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RADIO COMMISSIONING FRAMEWORK

Commissioning Brief

Commissioning Brief No: 31281, Round 4 2020/21

The Essay

from April 2020-March 2021

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CONTENTS

SECTION A: EDITORIAL OPPORTUNITY ................................................................ 3 SECTION B: THE COMMISSIONING PROCESS ..................................................... 8

1. TIMETABLE.................................................................................................... 8

2. THE FOUR STAGES ...................................................................................... 9

3. THE EVALUATION TEAM ............................................................................ 10

SECTION C: FULL PROPOSALS ........................................................................... 11

1. WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU ..................................................................... 11

2. WHAT TO EXPECT FROM US..................................................................... 11

3. IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE .................................................................. 13

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SECTION A: EDITORIAL OPPORTUNITY

Commissioning Brief no.31281: The Essay

Commission contact Matthew Dodd

Duration 14’

Number of programmes available up to 31 weeks of (usually) 5 programmes per week. (1 week’s programmes = 1 commission)

Transmission period April 2020 - March 2021

Guide price per episode Up to £2,000

Commissioning Year 2020-2021

Commissioning Round Round 4

Broadcast Slot Mon-Fri 2245-2300

All proposals must be submitted via Proteus. Please make your short proposal using no more than 250 words.

Important Notes:

Short Proposals must be submitted via Proteus before the deadline at noon on Thursday 17 October 2019. These should be entered into the ‘short synopsis’ section of the Proteus submission form.

Shortlisted suppliers will then be asked to submit a Full Proposal. This should be no longer than 2 sides of A4 (Arial font size 11). It should be entered into the ‘full synopsis’ section of the Proteus submission form.

Full Proposals must be submitted via Proteus by 12 noon on Thursday 19 December 2019.

Producers will be offered the opportunity to discuss the programme brief with the Commissioning Editor prior to submitting a Full Proposal

The BBC reserves the right at any time prior to the award of a commission, and without incurring any liability to the affected suppliers, to accept or to reject any proposal, or to annul the commissioning process rejecting all Full Proposals. More information relating to all commissioning briefs and rounds, regardless of Networks can be found on the Pitching Ideas page of the Radio Commissioning Website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4fC4NcVXqkZntJv8ZHpClD8/pitching-ideas

We strongly advise you to submit your Proposals in good time, to avoid the possibility of difficulties caused by unforeseen network or transmission problems. No late submissions can be accepted.

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What is the Radio 3 Essay?

Each weekday night Radio 3’s The Essay broadcasts a 14 minute non-fiction scripted talk – inspired by the arts, music, history, science, travel, philosophy and beyond. It’s a place to hear the true art of writing for radio.

These are personal stories about culture, intimately told – based on personal experience, personal research or personal insight.

They are always read by the author – and the personality of the author and reader should shine through the essay. They are imaginatively written, with wit and panache and a writerly structure. And they should be read with a dynamic and attractive delivery.

This is not the place for academic lectures, objective surveys or text book explanations. Nor is it a place for soap-box opinion. The spirit of the essays is designed for its 2245 slot: these are informed reflections on the world around us, shared with generosity and often playfulness. Listeners should feel real pleasure and enjoyment when listening to these Essays, as well as learning something new.

The Changing Sound of the Essay

The house-style of the Essay is now plain-speaking, headlined at the beginning and with a clear narrative all the way through. Essays shouldn’t be elusive or dry in style. The sound should be the opposite of rarefied, stiff or precious – instead its attraction should rely on clear language, wit and humour, and twists and turns in the storyline.

Don’t presume knowledge of your topic. The essay should appeal to all intelligent listeners – no matter their particular expertise. It has a strong podcast following – which means listeners from a broader range of backgrounds. Explain all references and mentions of cultural figures.

We’re looking for even more topics about the human condition that relate to contemporary pre-occupations and resonate with audiences of all ages.

What we’re looking for:

The essay is themed across a week – it may be a single voice, or it may be many. But each edition is free-standing. Our essayists have been writers, scholars, journalists, artists, musicians, comedians, scientists, politicians – and could be others too. We are seeking high profile contributors and those new to the audience – but in all cases they have to deliver the programme’s format, described above.

