Background and context
The EU Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI) is the flagship EU program in Ukraine funded by the EU, co-funded and implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. The EUACI’s strategic objectives are that: corruption in Ukraine is reduced; Ukraine advances with anti-corruption reform; and reconstruction in war-affected areas of Ukraine is implemented within a framework that incorporates transparency, accountability, and integrity. Among its activities, the EUACI is providing support to Ukrainian partners in the field of EU integration and accession.
In November 2023, the EU recognised Ukraine’s progress and recommended opening accession negotiations. This marked a significant step in EU-Ukraine relations, with accession negotiations beginning the following months. The fight against corruption remains a priority in this process. The need to communicate about the progress made and correct false information requires strong communication efforts.
The NACP is one of the key partners of the EUACI in the Intervention Area “Support to anti-corruption institutions”. Effective communication of its and other anti-corruption institutions’ activities and achievements is important for providing a proper understanding of the anti-corruption work at national and international level.
The EUACI seeks to provide technical support to enhance the NACP’s communication capacity, ensuring accurate information to international stakeholders. To achieve this, the EUACI proposes procuring the services of a Strategic Communication Support that will cover international communication and media analytics. It will focus on strengthening media engagement, strategic messaging, and providing analytical support to NACP. It will also provide coordination with relevant stakeholders, including the Office of Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine (DPM) and the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration (GOCEEI).
The Expert is expected to work closely together with a Strategic Media Analytics Expert.
Contracting authority
The Contracting Authority is the EUACI on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.
Objective
The objective of this assignment is to improve the communication of Ukraine’s achievements in the field of anti-corruption to an international audience by focusing on strategic communication and media monitoring.
The sub-objective is to provide international communication support to the NACP and provide coordination with other relevant stakeholders in order to:
- Emphasize the results achieved and address false information about corruption in Ukraine among international audiences.
- Improve the NACP’s ability to communicate about its and other anti-corruption institutions anti-corruption efforts to an international audiences.
- Strengthen the effectiveness of Ukraine’s communication about its anticorruption reforms.
Scope of Work
The selected contractor is expected to provide Communications services to the NACP, including but not limited to:
- assistance and advice to the NACP on strategic communication with the aim of explaining anti-corruption developments in Ukraine and promoting their results to the international audiences.
- Coordination of a joint work and/or exchange of information among the relevant EUACI partners – the NACP and the Governmental Office for the European and Euro-Atlantic Integration (GOCEEI) – as well as other possible public bodies, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (MFA), etc. upon guidelines from the NACP.
- keeping a systemic track and analysing the developments in the anti-corruption area in Ukraine relevant for the international audiences.
- monitoring international media covering the issues related to corruption in Ukraine and the respective reforms, and providing weekly media reports.
- preparing message boxes within the broader narratives for the communication of the NACP’s speakers and other stakeholders (MFA, DPM, GOCEEI) with the international audiences, relevant to the context and channels.
- producing communication materials (e.g. digests, explainers, articles) in close cooperation with the NACP.
- facilitating the communication of the NACP management and other staff with the international media by pitching the topics and materials to journalists, preparing communication materials for speakers (message boxes, articles, op-ok eds), and, if needed, coaching the NACP staff before interviews or public presentations.
- providing relevant capacity building to NACP Communication team in the international communications area, for instance mentoring and coaching or through training sessions on peculiarities of foreign media, important foreign institutions, etc., with the aim of ensuring sustainability of this communication work.
- facilitating planning sessions with the above-mentioned stakeholders and other EUACI partners.
- contributing to communication materials and provide other services requested by the NACP and the EUACI.
Outputs and Deliverables
- weekly digests on anti-corruption developments in Ukraine (in Ukrainian and English).
- explainers on anti-corruption issues in Ukraine (in Ukrainian and English).
- weekly reports on international media covering the topic.
- Assist NACP in producing communication materials for media (articles, op-eds, interviews, talking points, message boxes).
- planning sessions.
- Written report with the recommendations to the EUACI/NACP regarding further possible areas of intervention.
The above list is indicative and non-exhaustive. The EUACI reserves the right to request other deliverables not explicitly mentioned but related to the general purpose of the assignment.
During the assignment, the expert will work closely with the appropriate NACP communication team and the EUACI communication expert, and shall perform on-site visits and engage in offline meetings in Kyiv. The expert will not represent the NACP or the EUACI.
Language of service provision: Ukrainian, English.
Required to the Service Provider(s)
The contract can be awarded to a single expert, a group of experts or organization meeting the following criteria:
- 3+ years experience in providing communication.
- Experience in communication work targeting international audiences, in particular European audiences.
- Relevant education as a minimum Master’s Degree / Academic level in Communication, PR, journalism.
- Understanding of anti-corruption reform processes in Ukraine and knowledge of anti-corruption infrastructure in Ukraine will be an asset.
- Experience from working with countering disinformation and propaganda will be an asset;
- Strong communication and negotiation skills.
- High degree of integrity.
- Profound commitment to working with Ukrainian public institutions while demonstrating an understanding of the context in which they operate.
- Fluency in Ukrainian and English, both oral and written.
Evaluation criteria
Criterion 1: Professional experience as presented in submitted documents (70%), consisting of the length of experience and the proven track record of practical achievements in the given field;
Criterion 2: Financial offer (30%).
Timing, Estimated Budget, and Level of Effort
The duration of this assignment is estimated to be 9 months of 2025 with possibility of extension and is expected to commence in March 2025 (the date of signing the contract). The contract will be up to 100 working days.
The total contract budget cannot exceed EUR 15,000.
The daily fee of the expert cannot exceed EUR 150.
The final budget will be calculated based on a expert’s daily/hourly rate. The rates agreed during the conclusion of the contract are final and not subject to review.
Bidding details:
The bidder must submit an application with the following information to be considered:
- Brief motivation letter explaining relevant experience in communication;
- CV(s) max 3 pages in English;
- Financial offer calculated based on daily/hourly rate;
- Registration documents certifying the legal status of a potential contractor (both for individuals and legal entities).
How to apply:
The deadline for submitting the proposals is 13 March 2025, 18:00 Kyiv time.
The proposals shall be submitted within the above deadline to [email protected] and [email protected] indicating the subject line “Tender: “Strategic Communication Expert support to NACP”.
The applicants will receive an auto-reply from [email protected] when the application is received. If an auto-reply is not received, please contact the EUACI.
Bidding language: English.
Any clarification questions for the bid request should be addressed to [email protected] and [email protected], no later than 6 March 2025, 18:00 Kyiv time.
