Communications RFP Issued By Centre for Disaster Protection
The Centre for Disaster Protection (‘the Centre’) was launched by the UK Prime Minister in July 2017 to strengthen resilience in developing countries through better preparedness and planning backed by risk-based financing arrangements. The Centre is funded with UK aid from the UK government.
The Centre works to change how the world prepares and pays for disasters. Identifying, planning for, and financing disasters before they strike saves lives, reduces suffering, and protects livelihoods and economies, especially for the poorest and most vulnerable communities. The Centre brings countries together with international development, humanitarian, and private sector organisations to find solutions and advocate for change. We find ways to stop disasters devastating lives by supporting countries and the international system to better manage risks. To do this, the Centre provides technical assistance, builds knowledge, catalyses innovation, and creates partnerships across the development, humanitarian, and financial sectors.
With Covid-19, the world is more aware than ever of the importance of being prepared and working together to address risks. The Centre’s work has never been more crucial. As the Centre evolves beyond its start-up phase, our communications efforts will be critical to the Centre’s next stage of organisational growth. We are a dedicated, growing team who are committed to our values of quality, impartiality, creativity, and empowerment.
DAI Global UK is the managing agent for Centre for Disaster Protection (‘the Centre’), until June 2025 with potential for further extension.
2 Scope of Work
The Centre’s communications function cuts across all organisational goals and is a key part of delivering the Centre’s strategy and strategic communications objectives which are:
•Increase understanding of best practice in disaster risk financing and how to achieve impact
•Build the profile of the Centre and its staff as impartial experts in disaster risk financing
•Support Centre thought-leadership to be internationally recognised as driving changethrough applied research and evidence, experimentation, and learning
•Position the Centre as a positive disrupter at the forefront of efforts to reform how theworld plans and pays for disasters and tackles the growing impact of climate change andincreasing cost of disasters around the world.
•Generate a perception of the Centre as a trusted, empowering, ‘go to’ partner, whoindividuals, organisations and national governments want to collaborate with
The Centre requires the support of a full-service communications agency to provide a broad range of services as we enter a new period of growth.
Key areas of phased, strategic, collaborative work may include:
1. Audience mapping and segmentation: Help the Centre identify and segment a targeted range of stakeholder audiences to inform the shaping and tailoring of specific communications with demonstratable impact
2. Strategic communications: Delivery of a bold and ambitious, detailed, integrated, and multi-channel communications strategy and actionable plan in line with refreshed organisational strategy and promotion of our expert voice
3. Light-touch revision of brand strategy: Ensuring alignment and coherence with revised Centre strategy and approach, updating brand guidance, core messaging, brand voice, tone and positioning.
4. Thought-leadership and engagement: In collaboration with Centre teams, support the delivery of our policy thought-leadership and strategic engagement work across key research and evidence areas and influencing priorities
Other areas of support may include, but not limited to:
• External promotion of evidence and research to targeted audiences
• Creating media and digital partnerships
• Media monitoring and horizon-scanning
• Advising on and managing PR and media relations
• Brand guidance and management
• Content creation, editing and dissemination– including written, photography, audio, video, and digital communication
• Digital support across social media (content production and management), email marketing content delivery and website support (potentially working alongside existing web management agency)
• Delivering tailored training to Centre leadership and teams (media, social media, panel speaking etc.) and supporting tools development
• Support curating & delivering programme of high-level events
• Ad-hoc communications support – including temporary in-house cover of recruitment gaps, or crisis communication support where required all communications will reflect and embody the Centre’s values and positioning wherever possible:
• Creativity – The Centre is a disruptor of the international system, championing bold change to how the world prepares for disasters. We make new ideas work in practice through creative collaborations.
• Impartiality – The Centre is impartial. It is ‘free to speak’, ‘not beholden to anyone’ and ‘an impartial broker able to convene creative collaborations between unlikely partners. It can advocate for change, in a warm and engaged way, rather than with abstract neutrality or anger and criticism.
• Quality – The Centre is an expert with an authoritative voice. It generates evidence and outputs that are credible and can be trusted. It can be asked to give comment and opinion that is well informed and reliable.
• Empowerment – Empowerment will be considered in who represents the organisation, the language we use, the voices we give a platform to, the images we choose, the partnerships we promote and the proof points and case studies we share. We are committed to taking an intentionally inclusive approach, with a particular emphasis on diversity, gender, equity, and social inclusion.
• Multi-disciplinary – The Centre’s multidisciplinary lens is unique and an important part of how it seeks to achieve its aims. Communications will reflect this in how it positions and profiles the Centre team and partnerships, which will also help promote this approach to others.
