect, District Women Development Association Coordinators and review project documents like reports to understand the project’s objectives and impact.
Develop a documentary concept, including storyboards and scripts, in consultation with We Effect’s Communications and Advocacy Officer.
Visit the eight districts (8) to capture high-quality video footage, stills and interviews.

The proposed number of days of shooting per location is 2 days plus 1 day for travel. Transport will be arranged by We Effect.

Produce a one-hour documentary summarizing the project’s journey, outcomes, and impact.
Develop eight 3-minute videos (one per district) to be shared on social media.
Edit and refine the videos, ensuring clear storytelling, high production quality, and engaging visuals.
Provide 2 clear and visually appealing portraits of all respondents
Adhere to ethical journalism standards and obtain consent from interviewees using We Effect’s official consent/data form.
Submit raw footage, transcripts, and final edited videos in appropriate formats as guided by the We Effect’s Communication and Advocacy Officer.

4. Deliverables

The consultant is expected to deliver the following during the pre-during postproduction:

A detailed work plan and script for approval before filming begins.
A one-hour documentary that effectively captures the project’s key outcomes.
Eight short 3-minute district videos optimized for social media.
2 Hi-Resolution portraits of each respondent
All raw footage, transcripts, subtitles in Word Format and final edited versions of the videos.

5. Timelines

The assignment is expected to run for 3 months from the date of signing the Agreement.

6. Required Expertise

We will not compromise on the qualifications as much as we will appreciate agility, versatility and creativity, so, the minimum we are looking for is:

Proven experience in documentary production and storytelling for NGO or development projects.
A certificate in relevant fields such as marketing, journalism, advertisement, filmmaking. A bachelor’s degree on the above will be an added advantage.

Expertise in video editing and high-quality filming, Proven record of performance excellence regarding themes/target groups
Knowledge of ethical journalism standards.
Ability to effectively apply high production and technical standards for the purpose of maintaining a high level of professionalism.
Ability to work in Lozi, Tonga, Chichewa and English Languages.
Experience working with development organizations and community projects.
Ability to work within the given timeframe and deliver high-quality outputs.
Knowledge of our work or partners, areas of operation may earn you a few marks so just take time and check us out www.weeffect.org and We Effect Southern Africa on Meta.

7. Ethical Considerations

The consultant must ensure fair and accurate representation of all rights holders.
Consent must be obtained before any data collection, using We Effect’s official consent form.
The confidentiality and privacy of individuals must be respected throughout the process.
We have our Code of Conduct and Safeguarding Guidelines which we follow, we will share with the consultant.

8. Submission of Proposals

Interested firms are requested to submit the following documents.

a) Technical proposal not exceeding the 8 pages on.

–        understanding and interpretation of the TOR.

–        methodology to be used in undertaking the assignment.

–        CVs of key personnel to be engaged in the production of documentary.

–        Documentary synopsis including description of methodology and work plan (Not exceeding three pages).

–        Detailed filming plan and timetable (Pre-production, production, and postproduction).

–        Detailed technical information of the equipment intended for use, camera, light, sound, and other video production equipment

b) Financial Proposal

–        Consultant’s daily rate.

–        Film crew cost and estimated days of shooting.

–        Editing process and cost related to editing.

–        Cost of dubbing and subtitles captioning.

–        Cost related to cost production process.

c) The consultant/s is supposed to produce or show samples of previous work done for renowned national or international organizations.

9. Tenders

Tenders shall consist of:

Company profile (clearly stating full contact details, physical address and telephone lines).

Certificate of incorporation or registration.

VAT registration.

Tax clearance certificates,

Membership or affiliation to a relevant professional body.

References/samples of three similar assignments completed working with communication for an NGO/INGO or similar within the past three years.

CV of the proposed consultant(s).

Fee rate per workday in ZMW; and

Declaration of any business or personal relationships connected to We Effect.

Payment fees will be based on the delivery of outputs, as follows:

•  25% upon signing of the contract
•  25% upon approval of the gathered footage
• 50%   submission of the final project.

10. Evaluation Criteria

For the evaluation of the expression of interest the following criteria will be applied.

a)       General experience of the firm (20)

b)       Experience Related to the Assignment (25 points).

c)       Technical approach and methodology (35 points).

d)       Work plan (10 points).

e)       Language (10 points).

11. Contact Information

Proposals should be submitted to We Effect at procurement.zambia@weeffect.org by Wednesday, 25th April 2025

We Effect reserves the right to accept or reject any proposal without assigning reasons.