ToR - Understanding the Intersection of Culture, Gender and Education in Tribal Communities: Study of Chhattisgarh and Telangana

ToR - Understanding the Intersection of Culture, Gender and Education in Tribal Communities: Study of Chhattisgarh and Telangana

Organization: Room to Read India

Apply By: 23 Aug 2026

Organizational Overview Room to Read is a global organization transforming the lives of millions of children in low-income communities by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Founded in 2000 on the belief that World Change Starts with Educated Children®, our model focuses on deep, systemic transformation within schools during the two periods that are most critical in a child's schooling: early primary school for literacy acquisition, and secondary school for girls' education. We work in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations, and governments to build a habit of reading among primary school children and to ensure girls can complete secondary school with the skills to negotiate key life decisions. Study Overview Room to Read is strengthening its partnership with Tribal Affairs Departments to institutionalize necessary gender-transformative life skills education within tribal residential school systems. Recognizing that tribal adolescents—particularly girls—navigate unique social, cultural and gender-related challenges during adolescence, the program seeks to equip them with the knowledge, skills, confidence and agency required to make informed life decisions, exercise their rights and successfully transition into adulthood. Currently, Room to Read is implementing and supporting gender-transformative life skills programs in partnership with Tribal Departments in Chhattisgarh and Telangana. As these programs expand, there is a need to better understand the diverse socio-cultural, educational and institutional contexts that shape the lives and experiences of tribal adolescents, with gender serving as a cross-cutting lens. To address this need, Room to Read proposes to undertake a Tribal Landscape Study across the two states. The study will combine secondary research and primary field inquiry to generate evidence on tribal communities, gender norms, educational ecosystems and institutional structures. The findings will inform the contextualization of program design, life skills content, implementation approaches, capacity building and government partnerships, enabling more culturally responsive and gender-transformative programming for tribal adolescents.

Background of The Study

Room to Read has been engaged in sustained programmatic work across India to advance life skills education and gender-transformative practices, particularly among adolescent girls in government and tribal welfare residential institutions. In Chhattisgarh, Room to Read is implementing a Tribal Girls Life Skills Program in 141 residential hostels across six districts of the Surguja Division, in collaboration with the Department of Tribal & Scheduled Caste Welfare, reaching approximately 7601 girls in Grades 6–10. This work is grounded in the recognition that tribal adolescent girls face compounded vulnerabilities — shaped not only by socio-economic marginalisation but also by deeply embedded cultural norms, gender roles, and community practices that influence their access to education and empowerment. In Telangana, Room to Read has built technical assistance partnerships with the Telangana Tribal Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TTWREIS) and Samagra Shiksha, reaching over 70,000 children with life skills education, while also contextualising and printing life skills modules for Grades 6–10 in collaboration with SCERT. Despite this programmatic momentum, a critical evidence gap remains: there is limited systematic understanding of the cultural, social, and gender dynamics specific to tribal communities in these two states — dynamics that fundamentally shape how life skills education is received, adapted, and sustained at the community and institutional level. This landscape study is intended to generate contextual evidence on tribal cultures, gender norms, and community practices in Chhattisgarh and Telangana, and to examine how these dynamics interact with the delivery and uptake of life skills programming. Findings will inform the design of more contextually responsive, gender-transformative approaches for Room to Read's ongoing and future technical assistance in both states. - 1. Team Composition and Qualification Requirements The proposed research team should demonstrate a strong combination of technical expertise, contextual understanding and qualitative research experience to successfully undertake this assignment. The agency should deploy a multidisciplinary team with expertise in tribal studies, education, gender, public systems and qualitative research. The consulting agency/organisation should: - Have a minimum of 7–10 years of experience in conducting high-quality research, landscape assessments, situational analyses or policy studies in the development sector. - Demonstrate proven experience in undertaking studies related to tribal communities, education, gender equality, adolescent development, social inclusion and public systems. - Have prior experience of working with Central/State Governments, Tribal Affairs Departments, development partners or international organisations. - Demonstrate experience in managing multi-state qualitative research assignments and producing high-quality analytical reports and policy recommendations. - Excellent spoken Telugu, Hindi and English skills for the lead investigator as well as the research team. Team Leader / Principal Investigator

The Team Leader should:

- Hold a postgraduate degree (Master's or PhD) in Social Sciences, Education, Public Policy, Anthropology, Sociology, Gender Studies, Development Studies or a related discipline. - Have at least 10 years of professional experience leading large-scale qualitative research, landscape studies or policy research. - Demonstrate expertise in one or more of the following areas: tribal studies, education, gender equality, adolescent development, public systems or social inclusion. - Have proven experience in designing qualitative research methodologies, leading multidisciplinary teams and producing high-quality analytical reports and policy recommendations. - Demonstrate excellent analytical, facilitation and report-writing skills. The agency should submit at least two samples of similar assignments led by the proposed Team Leader. Room to Read India is inviting you for Pre-Bid meeting on zoom as per details under:

Topic: Pre-Bid Meeting-Tribal Study - TL & CG

Time: Aug 18, 2026, 11:00 AM India

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 987 1615 3782

HOW TO APPLY Proposals are invited from the interested agencies for the above assignment and the last date for receiving the proposal is 23rd August 2026 at [contact details removed] [do not copy anyone from RtR] Kindly submit two separate emails with the following subject lines:

o EMAIL (1): TECHNICAL PROPOSAL –Tribal Landscape Study TL & CG

o EMAIL (2): FINANCIAL PROPOSAL – Tribal Landscape Study TL & CG

Submission terms:

- All agencies are advised to thoroughly review the ToR before applying.

- Technical proposal:

- Understanding of the assignment, proposed research design and methodology, sampling approach, indicative tools, work plan/timeline, and CVs of the lead investigator and core team. - Two to three samples of prior work led by the proposed lead investigator, where available.

- Financial proposal:

- All-inclusive cost breakdown aligned to the deliverables and payment milestones in Section 10, submitted as a separate document/annexure - - Organisational registration and statutory compliance documents, as applicable. - 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 in