Request For Proposals: Communications agency - Green Forward

About SPARK

At SPARK we create pathways. Pathways that give youth the tools they need to succeed in regions affected by conflict, climate crisis, and displacement. New ways to empower students and entrepreneurs to study, work and grow their own businesses. We do so through our four pillars. We are a dynamic and growing, international not-for-profit development organization with 120+ staff members, in more than 14 offices around the world. Our five values are the heart of everything we do. They inspire us to be the best we can be for ourselves and everyone we work with:

• Trust us to be reliable, fair and have integrity
• A can do attitude is how we achieve our best results
• We care for what we do and who we work with
• We are courageous in who we are, what we do and who we support
• Ignite innovative responses to the ever-changing needs of the countries we work in

1. Background

The Green Forward programme, funded by the European Union, aims to foster a green and circular economy (GCE) in the Southern Neighbourhood region, which includes countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The programme operates at three levels: macro, meso, and micro, implemented respectively by a consortium comprising Expertise France, SPARK, and UNIDO. SPARK leads the meso-level component in collaboration with partners across seven countries: GESR – Misr El Kheir Foundation (Egypt), the Jordan Chamber of Industry – JCI / The Center of Energy and Environmental Sustainability in the Industry – CEESI (Jordan), and Tunis International Center for Environmental Technologies – CITET (Tunisia) as co-applicants; and Business Incubation Association in Tripoli – BIAT (Lebanon), and TEAM for Training & Development (Libya), Enactus (Morocco), and Flow Accelerator (Palestine) as implementing partners. SPARK’s intervention aims to enhance the capacity of business support organisations (BSOs) to serve as ecosystem enablers, bridging the gap between policy and practice. This initiative is committed to fostering job creation, economic opportunity, and alignment with the principles of the European Green Deal in all seven target countries.

Within this framework, Activity A2.2 focuses on awareness raising and international outreach, showcasing the opportunities of the circular economy and green business models to entrepreneurs and key stakeholders. An international campaign will target both the MENA region and the EU level, leveraging success stories, case studies, and innovative solutions identified under the programme.

In addition to external campaigns, the Green Forward programme will leverage the Digital Eco-Innovation Platform (Activity 2.3), to connect business support organisations (BSOs), green entrepreneurs, MSMEs , and other Green Forward stakeholders through knowledge on green and circular economy and the creation of digital hubs that enables networking and matchmaking, aiming to  enhance the networking and collaborations between programme stakeholders. While the platform is operational, it requires enhanced content development and animation to stimulate interaction and attract new users, focusing on programmes’ stakeholders. The assignment therefore combines awareness raising with digital community engagement to maximise programme impact.

2. Objectives of the assignment

The agency will design and implement a high-impact campaign that:

• Raises awareness on the opportunities of the green and circular economy.
• Reaches approx. 500,000 entrepreneurs across seven countries.
• Produce high quality stories of impact from programme beneficiaries in each of the seven countries of implementation
• Support the dissemination of success stories, case studies, and best practices from the programme, through content creation and adaptation
• Engages media, key stakeholders, and EU audiences.
• Ensures consistent branding and aligns with the programme visibility guidelines across channels.
• Support the animation and growth of the Eco-Innovation Platform called “SPARK Innovation Hub” through content development and outreach to the programme implementing partners, business support organisations, and green MSMEs
• Strengthen digital engagement by expanding the platform’s user base to 1,500 users.