3 Duration, Location and Level of Effort and Remuneration
Contract duration and location
This scope of work is expected to commence in July 2022 and run for an initial period of 12 months, subject to suitable performance indicators being met, with opportunity for contract to be extended further for an additional 12 months through to July 2024 and again to July 2025. Performance will be assessed through monthly status reports and an agreed review at 6 months to inform contract continuation.
The communications agency will be required for regular (weekly or bi-weekly) virtual meetings and regular (monthly or quarterly) in person attendance for meetings in Central London.
Payment
An indicative annual budget of £300,000 is available for this work (exclusive of any UK VAT that may be applicable); however, the Centre is willing to accept bids modestly above the £300,000 cap, if provided with sufficient justification.
4 Tender Process
The tender process will be conducted in line with principles of fair treatment, transparency and with the aim of identifying the proposal that offers the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) from a point of view of the purchasing authority, DAI Global UK. These instructions are designed to ensure all tenders are given equal and fair consideration. It is important you provide all information requested in the submitted proposal.
Account will be taken of any factor emerging from the tender process which impacts a Tenderer’s suitability, relating to information provided by the Tenderer within the Qualification criteria, in particular any additional information which comes to light in respect of its financial standing.
5 Proposal Requirements
Interested parties must provide information indicating that their organisation has the correct qualities to perform the tasks highlighted in the scope of work. The proposal must contain a maximum of 5-10 pages of A4 (excluding CVs, company profiles, workplan) with the following information:
• Name of company and place of business
• Contract information (email, mobile phone, etc.)
• A description of company’s expertise in relation to the scope, including a description of similar assignments undertaken, and evidence of impact.
• A description of how the work will be performed, including proposed approach, and indicative engagement and work plan with timeline, to include:
o Supporting business as usual/regular tasks, through monthly retainer. An indicative annual budget of up to £100,000 exclusive of UK VAT is available for this work. To potentially include, but not be limited to:
▪ Horizon-scanning and monitoring
▪ PR support, media planning and management of media relations
▪ Content creation, editing and dissemination (including written content, research reports, marketing materials, creative and multimedia content, speeches and op-eds etc.)
▪ Digital support across social channels
▪ Promotion of research and Centre content to external audiences
▪ Ad hoc strategic communications advice, including internal communications and crisis communications support
o Delivering a suite of strategic communications activity and special projects. An indicative annual budget of up to £200,000 exclusive of UK VAT is available for this work. Please note that activities under this workstream will be on demand, with scope of work and budgets agreed for each confirmed piece of work, utilising the agreed rate structure (or other cost basis where agreed). The Centre is not obliged to commission work to the full annual ceiling value of his workstream. To potentially include, but not be limited to:
▪ Undertake audience mapping, segmentation and audience listening
▪ Design and delivery of an ambitious integrated communications strategy
▪ Support to the design and, where appropriate, delivery of a bold programme of thought-leadership (content and/or events)
▪ Deliver a light-touch brand strategy refresh, including revised and tailored core messaging and brand realignment of Centre channels
▪ Create and deliver media and digital partnerships
▪ Design and delivery of bespoke training.
• CVs of key members (maximum 1 page each); and
• A commercial proposal: the costs must be broken into professional fees and expenses. The cost estimate will be discussed in more detail with the selected contractor. The proposal should outline standard rate structure, including hourly rates for staff roles required to service the scope of work.
• Supporting examples of work, included as an annex.
Application must be submitted in line with the above and must be compliant with UK Law and Legislation, including Data Protection Act 2018. All organisations that are shortlisted and/or successful organisation(s) must be aligned with DAI’s Eligibility Criteria and vetting checks. Any tender that is submitted that has been discovered to breach UK Data Protection legislation will be immediately disqualified. All organisations that do not comply with DAI’s Eligibility Criteria will be rejected without notification.
6 Submission of Proposals
Your tender must be submitted through jobs_centre@disasterprotection.org with the subject line: ‘Proposal – Communications Agency’. All suppliers must mark their tenders as Commercially Confidential. DAI and CDP will treat all tender submission in confidentiality.
The tender must be received by Monday 6th June by 10:00am. Any tenders past this date will be subject to disqualification. DAI intends a) to notify the shortlisted tenderer(s) to arrange online presentation meetings, or b) to proceed straight to offer or negotiation with a preferred bidder, by Monday 13th June where possible. Due to the potential volume of tenders, DAI may not contact organisations if they are unsuccessful.
