Yesterday, in preparation for Alex, Kimberly, and Christine's departure today for India, Alex, Nanda, and I reunited over Skype. Needless to say, it was a quasi-emotional moment as I was able to revert to English and hear those unmistakably mid-West and Indian accents after a month of Mandarin. The main purpose of our call was to update each other on our efforts, concerns, and goals. A summary follows.
- Mobile vs. Laptop Platform Debate
- The question of whether our software will be easier to disseminate and use as a mobile phone-based app or laptop-based system is an important issue and, while it will regardless by laptop-based this summer, we want to take note of the accessibility of laptops and mobile use proficiency we encounter in India
- Focus on Source
- Don't go right to the solution, see what is causing the problem
- Preventative solutions are often easier and more permanent
- Build with People
- Build something with people, not for people
- One, they'll value it more
- Two, they'll know how to fix it
- Ask Filter
- We can't always work with every family within a community so a selection process is needed
- Choose families based on proactivity
- Those that ask to participate are both more likely to need our help and more likely to remain proactive and maintain their system
- Think in Actions Not Wishes
- Aid work often involves a depressing number of obstacles and failures
- Always think 'What can I do to fix this?' not 'I wish this had happened...'.
- Time Budget for Hospitality
- Indians are hospitable and love to entertain
- Expect to spend an hour or more introducing yourself, pleasantries, etc.
- Negotiate Plan with NGO
- Keep them informed
- Make benchmarks with them
- Local Materials
- Strive for water tech systems based on local materials
- Cheaper and more easily accessible
What are your best tips? Did we miss anything? Are we flat wrong on any points? Are Indian clinics more likely to adopt a patient data tracking program that requires a laptop to use or that is accessible via mobile phone?
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1 comment:
What do you think about summarizing meeting notes into a few paragraphs, and then linking to a Google Doc of the entire notes? The more I think about it, the more I don't think the blog format is appropriate for notes of the entire meeting. When I'm reading it, I want to know what the most important information you covered is, in a format that is easily digestible.
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