innovative design for social change

Innovative Design for Social Change

Sanjli GidwaneyAugust, 2009

[email protected] / 857-869-7777Cambridge, MA, USA

About Me

The Indus Entrepreneur Co-chair – Special Interest Group focused on New Media Marketing Social Entrepreneurship project involving innovative technologies for underprivileged schools

Online Advertising (www.hhcc.com) Assistant Digital Media Planner Worked with creative development teams, managed relationships with partners North American brands: CVS, Chili’s, Mass Lottery

Consulting (FiftyP, DailyGrommet, My Little Pakora) Financial education for children Social blogging for grassroots products Organic children’s clothing

Matchstick (www.matchstick.ca) Social Media Marketing Coordinator Executed product seeding campaigns which leveraged the existing social networks of

consumers to introduce new products and services Global brands: Gillette, Calvin Klein and Coca Cola

My Research Interest

My Mission

Method Find opportunities to strengthen the relationship

between Design Firms, NGO’s, Entrepreneurs and Users to create educational tools for children living at the bottom of the pyramid

Understand how children can be inspired, through the use of low cost technology and

learning tools, to be innovative problem solvers and design thinkers.

Opportunity

Designers

For Profit Companie

s

NGO’sUsers

Opportunity

Why India?

Opportunity for significant change

Rote Learning Limited opportunities to realize creative potential

Interest from design firms Desire to make a difference where it is most needed

Rural Community shaping mainstream Products are now being designed for a rural consumer base

Innovative culture Thousands of grassroots innovations

Entrepreneurial spirit From the billionaire tycoon to the roadside dentist

Approach

1. Ethnographic research with educational institutions in India

2. Identify specific needs and opportunities for technology and learning tools to make a difference

3. Build relationships with technology and design firms to adapt existing or build new solutions

4. Deploy solutions in partnership with educational institutions and NGO’s on the ground

My Research to Date

1. Ethnographic Research

Focus on three specific environments Government schools in villages Privately run schools Innovative teaching institutions

To date: Conducted workshops in rural villages in India Volunteered with Boston Partners in Education

Opportunities: Agastya Pratham Vinay Rai Foundation Riverside School

Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions

Sristi

Sristi

Sristi NGO founded by Prof. Anil Gupta Focused on grassroots innovations Funded by donations and grants

National Innovation Foundation Vet and categorize innovations Students from IIM/IIT help build products Works with private enterprises to manufacture and sell

products

Sristi: http://www.sristi.org Honeybee Network: http://www.sristi.org/honeybee.html

Professor Anil Gupta

Professor of Business Management Indian Institute of Management,

Ahmadabad India

Coordinator SRISTI and Honey Bee Network

Executive Vice Chair National Innovation Foundation

Mission: Advocate for grassroots

innovation, sustainable design and green consciousness

http://www.iimahd.ernet.in/~anilg/

My Technology!

Insights from the Shodh Yatra – “Discovery Walk”

Insights

The Shodh Yatra

100 km, 5 days

Dahod, Gujarat to Madhya Pradesh

Deserts, jungles, mountains and rivers

20 km / day, at least 3-5 meetings with villagers a day

Insights from the Shodh Yatra

Education in rural India

Female Empowerment

Rural Brain Drain

Exploitation

Wealth Disparity

Industry Diversification

Education in Rural India

Literacy Rates in Rural Villages Affected by wealth disparity and geographic location Nearly 44% of India’s labor force is illiterate, only 17% of it has

secondary schooling, and enrollment in higher education is just 11%.

Interesting Facts Concept of Rote learning- not about problem solving Focus on Math and Science- not on creativity Absentee rates for Teachers – 15% Maharashtra and 71% Bihar

Education in Rural India

Primary School Net Attendance by State (2006) Disparity through

country e.g., Bihar vs. Kerala vs. Gujarat

Children from poor households are less likely to enter school and far less likely to continue their education after four years of primary school.