3. Scope of work & deliverables for awareness raising campaign 

3.1 Campaign planning

• Design the campaign aligning with programme milestones and international dates, in accordance with the programme communications strategy. This includes dissemination content, photography, and video production. 
• Prepare a campaign calendar with key deliverables to produce, in consultation with the programme team at SPARK 

3.2 Content development and design 

• Produce 7 country-level photoshoots to highlight the programme impact on its key beneficiaries, in coordination with SPARK’s regional communication officer and country implementing partners, ensuring high-resolution photos, suitable for both digital and print use, and reflecting gender balance and diversity among beneficiaries. The photoshoot will be storytelling-based and will feature one business support organisation per country. 
• Produce 7 country-level videos (1 video per country) to highlight the programme impact on its key beneficiaries, in coordination with SPARK’s regional communication officer and country implementing partners. Each video should be 1–2 minutes long, delivered in horizontal and vertical formats, with English subtitles and aligned with SPARK’s visual brand guidelines and the European Union visibility guidelines including but not limited to (logos, image and video consent, disclaimer, etc).
• Produce 2 infographic videos covering the theme of green and circular economy and highlighting SPARK’s intervention in the Green Forward initiative. Videos must be animated or motion-based, with Arabic voiceover, subtitled in English, and follow SPARK’s visual identity and the European Union visibility guidelines including but not limited to (logos, image and video consent, disclaimer, etc).
• Develop outreach online campaigns for 10 online webinars (5 to 10 posts per campaign), in coordination with SPARK’s regional communications officer and green experts.
• Lead 6 bi-monthly dissemination campaigns to promote Green Forward’s activities and the green and circular economy (GCE) across the region. Each campaign will disseminate GCE learnings from partners’ activities, share GCE-related insights and opportunities, and translate content provided by SPARK and green experts into engaging formats (visuals, carousels, infographics, designed reports, etc.). Each campaign should include 6–8 posts, with creative direction proposed during the campaign design phase to ensure alignment with SPARK’s brand guidelines. The format will be further validated in the campaign design phase to ensure alignment with SPARK’s brand guidelines.

*All visual content must ensure multilingual accessibility (Arabic, English, French) and be delivered in editable source files where applicable.

3.3 Media features and paid media

• Produce and distribute up to 4 press releases on regional and at EU level, aligning with the programme milestones. 
• Identify and establish 3 partnerships with key influencers and podcasts across the seven countries of implementation for paid features to ensure programme visibility.
• Implement up to 20 targeted paid advertising (Meta, LinkedIn, Google Ads) for produced campaigns.

3.5 Monitoring & Reporting

• 6 bi-monthly performance reports (reach, engagement, media coverage).
• Final campaign evaluation and recommendations.

4. Scope of work and deliverables for digital eco-innovation platform 

4.1. Platform content plan & editorial calendar

Create and manage an editorial calendar to regularly provide relevant content on green innovation and circular economy topics on the platform.

4.2 Platform user engagement & community management

Develop and implement a user acquisition and community engagement plan to onboard and actively engage at least 1,500 verified users (entrepreneurs, companies, BSOs, other stakeholders) by programme end.

4.3 Collaboration activities facilitation

Organise at least 2 online outreach events (webinars, workshops, or peer-learning sessions) to facilitate knowledge exchange and foster collaboration between users.

4.4 Platform progress & impact report

Produce a final report on platform development, user engagement statistics, success stories/case studies, and recommendations for sustainability beyond the project life cycle.

5. Summary of key deliverables: 

• 1 Awareness raising campaign plan designed
• 1 Campaign calendar planned and finalised
• 7 Country-level photoshoots produced 
• 7 Country-level videos produced
• 2 Infographic video produced
• 10 Outreach online campaigns for webinar promotion developed
• 6 Bi-monthly dissemination campaigns developed
• 4 Press releases written and distributed (language depending on targeted media)
• 3 Established paid partnerships including influencers and podcast features
• At least 6 Paid advertising for produced campaigns ensured
• 6 Bi-monthly performance reports of awareness raising campaign
• 1 Final campaign evaluation and recommendations of the awareness raising campaign
• 1 Editorial calendar created and managed for digital eco-innovation platform
• 1 User acquisition and community engagement plan developed and implemented
• 2 online outreach events developed
• 1 Final report on platform development finalised

6. Duration & timeline

The assignment will run from November 2025 to October 2026, the latest.

