Background 

The African Centre for School Leadership (ACSL) is supporting the implementation of the LEAD pillar of the Leaders in Teaching (LiT) initiative in Tanzania, under the coordination of VVOB. The LiT-LEAD initiative is expected to strengthen the capacity of school leaders across Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar. The initiative is being delivered by the Agency for the Development of Educational Management in Tanzania (ADEM) under Tanzania’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST), coordinated with PO-RALG on the Mainland and MoEVT in Zanzibar, with the ACSL partner consortium, comprising ADEA, VVOB, ESSA and FAWE, providing technical support in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.

Rationale for the Explainer Series

The Explainer Series is conceived as a set of short form video materials that will help improve awareness, understanding and insights on the ACSL LiT-LEAD initiative. They will define the expected beneficiaries, the intended outcome and how the collaboration is expected to drive change and improve learning outcomes in the secondary education context in Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. 

The video materials will build a visual record of the programme as it moves from design into active delivery. The series serves four purposes: drive public awareness; establish accountability; and build a continental case for further investment in school leadership, as a tool to enhance secondary education outcomes. Through this effort, ACSL will also build a visual evidence of the programme’s early engagement and efforts.

This Terms of Reference scopes eight core videos plus a flexible ‘Voices from the Field’ series of additional videos as a shoot list for a production agency. It states each video and the target audience. It also sequences production for ease of planning and delivery, and surfaces the compliance, safeguarding and government-clearance requirements necessary for seamless delivery.

Objectives of the assignment

Each video is tied to one of four objectives, collectively contributing to a defined purpose rather than a topic alone:

1. Public awareness and legitimacy — leverage the feedback and narration of school leaders and communities in Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar to demonstrate how the initiative enhances schools, communities and learning outcomes.
   • Audience: The public, school leadership stakeholders, ACSL’s continental network.
2. Continental case-building — capture evidence and gender narratives ACSL can use in its school leadership advocacy beyond Tanzania.
   • Audience: ACSL leadership, continental partners.
3. External funder accountability — demonstrate to the Mastercard Foundation that the initiative is being delivered as designed and reaching its target schools and leaders, with credible evidence of results.
   • Audience: Mastercard Foundation, ACSL leadership.
4. Government advocacy — position ACSL’s technical support as reinforcing, not replacing, government ownership of the initiative, to support institutionalization in government education ministries.
   • Audience: MoEST, PO-RALG, MoEVT, other African Ministries of Education.

Language. The assignment covers English and Kiswahili. Most interview subjects — school leaders including head teachers and their deputies, teacher-leaders, parents, community members — will likely speak Kiswahili; any content captured in Kiswahili must have English subtitles inserted during post-production. English-language content should stand as delivered.

Distribution channels: ACSL website and program pages, YouTube and social platforms, Mastercard Foundation reports, screenings at national and regional and continental conference on school leadership. 

Scope of work and deliverables

This engagement covers eight core explainer videos plus Video 9, ‘Voices from the Field’ — up to five additional videos tied to Cohort 2 of the LiT-LEAD school leadership professional development providers training in Tanzania. Each video’s working title, target duration, core objective, primary audience and production notes are set out in the table below:

Video	Duration	Core objective	Primary audience	Notes
1. Introducing ACSL-LiT-LEAD in Tanzania	2:30–3:00	Donor accountability + Government advocacy	MCF, government, general public	Framing sign-off required first
2. Strengthening School Leadership in Tanzania	2:45–3:00	Donor accountability (evidence case)	MCF, policy audiences	—
3. Leading a Tanzanian Secondary School	~90 sec	Public awareness	General public, sector stakeholders	From the voices of school leaders in their environment
4. Research and Evidence — the Research Champions	~90–120 sec	Continental case-building	ACSL leadership, continental partners, researchers	—
5. From Policy to Practice	~90 sec	Government advocacy	Government, continental policy audiences	—
6. Gender and School Leadership	~90–120 sec	Public awareness + advocacy	MCF, general public, continental partners	—
7. Community Engagement in School Improvement	~90 sec	Public awareness	General public, community stakeholders	—
8. School Leadership in Zanzibar	~2 min	Government advocacy + public awareness	MoEVT, Zanzibar stakeholders, general public	—
9. Voices from the Field	2–3 min each (up to 5 videos)	Donor accountability + Public awareness	Mastercard Foundation, general public	Cohort 2 beneficiary feedback; schedule and regions to be confirmed.

Shot-level content, speakers and footage for each video are outlined in the original creative brief, which the intending applicants will receive alongside the Terms of Reference.

