Video Production

Terms of References

Video production for the project:

 “Raise the voice of Lebanese CSOs towards an inclusive and sustainable development in agriculture and environment fields in North Lebanon”

1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The recent body of literature has highlighted the weak initialized dialogue between Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the Local Authorities (LAs) in Lebanon. The root causes for such a lacking are related to a myriad of factors which include but are not limited to:

General uncertain regular environment in Lebanon:

The fragility of the political and economic situation in Lebanon as a function of internal and external conflicts significantly impacts the nature of the relationship between the CSOs and the State (at the central and local level), and greatly shapes the role of the CSOs. In situation of crisis, addressing the immediate short term priority needs deem to be far more important than opening advocacy dialogues. In addition to that, the fluidity of the situation fosters an environment where planning and commitment to reform hold no value.

Unsuitable and weak Local Authorities, specifically at the local level:

At the counterpart front, the Local Authorities (LA) are under substantial pressure to act up to their expected roles. With the limited decentralized power, the local authorities are barely able to provide basic services to their communities, be it to engage with CSOs in advocacy efforts.  A recent study on the status of the local authorities in North of Lebanon has attributed the difficulties that the municipalities are facing to limited administrative capacity, limited budget, and fragmented/unsystematic/not durable/inefficient/short-term aid. Further, the study showed that the weak human resources; in the form of weak management/communication/fundraising/and networking capacities, has significantly affected the ability of the local authorities to join effort with the CSOs on advocacy and policy development matters.

Weak capacities and limited networks of CSOs

The ability of the CSOs to take on their actual role as agents of change and not merely service delivery organizations has been strongly linked to their institutional and organizational deficiencies. The results of the Mapping of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Lebanon[1]  have showed that internal governance structure, weak internal management, limited resources, inadequate inter-organizational relations impact their performance and ability to actively participate in contributing to public policy in Lebanon. Such deficiencies lead to the creation of a very restricting environment in which the CSOs have difficulty accessing relevant information, fundraising, accessing policy networks, developing strategies and operational plans, and eventually influencing policy makers.

2. OXFAM’S PROJECT

To account for the aforementioned shortcomings, Oxfam with partner NGOs DPNA and AeC are implementing a 2 year EU funded project entitled “Raise the voice of Lebanese CSOs towards an inclusive and sustainable development in agriculture and environment fields in North Lebanon”. The project will be implemented in 5 different Cadastral in North of Lebanon, namely Assoun, BqaaSifrine, Bhannine, Bqarsouna and Bcharre.

The project aims to play an influencing role in creating, reviving, or establishing the engagement between the CSOs, the LAs, and the private sector though providing the local CSOs and LAs in the 5 Cadestals with skills and opportunities to actively participate in policy dialogue, set strategic plans, and carry out initiatives for the development of the communities in the agriculture and environment sectors.

3. PURPOSE

Oxfam is looking to hire a consultant to produce a video which documents the progress of the project and show it’s impact. The project underwent the following stages:

Stage 1: Establishment of civic platforms in each targeted Municipality

Establishing a civic platform which is composed of 10 -15 community members who represent the available and interested CSOs, LA, and private sector in the Cadastral. The civic platform will be serve as the main driving force behind the implementation of all the activities.

Stage 2: Delivery of capacity building for civic platforms in each targeted Municipality

Organising capacity building sessions and coaching activities on technical and thematic issues related to organisational management, advocacy, and strategic planning in agricultural, environment, and/or ecotourism development approaches will be delivered to the civic platform in each of the Cadastrals. The sessions will help improve the knowledge, build the skills, and change the perceptions of the members of the civic platform towards participatory rural development approaches.

Stage 3: Implementation of small-scale pilot projects for the development of the local communities

Providing financial and technical support for the implementation on one priority pilot project related to agriculture, environment, and/or ecotourism will be granted to a CSO in each Cadastral. The pilot project will serve as the forum through which the members of the civic platform will practice all the skills that they have acquired through the capacity building sessions

Stage 4: Building networks and reflecting on the process

Organising different events which will help network between the members of the civic platforms and other CSOs involved in agriculture, environment, and eco-tourism at governorate and national levels. Following, different learning and reflection workshops will be organised to dissemination good practices and lessons learnt at national level.

4. METHODOLOGY AND PROCESS

The consultant will work closely with the Project Manager to video document the progress of the project and show it’s impact. To meet this objective, the consultant will be asked to:

• Closely coordinate with the Project Manager on matters related to the implementation of the specific activities
• Conduct field visits to the areas of implementation (Assoun, BqaaSifrine, Bhannine, Bqarsouna and Bcharre)
• Conduct few interviews with selective members of the civic platform as agreed with the Project Manager

5. DELIVERABLES

The main deliverables will be:

• Raw footage of the different shots
• Raw footages of the different interviews and
• A 5 - 7 minute video

6. TENTATIVE TIMELINE

Meeting with the project team:The meeting will serve to get a detailed understanding of the project. During the meeting, the interviewees will be selected, and a timeline for the shooting will be set. Timeline: December 6th

Shooting and field interviews: Visiting the areas of implementation and conducting interviews. Timeline: December 7th -10th

Revision of the version of the video :Revision of the version. Timeline: December 11th – 17th

Final version of the video: Submission of the final version. Timeline: December 28th

7. QUOTATION

The consultant is requested to present an offer/quotation, which can include the following costs:

• Daily rate per shooting day (this includes the transportation costs)
• Communication (rechargeable phone cards) if any
• Other expenses

For those interested, send a quotation with a CV to Dalia Mikdashi, email: dalia.mikdashi@oxfam.it.

Deadline for submitting the offer is December 4th, 2017

[1]  Beyond, 2015. Mapping Civil Society Organizations in Lebanon.