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Lack of drinking water and water sanitation issues plague most third world countries. Sanitation related diseases and deaths is the number one threat to survival. The current conditions provide little or no regard to the long-term use of the land and the direct effects of dumping human waste in to the water table.
Water for People uses current land surveying technology to map the lands available, viable water sources and create routing systems for drinking and sanitation to create long-term solutions for the residents.
Water for People employs digital land surveying technology in addition to modern plumbing techniques to find viable sources of water and create irrigation for drinking and sanitation systems. Using a system called FLOW and android cell phone, Google earth mapping is used to monitor the systems. They are able to gather data to see what is working, what is in disrepair, and what needs to be changed for optimal efficiency.
Water for people uses community members, entrepreneurs, industry professionals, partners, staff, and World Water Corp volunteers to implement these systems in to the areas of need. Earlier on, Water for People tried to take on all the areas of need on a global basis, they quickly found themselves overwhelmed and the quality of the solution was not up to par.
Water for People has now committed to taking on smaller areas of need in specific regions with a 10-year follow up plan. By concentrating their efforts in selected areas at one time, they are able to implement a long-term solution that is truly effective.
The target market for this project of Water for People Involves people in regions where water is scarce and where the water used for drinking is not safe or even clean. This involves some regions of Asia like India, some regions of Africa such as Uganda and Rwanda, Central American countries such as Guatemala and Honduras, and some regions of South America such as Peru and Ecuador. In all these regions, there is no access to clean water and without the necessary help through such schemes, people would suffer from various infections and diseases.
The FLOW is used as an efficient and effective tool for examining the status of the projects on water. This is however done in a technological manner using the Android technology via a cell phone, Global Positioning System and through the Software called Google Earth.
Through the FLOW, the parties to the project, which include partners and workers, are able to collect information on the various water points. Then through such information, a project’s progress, that is whether it has failed or succeeded, or is ongoing, wrecked or even requires repair, can be monitored through a worldwide map.
FLOW has had several advantages as a technological tool in monitoring of water and sanitation projects. The information received through the FLOW can be used to come up with decisions on programming. Through FLOW, it is easier to supervise and check on the progress of the various water projects.
FLOW also helps by identifying the advancement in the projects, the overall accomplishments of the projects and its major challenges1. Another advantage of FLOW is that data collection and gathering is simple and fast, and the information can be shared by a group of people and still be easily understood.
With this technology, projects can be tracked and the efficiency process enhanced as instant reports on whether a project has failed or passed or requires repair are given immediately. This is not the case had the project’s progress was been checked by persons or supervisors who can lie on the progress. FLOW is therefore an efficient project management tool.
FLOW should be awarded the Tech Award due to its applicability in helping to solve the issue of water and sanitation among individuals in regions such as Africa, South America, and Asia among others.
The issue of water is one that is very pressing in some regions of the world and any efforts whether short term or long term like FLOW, should be recognized, and awarded accordingly. This therefore means that FLOW has helped to improve the health of individuals who are now protected from diseases that are caused due to lack of or taking dirty water.
FLOW should also be awarded for its contribution in solving this global issue of water and sanitation. This issue of water may look like it is a minor issue but due to the importance of water to human life and to all natural habitats, the issue is one that is of global concern.
FLOW is an innovation that still has room for more improvement in terms of the modern technology and therefore meets the Tech Award criteria. The advantages portrayed by application of this technology are also many and thus FLOW should be awarded for its usage of the modern technology, android technology.
The business model innovations for the FLOW project include the ease of project monitoring, and the use of the Google Earth to facilitate easier passing of data immediately as it is happening. The employment of the latest technology, android, in doing business is also a business model innovation. All these have benefits to the project apart from boosting and enhancing the image of the company through the technology.
Often, many projects are started in Africa, Asia and other countries that are in dire need of clean water. What then happens is that those who are left with the responsibility of monitoring the progress of the projects, or to deal with the finances of the project escape their responsibilities and instead sue the money for their own personal gains.
This is because those who are left with such responsibilities may not be in need of the water services and so may not be passionate about what those who are at ground level go through without having water or walking for long distances to look for water. Therefore, there have been massive failures of water and sanitation projects in areas such as Africa due to this embezzlement of funds by the leaders of such projects, which has seen many projects, fail and even the donors to such projects withdraw from offering help.
