Public tender for the Program “Journalism Trust Initiative Fast Track Program” in Colombia

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Call for tender
 

Journalism Trust Initiative Fast Track Program

Colombia – 2024/2025

 

Background

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) defends the right of every human being to have access to free and reliable information. This right is essential to know, understand, form an opinion and take action on vital issues in full awareness, both individually and collectively.

With consultative status with the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), RSF is an independent organisation based in Paris. RSF has 134 correspondents around the world, 6 international sections (Germany, Austria, Spain, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland), 1 international headquarter (Paris), and 7 offices (London, Brussels, Tunis, Washington DC, Rio de Janeiro, Dakar, Taipei).

 

Context of the call for tender

The rise of Big Tech, opaque algorithms, disinformation and countless external factors erode news consumption rates, revenue streams, audience shares, due prominence online, overall trust and more fundamentals of professional news organizations. Taking the issue from an economic perspective, we put news organizations in the context of a free market in which they severely lack competitive advantages and in which there is a structural lack of incentives. 

Initiated by RSF, the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) puts forth a way to remedy not just these symptoms but the root causes of disinformation and the declining state of the news publishing industry. The JTI is an industry benchmark with 18 criteria that helps professional publishers distinguish themselves and provide official assurance of their professionalism and commitment to ethical standards – by showing who they are, how they work and their commitment to high ethical standards – through ISO certification. RSF initiated its development in 2018 with 130 media experts from around the world, under the aegis of the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) and published as Workshop Agreement CWA 17493.

From a public policy perspective, ISO standards are used as self-regulatory references wherever there is a regulatory void. They are also used to better existing regulations and to shape upcoming legislation. RSF advocated and successfully inserted a specific reference to the JTI in the European Union’s upcoming Media Freedom Act (the so-called EMFA). 

From a business perspective, ISO standards act as a common denominator between all parties of one same market. In this case, tech platforms (like Microsoft), brands and marketers, news aggregators, distributors, funders, philanthropies, media development organizations and so many others have a growing interest in making sure that the news organizations they work with can demonstrate their best effort to implement the 18 criteria of the JTI. 

For the JTI to be successful, an industry-wide adoption is necessary and currently happening in select markets. RSF puts at the disposal of news organizations a free online tool on www.jti-app.com for them to start an internal assessment of their processes until they are ready for an external audit and, if positive, receive an official certification. In August 2024, JTI tracked over 1 500 media outlets that registered on this platform to start the process. A great majority of them need support and mentorship to build capacity, save time and maximize their chances to achieve the JTI certification. To accelerate this process, RSF has developed the JTI Fast Track Program via which news organizations benefit from dedicated support, mentoring and capacity building in their journey to the JTI Certification and beyond. 

 

Purpose of the call for tender

The purpose of this Call for Tender is to identify a Service Provider who will be in charge of the JTI Fast Track Program, in close coordination with RSF. The Service Provider will connect RSF to participating media outlets and will facilitate actionable data (progress of each media, specific training needed, etc.), insights (readiness for the external audit, level of motivation, etc.) and opportunities (prospecting new participants, vetting candidates, etc.) to push for an effective adoption of the JTI.

The Service Provider must be a native Spanish (Latin America) speaker, demonstrate expertise in media management, editorial processes, ethical journalism principles, and hands-on experience in training and capacity building programs for journalists and media.

This Call for Tender does not constitute a promise of award of the future contract to any applicant company. The Contract between RSF and the chosen service provider(s) will be a service contract governed by French laws.

