Date of Activity: 1 May 2020
Deadline: 17 April 2020

1.Contract title: Research on the effectiveness of social media as a tool for opening up spaces for women leaders’ participation in Zambia.

2. Location: Zambia
3.Contact details:
Organisation: Hivos Foundation
Email: [email protected]
Response Address: 20 Philips Avenue
Belgravia
Harare.

Overview
Hivos is a Dutch development organization that seeks new solutions to persistent global issues. With smart projects in the right places, we oppose discrimination, inequality, abuse of power and the unsustainable use of our planets resources. Counter balance alone, however is not enough. Our primary focus is achieving structural change. This is why we cooperate with innovative businesses, citizens and their organisations. We share a dream with them of sustainable economies and inclusive societies.

Currently, Hivos has two broad programmes which are; Green Society and Open Society. It is under the Open Society that these ToRs are developed under the Women Empowerment component.

Project Brief
Hivos in collaboration with its partners is implementing a five year (2016-2020) Women Empowered for Leadership (WE4L) programme in Southern Africa (Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe) and Middle East (Jordan and Lebanon). This Programme seeks to promote women’s leadership at the political, public administration levels and within civic organizations. Focus is at the sub-national level where decisions are made and policies are implemented that directly affect people’s day-to-day life. It moreover allows for women’s leadership skills to grow and mature. The main catalysing forces in this Programme are women’s organizations and (aspiring) women leaders.

The goal of the WE4L is “collaborating for increased and effective participation by women in politics and public administration.” The activities include use of modern communications tools and platforms in profiling women leaders as well as researching about women who step up to participate in public leadership platforms. Social media has grown exponentially in the last decade rendering traditional information and data gathering methods close to obsolete. It has however become evident that social media has become a key tool in making or breaking leadership careers. It is this use of social media and its direct and indirect effects on women and their participation in leadership that this consultancy seeks to unpack for discussion.

Background of task
WE4L would like to gather information on the trends, possible case studies and projected future trends of social/online media and its use by women who are aspiring for leadership or currently in leadership as well as how it’s used to support or derail them. The paper will also look at social/online media sentiment on women leaders and how it influences public perception of women in leadership positions in the five implementing countries. It will also be key to analyse social/online media versus traditional media to determine the added value of investing in social and online media to further the objectives of the programme.

The Objective of the Research is to determine the effectiveness of social media as a tool for opening up spaces for women leaders’ participation in leadership in public administration, politics, and quasi government.

The Consultant will be expected to cover the following themes: access, use, experiences, influence and impact of social media with particular reference to the following:
I. The role of social media uses in making or breaking women leaders’ careers
II. The direct and indirect effects of social media use on women leaders career progression
III. The impact of social media in promoting the 50/50 gender representation agenda
IV. The effectiveness of using social media as a tool for activism by women leaders
V. The impact of online gender based violence (harassment, intimidation & abuse) on women leaders

4. Procedure – Open Tender
5. Scope of the tender

The Contractor for the provision of the service will be engaged upon agreeing on the specific activities and deliverables of the project which will include:

(Activities)

1. Carrying out the in-country research based on the provided framework and methodology.
2. Compiling a full Report for the country research including at least two case studies.
3. Correctly citing any sources used in the Report
And provision of;
(Deliverables)
1. A full country report on Social/online media and its effects on women’s full participation in leadership processes with at least two case study/story per country and relevant infographics or visuals.
2. Annex of supporting documents (questionnaire responses)
3. A 2-page summary of the report

6. The Specifications:
Hivos requires the consultant to have;
⋅ The ability to work with a diverse team
⋅ A recent similar body of work
⋅ Flexibility
⋅ Knowledge of global gender (Women Leadership and participation) issues

a. Justification
The WE4L programme uses both traditional and social media as information and advocacy tools. Through partners who work with beneficiaries on the ground the programme gathers information for various uses which include setting positions, documenting for research and communicating the work being done and successes. This information works as evidence in lobby missions, programming and when calling the public/ stakeholders to action. Hivos and in turn the WE4L programme prides itself in the effective use of online media and acknowledges the risks that come with the use. The consultant will be required to exhibit substantial understanding of both online and offline communications tools.

