Concern Worldwide
TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE ENGAGEMENT OF LOCAL ARTISTS TO PRODUCE FLOOD RESILIENCE SONGS UNDER THE ZCRA PROJECT
INTRODUCTION:
Concern Worldwide is a non-governmental, international, humanitarian organization dedicated to the reduction of suffering and working towards the ultimate elimination of extreme poverty in the world’s poorest countries. To achieve its mission, the organization engage in long-term development work, build resilience, respond to emergencies and seek to address the root causes of poverty through our development, humanitarian and advocacy work. Concern Worldwide has been operational in Malawi since 2002, implementing programs in the areas of social protection, climate smart agriculture and livelihoods in a various district in the country including Nsanje, Lilongwe, Mangochi, Chikwawa just to mention a few.
ZURICH CLIMATE RESILIENCE ALLIANCE PROGRAMME:
As the impacts of climate change continue to intensify globally, urgent and sustained action is required to support vulnerable communities in strengthening their resilience to climate and disaster risks. Central to this effort is the need to advocate for increased resource allocation at the local level, empowering communities to adapt to the rapidly evolving climatic conditions they face. To contribute meaningfully to these global efforts, Concern Worldwide, with funding from the Zurich Foundation, is implementing the Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance (ZCRA) project which commenced in January 2024 and will run until December 2027, targeting 35 communities across Nsanje, Chikwawa and Lilongwe. The ZCRA project is designed to enhance resilience to climate shocks in these communities through the Climate Resilience Measurement for Communities (CRMC) framework, the project aims to understand the dynamics of resilience in varied hazard contexts and to use this knowledge to influence policy, funding mechanisms, and operational practice, particularly among local and national entities involved in flood risk reduction.
BACKGROUND OF ASSIGNMENT:
Concern Worldwide, with funding from the Zurich Foundation, is implementing the Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance (ZCRA) project in Malawi to build community-level resilience to floods and climate shocks. One innovative component of the project includes the use of arts-based approaches to promote public awareness and behaviour change on flood resilience.
Based on this need, Concern worldwide would like to engage local artists to design, produce and lead in the implementation of flood resilience songs under the ZCRA project support raising awareness, promote mindset change towards climate resilience.
As part of the ZCRA initiative, Concern Worldwide is exploring innovative, culturally relevant communication strategies. One such strategy is arts-based engagement, which harnesses the power of music to promote public awareness and mindset shifts toward flood resilience and disaster preparedness. To that end, Concern Worldwide seeks to engage local artists to design, produce, and disseminate music that reflects local realities and encourages behavioural change in targeted communities.
OBJECTIVE:
The objective of this assignment is to collaborate with local artists to create and promote engaging, culturally grounded musical content that raises awareness on flood resilience, encourages risk-reducing behaviours, and supports community engagement on disaster preparedness and climate adaptation. 60,000 people are estimated to be reached through radio play, event and social media. To assess behaviour and knowledge change, Concern shall undertake a short survey post-dissemination to assess increased awareness and action.
SCOPE OF WORK:
The selected artists or artistic groups will:
- Co-create and produce three songs focused on flood resilience and disaster preparedness:
- A Chichewa-language song targeting general Malawian audiences.
- A Sena-language song focused on Shire Valley communities.
- An urban/modern Chichewa song (e.g., Afro-pop or hip-hop) targeting youth audiences.
- Participate in a creative briefing session facilitated by Concern Worldwide to ensure alignment with the project’s flood resilience messaging and community priorities (e.g., Community Disaster Fund outcomes).
- Record and finalize songs in professional audio format (minimum MP3), suitable for radio and social media dissemination.
- Grant Concern Worldwide non-commercial usage rights for dissemination with due artist credit
- Support dissemination efforts through district and community-level events, radio interviews, or social media promotion as feasible both Concern and artist own.
TIMEFRAME
The work shall be undertaken within a period of 20 working days with flexible scheduling between 4th August 2025 and 29th August 2025.
DELIVERABLES
The artist or artistic group will be expected to deliver the following outputs:
- Song concepts and drafts (3 songs as per the Scope of Work).
- Final versions of all 3 songs approved by Concern recorded in professional audio format (minimum MP3), suitable for radio and social media dissemination.
- Signed rights release agreement.
- Participation in selected dissemination and promotion activities
OWNERSHIP AND DISSEMINATION
- Concern Worldwide shall retain non-commercial usage rights to all outputs for educational and promotional purposes.
- Artists will be credited appropriately in all public use.
- Songs will be disseminated via:
- Local and community radio stations.
- District stakeholder forums.
- Project awareness events.
- Digital and social media platforms.
REPORTING
The consultant will work hand in hand with the Programme Manager and will report to the Programme Coordinator and overall, to the Programme Director. The Country Director will be responsible for signing off and approval of the final products.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
The ideal artists) or groups should possess:
- Proven experience in music production and message-based artistic expression.
- Fluency in relevant local languages (Chichewa, Sena) or urban genres.
- Fluency in Chichewa and/or Sena and urban musical styles relevant to youth engagement.
- Demonstrated understanding of community development, climate resilience or social advocacy themes.
- Ability to work collaboratively, meet deadlines and incorporate feedback from stakeholders.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURE:
Interested bidders are invited to express their interest in undertaking this assignment by submitting the following requirements:
- Cover Letter duly dated, signed and addressed to the Procurement Committee. In addition, the cover letter should be stamped if applying as a company.
- Financial Proposal in Malawi Kwacha valid for at least 90 days outlining all costs inclusive of tax, the proposed payment schedule and the price validity period
- Technical Proposal responding to the terms of reference and outlining the approach and methodology to meet the required deliverables and a draft work plan
- Portfolio including work completion certificate(s) with proof of completion of similar assignments or work
- Three Professional Referees including their full names, email and telephone contacts
- Resumes of the Core Team specifying the role of each core team member in the assignment, their qualifications, knowledge, skills and abilities and their most recent & relevant experience.
- Compliance requirements:
- A copy of Company Registration Certificate (if bidding as a company/organisation)
- A copy of National ID/Passport (if bidding as an individual)
- A copy of Tax Compliance Certificate for all bidders
- Proof of affiliation with the Music Association of Malawi (if applicable)
Interested bidders should submit the requirements outlined above to malawi.logs@concern.net with the subject of the email as R-003295/PS539/06/25 on or before 6th July 2025. Bids submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.
Concern’s Purchasing Terms & Conditions are available at www.concern.net/about/supplies
Concern Worldwide reserves the right to accept or reject any bid prior to the award of contract and to annul the bidding process wholly or in part and to reject any/all offers at any time.