The FLOW project is therefore one that can help overcome these problems since one can see the project’s progress technologically without having to receive false information from the project supervisors who sometimes lie about the progress. This technological innovation is therefore very effective and efficient2.
The major constraints and conditions that surround the implementation of this project are that the project requires adequate and unlimited internet access to be able to apply the android technology and Google Earth Software. This is because in order to be able to utilize these two, internet access must be there and it must be consistent.
This means that FLOW cannot go on without internet access, as it is dependent on it. Another issue that can be cited as a constraint to this project is that it is quite expensive to run, but at least worthy for the purpose to be achieved3.
The most likely thing about the founders of this project regarding other innovation approaches is that if in the future they would want to carry out another project, they will still employ technology that is much more advanced. This is following the success and the efficiency brought about by the usage of the android technology.
Even if they are not satisfied with the level of progress and the contribution of the android technology in implementing the FLOW project, I still think that a next attempt to come up with an innovation would still require modern technology, as the benefits that come with it are many.
The demographic features of the target market for the FLOW project include; a very large population that comprises of women and children who suffer a lot to walk for long distances in search of water. This is mostly done by women and children irrespective of their age whether too old or too young.
Another feature is that the areas have very harsh climates, which are characterized by lack of rainfall. The populations are also very poor with small pieces of land, and lack employment opportunities. The distances between their homes and the sources of water are often very large and therefore the people walk for long distances in search of this important commodity.
The psychographic features of the target market include very poor lifestyles. This is because the populations are generally poor and even lack most of the necessities of life. They therefore can just be considered as poor people who often receive relief food from donors around the world4.
Another attribute of psychographics is personality, and although one cannot quite state the personality of everyone, the general personality of such a population is that they are peaceful people who perceive life as unfair and who think that they cannot make it in life without help from others either through food or water. Generally, such a population comprises of people who are desperate for help, and who in most cases, do nothing about their situation unless a third party comes in.
Such people have embraced the practice of begging for help from others and believe that without it they cannot live well 5.Lack of education is also another major challenge faced by people of such populations as many of them have never gone to a classroom and do not know the value of it. Some even perceive it as a waste of money.
The FLOW project utilizes the android technology as it primary source of the innovation. With the growing challenges faced by the android technology, FLOW may end up being affected in the long term due to the current increase in the android malware.
It may take sometime after the project has succeeded or even affect the completion of the project. This means that there is some level of uncertainty regarding the usage of android technology since it is a new technology, which many software developers and technology experts are trying to face out.
For the innovation to become a success, several challenges will face it. This includes high costs of internet, hiring of experts to organize and make the project a success, and high legal costs for the innovation to be branded as a new one. Despite all these challenges, it is important to carry on with the innovation as it one that will reach out too many poor people and thus will be awarded in the Tech Awards Ceremony.
Works Cited
Grant, Allen. Beginning Android 4. New York: Springer, 2012. Print.
Hammond, Allen, Koch James, and Noguera, Francisco. “The Need for Safe Water as a Market Opportunity,” Innovations—Technology, Governance, and Globalization, 4.3 (2009): 107-117. Print.
Hart, Stuart, and Clayton, Christensen. “The Great Leap: Driving Innovation from the Base of the Pyramid,” MIT Sloan Management Review, 44.1 (2002): 51-56. Print.
Koch, James. “Breaking Down Barriers to a More Equitable and Prosperous World,” STS Nexus, 8.1 (2007): 8-15. Print.
Koch, James, and Thomas, Caradonna, “Technologies and Business Models that Work in Developing Countries.” International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD 2006), University of California, Berkeley, 2006. Print.
Footnotes
1 Koch, James. “Breaking Down Barriers to a More Equitable and Prosperous World,” STS Nexus, 8.1 (2007): 8-15. Print.
2 Hart, Stuart, and Clayton, Christensen. “The Great Leap: Driving Innovation from the Base of the Pyramid,” MIT Sloan Management Review, 44.1 (2002): 51-56. Print.
3 Hammond, Allen, Koch James, and Noguera, Francisco. “The Need for Safe Water as a Market Opportunity,” Innovations—Technology, Governance, and Globalization, 4.3 (2009): 107-117. Print.
4 Grant, Allen. Beginning Android 4. New York: Springer, 2012. Print.
5 Koch, James, and Thomas, Caradonna, “Technologies and Business Models that Work in Developing Countries.” International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD 2006), University of California, Berkeley, 2006. Print.
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