RFP - Scaling up Early Reading Interventions (SERI) Program - Demand and S...

Organizational Overview

Founded in 2000 on the belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children®, Room to Read (RtR) is creating a world free from illiteracy and gender inequality through education. We are achieving this goal by helping children in historically low-income communities develop literacy skills and a habit of reading, and by supporting girls as they build life skills to succeed in school and negotiate key life decisions. We collaborate with governments and other partner organizations to deliver positive outcomes for children at a scale. Room to Read has benefited more than 39 million children and has worked in 23 countries and in more than 182,000 communities, providing additional support through remote solutions that facilitate learning beyond the classroom. Room to Read aims to benefit 40 million children by 2025.

Room to Read India was established in 2003 and presently has programs in twelve states – Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi NCR, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.  We aim to make available educational opportunities and resources to more disadvantaged children in our mission to break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy one child at a time.

Project Background

Since 2015, Room to Read (RtR) in partnership with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been implementing Scaling up Early Reading Interventions (SERI) project. The program aims to demonstrate district-wide and state-wide foundational literacy gains among children through a comprehensive literacy intervention.Under Scale-up Early Reading Intervention (SERI), Room to Read India has been working with teachers, wherein their capacity is built towards the creation as well as usage of children’s literature (books, story cards, poems, etc.) in the classroom/libraries. This work is currently happening in various phases in the states of Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. Besides the creation of material, various other interventions are conducted in these states, such as book selection workshops, book translation workshops, seminars on children’s literature in partnership with universities, the development of a children’s literature course, and licensing of Room to Read material for printing and distribution by stakeholders in the government.

In 2023, Room to Read India also launched a first-of-its-kind Children’s Literature Awards in partnership with the USAID – with the aim of encouraging young picture book creators who are working in the Hindi language. A jury of prominent veterans in the field was engaged in the selection process, and authors, illustrators, and publishers were awarded for original Hindi picture books. Room to Read views these awards as a key initiative that can positively influence the supply of Hindi and regional children’s books. The awards address a gap – wherein there is a lack of recognition for picture book creators in original Indian languages. Room to Read plans to expand these awards to other Indian languages in its subsequent editions.

Looking ahead, Room to Read’s goal is to create systems-level change through which there will be an increased demand and supply for high-quality local language books. To achieve this goal, Room to Read plans to develop more concrete approaches to improving book distribution/access and ensuring that book supply chain holders are equipped with the tools, skills, and systems they need to address challenges. This work will help Room to Read have national-level impact and work towards enhancing the children’s book culture in India.

Rationale of Study

One of the goals of Room to Read’s Vision 2025 document is to make the organization a trusted brand in children’s literature by increasing knowledge of key stakeholders through support to book publishing supply and demand chains, promotion of the role of libraries in sustainable reading cultures, and the children’s publishing business. Room to Read possesses deep technical expertise in the domain of children’s literature and has developed strong relationships with Ministries and publishers in the countries in which we work. As an organisation, we understand the need for exposure to quality children’s literature in the foundational years. However, the scarcity of culturally relevant, local language children’s books is a problem that continues to persist in many developing countries.

As a result, donors worldwide, including USAID (United States Agency for International Development), World Bank, Global Partnership for Education (GPE), and Department for International Development (DIFID) have been increasing their focus on systemic efforts that would strengthen book supply chains in low-income countries. Room to Read is uniquely positioned to improve supply chains of local language books. Through our work to build the capacity of local talent and create national standards for children’s book development, we bridge the gap between publishers, creators, governments, and the book industry. We have seen that by establishing and strengthening children’s reading habits through the books we provide under our program, we build demand for more stories, which then encourages publishers to develop quality books.

Looking ahead, Room to Read’s goal is to create systems-level change through which there will be an increased demand and supply for high-quality local language books. To achieve this goal, Room to Read plans to develop more concrete approaches to improving book distribution/access and ensuring that book supply chain holders are equipped with the tools, skills, and systems they need to address challenges. This work will help Room to Read have national level influence and work towards enhancing the children’s book culture in India. The strength of a publishing industry depends in part on there being a population who values reading to create a market for books. The supply of books evolves to meet demand for them. This study focuses on the factors associated with the demand and supply of children’s literature, especially in resource constraint communities. The study will help Room to Read to determine a strategic plan and approach to understand both demand and supply of children literature in local reading ecosystems. Based on the study findings, priority areas will be identified that need focus and prepare an action plan to influence both demand and supply of children literature in local reading ecosystems.

• Read the ToR thoroughly before applying.
• Only Shortlisted agencies will be contacted and might be called for a face-to-face interaction with the panel.
• Any incomplete application or process deviation, the proposals will automatically be rejected.
• Proposals received after the prescribed deadline will not be considered.

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