 

Estimated services of the contract

Description of the services for the ‘JTI Fast Track Program’: 

  1. Prospect and confirm the participation of news media outlets, with suggestions and recommendations from local and international partners such as NGOs, media development organizations, press or publishers associations, academics and any other trusted intermediary. Each participant will be vetted and approved by both RSF and the Service Provider, and will have to consent to participate in the full program.
  2. Ideally, identify and confirm 1 point of contact per participant who will coordinate the implementation of the JTI.
  3. Provide dedicated support to each participant to self-assess on www.jti-app.com with the 18 criteria of the JTI.
  4. Support each participant individually with the necessary tools, documents and training sessions or mentorings for them to maximize, and even exceed, their compliance with the whole JTI standard.
  5. Drive participants to publish their resulting JTI Transparency Report.
  6. For each participant interested in the external audit towards the JTI Certification, organize a session jointly with RSF to test their preparedness and understanding of what the audit and the certification means in terms of rights and responsibilities. 
  7. Internal communication: RSF and the Service Provider will hold a bi-weekly online session to follow up on progress, pain points, successes and any topic for a flawless implementation of the program.
  8. Cadence: 
    1. prospecting and confirmation of participating media outlets should be intensified during the 3 first months of the term of the program, and will remain as a recurrent activity for the remaining 7 months; 
    2. training programs and capacity building should be finalized by no later than May 31, 2025;
    3. all transparency reports should be published by June 30, 2025 at the very latest.

 

Estimated term

10 months, ending at the latest on June 30, 2025.

 

Estimated deliverables and due dates

  • Deliverable 1
    • Pre-selection of media outlets and recommendation by partners
    • Due date: No later than 2 weeks before the start date of the JTI Fast Track Program for an initial selection of 20% of participants
  • Deliverable 2
    • Scheduling of individual and/or group sessions and of the milestones of the entire program, such as:
      • introductory sessions to present the main goals and milestones of the JTI Fast Track program;
      • ongoing support sessions for RSF to interact with media outlets and vice versa;
      • training and mentoring sessions to cater to specific needs expressed by media outlets or identified by the Service Provider;
      • any other session deemed necessary by the Service Provider, with the presence or not of RSF.
    • Due date: No later than 2 weeks before the start date of the JTI Fast Track Program.
  • Deliverable 3
    • Any material deemed necessary throughout the whole duration of the JTI Fast Track Program, such as:
      • educational materials on key journalistic principles (e.g.: accuracy and fact-based communication; independence from political, corporate or other centers of power; due impartiality in a systematic approach to reporting and editing; fairness, respect and consideration of the impact of journalism on the lives of others; transparency to facilitate accountability and responsibility to the public)
      • model materials such as, and not limited to, editorial guidelines, privacy policies, staff or freelancer handbook, etc. 
      • Any other material.
    • Due date: No later than 1 week after RSF’s request. The Service Provider is encouraged to produce them at any time throughout the program.
  • Deliverable 4
    • Activity report, which consists of:
      • the JTI Transparency Report of each participating media outlet;
      • a brief qualitative report by the Service Provider on the collaboration with each media outlet and on their readiness for the external audit for the JTI certification.
    • Due date: No later than 2 weeks after the publication of the last JTI Transparency Report.

 

Total estimated value

The maximum amount of the contract is fifteen thousand thousand euros (EUR 15 000) excluding taxes.

 

Location of the mission

There is no specific requirement regarding the location of the service provider. However, participating media outlets who benefit from this project shall be based and operating preferably in Colombia.

 

Application

Applications in English/French must include:

  • A technical proposal (max 2 A4 pages) with a detailed methodology, and with the expected number of participants, the expected number of JTI Transparency Reports published, and the expected number of eligible candidates to a grant for the audit towards the JTI certification;
  • The résumés of each person who will work on the JTI Fast Track Program, with proofs of expertise and experience as described in the purpose of this call for tender;
  • A financial proposal detailing the cost structure, excluding taxes, and quantities of participants, of published JTI Transparency Reports and of eligible candidates to a grant for the JTI certification.

 

Please send your application to [email protected] and [email protected] by no later than the 1st of October 2024. Applications will be reviewed and considered on a rolling basis until this call of tender is closed, though early applications are strongly encouraged. 

 

Selection criteria

  • Criteria 1 – Technical value (50%), evenly split between:
    • Technical proposal
    • Methodology and processes
    • Relevant professional experience
    • Existing network of news organizations
  • Criteria 2 – Pecuniary value (50%)
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