Public Call for Tender nb. 83443178 Formalization of a cultural and creatives Council for Lebanon 19.2364.8-010.00 CCI

Brief information on the project

The cultural and creative industries (CCI) hold great potential for promoting sustainable development in emerging economies. The CCI are one of the world's most dynamic and fastest-growing sectors offering new employment and income opportunities, especially for young entrepreneurs.
In German development cooperation, the promotion of creatives represents a comparatively new thematic area. By initiating the Global Project Cultural and Creative Industries (GP CCI) in 2018, the Federal Ministry for Ecomomic Cooperation and Development (Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung, BMZ) began to promote the CCI in order to establish this sector as an effective field of action in German development cooperation. In line with the concept of private sector development, BMZ primarily aims to strengthen private enterprises in the CCI, focussing on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition, the project works with organisations of the CCI in order to build networks, strengthen advocacy, stimulate international exchange, promote innovation and thus situate the CCI as a relevant factor in the field of economic development.

Thus, the objective of the project states that the prospects for employment and income for cultural and creative workers in the selected partner countries are improved. The global project is based in Germany, is implemented in six different countries (Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa) in cooperation with the Goethe-Institute. The GP focusses in Lebanon on the animation (incl. Virtual Reality / Augmented Reality), fashion, design, and music sector. Due to the pandemic the GP started to implement additional measures in 2021 which aid the creative industries affected by the effects of the pandemic. These measures aimed to build resilience on individual and organisational level and strengthen the sector in a more targeted manner. In 2023, the focus of the project is widened to strengthen gender equality and inclusion in particular within the CCI.

Objective of Services tendered

Lebanon has a rich and diverse CCI, encompassing a wide range of artistic expressions. However, the ongoing crises (e.g., economic, blast...) have severely affected the cultural and creative sector. The creative industries have suffered from limited financial support, limitations in infrastructure, and a lack of institutional support. As a result, many talented Lebanese artists and creative have faced significant obstacles in realizing their potential and showcasing their work.

In Lebanon, the GP CCI focuses on specific subsectors: Graphic design, product design, fashion design, animation and music. Based on the lack of cultural policies and financial support from the Lebanese authorities, along with the limited cooperation between national, regional, and international CCI platforms, and drawing from GP CCI’s extensive discussions with Lebanon's creatives regarding the challenges and potential solutions for the CCI sector, we have reached the following conclusion:

The formalisation of a structure to support and promote the growth of the creative industries in Lebanon is an essential step towards fostering innovation, enhancing economic development, and further maintaining and enriching the cultural landscape of the country.

This could be realized with a common platform formalized as a council for CCI. With the aim of supporting the industry in all necessary means, the council will thrive in providing income and employment opportunities for creatives, fully aligns with the goals of the GP CCI as per support organisations improving the services for creatives and enabling public-private dialogues in order to achieve this. Furthermore, preparing the foundation of such as council to actively support the equal economic participation, employment, and empowerment of women in the CCI in intellectual and political affairs, is aligned with the widened focus of the GP CCI for 2023.

The objective of the services sought for in this tender is to prepare a strategy and an action plan in order to support the council-to-be in its establishing procedures.

To study the feasibility of such a council in the Lebanese context and to come up with the best strategy to implement such a project, external consultancy hired by the GP CCI is needed

 Tasks to be performed by the contractor

The contractor is responsible for providing the following services:

Task 1: Research (estimation: 5 days)

1. Lebanon focus: Examine and analyse the available research conducted by the GP CCI team and its partners as well as by national and international entities on the challenges faced by Lebanon's cultural and creative sector, including insights from the three dialogue formats held last year in various regions of the country by GP CCI, which brought together Lebanese creative from different sectors. The available research material will be provided by GP CCI. The consultant should be able to gather a comprehensive understanding of the situation and if deemed necessary and agreed upon by the GP CCI team, he/she can further expand the research, potentially by interviewing partners to be selected in collaboration with the GP CCI team, to delve deeper into the subject matter.
2. Regional, international comparison: Thoroughly examine and analyse the existing research carried out by the GP CCI team and its partners, which focuses on comparing the experiences of similar councils established in other countries. The available research material will be provided by GP CCI. Through this examination, the consultant can gain insights into the important factors for success and the challenges encountered by these councils, and if deemed necessary and agreed upon by the GP CCI team, he/she can further expand the research to delve deeper into the subject matter.
3. Suitable model: Conduct a detailed analysis of the studies provided by the GP CCI team to identify the aspects that are relevant and applicable to Lebanon. The identification should be based on specific criteria, such as the country's cultural context, economic conditions, and social dynamics, determine a suitable council model that is feasible to be adopted in Lebanon.

