ToR - Landscape Study for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) Program Six Districts-Jharkhand

Terms of Reference

Landscape Study for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) Program Six Districts-Jharkhand 1 | Organizational Overview Founded in 2000 on the belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children®, Room to Read develops children’s foundational literacy skills, as well as life skills that promote gender equality. We nurture these essential skills in children by training and coaching educators, creating quality learning materials and spaces, strengthening education systems, and delivering programs directly and with partners – all while honouring the dignity of every child. Committed to accelerating learning outcomes for more children, more quickly, Room to Read has benefited children across 29 countries, with more than 17 million children actively benefiting from our programming in 2025 alone. Room to Read India’s literacy operations currently span across 12 states, with a focus on improving children’s reading skills, access to quality learning materials, and supportive learning environments. Room to Read envisions a world free from illiteracy and gender inequality, where all children have room to read, learn and grow. Visit us at https://www.roomtoreadindia.org/ 1.1 Study Overview

About the Project

This project is Room to Read India's initiative to extend its comprehensive FLN approach in Jharkhand - to six additional districts. The program aims to strengthen Grade 1 and Grade 2 foundational literacy and numeracy outcomes in government schools through structured pedagogy, teacher capacity building, and supportive supervision, in close partnership with state and district government systems. Before finalizing program design for the six districts, Room to Read seeks to commission a Landscape Study to build a rigorous, evidence-based understanding of the current status of foundational literacy and numeracy, the readiness and capacity of the government education system, and district-specific realities and constraints in each district. The study will generate a strategic, decision-ready document - including a consolidated cross-district synthesis and individual district profiles - to guide program design, process adoption and contextualization of Room to Read's FLN approach across the six districts. 2 | Study Background & Rationale India's national and state-level Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) reforms (including NIPUN Bharat and corresponding state FLN missions) call for structured pedagogy, continuous teacher capacity building, and strong supportive supervision from the district down to the classroom. Room to Read's Scale-up approach depends on close, sustained engagement with district, block and cluster government functionaries - which makes an accurate, on-ground understanding of system capacity, leadership motivation, and local context essential before program design and staffing decisions are finalized. District contexts can vary meaningfully in ways that affect program design - for instance, the number of single-teacher/multigrade schools, teacher vacancy and deployment patterns, training infrastructure (Master Trainers, DIET capacity), data systems, and the pace of government ownership. A structured Landscape Study will help Room to Read identify these variations early and anticipate implementation risks and mitigation strategies. Geographical Scope This Landscape Study will cover six districts of Jharkhand. [district names to be provided by Room to Read]. The study will provide an understanding of the existing FLN landscape in six districts before commencing the implementation of the program. It will examine current systems, practices and capacities across key program areas, drawing on existing data and field-visits and interactions with relevant stakeholders. The study findings will help identify strengths, gaps and priorities and inform the design and contextualization of the program interventions in the six districts. 2.1 Purpose of the Study This Landscape Study is being commissioned to build a clear, evidence-based understanding of the current FLN landscape - government systems, school-level realities, and district context - across the six districts, ahead of program design and roll-out. Its purpose is to ensure that the design and contextualization of the program in each district is grounded in accurate, on-the-ground evidence. 2.2 Study Objectives

1. Government Systems, Leadership & Capacity Needs

• Establish an understanding of foundational literacy and numeracy status and existing government systems, structures and processes in each of the six districts, by collating and reviewing available secondary data (e.g., PARAKH, EI, EVV, FLS, MBNMVN, CPD, CENTA and other relevant sources- exact data sources to be provided by Room to Read).
• Assess the leadership motivation and readiness and/or existing ownership of key government stakeholders (DEOs, BEEOs, BRPs, ADPOs, APOs, BPOs, CRPs, Master Trainers, DIET faculty, Principals/Head Teachers) to engage with FLN program.
• Map existing stakeholder training systems, calendars, and capacity-building mechanisms (including DIET capacity) to identify complementarities and gaps to help RtR design the training approach accordingly.

2. School, Data & Implementation Context

• Understand school-level realities – including single-teacher and multigrade schools, teacher vacancy and deployment, and availability and use of existing library/TLM status - relevant to program design. Examine data governance and MIS systems (e.g., UDISE+, state dashboards) to understand data availability, quality, and its accessibility and current use for decision-making, monitoring and supportive supervision.
• Understand the factors that facilitate or inhibit the use of data and evidence for FLN-related discussions, evidence-based decision-making, follow-up and progress tracking across different levels of the education system.
• Understand patterns of student and teacher attendance, seasonal/labour migration trends that affect school continuity, program delivery and learning.

3. District Context & Existing Interventions

• Identify district-specific socio-economic, geographic, linguistic and cultural factors (e.g., tribal populations, multilingual contexts, remoteness/connectivity) relevant to contextualizing the program.
• Map existing FLN-related government schemes and other NGO/partner interventions in each district to avoid any risk of duplication and identify collaboration opportunities.

4. Program Design Implications and District Differentiation

• Translate findings on government readiness, school-level realities, existing interventions and district-specific enabling conditions, risks, non-negotiables and opportunities for RtR to identify differentiated implementation needs.

5. Comparative District Analysis

• Present the existing FLN context, systems, capacities and implementation realities of each district.
• Compare the six districts across study domains to identify commonalities, variations, strengths, gaps and contextual factors.

HOW TO APPLY Proposals are invited from the interested agencies for the above assignment and the last date for receiving the proposal is 4th October 2026 at procurement.india@roomtoread.org [do not copy anyone from RtR in the email] Kindly submit two separate emails with the following subject lines:

• EMAIL (1): TECHNICAL PROPOSAL – Landscape Study FLN Program
• EMAIL (2): FINANCIAL PROPOSAL – Landscape Study for FLN Program

Submission terms:

• All agencies are advised to thoroughly review the ToR before applying.
• Incomplete applications or deviations from the prescribed process will result in automatic rejection.
• Proposals received after the prescribed deadline will not be considered.
• Only shortlisted agencies will be contacted and may be requested for face-to-face/online interaction/presentation.

For any queries, please contact:

Vivek Shrawat [contact details removed] For detailed information, please check the complete version of the RFP attached below.

Download Attachment: FLN_Landscape_Study_ToR.doc

Organisation: Room to Read India

Listed on the SAMS-STC social-sector RFP board.