Baseline Study Tender, Maharashtra - 80343545

Procurement Summary

State : Maharashtra

Summary : Baseline Study

Deadline : 23 Mar 2023

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Notice Type : Tender

TOT Ref.No.: 80343545

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Financier : Self Financed

Purchaser Ownership : Public

Document Fees : Refer Document

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Request for proposals are invited for Baseline Study Room to Read-s Literacy Program in India is a school-based intervention that seeks to develop children-s reading skills and habit of reading in early primary grades to help them become life-long, independent readers. The Literacy Program includes three main components: (a) reading and writing instruction for children in Grades 1 and 2; (ii) establishment of child-friendly school libraries to provide children with access to reading materials; and (iii) the development of quality reading materials for children. Establishing library and providing quality reading materials is the key component apart from others which influenced the reading habit and skills of children especially at the early grades. In recent years Indian government has also emphasised on reading through various policy initiatives and programme - New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN). Under the revised guidelines of Library Grant and Promoting Reading in Schools by the Ministry of Education (MoE), the schools are provided with financial support to purchase of books and promote reading. The guidelines also recommend various capacity building initiatives to identify, source and procure child appropriate reading materials, reading activities etc in addition to the grant About the Intervention: The cluster library project in Bellary district of Karnataka started with the notion that all the students from Grade 1 to 5 in the 1457 schools of Bellary get exposed to an environment conducive for reading. This includes - availability of age and reading level appropriate quality reading materials, access to dedicated space, exposure to reading activities and a reading environment at home (availability of books & parents engaged in learning of the child). All the factors are complementary to each other and necessary to be implemented in tandem to achieve the desired result. The project aims to work with the institutions (schools, government, and community) in creating the reading environment for children. The district wide intervention proposed would work at all levels - District, Block, Cluster, Schools, and Parents/Community. While at district and block level activities will be mostly focused on strengthening their capacities on building accountability system, monitoring activities and keeping the focus on promotion of reading. At the cluster and school there will be more direct activities of provisioning of cluster libraries, reading corner, availability of books etc in addition to capacity building activities for implementation and monitoring. The engagement with parents will be promoted through involvement of teachers supported by availability of physical materials like worksheets and parent calendar. In addition, availability of checked out/borrowed books for children for reading at home would be ensured in the project Goal: This project is a district wide system strengthening project in partnership with the government of Karnataka and JSW Foundation to promote reading habits among primary grade government school students in Bellary. Outcome of the Project: The following outcome level results and long-term measures of success are expected from the proposed project. Increased student and teacher-s access to library resources Increased student usage of library resources Improved teacher-s capacity to ensure the library activities are well run Improved Master Trainer and CRP-s capacity to ensure academic support and supervision to teachers CRPs and teachers are equipped through blended mode to support parents to create a learning space at home. Geographic Coverage Table 1: Proposed Reach of the Project No. of Blocks 9 No. of Schools 1457 No. of Teachers 1457 No. of Students Approx. 2.3 lac children (Grade 1 -5 inclusive of new cohort) (1, 17, 040 Boys and 1, 19, 019 girls) No. of Parents Approx. 2.3 lac children (Grade 1 -5 inclusive of new cohort) (1, 17, 040 Boys and 1, 19, 019 girls) Purpose of the Study : The project aims “To develop 'Habit of Reading-[1] for all primary grade-s children across the intervention schools over 3 years”. For this a baseline will be undertaken to understand primarily the reading habits of students in grade 3 and 5. The baseline study will be undertaken with children of grade 3 & 5 in year 2023 and endline with children in grade 3 & 5 in year 2025 with another cohort. The study will focus on the following: Disentangling the effects of library, reading activities, and reading materials on children in order to understand the effectiveness of educational intervention and to identify the key points for intervention. Status of reading habit among students Availability of enabling learning environment at home The data and information collected during baseline study will help in the assessment of the outcome and impact level indicators of the project in the later year of intervention and to establish the efficacy of the project. Study Design and Methodology The focus of this baseline study will be to collect, quantitative data in a representative sample of students studying in government schools (intervention) in Bellary district. The proposed study design for assessing reading habit of students will be cross-sectional study design in which different group of students will be compared over time to assess the progress. Students studying in grade 3 & 5 will be considered for the assessment (based on the sample) and it will be offline (in person) data collection. 