Assessment of digital skills and competencies of creative professionals and artists / Extended

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

Artcor Creative Industries Center in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova is seeking expressions of interest from qualified and experienced individuals to develop an Assessment of digital skills and competencies of creative professionals and artists within the project “Digital Transformation of Cultural and Creative Industries in the Republic of Moldova”. 

The project, funded by the UNESCO-Republic of Korea Funds-in-Trust for the Development of Creative Industries, aims at better harnessing the potential of digital transformation for cultural and creative industries, to enhance the capacity of this sector to promote inclusive, fair and sustainable economic development in the Republic of Moldova.

Background

The development of information and communication technologies, combined with the evolution of social and individual behaviours further compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, have prompted an unprecedented acceleration in the digitalization of cultural content. In order to cope with this increase in the demand of the digitized collections and cultural content, institutions and professionals are striving to develop relevant skills, capacities and services. Digital material offered in this context include 3D virtual tours (museums, film production companies), web pages and diverse online services (graphic design companies), book sale (publishing companies), video and music material (music production companies, film production and distribution companies), as well as educational content. Investing in human resources and technical equipment will be crucial to successfully venture into the digital shift. The scope of this activity is to produce and share knowledge to inform, inspire and drive policy change and measures that ensure diverse and dynamic cultural ecosystems that are fair for creators, accessible to audiences and beneficial for society at large.

Duties and Responsibilities

In cooperation with the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova, the Artcor Creative Industries Center from Chisinau seeks to conduct an assessment of how cultural and creative operators both artists and cultural organisations are using digital technology for creation, production and dissemination of cultural goods or services. The final goal of this activity is to identify in-demand skills of the cultural and creative sector (CCS) in order to better seize the opportunities and meet the challenges posed by the digital transition. It will also explore new ways of accessing and enjoying cultural content by end users. 

This activity focuses on following outputs:

• Collection and analysis of data on existing digital skills and capacities of cultural operators, both individual creators and those working in cultural and creative industries/organizations. This may include: knowledge of digital technology among staff, especially senior managers; available resources and capacity of the organisations to operate in the digital environment; etc.
• Audit and identification of specific digital skill gaps in selected cultural and creative sectors in order to provide recommendations for:
  • Establishment of CCS courses in the formal education system at the university level to meet the requirements of the market demand.
  • Capacity building activities to strengthen the digital skills and competencies of selected cultural and creative sectors to fully participate in the ongoing changes to the cultural value chain.

The activity will consist of the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data through desk reviews, interviews with representatives of relevant ministries and culture sector industries/organizations, based on which recommendations are to be produced to inform future policy and capacity-building action.

Two types of consultancies are envisaged:

• International consultant will propose suitable international frameworks (e.g. conventions) and share best practices from countries will similar systems to be adopted to national context of Moldova.
• National consultant will define the profile of the actors in the culture sector, conduct the field work, and put the international recommendations in a local perspective.

Against this background, Artcor will engage an international expert consultant for 5 working days and national expert consultant for 13 working days), who will:

The deliverables (methodology and analysis) shall be developed in English. Both consultants shall work closely together in the development of these documents, in particular on deciding on its structure, the relevant content to include and the recommendations. 

In order to successfully accomplish the assigned tasks, the consultants will work under the direct supervision of Artcor, in close coordination with the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe. All materials prepared by the consultant will need to be approved by Artcor in consultation with UNESCO prior to final sharing with the government stakeholders.

Qualifications and skills for international consultant 

1. Competencies 

• Excellent knowledge of international standards and policy framework for the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions, and familiarity with operating in the context of the Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals;
• Sound and demonstrated experience with similar projects/tasks, with special focus on quantitative and qualitative analysis and the production of recommendations.

1. Education and experience

• Master degree in social sciences, preferably culture-related studies, with at least 5 years of experience in the cultural sector, or Bachelor degree with at least 10 years of relevant experience. This can be a combination of employment, consulting, internships and/or research, management, international relations, or development studies preferably with a focus on policies and/or capacity development. Preference will be given to candidates who previously worked in the Republic of Moldova and/or the region. Experience working with the governments and within the UN system is a strong advantage.

1. Language Skills

• Excellent knowledge of English;
• Knowledge of Romanian language is considered as advantage;

Qualifications and skills for national consultant 

1. Competencies 

• Excellent knowledge of the cultural sector in the Republic of Moldova;
• Good knowledge of international standards and policy framework for the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions, and familiarity with operating in the context of the Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals;
• Sound and demonstrated experience with similar projects/tasks, with special focus on quantitative and qualitative analysis and the production of recommendations.

1. Education and experience

• Master degree in social sciences, preferably culture-related studies, with at least 3 years of experience in the cultural sector, or Bachelor degree with at least 8 years of relevant experience. This can be a combination of employment, consulting, internships and/or research, management, international relations, or development studies preferably with a focus on policies and/or capacity development. Experience working with the governments and within the UN system is a strong advantage.

1. Language Skills

• Excellent knowledge of English;
• Fluency in Romanian language;

Duration 

The task is expected to be:

• Implemented between 02 January 2023 and 31 March 2023;
• Carried out spending a maximum of 5 working man/days for the international consultants and 13 working man/days for the national consultant during the abovementioned implementation period.

Sources informing ToR guidelines

• This activity is in line with the guiding principles and objectives of the UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and its overarching goals to support sustainable systems of governance for culture, to promote human rights and fundamental freedoms. 
• “Re|shaping policies for creativity: addressing culture as a global public good” is a new edition of the Global Report designed to monitor the implementation of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. First published in 2015, it is UNESCO’s third edition of this flagship Global Report. The 2022 Global Report draws on the most recent and relevant data on a global, regional and national scale to measure progress, identify persisting or new challenges and set priorities towards the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda within and with the cultural and creative sectors. 

Expression of interest and selection criteria 

Interested consultant must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate qualifications:

• CV including past experience in similar projects and at least 3 contact references;
• Proposal providing a brief overview (points for methodology) on how the task will be approached and conducted (1 page), accompanied by the financial offer;

Expressions of interest will be selected based on the evaluation of 3 equally important criteria: quality of the technical proposal; qualifications of the expert(s) concerned; and, competitiveness of the financial proposal. 

Those short-listed will be notified no later than one week after the closing date.

Expressions of interest should be submitted by email, clearly stating "Assessment of digital skills and competencies of creative professionals and artists" to Ms. Viorica Cerbusca at v.cerbusca@artcor.md copied to Ms. Alma Mrgan-Slipičević a.mrgan-slipicevic@unesco.org by 13 January 2023 (midnight, Chisinau time).