Education in Rural India Children Can Be Innovative

I conducted a workshop with children in a tribal village to inspire creative and innovative thinking using basic art supplies:• Pens• Paper• Glue• Paper clips• Straws• Play-do

Challenge: How do you protect the fruit trees in your village from animals without the use of chemical pesticides?


The Art Kit


A religious scarecrow to ward off wandering animals


A fenced system surrounded by plants animals do not eat, with a built in irrigation system.


The children had trouble thinking outside the box in an abstract fashion. It was due to excessive parental and teacher involvement and control.

Children are creative but need to be inspired and probed.

They also have the ability to learn quickly.


One of the children’s creations


The kids

Education in Rural India One Laptop Per Child

One Laptop Per Child

I brought two XO laptops with me. It took the kids less than 5 minutes to learn how to use the laptop, take pictures and make music.

However, computers are shunned in some villages. Teachers feel threatened by new technology.

Some children/adults had trouble with the mouse pad.

Technology Design Insights

Technology Design Insights

Innovative thinking Man powered wheel to extract water from a well Wind turbine energy to power in home electric fan

Design for flexibility Componentization Re-combinability Product modification

Technology vernacular Expert creation Word of mouth best practices

Design Insights

Design Insights

Prof. Anil Gupta brushing his teeth with the barkof a Neem tree

Other Institutions

Agastya

Founded by Ashoka Fellow Ramji Ragavan

Mobile science labs

Operating mostly in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu

70,000 teachers, 2 million children affected

200 science experiments, using low-cost tools, make learning fun and illustrate a wide range of concepts and principles

Vinay Rai Foundation

Founder of Rai Foundation, first private foundation to open a university More than 11,000 students spread over

40 campuses in 20 cities across India

“Innovation cannot be taught, but can be inspired”

“Concept of empowerment through access to education”

“Create a revolt against slavery and give people equal opportunities so they can have an equal say against a broken system”

Billionaire businessman,

philanthropist and of the House of Rai

Pratham

Pratham is the largest non governmental organization working to provide quality education to the underprivileged children of India

The average period of contact available with children requiring additional help was not more than 2-3 months

Learn to Read: L2R was an accelerated learning technique targeted at teaching both in-school and out-of-school children how to read in 4-8 weeks

Already reached 21 million children; 350,000 volunteers; 400,000 teachers and government officials trained

My Research to Date

2. Identifying Challenges

Intention to spend 6 months in India next year

Conduct ethnographic research by spending time with both private and government run institutions

Research the pros and cons of existing technologies

Share knowledge and work in collaborative team effort to develop best solutions

3. Build Relationships

Design firms IDEO Design Continuum D-Rev

Challenges Business models Top down versus bottom up

SristiNational Innovation

FoundationRural Innovation NetworkAgastyaPratham

Reading WiseNaandiOthers…

4. Deploy Technology

NGO’s

Challenges Funding and resources Cluttered environment Designing innovative and adaptive technology Sustainable and scalable model

Concluding Thoughts

Why Lifelong Kindergarten

Exclusive focus on how to inspire children to learn how to be innovative

Interdisciplinary approach at the Media Lab

“Develop more inclusive initiatives to empower individuals to take control of their own development” - Leo Burd

Synergies with Computer Clubhouse Program

Focus on how children learn using technology

Concluding Thoughts

Increase needs without increasing the use of materials

Increase consciousness of user needs and consider the social and environmental issues

Users must talk about technology in order for it to succeed

Developing a community around shared knowledge

Marketing has moved from the Four P’s to the Four A's -- affordability, awareness, availability and acceptability -- for rural marketsGandhi’s philosophy of best practices based upon

observation creates the most sustainable change

Kaka

80 year old man, herbal remedy innovatorHe walked barefoot the entire way

innovative design for social change

Education

rural india

learning tools

educational

design firms

india

children

make

000 teachers