10 students (grade 3 & 5) will be randomly selected for the assessment. Sampling Design The sample distribution of the study has been given in the following table. For detailed information, please check the complete version of the advert attached below [1] Room to Read defines a habit of reading as reading that is done voluntarily and frequently. Children with a habit of reading will read inside and outside of school during assigned reading times and during their free time. Job Email id: procurement.india(at)roomtoread.org Term of Reference for Baseline Study -2023 Literacy Program-Bellary, Karnataka, JSW Foundation 1. Overview of the Organization: Room to Read-s Literacy Program in India is a school-based intervention that seeks to develop children-s reading skills and habit of reading in early primary grades to help them become life-long, independent readers. The Literacy Program includes three main components: (a) reading and writing instruction for children in Grades 1 and 2; (ii) establishment of child-friendly school libraries to provide children with access to reading materials; and (iii) the development of quality reading materials for children. Establishing library and providing quality reading materials is the key component apart from others which influenced the reading habit and skills of children especially at the early grades. In recent years Indian government has also emphasised on reading through various policy initiatives and programme - New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN). Under the revised guidelines of Library Grant and Promoting Reading in Schools by the Ministry of Education (MoE), the schools are provided with financial support to purchase of books and promote reading. The guidelines also recommend various capacity building initiatives to identify, source and procure child appropriate reading materials, reading activities etc in addition to the grant 2. About the Intervention: The cluster library project in Bellary district of Karnataka started with the notion that all the students from Grade 1 to 5 in the 1457 schools of Bellary get exposed to an environment conducive for reading. This includes - availability of age and reading level appropriate quality reading materials, access to dedicated space, exposure to reading activities and a reading environment at home (availability of books & parents engaged in learning of the child). All the factors are complementary to each other and necessary to be implemented in tandem to achieve the desired result. The project aims to work with the institutions (schools, government, and community) in creating the reading environment for children. The district wide intervention proposed would work at all levels - District, Block, Cluster, Schools, and Parents/Community. While at district and block level activities will be mostly focused on strengthening their capacities on building accountability system, monitoring activities and keeping the focus on promotion of reading. At the cluster and school there will be more direct activities of provisioning of cluster libraries, reading corner, availability of books etc in addition to capacity building activities for implementation and monitoring. The engagement with parents will be promoted through involvement of teachers supported by availability of physical materials like worksheets and parent calendar. In addition, availability of checked out/borrowed books for children for reading at home would be ensured in the project 2.1 Goal: This project is a district wide system strengthening project in partnership with the government of Karnataka and JSW Foundation to promote reading habits among primary grade government school students in Bellary. 2.2 Outcome of the Project: The following outcome level results and long-term measures of success are expected from the proposed project. · Increased student and teacher-s access to library resources · Increased student usage of library resources · Improved teacher-s capacity to ensure the library activities are well run · Improved Master Trainer and CRP-s capacity to ensure academic support and supervision to teachers · CRPs and teachers are equipped through blended mode to support parents to create a learning space at home. 3. Geographic Coverage Table 1: Proposed Reach of the Project No. of Blocks 9 No. of Schools 1457 No. of Teachers 1457 No. of Students Approx. 2.3 lac children (Grade 1 -5 inclusive of new cohort) (1, 17, 040 Boys and 1, 19, 019 girls) No. of Parents Approx. 