ToR - Hiring Agency for conducting assessment on library

 Terms of Reference

Work: Hiring Agency for conducting assessment on library

Contract term: 4 Months (May to August 2024) may be extended for one another month till Sept. 2024.

Program: Scaling-up Early Reading Intervention (SERI) program

Location: Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

Background:

Since 2015, Room to Read (RtR) in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been implementing Scaling up Early Reading Interventions (SERI) project on a scaffold approach of ‘I Do – We Do – You Do’ across states of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.  The program aims to demonstrate district-wide and state-wide foundational literacy gains among children through a comprehensive literacy intervention. Room to Read’s Comprehensive Literacy Approach focuses on eight key components, i.e., oral language development, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, writing and independent reading time (IRT). The process involves teacher training for Grades 1 to 2, on structured instruction delivery and providing children access to good children’s literature/ reading materials to develop a habit of reading.This approach, along with effective teacher capacity building and a robust monitoring system will help children to develop foundational literacy skills by the end of Grade 2. Hence, the overarching objective of the current program is to improve foundational literacy outcomes of Grade 1-2 children by (a) improving the engagement of children with quality reading materials; and (b) enhancing the capacity of teachers and Head Teachers (HT) to implement comprehensive literacy program.

In Uttar Pradesh, as part of the SERI program, we have actively engaged with 500 schools, fostering the development of libraries, and providing storybooks and additional materials for these libraries. Additionally, we have implemented reading corners/libraries in 18 District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs). This initiative aims to facilitate teacher training sessions, allowing educators to derive benefits from these resources and subsequently replicate the same model in their respective schools. RTR advocates the perspective that having a dedicated room for a library is not mandatory. Instead, we propose the creation of reading corners within classrooms, offering a versatile space for children to access a diverse range of texts. The state's vision aligns with this approach, emphasizing the development of school libraries with a focus on ensuring the availability of quality children's literature.

Objective of the study:

The main objectives of this study are as follows:

• To understand status of library availability, its functionality andoperational practices.
• To conduct on-site observations of library facilities/ resources and validate functionality of existing libraries including availability of age-appropriate children’s literature.
• To identify implementation gaps and good practices to strengthen the libraries in Uttar Pradesh.

Scope of Work:

The agency hired will play a pivotal role in each of the following components:

Field Study and Data Collection:

Selection of Districts- 5 districts will be selected based on the following criteria-

• The selection of districts will be based on the DIETs where RTR has established a reading corner/library. The districts are (Agra, Saharanpur, Bareilly, Moradabad, Chitrakoot, Jhansi, Kanpur Dehat, Gonda, Basti, Meerut, Azamgarh, Lucknow, Varanasi, Saharanpur, Sonbhadra, Ayodhya, Fatehpur and Gorakhpur). Any 5 districts from the mentioned DIET can be considered for the study, this will be based on the suggestion and permission of the state.
• The second criteria can be Centre of Excellence DIETs, as suggested by the state.

Selection of schools-

From 5 districts, we will identify 4 blocks from each district, and from each block, we will select 5 schools, totalling 20 schools per district. This process will yield a total of 100 schools across the five districts within the state.

The agency will collect the data from the field based on:

1. School-Observation Questionnaire (40 mins): The Observation Questionnaire probes the various aspects as follows:

• Materials received at the school (in terms of number of books and time of receipt)
• Type of books available in the schools (age-appropriate, fiction, fantasy, moral etc.)
• Stock registers being maintained or not.
• Physical set-up of the school library in alignment with the library model prescribed under SERI.
• Utilization of the school library for improving foundational learning

A total of 100 school observation formats will be filled-in using a digital version of observation tool.

Note: The Observation tool shall be in a digital format, preferably in Survey CTO, for easy data collection and analysis.

2. Semi-Structured Interview– Teachers from primary grades (20 minutes): The Semi-Structured interview tool consisting of questions shall probe the qualitative reflections of the teachers about the school library, and the storybooks. A total of 100 semi structured interviews will be conducted.

b. Data Analysis and Report Finalization:

The agency will be responsible for analysing the data as per the data collected from the sample schools. The agency will then make a comprehensive report about the study conducted and the findings will be shared with Room to Read India which will be further disseminated as per the needs of the organisation.

Deliverables-

Project Implementation terms-

• The project will unfold over 4 months. A detailed project schedule, encompassing deadlines for each component, will be collaboratively established upon the agency's selection.
• The agency should commence work immediately upon signing the contract.
• A detailed work plan along with a dedicated timeline should be submitted promptly. This should include visiting the selected sites before commencing the data collection process.
• The study will be done in the selected districts of Uttar Pradesh upon the government's approval

Selection Process-

• The selection will be based on quality and cost basis 80:20 (quality: cost)
• Formula for calculation of overall bid score: 80% of technical bid + 20% of the financial bid
• The final round of selection will involve discussion with the proposed team.

Submission of Proposals-

To be considered for this pivotal role, interested agencies are invited to submit their proposals, including a comprehensive scope of work, a detailed budget, and a portfolio with relevant examples of prior work. Submissions should reach Room Read no later than March 30^th 2024.

Room Read reserves the right to evaluate all proposals meticulously and retain the option to accept or reject them in pursuit of selecting the agency that aligns most effectively with our mission and requirements. We eagerly anticipate receiving your proposals and partnering with an agency that can contribute significantly to our desired outcomes.

How to Apply-

Interested agencies are invited to submit proposals, including a detailed technical proposal, a financial proposal (In separate mail) and relevant portfolios, to Room Read at procurement.india@roomtoread.org (without cc to anybody in RTR).

For queries, please write to navya.dwivedi@roomtoread.org with cc to kailash.vaishnav@roomtoread.org

For detailed information, please check the complete version of the ToR attached below.