We’re looking for longer series and partnerships with outside organisations. Single themed series across several weeks are also sought. We’re interested in ambitious ideas that develop this slot further and increase its impact.

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We’re seeking a broader range of voices from across the UK and younger Essayists too – and that means finding the topics that will offer a platform to them. Radio 3’s New Generation Thinker scheme with the AHRC has allowed fresh voices from British universities to shine in this slot. We’re now looking for the same youthful injection from other fields too – whether they be novelists, scientists or beyond.

We’re looking for the voice of the individual, not the official guide. Clever new treatments work well here, as do idiosyncratic perspectives. Worldly humour can be vital. But lurking behind every essay is firm knowledge, research or experiential depth.

When we mark an important anniversary of a writer, a composer or a historical event, the treatment will still be a personal essay.

The Essay relies on a healthy mix of topics that reflect Radio 3’s music and cultural output, but we’re also looking for more approaches to culture via human experience. These might tap into universal emotions, reframe general knowledge or tackle eternal conundrums. Or they might capture the zeitgeist. They should reinforce the Essay as an unmissable and entertaining quarter of an hour – one that audiences seek out to listen online or as a podcast as a matter of daily or weekly habit.

The target audience for The Essay has an active interest in music, arts, ideas and cultural history but not necessarily an in-depth knowledge of subjects covered in this strand. This is not a slot for specialist interrogation, or use of on air footnotes.

We’re also looking for ideas that can be captured in simpler titles – even if individual Essays contain complex ideas. The outward-facing descriptions of too many Essay series have become unwieldly and oblique.

Some Recent Highlights – all available on the Radio 3 website

Contagious Cities: Five international writers retell the story of the outbreak of an epidemic from the viewpoint of their own city – including Polo in New York, SARS in Hong Kong and TB in London. Created in partnership with the Wellcome Trust.

My Life in Food: Over five programmes of surprising, entertaining and poignant tales about food eaten and cooked in Britain and elsewhere, Joanna Robertson shares the story of her life - in food.

The Lost World of the LP: David Hepworth explores the golden age of vinyl records and their recent resurgence – from home stereos to the great art of album covers.

An Ode to John Keats: five contemporary poets celebrate John Keats fertile year of 1819 which led to some of his best known works. With essays from Alice Oswald, Sean O’Brien and Frances Leviston.

Voices on, Voices off: Using her own voice recordings, writer A L Kennedy explores the power of voice, and what it can say about us – including accent, silence and the media.

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Five Screen Gods: Sarah Churchwell chooses her favourite matinee idols from the Golden Age of Hollywood, and explains what made the cinema greats. With Essays on Clark Gable, Frederick March and Charles Boyer.

A Body of Essays - Series 3: Five writers explore different bodily organs, some held in the dark, suctioned interior of our bodies. With help from clinicians and scientists, each writer learns about the organs bodily function before setting down their own sense and experience of their chosen organ – including Kayo Chingoni on blood and Imtiaz Dharker on the liver. Recorded in front of an audience at the Wellcome Collection.

Music Monologues: five new stories from emerging writers from the BBC Writers Room. Each one created in response to a single piece of music, which becomes the story’s soundtrack.

Masculinity: Five BBC Radio 3 New Generation Thinkers tell the story of their historical research into our changing ideas of what it means to be a man – including the rise of the three piece suit, Georgian attitudes to shaving and the sexuality of East German conscript soldiers.

Mise-en-Scene: Michael Goldfarb looks back on the “mise-en-scene” films of the 1960s and 1970s that created a unique cinematic world

Linking to the rest of Radio 3

We welcome ideas that join The Essay to other Radio 3 strands. Most commonly in the past this has been The Sunday Feature or Drama on 3. But we’d be interested in ideas that link with other slots – like Composer of the Week or Breakfast for example. Please discuss with the commissioning editor.

Music remains an important area for the Essay – but ideas need to match its distinctive approach.

