Call for Proposals: Advancing Civic Technology and Digital Engagement

The call invites prospective applicants to collaborate with AU-ECOSOCC in refining and enhancing their digital engagement strategy. The priorities include audience analysis, testing messaging and channels, developing an engagement strategy and establishing effective feedback mechanisms.

Priorities

• This Call seeks to support AU-ECOSOCC to improve and strengthen its digital engagement strategy, by better understanding the audiences and their preferences in digital engagement, as well as to foster effective and inclusive civic engagement and participation in policymaking.
• The call is particularly directed toward African civil society organisations and has been conceived as such as an opportunity for the selected organisation to:
  • Lead a participatory process that cuts across civil society and citizens, developing representative outputs;
  • Serve as an opportunity to take on a convener role within the AU-ECOSOCC for the period of this engagement;
  • Strengthen the AU organ’s communications strategy to deepen engagement with its constituents.

Funding Information

• The overall budget available under this current Call is EUR 30 000.
• The winning proposal will be supported over an implementation period of approximately five months (to be confirmed at the time of contracting).

Activities

• The eligible and suggested activities under this call for proposals are:
  • Audience research and segmentation
    • Design and execute a multi-faceted research plan to identify and segment the target audience for the organ, incorporating demographic, psychographic, and behavioural dimensions;
    • Employ a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, including but not limited to surveys with stratified sampling, in-depth interviews, focus groups, ethnographic studies, and digital analytics.
  • Message and channel testing
    • Develop a messaging framework that aligns with the core values and policy goals of the organ, tailored to the nuanced needs of each audience segment;
    • Pilot various communication channels, including digital (social media, email newsletters, webinars) and traditional media (radio broadcasts, print materials), to gauge effectiveness.
  • Engagement strategy development
    • Collaborate with the organs to translate research and testing insights into a comprehensive, multi-channel engagement strategy;
    • The strategy should include specific objectives, engagement tactics, content plans, channel strategies, and feedback mechanisms tailored to each audience segment.
  • Feedback and reporting
    • Implement a robust feedback system to capture audience responses to engagement initiatives systematically;
    • Monitor and assess the effectiveness of the engagement strategy, utilising both qualitative feedback and quantitative metrics.

Eligibility Criteria

• The Call will focus on the provision of support to not-for-profit and for-profit organisations (e.g. social enterprises) acting within the civic space & the civic tech ecosystem.
• In short, the following eligibility criteria exists for recipients:
  • The organisation must be a legal entity;
  • The organisation must be a non-governmental, independent of local, regional and central government, political parties and religious institutions;
  • The organisation can be a not-for-profit organisation or a for profit organisation, but must – in both cases- be strongly committed to advancing civic participation;
  • The organisation must be registered in an African Union Member State;
  • The organisation must be able to sign a grant agreement;
  • The organisation must not be bankrupt or being wound up nor having its affairs administered by the courts;
• In addition, recipients of the Call must have several (but not necessarily all) of the following qualifications:
  • Extensive experience in audience research and engagement strategy within civic technology and policymaking contexts;
  • Minimum of 5-7 years experience in conducting audience research, message development, and engagement strategy within the context of civic participation and policy making;
  • Demonstrated ability to conduct mixed-methods research, including surveys, focus groups, interviews, and synthesise findings into strategic recommendations;
  • Expertise in data analysis, statistical testing, and the ability to synthesise large datasets into actionable insights;
  • Proven track record in developing and executing engagement strategies that yield measurable results.
• Particular added-value elements are:
  • The organisation possesses a comprehensive understanding of African Union policies, especially those related to democratic governance, citizen engagement, and digital technology;
  • A team with diverse skills, including research, analytics, strategy development, and communications.
  • The organisation has local, regional and/or national partnerships in place to optimise and pilot the strategy on a larger scale;
  • The organisation demonstrates a nuanced understanding of the landscape of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), as this knowledge allows to attract and facilitate collaboration with other CSOs in joint initiatives with AU-ECOSOCC;
  • Ability to work in multiple languages prevalent within the African Union is an advantage (English and French are required. Any other language will be valued positively).

For more information, visit Charter Project Africa.