2.3 lac children (Grade 1 -5 inclusive of new cohort) (1, 17, 040 Boys and 1, 19, 019 girls) 4. Purpose of the Study : The project aims “To develop 'Habit of Reading-[1] for all primary grade-s children across the intervention schools over 3 years”. For this a baseline will be undertaken to understand primarily the reading habits of students in grade 3 and 5. The baseline study will be undertaken with children of grade 3 & 5 in year 2023 and endline with children in grade 3 & 5 in year 2025 with another cohort. The study will focus on the following: · Disentangling the effects of library, reading activities, and reading materials on children in order to understand the effectiveness of educational intervention and to identify the key points for intervention. · Status of reading habit among students · Availability of enabling learning environment at home The data and information collected during baseline study will help in the assessment of the outcome and impact level indicators of the project in the later year of intervention and to establish the efficacy of the project. 4. Study Design and Methodology The focus of this baseline study will be to collect, quantitative data in a representative sample of students studying in government schools (intervention) in Bellary district. The proposed study design for assessing reading habit of students will be cross-sectional study design in which different group of students will be compared over time to assess the progress. Students studying in grade 3 & 5 will be considered for the assessment (based on the sample) and it will be offline (in person) data collection. 10 students (grade 3 & 5) will be randomly selected for the assessment. 5. Sampling Design The sample distribution of the study has been given in the following table. Block Name Sample schools No. of Grade 3 Children No. of Grade 5 Children Total Children Sample Bellary East 10 50 50 100 Bellary West 10 50 50 100 Hadagali 10 50 50 100 Hagar Bommanahalli 10 50 50 100 Harapan Halli 10 50 50 100 Hospet 10 50 50 100 Kudligi 10 50 50 100 Sandur 10 50 50 100 Siruguppa 10 50 50 100 Grand Total 90 450 450 900 6. Types of Instruments for the Study · Reading Habit Assessment Tool · Semi structured interview tool for teachers The assessment of children will be done in person using online tool (SuveyCTO) developed by Room to Read. It will include set of assessment tool in English which further assessment agency/consultant will translate into regional language. 7. Usage of study finding: The findings of study will particularly be used for contextualizing Room to Read project inputs for literacy program and its supportive program structures for effective outcomes in the State apart from understating the status of reading habit in children. 8. Scope of Work for the Agency The scope of work under this assignment includes the sampling, tool development, data collection, Data coding, Data analysis into statistical software and generating data tables and cross tabulations and report development. The scope would include the following: I. Translate and Finalize Study tool/ Instruments. The tools/instruments with identified indicators will be provided by Room to Read in English. The Consultant firm will be responsible for: · Translating the survey instruments into Kannada language · Field practice of translated instruments during the training of data collectors · Revising the survey instruments based on the field test findings. · Formatting and finalizing all tools/instruments for use in data collection. II. Identification, Recruitment and Training of Data collection Team A comprehensive training should be given to supervisors and interviewers. The training should be for a minimum of 3 days (1 day field practice). The training should include theoretical sessions to ensure conceptual clarity, classroom simulations and field practice. It is necessary that the survey team correctly understands what is meant by these terms. Ensure team that can speak Kannada language. After the training, supervisors and interviewers should be evaluated based[2] on their understanding of survey and their ability to correctly interpret and record data. The data collection team must conform to a certain quality threshold agreed with Room to Read. Data collection mode: Data collection will be done through CAPI (Computer assisted personal interviewing) using Survey CTO. III. Developing a Field Work Plan The field work plan will comprise of the following steps: · Composition of a standard survey team including number, qualifications and training of the enumerators and supervisors. · Expected time each team will spend in a selected schools and tasks and responsibilities of each member of the team. A plan for conducting periodic spot checks to ensure accuracy and consistency in data collection. An estimated 20% of the total interview schedules will be revisited and log-sheet of quality checks will be maintained for external review. · Travel plan in sample blocks/school. IV. Data Collection The agency will develop a comprehensive plan enabling collection of information of the child, school, and teacher. The agency will be responsible for undertaking the following data collection activities: · Student Reading Habit Assessment · Background variables of schools and children · Information from teacher through a semi structured interview V. Developing Data quality, analysis and reporting plan · Plan for cross check on reliability and validity. · Collect data on habit of reading assessment and analyze the same. Agency is required to provide an outline of the habit of reading assessment data analysis process in their proposal. Secondly, agency will identify and analyze the factors associated with the habit of heading. VI. Final Report The agency is accountable to maintain the requirements for the content, format, or length of the final reports, overall quality, and approved timelines for