Terms of Reference:
Training Workshops for Artisans
Background
Vijayavahini Charitable Foundation (VCF) is a Section 8 Company established in 2017, with its registered office in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. It was established by the Tata Trusts to implement programmes in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, besides other geographies in the country. With the mission of improving the quality of life of rural and tribal households, and bring them out of poverty, VCF has a multi-pronged approach in its work. It focuses on underserved and marginalized communities, and its programmes span the areas of water & sanitation, health, nutrition, and livelihoods. Its work in crafts, including Antaran, is a unique vertical within its livelihoods interventions.
Antaran, a flagship programme of the Tata Trusts’ crafts based livelihood initiative, was set up to foster entrepreneur-led microenterprises and bring about transformative change through an end-to-end approach. Phase I of the programme began in 2018-19, and spanned 6 handloom clusters across 4 states. Now in its second phase, the Antaran initiative is anchored in Vijayavahini Charitable Foundation, an Associate Organisation of Tata Trusts, which also encompasses two of the Antaran artisan clusters.
Antaran’s outreach in the artisan community is through its field teams based in the clusters, working out of Incubation and Design Centres. In Antaran Phase I, trainings in production, design, communication and business skills – tailored to the requirements of the artisans – were delivered by the field teams in the centres or at common locations in the clusters. In Phase II, the programme seeks to build on its learnings and achievements, reaching out to more artisans in existing geographies while also expanding to new craft clusters.
Need Statement
The Antaran initiative is active in 7 clusters across 4 states:
Maniabandha (Ikkat cluster) and Gopalpur (Tusser cluster) in Odisha;
Venkatagiri (Jamdani) and Srikalahasti (Kalamkari) in Andhra Pradesh;
Kamrup (cotton) and Nalbari (Sualkuchi silk) in Assam;
Nagaland (back-strap loom).
At this juncture as it consolidates and builds on its work, Antaran seeks to engage an external agency to deliver customised trainings to its artisans. From the experience in Phase I, the Antaran team has identified certain basic themes which are recurring training needs across the clusters. The requirement now is for:
- the design of short training modules on these themes
- conducting of these trainings in all the 7 clusters
Approach and Methodology
The selected agency will develop training modules on the identified subject areas. Modules need to be standardised to cover basic principles. However, based on the context and understanding of the cohorts in different clusters, the discussions and practical exercises will need to be customised.
From the experience of Phase I, it is clear that on-site trainings work best for artisans. The delivery format of the trainings can be tailored to suit the needs of individual clusters – fully residential in or near the cluster with full-day training; or on-site at a location in the cluster with artisans coming from their homes, and attending training over 4-hour blocks.
A summary of format, and subject areas for training are as below.
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Format
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- On-site workshop in or near Cluster
- Duration: 2-3 full days or 4-5 half days
- Batch size: 15 persons
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Subjects
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S No
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Subject
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1
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Business training
- Book keeping
- Basics of managing a business
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2
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Skills for Online Business
- Photography
- AI and Meta AI
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3
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Basic Business Communication
• basic Hindi & English communication for business
• buyer acquisition & relationship management
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4
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Cash Flow Management
Credit Management
Basic Legal Awareness
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Scope and Deliverables
1. Training schema to be developed taking on board Antaran team inputs and experience of Phase I. This should include both a framework for module design and plan for executing training in all the clusters.
2. Modules to be developed for the 4 areas listed above, to be planned for delivery in workshops of duration as described above
3. Language of modules:
Assam clusters: Assamese/Hindi,
Nagaland cluster: Nagamese/ English
Odisha clusters: Odiya/ Hindi
Andhra Pradesh clusters: Telugu
4. Separate modules to be developed for each of the 4 subject areas identified.
5. Total number of clusters: 7, with up to 60 candidates per cluster.
Given an ideal batch size of 15 persons, it is estimated that 4 rounds of training will be required in each cluster.
6. Trainers to be persons having familiarity with craft clusters and locally understood language, preferably hailing from the same geography.
7. Cost to be quoted per workshop.
Timeline and Payment Schedule
Project Duration: 12 months:
Development of modules – 3 months; Execution of trainings – 9 months
Payment schedule - against deliverables: To be detailed along with Project Proposal, guideline below:
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S No
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Deliverable
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Time allocation
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Timeline
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1
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Inception Report outlining
plan of action, deliverables and timelines
To include:
- framework for module design
- schedule for development of modules
- training delivery plan
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2 weeks
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Week 1&2
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2
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Development of modules
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6 weeks
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Week 3-8
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3
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Translation of modules into local languages
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4 weeks
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Week 9-12
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4
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Conducting of training in all 7 Clusters
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Remaining project period
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Months 4-12
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Request for Proposals
VCF requests proposals for the above TOR, to be submitted by 13th May 2026.
Interested agencies should send their proposals addressed to Vijayavahini Charitable Foundation, with the heading “Proposal for Training Workshops for Artisans”
Email ids:
Proposal Requirements
Interested applicants must submit:
- Organizational/ consultant profile
- Relevant experience
- Proposed methodology and work plan
- Team composition
- Financial proposal (with detailed cost break-up)
- References from previous similar assignments
Evaluation Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated based on:
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Criteria
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Weightage
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Relevant experience
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20%
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Understanding of requirement and of artisan ecosystem
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20%
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Proposed methodology
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20%
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Team expertise
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20%
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Financial proposal
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20%
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