Grant Competition – Selection of a Public Media Association to Cover the Centre Region under the Project “Strengthening the Consumer Protection Framework in the Republic of Moldova”

The overall objective of the project is for consumer rights to be known and enforced in Moldova. It contributes to the global objective of this call for proposals, namely strengthening the capacity of civil society organisations in implementing the Association Agreement, including at local level, given that consumer protection is a key component of the association agenda and of the European integration process. Specifically, it corresponds to Lot 2 of the call for proposals: supporting the implementation of rights-based consumer protection through advocacy activities. The objective will be achieved through two complementary specific objectives.

Specific objectives

1. The Government of the Republic of Moldova has increased its capacity to enforce consumer protection legislation aligned with the EU acquis – this will follow the top-down approach, targeting policy makers. It will consist mainly of technical assistance enabling the Government to accelerate the process of harmonisation with the EU acquis in the field of consumer protection.
2. Consumers in Moldova have increased their knowledge and capacity to promote their rights – this will follow the bottom-up approach, by empowering the media and civil society to promote consumer protection and to raise the level of information and awareness in society on this issue.

Purpose of the procurement

The purpose of this competition is to select a public association, a media organisation, that will cover the Centre development region and will receive a sub-grant of up to EUR 15,000.00 to support the project’s communication and awareness-raising activities carried out across the country. The project is included in Annex No. 1 to Government Decision No. 246 of 2010; accordingly, the sub-grant awarded under this project is exempt from income tax, excise duties, customs duties and VAT. 
Through its activity, the selected public media association will cover the Centre development region, as defined by Law No. 438/2006 on regional development in the Republic of Moldova.
The selected media organisation will support the consumer protection awareness campaign by producing one journalistic investigation and 5 other media products, at its discretion: articles, radio/TV programmes, podcasts, etc. on topics related to consumer protection. The selected media organisation will benefit from the support of an expert selected under the project.
The expert will provide the necessary support, where needed, so that the beneficiary organisation ensures that the topic chosen for the journalistic investigations is not duplicated, and will support the selected media organisation in producing media products related to consumer protection (investigations, articles, TV/radio programmes, podcasts, etc.).  
Given that consumers from the Transnistrian region often buy consumer products/services on the right bank of the Dniester, which is controlled by the constitutional authorities, all information materials will be translated into Russian and disseminated through communication channels in that region. If the communication materials are produced in Russian, they will be translated into Romanian and disseminated.

Deliverables

The winning sub-grantee organisation will begin by informing the designated expert of the topic for the journalistic investigation and for the at least 5 media products (articles, TV/radio programmes, etc.), to ensure that this topic has not been selected by the other beneficiary organisations. After receiving confirmation from the project team regarding the chosen topic, the sub-grantee organisation will start the activities, respecting the deadlines set out in the contract. Expert-Grup undertakes to respect the editorial policy of the selected media institution, and the coordination mentioned is strictly intended to ensure the implementation of the project’s objectives. The media products will be published, disseminated and discussed. 

General requirements for the applicant media organisation

The candidate media organisation must meet the following general eligibility requirements:

1. be a public association legally registered in the Republic of Moldova;
2. sign and comply with the “Code of Ethics of Moldovan Journalists”;
3. demonstrate an independent editorial policy (self-assessment);

Specific requirements for the applicant media organisation

The candidate media organisation will:

1. explain: i) its motivation and interest in strengthening the consumer protection framework in Moldova, ii) the organisation’s plans to disseminate the material produced, iii) the organisation’s plans to continue its efforts to address consumer protection issues in its media products; iv) the objectives and results the organisation intends to achieve through the sub-granting contract.
2. present the organisation’s experience in conducting journalistic investigations;
3. present experience in writing articles and/or producing TV/radio programmes and podcasts;
4. provide links to the organisation’s website and social media pages;
5. provide the CVs of the team members (up to 3 CVs) with whom the organisation intends to implement the sub-grant;
6. prove the organisation’s financial sustainability by providing financial statements for 2022-2023.
7. present a draft budget with the resources allocated for carrying out the planned tasks (note: the project is VAT-exempt).

Submission of the offer

The submitted offer will consist of a single PDF file that will include:
1. A copy of the registration certificate
2. A letter of intent (max. 3 pages) detailing:
the organisation’s motivation and interest in strengthening the consumer protection framework in Moldova;
the organisation’s plans to disseminate the material produced;
the organisation’s plans to continue its efforts to address consumer protection issues in its media products;
the objectives and results the organisation intends to achieve through the sub-granting contract.
3. A list of links to journalistic investigations carried out (if any).
4. The organisation’s experience: a list of links to the top 10 media materials with the greatest impact (articles, TV/radio programmes, podcasts, etc.). If available, accompanied by impact figures (audience).
5. A list of links to the organisation’s website, social media pages, etc.
6. The CVs of a maximum of 3 team members with whom the organisation intends to implement the sub-grant.
7. Financial statements for 2022-2023.
8. An explanation of how the media organisation ensures the independence of its editorial policy (max. 1 page);
9. The draft budget with the allocation of the resources needed to implement the project.

Interested candidates must send their offers in a single PDF document, by e-mail, to procurari@expert-grup.org, by 4 November 2024, 10:00.

Other useful details can be found in the documents below: “Terms of Reference” and “Application Guide for the Sub-grant Offered to Media Organisations”, Romanian and Russian versions.