Task 2: Strategy plan (estimation: 10 days)

1. Propose a strategy for the foundation of the council including but not limited to:

• Institutional set up of the council

• Governance
• Mandate
• Suggestions of activities for the council
• 3-year Business plan (including possible sources of sustainable financing)

Task 3: Stakeholders (estimation: 4 days)

• Stakeholders mapping: In order to establish the council successfully, we require the support of relevant stakeholders involved in Lebanon's cultural and creative scene. It is crucial to identify these stakeholders who are both suitable for and willing to support the council's structure. To accomplish this, the consultant should propose a process for reaching out to the stakeholders and selecting the most appropriate ones based on specific criteria and considerations, and should support the execution of the identified process, in close collaboration with the GP CCI team.

Task 4: Support with the Network event (estimation: 3 days)

• As part of the plan, an upcoming networking event will be organized and scheduled (September-October, Date TBD) by the GP CCI team to facilitate discussions on the concept of the council – as developed by the contractor in tasks 1-2 above- involve the stakeholders (identified in task 3, but not necessarily limited to them) in the creative industries and get their feedbacks. The consultant's role will involve supporting the event preparation, which includes providing a list of potential stakeholders and creating a presentation. During the event, the consultant will present the research outcomes, facilitate a discussion on the most suitable model for Lebanon, and define the roles of the stakeholders. Additionally, the consultant will work towards achieving concrete results, such as establishing a committee at the end of the event or other defined outcomes.

Task 5: Action plan (estimation: 12 days)

The consultant is responsible for delivering a report that includes the following components:

• Summary of the network event and strategic adjustments: The report should provide a concise overview of the networking event, including key discussions, insights, and any necessary modifications to the strategy (as per task 2) based on the outcomes of the event.
• Establishing the council: The report should outline a detailed action plan for the subsequent steps required to establish the council. This plan should cover all important aspects, including but not limited to legal procedures, stakeholder engagement, resource allocation, and timeline.
• Three-year action plan for implementing the strategy and the activities proposed (task 2): Additionally, the report should include a comprehensive three-year action plan that outlines the specific initiatives, projects, and activities that will be undertaken to implement the agreed-upon strategy for the council. This plan should consider goals, targets, milestones, and key performance indicators to ensure effective execution.

By presenting this report, the consultant will provide a roadmap for moving forward, enabling stakeholders to understand the next steps, align their efforts, and contribute to the successful establishment and implementation of the council.

Concept

In the tender, the tenderer is required to show how the objectives defined in Chapter ‎2 (Tasks to be performed) are to be achieved, if applicable under consideration of further method-related requirements (technical-methodological concept). In addition, the tenderer must describe the project management system for service provision.

Note: The numbers in parentheses correspond to the lines of the technical assessment grid.

Technical-methodological concept

Strategy (1.1): The tenderer is required to consider the tasks to be performed with reference to the objectives of the services put out to tender (see Chapter ‎1 Context) (1.1.1). Following this, the tenderer presents and justifies the explicit strategy with which it intends to provide the services for which it is responsible (see Chapter ‎2 Tasks to be performed) (1.1.2).

The tenderer is required to present the actors relevant for the services for which it is responsible and describe the cooperation (1.2) with them.

The tenderer is required to present and explain its approach to steering the measures with the project partners (1.3.1) and its contribution to the results-based monitoring system (1.3.2).

The tenderer is required to describe the key processes for the services for which it is responsible and create an operational plan or schedule (1.4.1) that describes how the services according to Chapter ‎2 (Tasks to be performed by the contractor) are to be provided. In particular, the tenderer is required to describe the necessary work steps and, if applicable, take account of the milestones and contributions of other actors (partner contributions) in accordance with Chapter 2 (Tasks to be performed) (1.4.2).

The tenderer is required to describe its contribution to knowledge management for the partner (1.5.1) and GIZ and to promote scaling-up effects (1.5.2) under learning and innovation.

 Personnel concept

The tenderer is required to provide personnel who are suited to filling the positions described, on the basis of their CVs, the range of tasks involved and the required qualifications.

The below specified qualifications represent the requirements to reach the maximum number of points in the technical assessment.

Team leader

Tasks of the team leader

• Overall responsibility for the advisory packages of the contractor (quality and deadlines)
• Coordinating and ensuring communication with GIZ, partners and others involved in the project.
• Personnel management, in particular identifying the need for short-term assignments within the available budget, as well as planning and steering assignments and supporting local and international short-term experts
• Regular reporting in accordance with deadlines