Request for Proposal (RFP) Bids are invited for: Engagement of Agency/Consultant for Programme Learning & Ecosystem Study

Ref: AIFT/RFP/DL/2026-27/025

Summary of Deadlines:

Scope of Work:

American India Foundation Trust (AIFT) seeks to engage independent consultants or agency to conduct a Study/Research which showcases 4 year implementation journey (March 2022- July’26) of EY GDS Skill Bridge Program and evaluates the wider education and future-skills ecosystem to prepare for the next phase of the programme. The assignment should generate two standalone documents: one focused on process documentation and learning from implementation, and one focused on ecosystem and sector strategy for future positioning.  Engagement period to start from tentatively from 21st September to 30th November 2026.

Purpose of Engagement:

The selected bidder shall produce an honest, evidence-based Learning Document that explains what the programme set out to do, how it evolved, what worked, what did not work as intended, why, and what should change in future design as Deliverable 1. The second Deliverable should produce an Ecosystem and Sector Insight Report that helps AIF and EY GDS make strategic choices on future focus areas, geographies, partnerships, government alignment, and investment priorities in light of national and state priorities around digital learning, AI, future skills, and school-to-work pathways.

Background

AIFT’s Digital Equalizer programme, in partnership with EY GDS Skill Bridge, has been implemented since March 2022 across Maharashtra, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Odisha, and Karnataka, reaching more than 240,000 students through components such as STEM, coding, financial literacy, life skills, gender awareness, and employee engagement. While the programme has generated student-level outcomes, AIF and EY GDS want an independent reflection on whether these thematic components formed a coherent learner pathway, how employee engagement contributed, and what lessons should shape future redesign.

The broader policy and programme context has also shifted, with NEP 2020 and subsequent national directions placing stronger emphasis on computational thinking, AI literacy, digital learning, and future-ready skills in school education. There is also increasing expectation that CSR partnerships should strengthen government systems, support scalable models, and create meaningful collaboration through volunteerism, mentoring, and school-linked support rather than one-off activities.

Overall Objectives

The consultant or agency will be expected to:

• Reconstruct the evolution of the Skill Bridge programme from design to implementation across the six states, and capture implementation learning in a way that is useful for AIFT and EY GDS decision-making.
• Assess whether the programme’s different components operated as an integrated learner pathway or as parallel interventions, and identify missed integration points, course corrections, and design implications.
• Analyse the broader education and future-skills ecosystem to identify policy trends, peer models, promising partnerships, and practical opportunities for a more government-aligned and AI-ready future programme model.
• Translate consultations and research into actionable strategic choices, rather than producing only descriptive reporting.

Proposal Requirements

Interested consultants or agencies should submit:

• Organisation or consultant profile and relevant experience.
• Two or three relevant work samples.
• Team composition and CVs of key personnel.
• Technical proposal covering proposed methodology and workplan for both Deliverables.
• At least two professional references.

Proposals will be assessed on the ability to combine rigorous process documentation with forward-looking ecosystem analysis, and on the ability to turn research into usable strategic choices. Strong proposals should demonstrate both implementation depth and strategic breadth, with practical understanding of government-school systems, CSR partnerships, employee engagement, and AI-ready future-skills programming.

AIFT Contact:

Any communication must be sent to: PROCUREMENT@AIF.ORG while mentioning ref of bid as Ref: AIFT/RFP/DL/2026-27/023

To download the full RFP document, click here: RFP Engagement of Agency/Consultant for Programme Learning & Ecosystem Study