Anniversaries remain important.

Special seasons: This year we would particularly be interested in proposals which explore the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War

The Rubric

We are looking for original and previously unpublished writing. We expect the entire Essay (literary extracts and quotations included) to be spoken by their writers, rather than by actors or another broadcast voice.

Essays recorded remotely on ISDNs are only to be used with the commissioning editor’s agreement.

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All Essays should be scripted. This is not the place for improvised monologues.

We’re interested in expanding the use of location recording. Please discuss with the commissioning editor.

All editions of the Essay are made available as a podcast as soon as the programme is broadcast. Please let us know in advance if there are any rights reasons why your programme cannot be made available as a podcast. This year we will be asking commissioned producers to record a very short podcast introduction for each series.

The online impact of any individual series of the Essay benefits from strong images. Production teams have done helpful work in providing excellent images online and social media. Please let us know if you have particular online ideas to accompany your programme proposals that are realistic within limits of resources.

We welcome suggestions of new ways to record the Essay in front of an audience and new ideas about potential partnerships with other cultural and scientific organisations.

Additional information / delivery requirements:

The ‘Guide Price’ must cover all aspects of the production including presenter fees, travel and accommodation and technical equipment needed on-site etc.

The contract will be offered as a “fixed price” deal and the BBC will assume that any elements included in proposals can be successfully delivered within the guide price given.

Production teams will be expected to adhere to all relevant editorial and copyright guidelines in place; and deliver all necessary production related paperwork in a timely fashion – e.g. Compliance Forms, Music Reporting Forms etc.

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SECTION B: THE COMMISSIONING PROCESS

1. TIMETABLE

The commissioning process consists of four stages, as set out in the timetable below:

Stage Timings (all

midday) Activities

Launch Thursday 12 September 2019

Publication of commissioning brief documentation and round opens in Proteus.

1. Short Proposal and initial shortlisting

12 noon Thursday 17 October 2019

Deadline for submission, via Proteus, of Short Proposal

Thursday 31 October 2019

Commissioners shortlist suppliers and notify them of outcomes. Full proposals requested from those proceeding to the next stage. No feedback given on rejected Short Proposals.

2. Full Proposal Tues 5 Nov – Fri 13 Dec 2019

Opportunity to discuss programme brief with Commissioning Editor prior to submitting Full Proposal.

12 noon

Thursday 19 December 2019

Deadline for Full Proposals to be submitted via Proteus.

3. Commissioning decisions made and contracts signed

end January/early February 2020

Commissioning decisions made and suppliers notified of outcomes.

Commissioning specifications agreed and contracts issued.

4. Feedback end January/early February 2020

Brief feedback on rejected full proposals provided in Proteus. Suppliers may request further feedback.

We will assess your proposal according to this timetable. Late submissions cannot be accepted. If you have any questions about this commissioning brief that need answering before you submit your Short Proposals, please send them to david.ireland@bbc.co.uk by Monday 7 October 2019.

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2. THE FOUR STAGES

STAGE 1: Short proposal and initial shortlisting

1 Submit your short proposal via Proteus. There is no eligibility questionnaire requirement.

Your short proposal should summarise your idea for this programme in no more than 250 words. Please note, only the first 250 words of your short proposal will be read.

2 The commissioning editor, together with others from the evaluation team as necessary, will evaluate short proposals against the editorial requirements in Section A.2 of this brief.

3 You will be notified of the outcome of Stage 1. Shortlisted suppliers will be asked to submit a full proposal. No feedback will be provided for unsuccessful short proposals that are rejected.

STAGE 2: Full proposal

1 Producers will be offered the opportunity to discuss the programme brief with the commissioning editor prior to submitting a full proposal

2 Shortlisted suppliers will submit full proposals, via Proteus, responding to this commissioning brief. Your full proposal should not exceed TWO sides of A4 in Arial font size 11 per episode. Please note, only the first two pages will be read.

