HCLFoundation, under its flagship programme Samuday, invites proposals from NGOs / CSR organizations for ‘Digital Literacy, Coding, Computational Thinking & Artificial Intelligence’ project (Classes 6-8) in Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh

Last date of submission: October 20, 2024

HCLFoundation delivers the corporate social responsibility agenda of HCLTech in India through its flagship programmes and special initiatives. It is a not-for-profit organisation that strives to contribute towards national and international development goals, bringing about lasting positive impact in the lives of people, through long-term sustainable programmes.

HCLFoundation aims to alleviate poverty and achieve inclusive growth and development. Active community engagement ensures optimal long-term gains and upward accountability. It works through Life Cycle Based, Integrated Community Development Approach with a thematic focus on Education, Health, Skill Development and Livelihood, Environment, and Disaster Risk Reduction and Response. Child protective strategies, inclusion, and gender transformative approaches remain central in all initiatives of HCLFoundation, thus ensuring comprehensive development. At present, HCLFoundation is implementing five flagship programmes, Samuday and HCLTech Grant – Rural Development programs; Uday and My Clean City – Urban Development programmes; Harit – Environment Action program and four special initiatives – Power of One, Sports for Change, Academy and My E-Haat.

For more details, please visit our website – https://www.hclfoundation.org

Vision: To be the source code for sustainable socio-economic and environmental development.

Mission: Nurture clean, green and healthy communities where everyone is empowered and equipped to reach their full potential in partnership with its employees, communities and stakeholders, while promoting volunteerism and establishing international standards of strategic planning, execution and measuring impact.

Link
HCLFoundation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMgq4fHTwAA

About Samuday by HCLFoundation
Samuday, a flagship programme of HCLFoundation, is an outcome of HCL’s commitment to uplift rural India. Established in 2015, Samuday intends to develop a sustainable, scalable, and replicable model – a source code for economic and social development of rural areas in partnership with State Governments, local communities, NGOs, knowledge institutions and allied partners. We do this through optimal interventions across Agriculture, Education, Environment, Health, Livelihood, and WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) in selected villages.

The program is designed to help the local people identify their problems, co-create solutions, and then implement the same on their own with professional support from team Samuday, thereby, lending the dimension of sustainability and ownership to the vision of development. Currently implemented in Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh and Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, Samuday is operational in 619 gram
panchayats of the country

RFP released by HCLFoundation
RFP Code HCLF/RFP/Samuday/Edu/27092024
Programme name Samuday
Date of posting 30 September 2024
Last Date to apply 20 October 2024
Location Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh

Request for Proposal

1 Description of RFP

HCLFoundation requests for proposals from eligible Not-for-Profit NGOs/CSR Implementing Agencies for a project focused on enhancing digital literacy, coding and computational thinking across 20 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) & 50 Government Upper Primary & Composite Schools in the district Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh. The initiative intends to bridge the digital divide and foster digital citizenship among children by enhancing students’ skills in logical thinking, computational thinking, problem-solving, creative abilities and critical thinking with a specific focus on coding, Python language & Artificial Intelligence.

The initiative will include a foundational technology course for all levels (class VI, VII and VIII). For effective classroom teaching, the project will include capacity building of teachers on DLCC, AI content and on-site support. The initiative is entering its third phase. The main focus will remain on continuing support for the existing schools while including new schools. The initiative will intend to develop KGBVs/ Govt Composite /Upper Primary schools as model school for our DLCC and AI project and enhance project outcomes.

2 Background
Samuday by HCLFoundation is being implemented across the Hardoi district of Uttar Pradesh since 2015. The Happy School project under Samuday focuses on enhancing the overall school environment, equipping teachers with innovative, high-engagement teaching mechanisms, and improving the learning process through effective technology interventions.

In 2023, recognizing the urgency of introducing 21st-century skills among children, Samuday launched the Digital Literacy, Coding Skills, and Computational Thinking (DLCC) project across 11 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) and 15 Government Composite Schools in Hardoi for classes VI, VII, and VIII. The project reached over 1,700 rural students, providing them with opportunities to develop digital literacy skills aligned with the National Education Policy 2020.

Throughout the implementation process, teachers played a crucial role and were key to the project’s success.

To support them in delivering the subject matter effectively, key teachers from the schools were identified and trained. Phase II expanded the initiative to 52 schools for classes VI-VIII across 19 blocks of Hardoi, benefiting over 4,000 rural students.

Given the impressive results from the pilot project, the Director General of School Education, UP issued an order for state-wide replication of the curriculum. HCLFoundation along with SCERT improvised the content for DLCC&AI. Following this, the State Basic Education Department integrated DLCC and Artificial Intelligence into the educational framework for classes VI, VII, and VIII throughout the state starting from the academic year 2024-25.

