1.     Background

Since 2001, the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP) has supported over 120 projects across South Africa in the focal areas of biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation & adaptation, protection of international waters, prevention of land degradation, sustainable forest management and elimination of persistent organic pollutants through community-based approaches.

The Programme provides grant-funding support to communities to combat the critical environmental challenges and has successfully demonstrated that supporting communities in their efforts to achieve more sustainable livelihoods is not only possible, but extremely important in bringing change and achieving global environmental benefits.

The SGP is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Country Office in Pretoria and is funded by the GEF through the National Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) which is the GEF Operational Focal Point in the country. A National Steering Committee (NSC) comprised of voluntary representatives from civil society organisations, government agencies, academia, private sector and the UNDP office approves projects and guides the implementation of the SGP, which is managed by the National Coordinator (NC).

To better raise public awareness of our work, strengthen our partnerships and improve advocacy efforts, GEF SGP would like to recruit a service provider to help produce a short video documentary that captures programme key results, successes and challenges, best practices and lessons learnt from the projects as well as future programme direction.

The video documentary will focus on the impact of GEF SGP’s projects implemented under the GEF Operational Phase 6 (OP6) in South Africa by highlighting success stories from beneficiaries on the interventions across the entire spectrum of our programming in selected projects.

1. Overall objective of the Assignment

The overall objective of the assignment is to produce a documentary film on the SGP’s OP6 projects highlighting best practices, successes and achievements as well as real impacts in the programme focal areas. The service provider will also produce short impact stories from the projects as well as high resolution photographs that can be used in various communication platforms.

1. Specific tasks for the Service Provider

Under the direct supervision of the SGP National Coordinator, the service provider will be required to do the following:

·       Develop the documentary film’s overall concept and scenario.

·       Develop a production work plan for the assignment including traveling days.

·       Interview selected participants for the film consisting of project grantees and beneficiaries, SGP NSC members including DFFE, National Coordinator, Programme Assistant and UNDP Resident Representative or Deputy Resident Representative.

·       Visit 10 selected project sites and interact with the local communities/beneficiaries who have been impacted by the SGP-supported projects. The provincial breakdown of projects and respective numbers are as follows:  5 in Limpopo (4 in Vhembe & 1 in Waterberg), 1 in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu Natal; 1 in Cape Town, Western Cape; 1 in Matatiele, Eastern Cape; 1 in Makgabetlwane, North-West and 1 in Johannesburg, Gauteng.  

·       Develop the documentary script and storyboard to be used in the film.

·       Perform appropriate video filming and shoot interviews with the projects’ beneficiaries and stakeholders, and produce high quality project still photographs.

·       Compile short impact stories from the project sites.

·       Present a draft documentary film to SGP NC and NSC for comments on content.

·       Produce one final documentary film on DVD and of 7-10minute long integrating comments. Final product should have English subtitles.

·       Adapt the final video into short videos telling the stories per province.

·       Incorporate relevant audio-visual material such as background music and scenic videos sourced from public domains or licensed under Creative Commons.

·       Deliver the final products through a cloud storage platform; final files will include completed videos in MP4 format and open files (raw project files).

1. Output /Deliverables

• Submit a storyboard and script for the documentary to NC for approval before filming.
• Present draft documentary to GEF SGP NC, UNDP and NSC members at the end of the field mission and incorporate comments.
• Produce an edited Video Recording of the scenarios captured, and the footage of the recorded stories.  
• Present a complete 7-10 minute documentary film version, and hand over master copies of each version to NC.
• Submit a 7-10minute DVD copy of the final documentary, high resolution photographs with captions (minimum 5 per project) and 10 short impact stories from the projects

1. Required Qualifications and Experience of the Service Provider

The service provider will be required to have the following:

·       More than 5years experience working in similar field (15%).

·       Extensive experience in producing development work related documents and/or documentaries for international organisations with the aim of reaching both local and international audiences (25%)

·       Experience in working with UN agencies and other international organizations (10%).

·       Local knowledge of the provinces and languages in South Africa (15%).

·       Excellent photograph and video editing skills and experience (15%).

·       Experience in development communication (20%).

6.         Duration of the Assignment

The assignment is expected to take 30 working days from the date of signing the contract.

7.         Intellectual Property

All information pertaining to this project (documentary, audio, digital, cyber, project documents, etc) belonging to the client, which the service provider may come into contact with during the performance of his/her duties under this consultancy shall remain the property of the GEF SGP who shall have exclusive rights over their use. Except for purposes of this assignment, the information shall not be disclosed to the public nor used in whatever form without written permission of the GEF SGP.

8.         Contractual arrangements and supervision

The service will be hired under United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) terms of contract and supervised by the NC solely for the purpose of delivering the above outputs, within the agreed time frame.

GEF SGP as the client shall provide necessary support to the service provider in order to execute the assignment during the duration of the consultancy. These shall include:

      I.         Access to relevant project documents and reports necessary for execution of the duties under this consultancy.

     II.         Contact details of relevant partners and stakeholders to be interviewed.

9.         Equipment for the Assignment

No equipment will be purchased or provided by the UNDP GEF SGP. Any equipment needed to complete this assignment will be provided by the service provider.

10.       Remuneration

The service provider’s payment shall be based on the financial proposal developed for this consultancy.

Payment shall be made in three installments of;

• 50% down payment upon approval of an inception report
• 30% upon approval of a draft film documentary; and
• 20% final payment upon approval of the final outputs (documentary, photographs and short stories), incorporating suggestions and recommendations from the UNDP, NSC and NC. 

11.       Application Procedure

Applicants are required to submit the following documents to Gefsgp.sa@undp.org on or before the 13^th of October 2021 with the subject line: GEF SGP Video Documentary

Applicants are required to submit the following:

·       A Technical Proposal: Letter of Interest, stating why you consider your service suitable for the assignment and a brief methodology on the approach and implementation of the assignment;

·       Personal CVs of technical personnel proposed for this project highlighting qualifications and experience in similar projects;

·       Work references - contact details (e-mail addresses) of referees from firms for whom you’ve produced similar assignments;

·       Financial proposal indicating consultancy fee and a breakdown of all expenses (unit price together with any other expenses, including travel costs) related to the assignment; and

·       Sample work previously done for other clients.

Shortlisted candidates may be requested to present their proposals to the NSC.

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