White board Animations At Danish Refugee Council

The Enhancing Conditions for Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and Returning Refugees in Somalia programme is a 3.5-year programme (24 September 2019 – 30 March 2022) funded by UK Aid. The Danwadaag Consortium is comprised of IOM (lead), Concern Worldwide (CWW), the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), and the Durable Solutions Secretariat (ReDSS) as consortium learning partner. The programme targets displacement-affected communities in urban locations in Benadir Regional Administration, South West State, and Jubaland, namely in Mogadishu, Baidoa, Afgooye, and Kismayo. The overall aim of the programme is to progress IDPs and returnees towards (re)integration, enable them to be more self-reliant and less dependent on humanitarian aid through government-led, community-based durable solutions processes, sustainable basic service provision, inclusive livelihoods approaches, and strengthened land tenure security.

Short of methods to measure progress towards durable solutions, Danwadaag invested in developing the Local (Re)Integration Assessment, short LORA, to monitor progress towards reintegration. More concretely, LORA measures perceived integration of IDPs and returnees as well as inequalities between IDPs and their surrounding host communities regarding IASC criteria. This is to enable targeting on the basis of displacement-specific vulnerabilities and to develop methods how the end of displacement could be defined, using the host community as benchmark. The tool uses the IASC framework criteria, criteria from the Self-Reliance-Index and criteria measuring social cohesion. It is contextualized not only to the Somali context but also to meet the needs of the Danwadaag programme, so progress of the displacement affected communities it targets can be measured and programme adaptation can happen on the basis of the findings.

The LORA visits the very same households annually in a panel survey, the first of its kind in Somalia, using a complex method to locate the households and ensuring a minimal drop-out rate. The baseline assessment was conducted in the end of 2019, the midline between December 2020 and January 2021, and the endline is carried out between September and October 2021.

Consultancy objective

In this context, the Danwadaag Consortium seeks to hire a firm or consultant that can develop and produce a short, high-end animated video of 3-minutes that explains the motivation to develop the LORA, breaks down the LORA method and what it is able to do, and points out steps necessary to adapt the method to a different context, making it accessible and easy to understand to durable solutions stakeholders, donors and a wide audience. The white-board animation will be used for two different purposes. A) for knowledge sharing of learnings from the current Danwadaag programme and how to measure progress towards integration and b) to showcase the investment the consortium made in piloting this method and the impact is had had influencing the discussion around the end of displacement and how progress towards integration can be measured in the unique Somali context.

Target audience

The main target audience for the animation are donors, technical programme staff at national and/or regional levels (NGOs and UN) in Somalia and in other development contexts i.e practioners in the field (NGOs), development organizations, durable solutions stakeholders, civil society organizations, research and knowledge management outfits as well as policy makers (government). The animation will be developed through:

· Solid script: The Danwaadag CMU will work with its members and other key stakeholders together with the company to produce a script for the company to use in development of the animation

· Suitable flow: The animation should have a distinct beginning, middle and end – like in a story. The company will be required to produce short and smooth animations.

· Powerful imagery: A key element of the animations will be the illustrations and images. In the absence of words, the powerful imagery created by the company matching the script, will enable the audience to understand the content better. Illustrations should be developed while keeping the audience profile and their cultural or social predispositions in mind. Danwadaag is suggesting a white-board animation for this to be done but is open to other suggestions.

· Accompanying audio: Audio is an important accompaniment to the illustrations in animation. The company will take into account the region that Danwaadag CMU operates under and provide appropriate voice-over options, which will aid in humanizing’ the e-content.

· Subtitles: The company will include suitable English subtitles to make the video accessible to everyone, including persons with a hearing impairment. The company will also develop a second video option with Somali language subtitles (translated script will be provided).

· Background music: Music and sound effects are powerful tools to jazz up the video and create greater impact. They help in creating realistic scenarios even when the scene presented before the learner is an illustration. Sounds effects and music might be included depending on the script and flow.

Management and timeframe

The consultant will report to and work with the Danwadaag Consortium Management Unit, and specifically the Deputy Consortium Coordinator.

Timeline: The assignment is scheduled to start mid to latest end of November, with draft products delivered at the end of December 2021 and final products delivered by end of January 2022.

Expected Profile of Consultant(s)

· University degree in information and technology, computer animations, graphics/ design or relevant field

· Minimum 7 years’ proven experience in conducting similar assignments

· Demonstrated competency with developing and producing video animations and infographics for video infomercials.

· Experience working with video editing tools and video streaming for the web and other multimedia services

· Ability to operate the video production and editing equipment

· Ability to edit materials from a culturally sensitive perspective

· Professional work ethic, integrity, and initiative

· Advanced graphic design and typography skills coupled with the ability to weave a meaningful and compelling story

· Artistic vision with a can-do attitude and the skills to back it up

· Self-motivated, highly organized, collaborative, and able to create in a fast-paced and growing environment

· Remain current on industry trends and styles, able to integrate new technique and/or technology when appropriate

· Proficiency in Non-linear editing – Adobe Premier, Audition, Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, 2D/3D motion graphics – After Effects, HTML5, Flash (animation, composition, VFX, title sequencing is a plus) Color grading – Color or equivalent software.

· Post-production workflows, appropriate media formats, and optimizing video for various outputs

· Fluency in spoken and written English is essential.