Metamorphosis Foundation is opening a Regional Call for engagement of a geopolitical analyst as part of its ongoing activities on debunking and mapping the flow of disinformation, misinformation and propaganda trough the region of Western Balkans (WB).

The geopolitical analyst—an individual expert or team of experts—will assist the ongoing efforts that include conducting media monitoring, analysis and debunking of disinformation to analyze trends, synthetize findings from a geopolitical perspective and provide early-warning recommendations for action on national and regional level about the harmful influence of disinformation campaigns in the individual Western Balkans countries (North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro) and the region as a whole.

 

1. Objective
The overall objective of this engagement is to investigate, summarize, synthetize, map, and compare the disinformation flow and patterns in the Western Balkans region for the period January 2022 – December 2022.
The abovementioned findings should be presented in a research report. The research report should be drafted in English.

2. Tasks and Responsibilities
• Conducing an analysis resulting in writing a research report based on the provided information and data from monitoring reports, information from the database with results of daily media monitoring in the countries of the WB, and all other relevant sources of knowledge, including own research and publicly available research results and assessments produced by relevant third parties.
• Proposing a structure and content for the research report, including aspects of presentation of data and presentation in textual and graphics formats, in order to best reflect the needs for understanding the current phenomenon of disinformation and related malign influences aiming to undermine democracy in the WB region and individual countries, leading to early warning recommendations and their most effective presentation in different formats.
• Presentation of the research report

2.1 Provided materials and project support
The expert(s) will be provided with materials gathered throughout the year by the partners implementing the project. Moreover, the selected applicant will be given access to a Knowledge Hub Database containing data input by national media monitors, documenting the coverage of key issues related to the spread of disinformation.
The expert will coordinate with the Metamorphosis Foundation and its partners throughout the process and will jointly define the steps of the research. Metamorphosis Foundation will support the expert with all available resources and contacts during the engagement timeframe.

3. Qualifications
Experience and competencies:
• Background and/or in-depth knowledge in geo-politics, with focus on the Western Balkans
• Knowledge of disinformation patterns and flows on the Western Balkans
• Previous work in the field of geopolitical and/or media research (preferably with focus on disinformation)
• Fluent knowledge of written English language
• Knowledge of Macedonian, Albanian and/or Serbian/Bosnian/Montenegrin/Croatian will be considered an asset

4. Applications and Evaluation Process
The experts may apply individually, or in a team of maximum 4 members. If the second case, the team should assign a team leader that will submit (a) the professional resumes of all team members, (b) the scope of work for each team member, (c) a timeline of planned activities and (d) financial offer and the manner in which the remuneration should be transferred to the respective team members.

Interested experts need to submit the following documents to info@metamorphosis.org.mk no later than November 28, 2022:
• CV of the expert to demonstrate subject matter expertise;
• A short concept of the research-analytical engagement and the report (no longer than three pages)
• Financial offer with a breakdown of costs in a separate document with a name Attachment 1: Financial Offer (in a table format according to the following model – Attachment 1 – Financial Offer).

4.1 Selection criteria
The assessment of the applications will be done in the following manner, adding up to 100 points in total:
– Subject matter expertise, demonstrated through CV or CVs of applicants (30 points)
– Short concept of the research-report engagement and the report (35 points)
– Financial offer (35 points)

5. Timing
The research will commence during December 2022 and the report should be finalized by end of January 2023. The precise timeline will be determined through agreement of the expert(s) and Metamorphosis team.
During the engagement, the expert(s) will be expected to be in regular communication with assigned representatives of Metamorphosis Foundation team and its partners.

6. Deliverables
1. Prepared research report
2. Final Report for the engagement
3. Presentation of the research report in front of the regional partners and/or donors

For any additional info, please contact us at info@metamorphosis.org.mk.

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