baseline. The final report should include (at a minimum) the following elements: · Executive Summary (that outlines findings of key indicators of the project) · Acknowledgements · List of Acronyms and abbreviations · Table of Contents · Background/Brief program description and context · Purpose and expected use of the survey · Objectives of the study · Study design and methodology (including limitations of the study, if any) · Socio-demographic profile of study participants · Key findings (include values of all outcome/impact level indicators, include illustrations in the form of tables and charts) · Conclusion and Recommendations · Annexures - study tools, a matrix of key indicators with percentage VII. Deliverables The agency selected for undertaking baseline study will be responsible for providing the following deliverables to Room to Read India Trust: Field movement plan and quality assurance protocol that will be followed during the field work. Final cleaned data sets in MS Excel (and SPSS or Stata) and syntax Detailed plan for tabulation and analysis along with the proposed structure of report Draft report Final Baseline Study Report in agreed format A set of presentation slides on the final Baseline Study Reports In person presentation of findings at RTR Delhi office VIII. Support to be provided by Room to Read The following support will be provided by Room to Read to the selected agency: · List of Intervention block/schools and student list. · Beta version of tool in survey CTO · Support by RTR field team and permission letter to conduct assessment in schools. · Inputs for finalization of study design (including sampling distribution), methodology and tools · Support in training of enumerators · On-field support and supervision during data collection · Inputs and comments for finalization of the baseline study reports Ix. Quality Control Mechanism Quality of data gathered is of utmost importance and so the hired agency for data collection is expected to design quality control protocols for ensuring quality data collection. The agency is also expected to deploy personnel to implement data quality protocols. The time and duration of every tool usage/interview must be recorded and included in the final data set. A full description of quality control measures must be included in the agency-s proposal. The agency will be responsible for providing computers and other hardware to its team for data entry and backup while in the field. x. Data Rights A contract for this project will only be awarded on the condition that all information, reports and plans, both print and electronic that may have been designed specifically for this project, in whatever format, will belong to Room to Read India Trust. The agency may not use the data for their own research purposes, nor license the data to be used by others, without the written consent of Room to Read India Trust. xI. Confidentiality and Ethics During the data collection, the enumerators are expected to be sensitive to children and follow Room to Read-s Child Protection Protocols. It is suggested that enumerators take time to make the children comfortable before administering surveys. Prior appointment and consent for KIIs must be taken from the respective stakeholders. The interview recordings will be destroyed or deleted after the final report is submitted and approved by Room to Read. Room to Read will minimize the collection of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and take appropriate measures to anonymize data. xII. Time line: The agency will propose a detailed timeline in its proposal and strictly adhere to the agreed schedule. The proposed timeline for the study is April 2023-July 2023. 9. Agency Requirements The agency that intends to participate in the bidding should have extensive (5-10 years) experience conducting quantitative and qualitative surveys with the children in education sector. The agency should be able to deploy qualified enumerators and facilitators to ensure quality of data collected. HOW TO APPLY Proposals are invited from the interested agency for the above assignment and the last date for receiving the proposal is 23RD MARCH 2023 at procurement.india@roomtoread.org[do not copy anyone from RtR] • Kindly submit two separate emails with following subject lines: o EMAIL (1): TECHNICAL PROPOSAL - Baseline Study, Bellary, KN o EMAIL (2): FINANCIAL PROPOSAL - Baseline Study, Bellary, KN • The agency should apply with the following: o TECHNICAL PROPOSAL ▪ A technical proposal which will outline the way this assignment will be approached. ▪ The proposal should mention the timeline for completing the deliverables. The technical proposal should include an outline of content and your approach for all the abovementioned deliverables. ▪ Cite relevant work experience and give samples ▪ Detailed CV of all the consultants involved in this project o FINANCIAL PROPOSAL ▪ Detailed financial proposal ▪ Copy of registration certificate, GST, PAN Card, etc. • Read the ToR thoroughly before applying • Pricing should include above requirements • Only Shortlisted agency 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 Proposal received after the prescribed deadline will not be considered. · The TDS will be applicable on the consultancy fee. · Selected Consultant/agency will be required to sign and abide by the Child Protection policy of Room to Read.

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