Note: The above mentioned timeline is subject to change due to internal administrative processes. 

6.1 Awareness raising campaign activity 

• Campaign strategy: November 2025
• Dissemination campaign: December 2025 – October 2026
• Success stories (photo and images: December 2025 – October 2026
• Infographic video: March 2026
• Paid advertising campaigns: December 2025 – October 2026 based on needs
• Bi-monthly reports: December 2025 – Septembre 2026
• Final evaluation: October 2026

6.2 Eco-innovation platform

• Content & engagement strategy: November 2025 (upon selection) 
• Monthly content updates: November 2025 – October 2026
• Two online events: January 2026 – June 2026
• Quarterly engagement reports: November 2025 – October 2026

7. Required Qualifications

• Proven expertise in international communications, campaigning, and digital community management.
• Experience in the MENA region, preferably in development and sustainability.
• Demonstrated track record in storytelling, media relations, and digital advertising.
• Familiarity with online platforms for innovation, entrepreneurship, or sustainability.
• Multilingual production capacity (English, Arabic, French).
• Ability to deliver results under tight deadlines.
• Logistical capacity to produce the cited deliverables across the seven countries of intervention 

8. Coordination

• The agency will report to SPARK’s Regional Communications Officer and work closely with country focal points. 
• Deliverables must be reviewed and approved by SPARK prior to dissemination. 
• The agency should be willing to take into consideration feedback and guidance shared by SPARK representatives.

9. Submission of proposals

Submission instructions:

Please submit your proposal in PDF format no later than [20-November-2025] to the following email address: Grants@spark-online.org 

Email subject: “Proposal Submission: Green Forward Awareness & Digital Platform Campaign”

Note: Late submissions will not be considered. 

Technical and financial documents to submit:

• Agency portfolio, highlighting relevant experience in communications, campaigning, and digital community management.
• Technical proposal, outlining:

– Approach and methodology for the awareness raising campaign.

– Approach and methodology for content development and animation of the Eco-Innovation Platform.

– Proposed work plan and timeline.

• Financial proposal (detailed budget in EUR)

Additional documents that must be submitted:

• Legal Business Registration
• Latest Tax Registration/Clearness Certificate
• Experience working with international organizations
• CVs of the project management team, experts, and/or trainers
• 3 references from previous work projects including contact information (organizational contact information)
•  Signed contracts for similar work within the last three years; indicating a description of contract scope, contract duration, and contract value
• Recommendation letters and/or delivery notes or any other form of documentation proving completion of previously undertaken work within the last three years.
• Chamber of commerce registration, if applicable

Important notes: If you have any questions; please send us an email with your questions before the DDL on the following addresses: 

• a.ajengui@spark-online.org
• h.e.o.tebourski@spark-online.org 
• And copy o.j.ababneh@spark-online.org 

For more information about the Green Forward programme, please view the programme presentation and visit the programme website.

10. Evaluation and selection

Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Based on the scoring of written proposals, the top three (3) service providers will be shortlisted and invited for an interview.

Following the interviews, the final selection will be made solely on the outcome of the interview process, as this allows the evaluation committee to directly assess the provider’s capacity, responsiveness, and alignment with SPARK’s needs. The written evaluation scores will only be used for shortlisting purposes.

10.1 Scoring methodology

Each proposal will be scored on a scale of 1 to 10 for each criterion. The score will then be multiplied by the assigned weight to calculate the weighted score. The sum of all weighted scores will determine the ranking of proposals.

Scoring Scale (1–10):

The three highest-ranking proposals will be shortlisted for interviews. The interview results will determine the final award decision, regardless of the initial written proposal scores.

10.2 Interview stage:

Shortlisted firms will be invited to present their approach and respond to questions from the evaluation committee.

The committee will score interviews using the following grid:

The bidder with the highest total weighted interview score will be selected for the award.