RFP Invited for Developing Comic Books Based on Life Skills Education for Girls

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RFP - Developing Comic Books Based on Life Skills Education for Girls

About the Organization:

Room to Read is a global organization transforming the lives of millions of children in low-income communities by focusing on literacy and gender equality in education. They work in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations, and governments to develop literacy skills and a habit of reading among primary school children and ensure girls can complete secondary school with the skills necessary to negotiate key life decisions.

Description:

Room to Read’s (RtR) Girls’ Education Program (GEP) ensures that girls complete secondary school and have the skills to negotiate key life decisions. In India, since 2004, the program has benefitted over 14000 girls across 7 states- Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Uttarakhand. Over the years, the program has witnessed powerful stories of change, has led to best practices to learn from, and innovative strategies to celebrate and share. Our program reinforces girls’ commitment to their own education, works with girls to develop essential life skills and increases support for girls’ education among their parents, school staff, and communities.

Girls Education Program & the context of the assignment

This assignment is based on the life skill inputs that the program provides to in-school girls from Grade 6 to 12. The idea is to develop a series of comic books based on these inputs. The themes of the inputs to the girls is outlined below. Noteworthy that in the themes outlined for girls, there are life skills session for each theme:

• Self
• Creative and critical thinking,
• Communication
• Emotion and Feeling
• Sexual and Reproductive Health
• Health and nutrition,
• Gender,
• Protection,
• Education and career
• Relationship
• Financial Literacy
• Leadership

Noteworthy that for each theme, no more that 2 or 3 comic books are expected to be produced. RtR team will support the agency in identifying the key messages and portions that will need to form a core of each comic book.

Scope of the assignment

The series of comic books will be developed based on the sessions in each theme outlined above. Each story will have an array of characters. Different situations will be weaved into the life of these characters which will demonstrate the practice of life skills.  The idea is to disseminate the key message of life skills sessions through an interesting story line via comic genre. Each theme will have a set of comic book (no more than 2 or 3) which will follow a grade wise sequence. Each book will have reflective activities for the target audience – either at the end of the session or integrated in the narrative. The treatment of the script will be about making the right choices and decision making rather than prescriptive. The comic series will have 2 girl mascots – Chulbuli and Bulbuli (a younger and an older adolescence respectively).

The agency that we seek to hire will undertake the following:

• Conceptualization of the comic book series: The agency will be expected to conceptualize entire series – including how the series within a theme and also overall should progress as well as the number of pages that each story should run into.
• Development of story lines for all the comic books: The agency will be expected to develop the storyline for all the comic books in a way that it holds the attention of the reader. The content will be for general audience and hence the story lines will need to relatable through rural, semi urban as well as urban populations
• Illustration & designing: The agency will be responsible for conceiving and doing all the relevant and required illustrations. The illustration and the genre should be unique and earthy in its appeal.
• This comic books should keep in mind geographical, cultural, religion and ethnic diversity as these will be used by girls across multiple states.
• All comics to be delivered in - READY TO PRINT (in InDesign and PDF format); PHONE FRIENDLY flipbook versions
• Colour theme of the comics to be mutually agreed upon
• The language to be used is Hindi (simple bolchal ki Hindi)
• The content, frames and approach of the entire series should be from a gender equality lens, needs to be no stereotyping and should be able to contribute in gender transformative discourse
• Superior quality of content, illustration and design is desired
• All content, illustration and design created will be in consultation with RtR
• There will be multiple rounds of feedback in each aspect of the assignment

Experience

• The consultant should have an understanding of Life Skill Education and should have hands on experience in developing TLMs and IEC materials in comic genre on themes related to education, gender, Adolescent Sexual & Reproductive Health and life skills.
• The consultant should be proficient in Hindi.

Location

The consultant will be home based but might require travelling to Room to Read’s Delhi office in Dwarka, if feasible. Otherwise, the consultant should be available for frequent discussions over phone or any online medium.

Time frame: 2 months from the signing of contract

How to Apply

The consulting agency should apply with the following:

• An approach paper which will outline the way this assignment will be approached.
• A financial proposal
• A comic strip you will create based on the session being given here as a demonstration/ example. This material that you will submit should be in Hindi. Please note that the Hindi used should be simple.
• Cite relevant work experience and give samples

Last date for submitting the proposals is 03rd August’2020 on the email address mentioned below: Procurement.India@roomtoread.org

While submitting the proposal, please make sure you write “Bids for Developing Comic Book for Girls” in the email subject.

For any query related to assignment please contact on the below email address: Hussain.zaidi@roomtoread.org

Proposal received after the prescribed deadline will not be considered. While sending the proposals please do not copy anybody from Room To Read in the email