Duration and timeline

The engagement covers scripting, production and post-production of the videos above. Target completion date is 31 January 2027. Successful agencies should propose a detailed schedule from contract signature to final delivery, building in review checkpoints and branding sign-off as agreed with ACSL at contract signature. Videos are expected to be delivered as they become ready, and not wait until the deadline.

Qualifications and selection criteria

Eligibility (mandatory). ACSL is looking for qualified creative agencies to deliver this assignment, not just a videographer. The agency must be legally registered and operating in Tanzania (Mainland or Zanzibar). A Tanzania-registered branch or local partner of an international firm qualifies. Companies who do not meet this requirement will not be shortlisted.

Agencies responding to this ToR should demonstrate:

• Experience producing documentary-style or explainer video content for education, development, or external-funded programs in Africa.
• Experience filming in school environments, including documented child safeguarding protocols and consent procedures.
• Capacity to manage simultaneous multi-region production logistics within Tanzania, including Zanzibar/Unguja, within the proposed timeline.
• Production and post-production capability in both Kiswahili and English, including subtitling.
• A portfolio of at least five comparable productions, with samples, including at least one produced for a government agency (mandatory). Portfolio work in the education sector is preferred, and work produced specifically for a government education agency is preferred most.

In addition, they should provide information about their production team (director, camera, editor, local producer/fixer), with CVs, and at least one reference from a prior institutional or funding client.

Compliance and safeguarding requirements

Beneficiary consent. The selected agency is responsible for securing documented consent (signed consent/media release forms) from every individual who appears on camera or is recorded — including parents/guardians and school administration for any student in identifiable footage, and each other featured speaker or participant (head teachers, teachers, community members, research grantees, government officials). Consent must be obtained before filming and must cover the intended use and distribution channels of the footage. Signed consent forms are a deliverable: they must be submitted to ACSL alongside the raw and edited footage, and their absence is grounds to withhold payment for that footage. The successful agency is expected to submit a sample consent form alongside the workplan for review and sign off. 

Child safeguarding. Videos 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9 could feature students, classrooms or school assemblies on camera. Minors – persons under 18 years – may appear identifiably on camera, provided authorization is secured from a parent or guardian, another responsible adult, or the relevant institution (the school) — in addition to the signed consent required from every person appearing.

Government filming clearance. Videos 1, 5 and 8 may require filming permission from MoEST, PO-RALG and, separately, MoEVT for Zanzibar (a distinct jurisdiction with its own clearance process). The selected agency is expected to work with the ACSL Tanzania team to process these permits before filming starts. It needs to be built into the lead time for work planning.

Government framing. Videos should be framed as government-facing explainers, with the delivering Ministry positioned as the visible lead and funder/coalition support framed underneath — not the reverse.

Intellectual property. All final video products, raw footage, project files, graphics, animations and other commissioned production assets shall be delivered to ACSL and licensed/transferred for unrestricted institutional, advocacy, communications, digital, broadcast, reporting and archival use. They are considered the intellectual propert of the African Centre for School Leadership. Nothing in this Terms of Reference should be construed to imply liability to ACSL or its partnership with ADEM, MoEST, MoEVT or the Mastercard Foundation.

Reporting arrangements

The selected agency reports to Chinedu Anarado, ACSL Communications and Advocacy Lead, with supervision from Tausi Kiggula, ACSL Communications and Advocacy Officer. Oversight responsibility is envisaged from the LiT-LEAD National Programme Manager who will review and approve scripts, approve final cuts, logo placements and attributions.

Budget and payment terms

Interested agencies should propose a budget for the delivery of the assignment. This should include relevant fees to cover all aspects of the assignment such as transportation, equipment rental where necessary, professional fees etc. Please note that budget/pricing carries some weighting in the selection process. Agencies are encouraged to be as competitive as possible in their pricing, without compromising technical capacity. Proposals must also include a detailed cost breakdown.

Submission requirements

Interested agencies should submit in one folder:

1. A technical proposal setting out the creative approach for the full video slate, including a proposed visual identity linking the series.
2. A production timeline from contract signature to final delivery, phased as set out above.
3. A portfolio of at least five comparable productions, with samples, including at least one produced for a government agency.
4. A named production team and CVs.
5. A financial proposal with a cost breakdown by phase and video, and a proposed payment schedule.
6. At least one institutional or external funder-client reference.

Proposals should be submitted by midnight GMT, 10th October 2026 to adea-applications@afdb.org with the subject: ACSL LiT-LEAD Explainer Video Proposal. Any submission beyond this deadline will be screened out.

Download the ACSL LiT-LEAD Explainer Series Creative Brief