Demonstrating a joint commitment, HCLFoundation and SCERT has successfully trained over 270 key resource persons from all districts of Uttar Pradesh, who are now disseminating further training to upper primary government school teachers in their respective districts and blocks for the successful inclusion of DLCC and AI in schools. Additionally, HCLFoundation has completed 135 teacher training sessions for KGBV teachers training across 10 districts in the Lucknow and Prayagraj divisions.

3 Project description and scope of work

Phase I

Prepare Implementation Plan with activities and timeline which include but are not limited to training plan, Associate/HR teaching plan, review mechanism, on-site support and work plan for Associate/HR deployed.
Collate/create content aligned guiding videos, teaching materials for teachers.
Collate/create content aligned tutorial videos, worksheet and answer sheet for children.
Design required assessment tool
– Design baseline/end line assessment
– Design pre/post teacher training assessment tool
Conduct baseline assessment in all selected schools for all students as per enrollment 24-25 for class VI, VI and VIII.
Conduct teachers training on existing DLCC and AI content (Content available in science book for class VI, VI and VIII). The training should also include session on usage of existing teaching manual. Pre-post teacher assessment will be held during the training.
Share data of all assessments conducted.

Phase II

Associate/HR of the agency/organisation will be responsible for effective classroom delivery in selected KGBVs and composite/UPS, with involvement of the trained teachers. The session will be conducted as per the shared teaching plan.
On-site support will be provided by Associate/HR of the agency ensuring classroom delivery by trained teachers in selected KGVBs and UPS/Composite schools with inclusion of all enrolled student 24-25 of class VI, VII and VIII. (Need to prepare teaching plan for teachers if required).
Continuing with the course, internal assessment and evaluation of the instructors/teachers as well as students along with the implementation process.
Augmentation of children with learning gaps.
Submit monthly report as per plan, which includes but not limited to, progress report, on site visit report along with associate/HR attendance, observation report.
Submit pre and post data/video/photo, case studies and documents as per requirement

Phase III

Conduct end line assessment in all selected schools for all Student number as per enrollment 24-25 for class VI, VI and VIII.
Conduct workshop on DLCC and AI for the students of selected students at district level.
Associate/HR to support/ facilitate during any workshop/seminar/exposure visit planned for teachers or students.
Submit final evaluation, that will cover overall execution, learnings, experiences, findings, suggestions & results of the program. Along with case study of students and schools.
Submit pre and post data/video/photo, case studies and documents as per requirement.

NOTE: Support person’s role

Resource person to be deployed at intervention/project location to support the initiative.
Number of extra resource persons to be suggested by partner agency backed by roles and responsibilities for trainings & resource development.
Roles & responsibilities to be shared for all deployed HR/associate, with all necessary details.
Plan/details of on-site support must include – regular meeting with stakeholders, capacity-building session with stakeholders.

4 Skills and Experience from NGOs/CSR Implementing Agencies

Credible history of work having alignment with the objectives as stated above can apply as Grant Partner or Service Provider respectively.
Experience of working in the field of Digital learning, Coding, Computer science, Computer language, AI and related work in partnership with international, national, government and CSR organizations/donors.
Experience in designing and delivering training programs on DLCC and AI.
Understanding of effective teaching methodologies and strategies for diverse educational settings.
Experiences on crosscutting issues such as gender, inclusion as well as awareness on child, education, health, protection, participation.
Proven record of accomplishment in conducting primary and secondary empirical research in the field of socio economic development including baseline/endline studies.
Proficiency in qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection, synthesis and report writing.
Desirable qualifications of Project Manager / Subject Matter Experts on the assignment: BTech/MTech in computer science or any equivalent master’s degree in computer/AI/Coding field from a recognized university. Work Experience should be minimum 3 years.
Desirable qualifications of the HR/Associate working on the assignment: B.Tech in Computer Science/graduate degree in computer application, BCA/MCA or other related fields from a recognized university. Work Experience should be minimum 1 year.

5 Project Duration
Project duration will be of 5 months, inclusive of the tenure of report generation

6 Geography

Coverage: 20 KGBVs and 50 Government Composite/Upper Primary Schools across 19 Blocks of Hardoi District, Uttar Pradesh.

7 Deliverable

The implementing partner should provide the following:

Preparation and submission of the detailed work execution plan.
Responsible for teacher training of the selected schools.
Associate/HR of the agency will be responsible for effective classroom delivery in selected KGBVs and composite/UPS, and on-site support in selected KGBVs and composite/UPS with involvement of the trained teachers.
Will submit collated the guiding videos, tutorial videos, worksheets, answer sheets and required materials for teachers and children.
Project impact measurement – The project aims to create impact considering the life of students.

Three major categories creating overall impact of the project are (i) Teacher training impact (ii) Impact on learning level with students (iii) Impact on performance of teachers after effective training.

Monthly/Quarterly reporting of data in given format by HCLFoundation.
Final closure report containing the above-mentioned scopes, along with providing effective outcomes as well as suggestions/directions for the future.
All the above reports to be submitted as initial drafts to HCLFoundation for review and comments, before finalizing.
The partner can draw on public domain information to prepare the background. While preparing the project plan, partner is expected to provide an appropriate methodology, in conducting assigned activities and the solution-driven process. Quantitative and qualitative methods are expected to be used to document the findings, including indicators for assessing impacts.

