LANGUAGE AND LEARNING FOUNDATION (LLF)
1st Floor, B Block, Plot No. 8, Balaji Estate, Guru Ravidas Marg, Kalkaji, New Delhi – 110019
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Research Support Agency — BEO Implementation Research, Uttar Pradesh
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Assignment
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Research Support Agency — BEO Implementation Research (Uttar Pradesh)
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Commissioning Organisation
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Language and Learning Foundation (LLF)
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Engagement Type
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Deliverable-based consultancy — research support, data analysis, and reporting
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Indicative Duration
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July 2026 – April 2027 (approx. 10 months)
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Proposal Submission Deadline
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31st July 2026, by 5:00 PM IST
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Submit To
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1. About LLF
Language and Learning Foundation (LLF) is a not-for-profit organisation working to improve the quality of school education and foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) outcomes for children in the early grades across India. LLF partners with state governments and system actors — including Block Education Officers (BEOs), District Education Officers (DEOs)/Basic Shiksha Adhikaris (BSAs), Academic Resource Persons/Teacher Mentors (ARPs), and Cluster Resource Coordinators — to strengthen the "middle tier" of the public education system, which plays a critical role in translating FLN policy into classroom practice.
In Uttar Pradesh specifically, LLF's middle-tier work spans: strengthening cluster-level meetings (Sankul Baithak) as a recurring, structured CPD touchpoint for teachers; designing and piloting a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) framework for ARPs and BEOs anchored by an Annual CPD Calendar; and building a one-year Professional Development Programme for BEOs in collaboration with NIEPA, IIM Ahmedabad, TISS, and ISDM to strengthen whole-system and instructional leadership capacities. The BEO Implementation Research described below sits within this broader middle-tier strengthening agenda.
2. Background and Context
A diagnostic study conducted by LLF in 2024 with 43 BEOs across 5 districts of Uttar Pradesh found that Block Education Officers — while structurally well-positioned to influence school-level teaching and learning — are largely disengaged from academic leadership. Their interactions with ARPs, Head Teachers (HMs), and schools tend to be procedural and compliance-driven, with minimal instructional depth.
This evidence led LLF to design an embedded Implementation Research (IR) project to test whether structured support can enable BEOs to prioritise and lead academic processes more effectively.
The project commenced in March 2026. The baseline covered structured observations of BEO–ARP meetings, BEO–HM meetings, and BEO school visits, using a dedicated observation tool. The baseline phase is now complete; the Implementation Research is ongoing, with the intervention and monitoring phases beginning in July 2026.
LLF is separately engaging a behavioural science agency/consultant under a parallel RFP to lead the behavioural analysis, segmentation, and intervention design components of this study. This RFP is for the agency that will support the overall research process — refining and administering tools, supporting data collection and analysis, and leading reporting and documentation — working in close coordination with the behavioural science lead and LLF's programme team.
3. Purpose of this RFP
LLF invites proposals from qualified research agencies with strong applied research, data analysis, and technical writing capability to support the overall Implementation Research process for the BEO study in Uttar Pradesh, and to lead reporting and documentation through to the endline.
4. Scope of Work
- Tool refinement: Reviewing, refining, and field-testing research and monitoring instruments (interview guides, survey forms, observation/shadowing tools) developed in partnership with LLF and the behavioural science lead, ahead of each data collection round.
- Data collection support: Supporting and/or coordinating enumerator training and fieldwork for qualitative and quantitative data collection across the intervention, midline, and endline phases, in the 5 demonstration districts.
- Data analysis: Conducting quantitative and qualitative analysis of data collected through routine monitoring, midline, and endline rounds, and triangulating this with the behavioural science lead's segmentation and diagnostic findings.
- Midline research and implementation support: Leading midline data collection and analysis (October–November 2026), including implementation fidelity tracking and recommendations to inform the second iteration of the intervention.
- Endline evaluation: Leading endline data collection and comprehensive analysis, triangulating quantitative, qualitative, monitoring, and longitudinal tracking data.
- Reporting and documentation: Drafting and finalising all study reports — methods report, midline progress report, and final endline report — incorporating contextually grounded findings and BEO change narratives, in coordination with LLF and the behavioural science lead.
- 5. Deliverables and Indicative Timeline
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Deliverable
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Indicative Timing
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Refined data collection and monitoring tools, field-tested and finalised
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Month 2–3 (August–September 2026)
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Consolidated methods report (jointly with behavioural science lead)
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Month 2 (August 2026)
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Routine monitoring data analysis and tracking updates
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Ongoing, Month 2 onward
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Midline data collection, analysis, and progress report
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Month 4–6 (October–December 2026)
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Endline data collection and analysis
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Month 8–9 (February–March 2027)
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Final endline report — findings, change narratives, recommendations
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Month 9–10 (March–April 2027)
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6. Eligibility Criteria
LLF invites proposals from applicants who can demonstrate:
- A strong track record in mixed-methods applied research within Indian government or public education systems, including enumerator training and field data collection at scale.
- Demonstrated capability in quantitative and qualitative data analysis, including triangulation across multiple data sources.
- Strong technical writing and reporting capability, with prior experience producing donor-facing or government-facing research reports.
- Experience working with state or district-level government functionaries (education officials, block/district administrators, or comparable public system actors).
- Availability of a core team (project lead, research associate(s), and field/analysis staff) who can commit to the engagement duration and travel to Uttar Pradesh as required.
- Comfort working in close coordination with a separate behavioural science lead providing analytical direction for segmentation and intervention design.
7. Proposal Requirements
- Technical Proposal: Understanding of the assignment, proposed methodology for tool refinement, data collection, analysis, and reporting, and a work plan with timelines.
- Team Composition: CVs of the proposed project lead, research associates, and analysts, along with a note on their allocated days per deliverable.
- Relevant Experience: Summary of at least two comparable assignments, with references and (where permissible) sample outputs, including sample reports.
- Financial Proposal: A cost breakdown by deliverable/milestone, inclusive of applicable taxes, specifying what is and is not covered (e.g., data collection costs, enumerator costs, travel).
- Institutional Details: Organisation profile, registration details, and points of contact.
8. Evaluation Criteria
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Criterion
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Weightage
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Applied research and field data collection capability at scale
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30%
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Data analysis and technical writing/reporting quality
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30%
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Relevant experience with Indian public education / government systems
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20%
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Cost competitiveness and value for money
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20%
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9. Submission Instructions
- Proposals must be submitted by 31st July 2026 to shveta.lall@languageandlearningfoundation.org, with the subject line "Proposal – Research Support, BEO Implementation Research, UP."
- Queries regarding this RFP may be directed to Shveta Lall at shveta.lall@languageandlearningfoundation.org.
- LLF reserves the right to shortlist applicants for a clarification call or presentation prior to final selection.
- LLF reserves the right to reject any or all proposals without assigning any reason.
10. General Terms
- All research outputs, data, tools, and materials developed under this assignment will be the sole and exclusive property of LLF.
- The selected agency will be expected to enter into a Services Agreement with LLF, including confidentiality and data protection clauses, prior to commencement of work.
- The engagement will be on a non-exclusive basis.
- LLF is committed to a zero-tolerance policy on sexual harassment and expects the same standard from all agencies and consultants.
For queries, please contact:
Shveta Lall | Language and Learning Foundation (LLF)
Mb. No. – 9818262755