RFP for Selection of MEL Partner for Skills Outcome Fund Program

The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), is establishing the Skills Outcomes Fund (SOF), a proposed INR 530 crore outcomes-based financing programme focused on improving employment outcomes for low-income youth in India; intends to invite request for proposals RFP from interested and eligible partners for Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) of the Skills Outcomes Fund (SOF) Programme.

The MEL partner will lead the verification of payment linked outcomes for the Skills Outcomes Fund. This includes validation of programme achievements (specifically outcomes including certification, job placement, and retention in jobs for 3 months) reported by Training Providers (TPs) through independent verification of reported outcomes using appropriate primary and secondary evidence, including beneficiary responses and documentary evidence. The Bidders interested in participating in this bid are invited to submit a year-wise Technical Proposal and a Financial Proposal against this RFP. The scope for the MEL partner is expected to evolve over the four years as SOF develops advanced, technology enabled, data collection and monitoring systems.

Scope of work

MEL and Outcome Verification Framework
Design a comprehensive MEL and outcome verification framework, covering:
- Outcome definitions and indicators to be measured across the programme for payment linked outcomes
- Additional indicators to be measured from a learning perspective, including long term retention, i.e. percentage of candidates who have remained in employment for six months for at least one year.
- Data collection, reporting, and validation protocols for Training Providers
- Roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders across the verification process
- Oversight mechanisms and quality assurance processes to ensure appropriate checks and balances on data reported by TPs
- Review the proposed data collection, reporting, and verification workflows within the SIDH platform
  - Provide feedback on the platform’s suitability for outcome verification and identify any customisation or enhancements required to support the verification approach.
  - Design the verification methodology to leverage the SIDH platform, where appropriate, to improve the efficiency of data collection, document validation, and verification processes
Design and Methodology
- The selected MEL partner shall develop and implement a statistically robust and operationally feasible methodology for independently establishing the credibility of reported outcome achievement at the Training Provider level. The methodology shall support outcome payment decisions and enable meaningful analysis of outcome achievement across relevant participant and programme sub-groups, in a time and cost-effective approach.
- A sampling-based verification approach is indicated as one possible methodology, wherein a statistically determined sample of participants and reported outcomes may be independently verified through appropriate primary and secondary sources, including participant surveys, documentary evidence and other relevant data sources. Bidders may propose this or an alternative methodology, including census-based, technology-enabled or other verification approaches, provided that the proposed approach demonstrates the ability to generate sufficiently reliable and credible evidence of outcome achievement for payment decisions.
Verification Cadence
- Design and operationalise a verification approach that accommodates the programme’s rolling enrolment model and varying training durations, recognising that beneficiaries will achieve certification, placement, and retention milestones at different points in time described in Table 5. The proposed approach should:
  - Design the verification approach to accommodate beneficiaries completing certification, placement, and retention milestones at
    different points in time under the programme’s rolling enrolment model
  - Minimise the time gap between outcome achievement and verification to reduce recall bias and improve accuracy and reliability
    of beneficiary and employer verification
  - Ensure that verification timelines support timely submission of outcome verification reports in line with the agreed programme
    reporting and payment timeline

Eligibility criteria

The bidder should be a Company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013/1956 or a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) registered under the LLP Act, 2008 or a Partnership Firm registered under the Partnership Act or a Proprietorship Firm having valid registration.
The bidder should have an average annual turnover of ₹3 Crore or more during the last three (3) financial years (FY 2023-24, FY 2024-25 and FY 2025-26).
The bidder should have a positive net worth for last 3 consecutive years as on 31 March 2026.
The bidder should have successfully executed at least three (3) similar contracts of not less than 1 Cr during the last four(4) FY (2022-23 to 2025-26), involving monitoring, evaluation, verification, impact assessment, third-party evaluation, research, or similar assignments for Government, multilateral organizations, development partners, CSR/philanthropic organizations, or other large-scale programmes
Should have adequate in-house technical capacity and field verification capability to undertake the scope of work outlined in this RFP