Terms of Reference for Consultant

Terms of Reference for Consultant

A. Introduction

Visible Impact is a young women-led not-for-profit company that aims to create a ‘visible impact’ in the lives of youth, adolescent girls and women as well as their immediate families and communities with a focus on leadership development, advocacy and realization of their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Established ten years ago in 2015, Visible Impact has been able to reach over 65,000 adolescents and youth directly. Under its Youth for Access to Abortion for Youth (YAAY) project, Visible Impact has been working to bridge the gap in safe abortion access by unleashing young people as champions of safe abortion, train health service providers as well as mobilize media professionals and content creators to challenge the existing stigmas around the issue.

Nepal legalized safe abortion in 2002 AD and has since made significant policy and programmatic efforts to expand access to safe abortion services. Despite legal provisions and service availability, many women, particularly those from marginalized communities, continue to face barriers such as stigma, lack of information, geographic inaccessibility, provider shortages, and socio-cultural constraints, often leading them to unsafe abortion methods.

This documentary aims to capture the lived realities of women and service providers on the ground, highlighting both progress and persistent challenges in accessing safe abortion services in Nepal.

B. Objective

The main objective of this assignment is to document and present the real-life experiences, challenges and successes related to access to safe abortion services in Nepal.

C. Scope of Work and Responsibilities

The consultant/consulting firm is expected to complete the following requirements:

• Pre-production:
  • Participate in an onboarding meeting and other such meetings when necessary to better understand the objectives and idea of the assignment.
  • Develop a detailed documentary concept, storyline, and script with narrative approach, identifying key themes and messaging in collaboration with the program team at Visible Impact.
  • Identify filming locations, and develop a filming plan and production schedule.
  • Conduct site visits for preliminary scouting and planning, if necessary.
• Production
  • Travel to the specified locations (yet to be finalized) to film the required footage.
  • Obtain consent from participants, and ensure ethical considerations, confidentiality, and safeguarding protocols during shoot.
  • On-ground filming in selected locations.
• Post-production
  • Develop a high-quality, engaging and informative documentary video of 15-20 minutes duration in Nepali language.
  • Prepare trailer and stills for promotional purposes.
  • Include narration and voiceover in Nepali, with suitable background music, graphics/animations and subtitles if needed.
  • Revise and deliver the final documentary in agreed formats and lengths based on feedback from program team.
  • Submit all project files upon completion of assignment.

The consultant/consulting firm will be expected to manage all related technicalities independently, once the conceptual guidance and content is provided.

D. Approach

The consultant/consulting firm will work in close coordination with the program team at Visible Impact in all aspects of video conceptualization, development, editing and finalization. The approach will include: regular communication with the project focal person to ensure the documentary aligns with the project’s messaging and objectives, ethical considerations in filming, sensitivity towards the cultural nuances of the target community during the filming process, and ensuring the tone of the video is empathetic, non-judgmental and rights-based.

E. Key Deliverables

The consultant/consulting firm will be responsible for the following key deliverables:

• Inception report outlining the consultant’s understanding of the assignment, proposed methodology, timeline and initial ideas for the documentary video
• Story board presenting a visual representation of the basic detailing of video scenes
• First draft of the documentary with voiceover shared in an editable format for review
• Editable final draft of the video with voiceover prepared after incorporation of feedback and comments from Visible Impact
• Short clips/trailers for advocacy and social media use
• Raw footage and final edited files

F. Required Qualifications

The consultant/firm should have the following qualifications:

• Proven experience in documentary video making especially around SRHR, gender and social justice
• Strong visual storytelling skills and cultural sensitivity
• Ability to complete quality work within a short timeframe
• Experience with sound mixing, subtitling and editing tools
• Excellent diction in Nepali preferred

G. Timeline

The tentative timeline for the assignment is outlined below. A detailed timeline will be finalized and shared during the onboarding meeting.

H. Key Proposal Requirements

The key proposal requirement comprise of the following:

• A technical proposal outlining overview of consultant/consulting firm, qualification and experience in similar projects, understanding of assignment, summary of approach and methodology, and risk management
• A financial proposal outlining the cost breakdown (inclusive of all direct and indirect costs including but not limited to video development, equipment hiring, travel expense, communication, etc.)
• Samples of work of similar nature (Priority will be given to previous work in the field of SRHR)
• Short Company Profile
• PAN/VAT Certificate
• Company Registration Certificate
• Updated Tax Documents

I. Application Review and Scoring

Visible Impact believes in transparent systems for application review and scoring and will thus follow a strict criteria for evaluation of applications. The review will focus on:

1) Review of Technical Proposal - 70% Scoring

• Quality and Clarity of the proposed approach and methodology.
• Relevant Experience in documentary development, advocacy, and SRHR- related projects, especially within the Nepali context.
• Creativity and the ability to effectively communicate sensitive topics such as safe abortion in an empathetic, inclusive, and culturally sensitive manner.

2) Review of Financial Proposal - 30% Scoring

Based on appropriateness and justification of cost breakdown and value for money.

J. Submission of Interest

The consultant/firm who is interested in the assignment should submit the aforementioned documents by 27th January, 2026 3 PM NST at procurement.visim@gmail.com.

For any information or submitting the quotation, please contact: procurement.visim@gmail.com.