Call for proposals from UK HEIs for research study on gender equality in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India

Andhra Pradesh, in Southern India, envisions becoming one of the top three high performing states by 2022. The state’s ‘Vision 2029’ strategy hopes to impact the lives of every citizen in the State, enriching and transforming it through well-coordinated small, large and mega development programmes. However, according to the AISHE[1] report for the academic year 2016-17, the gender parity index in Andhra Pradesh is 0.78. The state stands 26th at the all India level with respect to gender parity. In order to address this disparity, the Vision 2029 has prioritised the need to improve access to higher education and improve its quality.  The Government of India, through the National Policy for Women 2016, has also accorded high priority to creating universal access to higher education for women and girls.

In this regard, the British Council in India has been approached by the Andhra Pradesh State Council for Higher Education (APSCHE) to support in the research, development and implementation of intervention policies that will significantly improve enrolment and completion rates for women in higher education institutions. As a first step in this direction, British Council and APSCHE will jointly undertake a research study to understand the barriers to the current low enrolment and retention rates of girls in higher education in the state. This will be done in partnership with universities from the United Kingdom and Andhra Pradesh through which we will propose strategies for policy and programme intervention that will support equal participation of women in education and contribute to socio-economic development of the state. In doing so, the study will also promote academic partnerships between UK and AP Universities to strengthen research and consultancy.

Terms of Reference

The objectives of the research study are to:

• Analyse the gender gap in higher education institutions in the state to identify factors that contribute to it
• Develop an effective gender-responsive policy and governance framework across sectors to promote and accelerate equal participation of men and women in education and work

Research Outcomes:

1. Improved understanding of factors that influence enrolment of women and girls in higher education based on evidence
2. Recommendations that could inform, and where possible, positively influence, existing and future state policies, that would directly and indirectly impact 2.46 million women in Andhra Pradesh cutting across all state government departments.
3. Strengthened research capacity and capability of AP universities through international collaboration with UK HEIs.
4. A set of programme based intervention strategies to bring gender parity and equal participation of women in education and work.

Within this framework, the scope of work is as follows:

• Designing the research study including research questions, research methodology and tools for data collection and collation
• Data analysis – primary and secondary
• Report findings and recommendations for policy and programmatic interventions
• Host the delegation of researchers from Andhra Pradesh for research consultations in the UK
• UK HEI delegate travel to India at least twice for stakeholder consultations

Note:

1. The UK HEI will be supported by one or more local universities in Andhra Pradesh as follows:

• Data collection using tools developed by the UK institution
• Data collation using templates and tools provided by the UK institution and quality assure the same.
• Provide secondary data for study by the UK institution such as college admission records, student performance data, policies, programmes, reports and any other relevant data that is required for secondary data analysis
• Support and conduct meetings of UK HEI’s with all relevant stakeholders in Andhra Pradesh

2. British Council will:

• Lead on the research - scoping, commissioning, contribute to insights and oversight
• Liaise between all partners – UK and AP higher education institutions and government of AP to manage the research process including quality control.
• Organise and co-facilitate the knowledge dissemination workshop

Qualifications:

• Technical expertise in education and gender, preferably in higher education
• Proven track record in conducting research globally, with a specialisation in South Asia 
• Ability to work remotely with collaborators in dispersed geographical locations

Financial information:

This is a partnership model with joint funding contributions shared between the British Council and the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The UK HEIs will receive around 20,000 GBP (approximately) as a professional fee for the research study.

Timeframe:

The study is to be completed within six weeks of selection and contracting and is likely to commence by 1 February 2019.

Deliverables:

• Study design (UK HEI) and data analysis
• Study report (3 drafts with the 3^rd being the final)
• Power point presentation outlining the findings and recommendations
• 1-2 members of the research team travelling to Andhra Pradesh:
  • at the start of the study to present the study design and research planning meeting with AP universities and other key stakeholders
  • co-facilitate with the British Council, a workshop with key stakeholders to disseminate the findings and recommendations of the research study
• Facilitate a delegation from the partner AP university during their visit to the UK for research consultations