Note:

All the assessment formats must be approved by the HCLFoundation team before final rollout for data collection.
All the above reports to be submitted as initial drafts to the HCLFoundation team for review and comments, before finalizing.
While preparing the project plan, partner is expected to provide an appropriate methodology, in conducting assigned activities and the solution driven process.

8 Expected outcomes

90% of the registered and willing students complete the course with a minimum of 75% (attending) students achieving the predetermined parameters of learning outcome established in agreement with the implementing organization and HCLFoundation.
100% selected teachers trained and capable for effective classroom teaching.

9 Submission guidelines
Interested organizations are encouraged to visit the locations to understand the current situation of the field before submitting the detailed proposal plan as per their strength and expertise. Proposals that you need to share should include a Gantt chart with comprehensive list of activities proposed in scope of work along with tentative timelines. Applicants are requested to share proposal along with duly filled Budget Costing Excel Sheet, as per below mentioned submission details and deadlines.

Budget: Please provide detailed break-up of each line item and all sub-line item costs with clear budget explanatory notes. Any taxes including Service Tax, Sales Tax, Value Added Tax or any other applicable tax, duty, cess or levies, must be quoted separately from the price of goods and services. The terms of payment along with a tentative timeline must also be attached.

Gantt Chart: The Gantt Chart must detail the comprehensive list of activities suggested in the proposal along with a tentative timeline.

Kindly provide an LFA with key objectives, activities, inputs, outputs, outcome and impact & a risk assessment and mitigation plan. The proposal must include indicators that will be used for assessing impact.

How to Apply

The proposal (technical & financial) shall contain following documents:

A cover letter to Project Director – Samuday & My Clean City, HCLFoundation for submission of expression of interest for partnership singed by the head of organization.
Registration Certificate
12 A Certificate
80 G certificate
CSR-1 registration
Trust Deed (if NGO) otherwise Memorandum of Association / By-Law
Pan Card
FCRA certification (Not Mandatory)
Last three-year Income Tax return (ITR) •
Audited financials for the last three years
Last year Annual report
Board Members list (with address, designation and contact number) • Any support request letter from Govt. in context of COVID-19

Submission Details For Proposal Submission (Technical & Financial separate files) Technical: Email to: sahebraogovindrao.s@hcltech.com and maanavendra.s@hcltech.com Financial: Email to: prakash.agrawal@hcltech.com

Subject Line: HCLF/RFP/Edu_SNP/date/

For all Queries: Email to: sahebraogovindrao.s@hcltech.com

Subject Line: Query/HCLF/RFP/Edu_SNP/date/

Please note:

HCLFoundation would/could engage more than one NGO/partner in project execution with expertise in different components to operationalize the project on-ground through a convergence-based model.

Terms & Conditions

Deadline: Proposals received after the designated deadline may be subject to rejection by HCLFoundation.

Validity: Your proposal must remain valid for a minimum of six (6) months from the date of receipt by

HCLFoundation.

Negotiations: The most competitive proposal is requested. It is anticipated that the contract will be awarded on the basis of merit of proposal. However, HCLFoundation reserves the right to request responses to questions and conduct negotiations with any potential organization/subject matter expert prior to awarding a contract

Rejection of Proposal: This document is a request for proposals only, and in no way binds HCLFoundation to make an award. HCLFoundation reserves the right to reject any and all offers received and/or to cancel the RFP. HCLFoundation will not be obliged to either inform or provide a justification for rejection of proposals.

Incurring Costs: HCLFoundation will not be liable for any cost incurred during preparation, submission, or
negotiation of an award for this RFP.

Financial Responsibility: Proposals must certify the financial viability and adequacy of resources of the organization to complete the proposed assignment within the agreed time frame and in conformity with the agreed terms of payment. HCLFoundation reserves the right to request and review up to the last three financial statements and audit reports including schedules and annexures, as part of the basis of the award if required.

Branding: HCLFoundation has set brand guidelines that should be incorporated and followed while demonstrating the Foundation’s brand.

Copyright and Patents: HCLFoundation shall be entitled to all copyrights, patents and other proprietary rights and trademarks with regard to the products or documents and other materials which bear a direct relation to or are produced or prepared or collected in consequences of or in the course of the execution of the contract. All plans, reports, recommendations, estimates, documents and data compiled by the service providers under the contract shall be the property of HCLFoundation and shall be treated as confidential. All confidential documents should be delivered to the relevant people within HCLFoundation during the project duration and upon completion.

Child Safeguarding: We hold ourselves accountable to children. Adherence to comply with HCLFoundation’s

Child Protection Policy and procedures with respect to child safeguarding is nonnegotiable. A range of pre-employment checks can be undertaken in conformity with HCLFoundation’s Child Protection

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