3 The evaluation team will assess full proposals against the editorial requirements in Section A.2 of this brief

STAGE 3: Commissioning decisions made and contracts awarded

The decisions of the evaluation team are published in Proteus. Any editorial specifications are agreed and contracts are issued. STAGE 4: Feedback

Brief feedback on rejected full proposals will be provided in Proteus. Requests for further feedback should be made to david.ireland@bbc.co.uk

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3. THE EVALUATION TEAM

The following people may be involved in evaluating your proposal at various stages:

Alan Davey, Controller, Radio 3

Matthew Dodd , Head of Speech Programmes, Radio 3

David Ireland, Commissions and Scheduling Manager, Radio 3

Subject matter experts may also be consulted.

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SECTION C: FULL PROPOSALS

1. WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU

Your Full Proposal must be entered into the main ‘Synopsis’ section in Proteus by noon on Thursday 19 December 2019; late submissions cannot be accepted. It should not exceed two sides of A4 when printed using Arial font size 11.

If you have any questions regarding the submission of your Full Proposal, please ensure you email them to david.ireland@bbc.co.uk by Friday 6 December 2019.

2. WHAT TO EXPECT FROM US

NOMINATED REPRESENTATIVE

The BBC’s nominated representatives for this commissioning brief are the evaluation team. No individuals other than the BBC’s nominated representatives (or their delegates as advised by the BBC) are authorised to discuss the contents or the substance of this commissioning brief with you. We’ll let you know of any change or addition to the BBC’s nominated representatives.

RESPONSES TO YOUR QUESTIONS

In the interest of fair competition, where we feel it’s appropriate, anonymised questions and responses will be circulated to all producers.

COPYRIGHT

The BBC is a signatory to, and will abide by the principles of the APC Code.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Subject to Section 2, paragraph 5 (Freedom of Information Act), the BBC will keep confidential all commercially sensitive information included in responses to this commissioning brief and will only use this information for the purposes of evaluating the Full Proposal, provided that you have identified the confidential nature of any such information in your response documents.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

As a public authority, the BBC is required to comply with the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“FOIA”), which came into force on 1 January 2005. The FOIA is intended to deliver greater accountability for decisions and spending across the whole of the public sector. It requires public authorities to strike a balance between achieving transparency and protecting genuinely confidential or commercially sensitive information.

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You should be aware that, under an FOIA request, the BBC may be required to disclose information contained within the Full Proposal or future contractual information. Following a request, the BBC may take the views of organisations submitting proposals into account when deciding what information will be disclosed.

For more information on the Freedom of Information Act see bbc.co.uk/foi.

COSTS

You submit responses to this commissioning brief and take part in this process at your own cost.

A FIXED PRICE DEAL

The contract will be offered as a “fixed price” deal; with you being responsible for any overspend and entitled to keep any underspend.

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3. IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE

All Full Proposals should be submitted using Proteus by noon on Thursday 19 December 2019. They should not in total exceed two sides of A4 per episode when printed using Arial font size 11.

We strongly advise you to submit your final responses in good time to avoid the possibility of difficulties caused by unforeseen network or transmission problems. No late submissions will be accepted.

This commissioning brief is not a contract. However, the information contained in this commissioning brief, together with your responses, will form the basis of the final contract between you and the BBC.

The BBC reserves the right to exclude any producer that is found to either:

a) have provided information which is untrue, or b) be in breach of any of the terms of the non-disclosure agreement.

The BBC may modify the commissioning brief (including the timetable as outlined in Section B.1) at any time prior to the submission deadline. Any such amendment will be notified in writing to all prospective producers. To allow time for such amendment to be taken into account, the BBC may, at its discretion, extend the deadline for receipt of submissions.

The BBC reserves the right at any time prior to the award of a commission, and without incurring any liability to the affected suppliers, to accept or to reject any proposal, or to annul the commissioning process rejecting all Full Proposals. More information relating to all commissioning briefs and rounds, regardless of Networks can be found on the Pitching Ideas page of the Radio Commissioning Website .

By submitting your proposal, you confirm acceptance of the key contract terms.

Proposals must be submitted in accordance with the following instructions.

Proposals not complying with these instructions may be rejected by the

Commissioner whose decision in this matter will be final.