Monitoring and Evaluation
A framework and methodology will be shared with the consultant and will be used to monitor and evaluate the consultancy research.

The Scope of the tender is as follows:
7. Tenders are invited and should be emailed to [email protected] clearly labelled “Effectiveness of Social Media Research WE4L Zambia 2020” Submissions should meet ALL requirements, a Tender submitted for selected parts of the works only or which is incomplete will not be considered.

8. Tender Validity and Format
The tender will be valid for 8 days starting from the 9th of April 2020 to the 17th of April 2020. Bids must be received at Hivos Offices by the 17th April 2020 by 1700 hours at which time the tender committee will meet to deliberate on received bids. Tenders can be emailed as specified in 7.

10. Tender Clarifications
Should any Tenderer have questions to ask or have any doubt about the meaning of the Tender Documents, they should refer them in writing (which will be deemed to be by, e-mail on [email protected]) not later than 16th of April 2020. Questions submitted will be issued, together with answers, to all Tenderers. The questions and answers as issued will give no indication of which Tenderer raised the questions. Questions and answers will not form part of the Tender or the Contract. If, arising from a question, it is necessary to vary the individual Tender Documents, then an Addendum will be issued in accordance with the above procedure.
If for any reason during the Tender period it becomes necessary to vary the Tender Documents, an Addendum will be issued to all Tenderers.

Note that:
ϖ Hivos may request further information from Tenderers after the submission of their proposal. Any additional information must be provided within five working days.
ϖ Hivos reserves the right to award one or more tenderers for each of the sections
ϖ The onus is on the contractor to ensure that their offer is complete and meets Hivos’ requirements. Failure to comply may lead to the offer being rejected without any reason being given. Therefore, please ensure that you read this document carefully and answer all questions in full.

11. Participation
• To be eligible for participation in this tender procedure, tenderers must prove to the satisfaction of Hivos that they comply with the necessary legal, technical and financial requirements and have the ability to carry out the contract effectively.
• Any attempt by the tenderer to obtain confidential information, enter into unlawful agreements with competitors or influence the evaluation committee or Hivos during the process of examining, clarifying, evaluating and comparing tenders will lead to one or more of the following; disqualification in this tender, rejection of its offer(s)/bid, or legal consequences, or debarred from future tenders/procurements where applicable.
• Tenderers must at all times act loyally and impartially in accordance with the code of conduct of their profession. They must refrain from making public statements about the project or services without Hivos’ prior written approval. They may not commit Hivos in any way without prior written consent.
• Tenderers and their staff are obliged to maintain professional secrecy; all reports, documents and information provided by Hivos are confidential and should be treated as such.

12. Evaluation and selection criteria
Hivos, at its sole discretion, will select the winners of this tender. In order to award the tender Hivos shall consider/perform the following evaluation and selection processes;
• Administrative compliance checks to ensure that all requested information has been submitted;
• Further evaluation shall be done based on professional capacity, technical capacity, compliance with technical specifications and other ancillary requirements included in the tender documents;
• Price, the best value for money which is a combination of quality/price;
13. Language of the procedure
• All written communications for this tender procedure and contract must be in English.

14. Disclaimer
ϖ Hivos reserves the right to alter the date of tender evaluation process stated above and the awarding of contract.
ϖ Hivos reserves the right to alter tender specifications and quantities.
ϖ Hivos reserves the right to cancel this tender process at any time and not to award any contract.
ϖ Hivos reserves the right not to enter into or award a contract as a result of this invitation to tender.
ϖ Hivos shall consider value for money (VFM) and as such does not bind itself to accept the lowest or any tender.
ϖ Hivos shall not be liable in respect of any costs incurred by the Tenderer in the preparation of the offer nor any associated work effort, including the production of presentation materials, brochures, product specifications or manuals for evaluation.