Objectives

The primary objective of this tender is to appoint a qualified service provider to conduct comprehensive media monitoring, analysis, and reporting over a period of six months. The service aims to track media coverage across broadcast, digital, print, and social media platforms related to the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), NRF, and associated facilities. The goal is to enable proactive media tracking, enhance institutional visibility, manage reputational risks, and support strategic communication through real-time data, analytics dashboards, AI-driven insights, and tailored reports.

Scope

The scope of work includes:

• Monitoring and collecting data from all relevant media platforms including:
• Broadcast media: television and radio (national and community stations)
• Print media: newspapers and magazines
• Digital media: online news, websites, and blogs
• Social media platforms: X/Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, etc.
• Providing daily media data collection and notifications, with monthly and quarterly consolidated reports.
• Developing and maintaining an interactive, cloud-hosted dashboard with AI-driven analytics, filters, and export capabilities.
• Implementing a timely alert system for sensitive or emerging issues, including instant notifications and live feed integration during key events.
• Secure data storage, backup, and compliance with data retention policies.
• Monitoring specific national and community media outlets, and excluding irrelevant or non-pertinent data.
• Providing transcripts of broadcast media and archiving all media data in accessible formats.
• Supporting stakeholder access, including training and ongoing system updates.

Technical Requirements

The technical specifications for the media monitoring service include:

• Real-time data collection and notifications across all media platforms.
• Customizable, AI-enhanced analytics dashboards supporting sentiment analysis, trend detection, anomaly detection, and influencer insights.
• Data categorization by agent, media type, and chronological order with separate storage for each agent.
• Provision of transcripts, audio/visual clips, and detailed metadata for each media item tracked.
• Cloud hosting with monthly backups and data retention compliance.
• Capability to generate detailed reports in formats such as Excel, with metrics including clip count, circulation, reach, PR value, and geographic distribution.
• Alert system capable of instant notifications for critical or sensitive media coverage.
• Support for multiple languages and regional media outlets within South Africa.
• Provision of access to stakeholders and training on system use.

Skills Requirements

The service provider must demonstrate:

• At least 3 years of experience in managing media monitoring, analysis, and reporting projects.
• Proven capability with real-time media monitoring platforms capable of tracking print, broadcast, and online media, including social media.
• Experience in developing and maintaining AI-driven analytics dashboards with customizable features.
• Ability to provide detailed transcripts, metadata, and multimedia content in accessible formats.
• Strong data security, backup, and compliance procedures.
• Capacity to deliver regular reports and presentations, including quarterly updates and final comprehensive reports.
• Experience working with scientific and governmental agencies, with knowledge of relevant South African media outlets and keywords related to science, technology, and innovation sectors.
• Effective stakeholder communication and training skills to ensure proper system utilization.