Specialized technical support for Edutainment TV Drama Designing Counsaltant

The objective of this assignment is to support UNICEF in designing and facilitating the script development workshop and following phases including developing scriptwriting tools.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.

Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone.

And we never give up.

The TV production is based on a format that combines the educational messages with an entertaining format: the edutainment approach. The popular entertainment format of a serial TV drama has been identified as tool for respond to development needs and requires to be very carefully designed.

The TV Drama is based on Bandura's social learning theory--which emphasizes how modeling and enhancing people's sense of efficacy can help them improve their lives--is at the heart of numerous serial dramas now airing in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

According to Bandura, the television programs spark behavioral and social changes using four guiding principles:

1. Contrasting role models with positive and negative models exhibiting beneficial or detrimental lifestyles and transitional models changing from detrimental to beneficial styles of behavior.
2. Vicarious motivators that serve as incentives to change by showing the benefits of the positive lifestyles and the costs of the detrimental ones.
3. Attentional and emotional involvement within the programs to sustain viewers' attention.
4. Environmental supports with each program that contain an epilogue providing contact information for relevant community services and support groups.

The designing workshop methodology will encourage participation, draws on the experience and inputs of all participants and is structured for group work and dialogue with specific outcomes which includes developing outline of the TV Drama plot, determine the content map/distribution plan by episode and characters development including finalizing the values grid (behaviors, barriers, supporting data, messages, takeaways).

The selected candidate will work under UNICEF supervision in close collaboration with the production company and relevant counterparts 

Activities to be conducted under this assignment:

 1-  Plan, structure, design, and moderate/facilitate a designing workshop

• Design the designing workshop and related tools to support the participatory designing process
• Moderate the minimum 3 days designing workshop

2. Facilitate and guide the process to develop and put in place a framework/protocols/guideline for all stakeholder and production team engagement during the script development phase of the drama series.

• Present approaches to storytelling for television dramas including how to turn a theme, idea and programmatic message into a dynamic character driven story, draft ideas for story 'bible'/treatment and synopsis, etc.. by producing an Edutainment for behavioural change guidelines document to inform the scriptwriting process
• Provide tools for writers brief, pre-testing, information package, message matrix, story ideation, story track, treatment notes

3. Oral and written feedback and guidance on how to produce high quality EE content for a national TV drama at all stages (synopsis, character map, episodes treatments, content distribution)

• Provide oral and written feedback on educational quality and consistency on synopsis by episode
• Provide oral and written feedback on educational quality and consistency on scripts episodes 1 - 15
• Provide oral and written feedback on educational quality and consistency on scripts episodes 16 - 30
• Produce a design document based on the inception workshop and available resources

Education:

• Background in social sciences and/or relevant areas
• At least 10 years experience of working on media production and scriptwriting
• Previous experiences on edutainment production, research and evidence based content production
• Previous experience in managing workshops and scriptwriting processes using participatory techniques
• Demonstrated ability to work in a multicultural environment and establish harmonious and effective working relationships
• Previous experience working with UNICEF desirable
• Fluent in English

NOTE FOR CONSULTANTS AND INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTORS:

Please submit a financial offer along with your proposal (rate quoted in EGP for either daily rate/monthly rate if you accepted this consultancy). 

UNICEF has a zero-tolerance policy on conduct that is incompatible with the aims and objectives of the United Nations, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. UNICEF also adheres to strict child safeguarding principles. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks, and will be expected to adhere to these standards and principles.

Remarks:

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and advance to the next stage of the selection process.