CALL FOR APPLICATIONS:

LEVERAGING NEW TOOLS FOR ONLINE & SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNING

NDI seeks a consultant (or consultants) to develop and provide training for NDI staff and partners around the world on utilizing social media and the internet for campaigning. The consultant(s) should have experience managing online election campaigns for political parties, with a specific focus on developing an online campaign strategy, short video and other social media content creation, identifying target audiences, countering information manipulation, boosting reach and engagement on social media platforms, and how social media and online campaigning fit alongside traditional election campaign strategies.

The consultant(s) would, in close collaboration with the NDI’s Political Parties team, develop written and online training materials which would allow NDI’s partners around the world to successfully develop, implement and evaluate online campaigns sensitive to emerging technologies and ethical standards. 

Together with the NDI Political Parties team, the consultant(s) would develop a timeline for developing and implementing the training material. Following the completion of the final deliverables during the days allocated for creation of the training materials, NDI will employ the consultant(s) for the period of days listed to deliver the training to partners in different countries. 

Specifically, the consultant(s) would: 

I. Design a training curriculum and participate in the development of written and online training materials on select topics, described below, in close consultation with the NDI Political Parties team: 

1. Developing a social media and online campaign strategy 

The strategy should explain: 

• How online campaigns reach particular audiences;

• Different methods of utilizing online campaigns;

• How to structure a responsive and efficient campaign management team;

• How to identify the goals of an online campaign;

• How to evaluate the success and resonance of an online campaign initiative;

• How to safeguard a campaign against hate speech, particularly those targeted at women and marginalized communities;

• How to anticipate the opposition’s counter-messaging;

• Which voices to use and amplify in campaigns; and

• How to determine value for money, reach and impact. 

The strategy should also outline how online and social media campaigning should complement traditional campaigns. 

2. Developing practical skills in filming, developing, editing, producing, posting, and amplifying online content across different platforms on a limited budget. 

These primarily concern the utilization of smartphones as well as free tools and applications that are accessible globally. 

3. Developing expertise on how to build audiences for content, both organically and through paid advertising and promotion. 

Special attention is to be paid to an explanation of political advertising rules and best practices for boosting reach and engagement on different social media platforms and how campaigns can use these to build audiences for their content. 

4. Developing expertise to respond to information manipulation campaigns through utilizing modern communication tools and social media platforms. 

Clients would be trained on how to identify and counter coordinated manipulated information campaigns across a variety of platforms. 

II. Implement the training material, initially with a select number of NDI staff who support our partners in different regions around the world, to test the training materials and receive feedback on the contents;

III. Offer ad-hoc advice to NDI’s forthcoming network of experts; and

IV. Review and finalize the training materials after the initial round of training for final delivery to NDI. 

Deliverables: 

• A training methodology accompanied by written training materials designed to help NDI partners more fully understand the strategy and implementation of online and social media campaigns;

• Powerpoints and other materials necessary for the consultant to deliver in-person trainings as part of this contract and to replicate the trainings as necessary in an in-person format; and

• Expert advice the creation of an online course on digital campaigning in partnership with a separately hired online course provider paid by NDI, to be determined by the NDI Political Parties Team Staff as project needs evolve.

Timeframe 

NDI expects the consultant(s) to complete the stipulated work and be available for international travel as necessary in order to deliver the trainings between August 1, 2024 and February 28, 2025. 

The consultant(s) is/are expected to work for a total of approximately twenty (20) working days during the month of August to design the training curriculum, and twelve (12) working days, spread between the months of December and January, traveling both internationally and domestically as necessary, in order to deliver the trainings. 

Terms of Payment: 

Remuneration under this contract is not to exceed a maximum cumulative payment of USD $15,000 for services rendered. 

Payments under this agreement are tied to NDI receipt and acceptance of the following specific deliverables:

• Receipt and NDI acceptance of initial draft training materials;

• Refinement of Training Materials in consultation with Local Experts;

• Completed Delivery of all trainings under scope of work; and

• Ad-hoc communication with NDI Digital Campaign network.

The consultant(s) is responsible for invoicing NDI for any payments requested under this Agreement. 

Based on the outlined work, the consultant(s) will invoice NDI following services rendered in one or two installments based on the following illustrative schedule:

All invoices must provide the following information: Consultant(s) name and remittance address, project code under which the work was performed, current amount invoiced and cumulative invoiced. NDI will not consider invoices received more than one year after completion of work or 60 days following completion of the underlying project. 

INSTRUCTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS: 

Bids should be submitted to Jose Alvarado at [email protected] by July 15, 2024. Submissions should be electronic.

Proposals should include: 

• Resume of the consultant(s); and

• Financial proposal.

NDI will evaluate bids based on the consultant(s) ability to meet description of product needed, experience and price. NDI reserves the right to reject any and all bids. NDI reserves the right to consider bids for modification at any time before a contract is awarded. 

Proposals are expected to be binding for a period of 12 months from the published response date. NDI shall not be liable for any costs associated with the preparation, transmittal, or presentation of any materials submitted in response to the RFP. 

Bidders must provide disclosure of any known past, present or future relationships with any parties associated with NDI. For example, applicants should disclose if a member of their Board is also a member of NDI's Board currently or in the past. The bidder also certifies that the prices offered were determined independently and without the purpose of restricting competition with other applicants, including but not limited to subsidiaries, and that prices have not been and will not be knowingly disclosed to any other applicant unless required by law. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in the removal of the bid from consideration. 

ABOUT NDI 

The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) is a nonprofit organization established in 1983 working to strengthen and expand democracy worldwide. Calling on a global network of volunteer experts, NDI provides practical assistance to civic and political leaders advancing democratic values, practices and institutions. NDI works with partners in every region of the world to build political and civic organizations, safeguard elections, and promote citizen participation, openness and accountability in government. You can learn more about the Institute at our website, www.ndi.org.