Contract for Services for Research Policy Communications from Flemish Public Administrations

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BackgroundUNESCO has the mandate to promote the development of science and technology from an ethical and human rights approach. Under this framework in November 2021, UNESCO developed the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which the 193 Member States adopted by acclamation at the 41st session of its General Conference, and spearheading its implementation by the Member States through innovative tools and methodologies, such as the Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM) and the Ethical Impact Assessment (EIA). Through the application of these tools, UNESCO is changing the operating model that drives AI, going beyond principles to develop a range of concrete and practical solutions to ensure fair, inclusive, sustainable and equitable outcomes of AI.The Digital Flanders Agency has launched an Artificial Intelligence Expertise Center (AI EC) ‎‎tasked with enhancing and ‎guiding the adoption of AI across Flemish public administrations. ‎‎The capacity and capability of the AI EC need to be ‎strengthened to empower it to fulfill its ‎‎coordination role among Flemish public administrations in the facilitation and ‎implementation ‎‎of AI projects.To this end, UNESCO is implementing theAI-Ready Flemish Public Administrationproject, funded by the European Commission Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM) through the EU's Technical Support Instrument (TSI). The project aims to foster Flemish public administrations' AI-readiness and increase the adoption of AI across the Flemish public administrations in a safe, robust, trustworthy, and ethical manner. Through its three pillars, the project focuses on strengthening: (i) institutional capacity for AI governance; (ii) technical capacity for AI projects; and (iii) human capacity for AI awareness, literacy, and skills within the Flemish public administrations.The project operates through a close collaboration with Digital Flanders' AI Expertise Centre, whose mandate is to support the 90+ Flemish public administration entities through a 1-to-many approach. Flanders is also a world-first in implementing UNESCO's RAM at the sub-national level, mapping the AI policy and governance landscape and identifying priority areas for ethical AI governance across six dimensions: ethical governance, legal, socio-cultural, scientific, economic, and technical.The policy communication priorityThe project has been ongoing since late 2024. Since then, several tailored governance tools, research reports and findings have been delivered to benefit the institutional, technical and human capacity of the AI Expertise Centre and it’s network of public administration entities.Through engaging with the broader field of EU public administration, it has become clear that the project findings and experience with on the ground implementation of AI governance innovation has an impact with a broad reach, both within and outside the EU. Specifically, the project experience is able to bridge the policy demands and expectations with the experience of everyday practice of implementation. Communicating these findings is imperative in a rapidly changing policy context, as the lessons learned from experience can help inform the future direction of research and capacity building actions.Aim of this contract for servicesThe aim of this service is to identify core messages, insights and impact stories from theAI Ready Flemish Public Administrationproject and communicate these to a broad group of interested parties, including other public administration entities, policy makers, and interested organisations.Intended OutcomesThe contract is designed to produce the following outcomes:The impact of the Flemish public administration project is strengthened by positioning the concrete expertise and experience with implementation of AI governance for a wider policy audienceLessons learned from the Flemish pilot speak to the broader global community of public administration AI governance practitioners, contributing to UNESCO's knowledge base on responsible AI governance in public administration.The deliverables which have been published as knowledge products on UNESCO’s Global Observatory of Ethics of AI, such as the AI Maturity Framework and the Local RAM report, as promoted and communicatedOverview of functionsThe contracted organization will work under the overall authority of the Assistant Director-General for the Social and Human Sciences Sector (ADG/SHS) and under the direct supervision of the Head of the Ethics of AI Team at UNESCO Headquarters. The contracted organization will work closely with the Project Lead for content feedback.The outputs and activities the contracted organisation will engage in are:Output 1: Four blog postsThe contracted organization will draft four blog posts, each of approximately 800 – 1200 words, written in accessible language for a wide audience.The topic of the blog posts will be selected in consultation with the Project Lead, centered around the key deliverables of the project and well as key project findings and experiences.The blog posts will identify relevance for public administrations and ongoing policy making processes at EU and global levelsIn order to prepare these outputs, the contracted organization will review the deliverables and reports produced, and optionally discuss with the authors and people involvedOptionally include suggestions for infographics or appropriate imagery, in line with the UNESCO Communication GuidelinesOutput 2 : Open Policy CommunicationThe contracted organization will design an open policy communication to ensure the lessons learned from the lived experience of AI governance implementation within the project can speak to a broad audience.The communication must focus on the practical experience of the project and how these lessons learned can shape the future of public administration capacity building.The format of this communication will be decided in collaboration with the Project Lead, though the contracted organisation is invited and encouraged to submit relevant and potentially innovative communication formats. These may be academic, policy, and/or creative.While the contracted organisation will be in the lead here, the format of the open policy communication must be designed in consultation with the UNESCO SHS Communication Team to ensure adherence to UNESCO Communication GuidelinesDeliverables and TimeframeMay 11 – 2 blog posts delivered, including minimum one round of reviewJune 15 – 2 blog posts delivered, including minimum one round of reviewJuly 13th – Open policy communication delivered, including minimum one round of reviewExperience requirementsExperienceMinimum of five years of professional experience in science policy communication, which can be at the intersection of research and policy making.Proven experience in researching, analysing and communicating from science and/or research to policy in accessible languageDemonstrated experience in drafting policy-oriented reports, toolkits, or frameworks for policymakers and other stakeholders.Skills and competenciesVery good understanding of practical lessons learned for project impacts, and how to shift perspectives from scientific or practical focused outputs to broader implications for societal transitionsVery good understanding of the policy landscape around emerging technologies and how public administration priorities are responding to emerging challenges around AI, regulation and governanceProven ability to conduct high-quality policy research, synthesise complex information, and produce clear, concise, and impactful blogs and policy briefs.Excellent organisational and project management skills, with the ability to handle multiple interrelated deliverables within tight deadlines.LanguagesExcellent knowledge (spoken and written) of English.How to applyInterested organizations are invited to submit both a technical and a financial proposal (maximum 2 pages in total), in line with the requirements outlined in the Terms of Reference. This should include 2 references to published material which demonstrates the competency of translating complex information into an accessible language for policy makers.Proposals should be sent to s.jameson@unesco.org with the subject heading "Application for Research Policy Communications". Any questions may also be addressed to this contact.The deadline for submission is 27 March 2026 at 23:59 (Paris time).Please note that no additional attachments are available, and any submissions which do not adhere to the above guidelines will not be reviewed.

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