ToR for Hiring Technical Support Agency for CICO App Development Room to Read Project

About Room to Read India

Room to Read India was established in 2003 and presently has programs in twelve states –Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi NCR, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

Room to Read is a global organization transforming the lives of millions of by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. Since 2000, Room to Read has benefited more than 50 million children across 28 countries. Learn more at www.roomtoreadindia.org.

Scope of Work

The agency will provide technical advisory and support services through the development and post-deployment phases of CICO App, and in the development of the dashboard to capture the data from the developed App later once the App is developed. The App is being developed to capture real-time data of check-in and check-out of the books in Room to Read Libraries across different states. Responsibilities include:

Phase 1: During Development

• The agency will work closely with Room to Read and the development partner to ensure smooth coordination and technical knowledge transfer. Key responsibilities include:

1. Technical Liaison - Act as the primary technical interface between Room to Read and the development partner.
2. Coordination and Updates - Participate in regular coordination meetings to track progress and share updates. And, to understand the technical details and support the development partner with the suggestions wherever required.
3. Collaborative Knowledge Transfer and Support in App Development-Work alongside the development partner to understand the app’s architecture, tools, and technologies. This includes real-time knowledge sharing to enable future contextualization, translation, and enhancements by the agency.
4. System Documentation - Document the App’s system architecture, technology stack, and deployment processes along with security design, IAM roles, encryption setup (RDS/S3), network security groups.
5. AWS Infrastructure Understanding - Gain a comprehensive understanding of the AWS setup of the App, including:
   1. EC2 instance running Node.js
   2. VPC configuration (public/private subnets, security groups, Internet Gateway)
   3. RDS (MySQL/Aurora) database
   4. S3 buckets for file storage
6. GitHub- Codebase Management: Ensure best practices in code management:
   1. Reviewing code contributions in Room to Read’s GitHub repository
   2. Ensuring proper version control practices are followed.
   3. Creating and Monitoring CI/CD pipeline setup and configurations to align industry standards.
   4. Room to Read will retain full ownership and administrative control of the GitHub repository. The vendor must comply with branch protection, review workflows, and maintain backups.
7. Technical Documentation - Prepare detailed technical documentation in collaboration with the development partner. This also includes API documentation and integration guidelines for future reference.
8. App Testing Support - Support Room to Read in testing the app, providing feedback to the development partner, and supporting implementation of necessary changes or corrections.

Phase 2: Post-Development

Following the completion of development, the agency will support final testing and rollout activities:

1. Final Testing & Pilot Support- Facilitate final testing and support Room to Read in conducting field pilots wherever planned and address and resolve any identified issues during the pilot.
2. Localization & Contextualization - Enable multi-language implementation across UI/UX and content management systems to ensure regional relevance.
3. Feature Enhancements -If required, Implement UI/UX improvements and additional functionalities as requested by Room to Read, post initial development and testing.
4. Resolving bugs and glitches - During the development process, any bugs, glitches, or technical issues identified must be resolved promptly. Once fixes are applied, the affected components should be thoroughly retested to ensure functionality, stability, and compatibility across devices. This includes validating interactivity, media playback, navigation to maintain a seamless learner experience.
   1. Perform security testing (penetration testing, vulnerability scan) before final rollout.
   2. Training & Handover- Provide comprehensive training and handover documentation to enable Room to Read’s internal teams to manage and update the App and Dashboard independently through interactive sessions ( virtual or in person) and detailed manuals.

Deliverables

• Coordination meeting notes and reports
• Knowledge transfer documentation (App architecture, tools, and technologies)
• System architecture and deployment documentation
• AWS infrastructure documentation (EC2, VPC, RDS, S3, security configuration)
• API documentation and integration guidelines
• App testing reports, bug logs, and feedback documentation
• Final testing and pilot report with issue resolutions
• Localization and contextualization deliverables (multi-language UI/UX support)
• Documentation of feature enhancements and improvements implemented
• Comprehensive training materials for Room to Read team
• Final handover package with consolidated technical and operational documentation
• The vendor must ensure all AWS components (EC2, RDS, S3, VPC) comply with enterprise level security guidelines.
• Encryption at rest and in transit must be enabled.
• IAM roles must follow least privilege principle.
• The vendor must conduct one round of penetration testing before final rollout.
• All data belongs solely to Room to Read and must remain within its AWS accounts.
• The vendor must ensure secure data handling during localization and dashboard development.
• The agency should have proven experience in acting as a technical liaison between clients and development partners
• Should have a strong knowledge of mobile/web app development and architecture, hands-on expertise with AWS services including EC2, VPC, RDS, and S3, and the ability to prepare detailed system, infrastructure, and API documentation.
• They should have experience in application testing and quality assurance support, including pilot implementations, as well as enabling multi-language localization and UI/UX enhancements.
• The agency must demonstrate expertise in developing interactive dashboards using Power BI or equivalent tools, integrating data from AWS RDS/MySQL, defining KPIs, and implementing role-based access controls.
• At least 5 years of relevant experience with similar large-scale projects is preferred, with a capable team skilled in cloud architecture, app development support, QA, dashboard development, and knowledge transfer.
• Vendor must demonstrate prior experience with structured project transitions, ensuring smooth knowledge transfer from one development partner to another.

Security and Compliance Requirements

Experience

Interested agencies should be able to provide relevant samples of past work.

Role of Room to Read

Room to Read will be responsible for

• Explaining the requirements, timelines, and priorities with the agency.
• Facilitating connections between the agency, the development partner, and internal team for smooth coordination.
• Supporting agency in testing the App and providing feedback to the development partner.
• Reviewing and providing feedback on all technical documentation, dashboards, and deliverables at each stage.
• Providing necessary inputs on localization, contextualization, and feature enhancement requirements.
• Supporting the agency in App testing, pilot implementation, and dashboard rollout.
• Overseeing handover and training activities to ensure internal teams are equipped for future management.

Technical Evaluation Criteria

Room to Read will evaluate the profiles based on the following criteria (x/20):

Minimum Criteria: 75%

• Experience of working on technology projects in the development/education sector (5 marks)
• Technical competence (Understanding of the project scope, expertise in AWS-based infrastructure, app development support, documentation, QA/testing, dashboard development using BI tools, and ability to provide training and knowledge transfer) (10 marks)
• Relevant work samples demonstrating similar assignments such as app support, cloud deployment, dashboard creation, or technical documentation (5 marks)

HOW TO APPLY

Proposals are invited from the interested agency for the above assignment and the last date for receiving the proposal is 17^th Sept 2025 at India Bids India.Bids@roomtoread.org  

[do not copy anyone at RtR while responding]

Kindly submit two separate emails with the following subject lines:

• EMAIL (1): TECHNICAL PROPOSAL – CICO App
• EMAIL (2): FINANCIAL PROPOSAL – CICO App

Submission terms:

• All agencies are advised to thoroughly review the ToR before applying.
• Technical and Financial proposals are to be shared in two different emails separately and not in a single email (mandatory)
• 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 interaction/presentation.

For queries, please contact:

Ms. Neha Premchandani

Neha.Premchandani@roomtoread.org

To download the Annex A-Technical Proposal, click here: Annex A

To download the Annex B-Financial Proposal, click here: Annex B

Tags Education and Education Technology (edtech) Others