https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1jcLl3gF0X9QOSsk0q9DBCkgNH0ieV9ijpSk45ed6_Vw/edit?usp=sharing

 

Living an Impact-Focused Life

What’s your Why?

I believe I was put on this earth to…

paint a new picture of healthcare in underserved areas.

 

My purpose is to…

acquire the skills to be able to contribute to making more sustainable, affordable and accessible healthcare technology. 

 

I believe (my core values)…

that every human being has the right to timely, affordable, decent and accessible healthcare. 

 

The one thing I must do before I die is…

work on these goals but in my native country.

 

My advocates and supporters all believe that I…

 

The evil I want to eradicate in this world is…

The greed that causes healthcare disparity

 

I want to work in order to…

gather the skills needed to not only attack but also deeply understand the problem. 

 

Walk the Talk – Your How

If you are truly committed to your Why, you show it in your everyday behavior. It is all air until you do it. Working from your Why, How do you prove that you are true to your Why in all you do?

 

I always…

first analyze the system rather than its parts. 

 

I never…

pretend to be right

 

My work style is…

make a plan, but don’t forget to adapt as you go 

 

I try to treat people…

as I’d like to be treated.

 

I approach problems by…

reading and understanding background information to get a full picture.

 

Victories are time to…

celebrate and practice gratitude.

 

If someone attacks my point of view I…

take a step back and reevaluate.

 

If I fundamentally do not agree with what an organization or person is doing, I will…

dissociate from them, evaluate the ramifications to determine whether it requires getting involved to stop a larger issue.

 

Your Credibility – Your Whats 

You have spent some considerable time at Lehigh, and specifically in the Impact Fellowships, on many whats. Your whats include lab research, formal presentations, writing research papers, engaging with people in other cultural contexts, building prototypes, designing and building systems, raising funds, hiring employees, etc. The whats you have collected along the way are critical to your credibility when you are entering the workforce or applying to the best graduate and professional schools. They signify a credible currency to which organizations can assign value. Create a list of your Whats that are truly reflective of your Why & How. You did these things because you believe (Why) and you acquired them in the following (How) manner. These are examples you can use in interviews.

 

What Have I Done	List of Experiences, Accomplishments, and Lessons Learned
Degrees, Minors, Certificates, Fellowships	In progress: Bachelors in Biomedical Engineering Minor in Material Science Engineering
Research Experiences	Informal research in Makeni on the perceptions of conversational AI in low resource clinical settings.
Inventions and Innovations	Completely new Alexa skill from scratch.
(Social) Entrepreneurial Ventures	Partnered with new champs who will be key in advancing our project forward.
Publications (Formal and Informal)	Working on a publication about the personas of early adopters of technology.
Formal Presentations (at Lehigh and Beyond)	Presented our poster at IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference
Awards and  External Recognition	N/A

Articulating and learning from IF-related Experiences. For each of these prompts, we want you to identify one and only one specific and compelling event/incident/experience/moment and identify exactly how you grew personally and professionally through that moment.

 

Teamwork Experience (and Lessons Learned)	Learned to communicate and delegate. Being in Makeni meant making the most of our time and the only way to do so was to delegate and split tasks
Conflict Resolution Experience (and Lessons Learned)	On multiple occasions we struggled with agreeing on a course of action, while these may not be conflicts specifically, it taught us to be sensitive to everyone’s opinions and feelings
Leadership Experience (and Lessons Learned)	I felt the support of my advisor when it comes to building leadership experience, having him trust me with tasks surrounding leadership gave me the confidence I needed to execute other tasks better.
Dealing with Chaos, Ambiguity, and Uncertainty (and Lessons Learned)	This summer we learned to be quick on our feet, we faced so much uncertainty and ambiguity and it only made us sharper when it comes to adapting to the unknown.
Personally Challenging Experience (and Lessons Learned)	Personally, I was challenged by trying to be as productive as I can be while also being met with different attitudes towards work. This was difficult to navigate and caused great frustrations but I think I was able to persevere and grow from the experience.
Cross-cultural Experience (and Lessons Learned)	I learned not to assume anything about anyone, good or bad. On many occasions we were caught off guard about what the people we spoke to knew or didn’t know, and not assuming anything would have saved us a lot of time.
An experience that helped you connect your IF work to your discipline / major.	Being able to observe clinical settings from up close and personally speak to providers about their needs allowed me to prepare for a career in bioengineering.
A moment that boosted your sense of agency and self-efficacy – you felt like you could speak for yourself, get stuff done, take on the world and make it better.	After the 10th introduction of our project, I realized I now had a way better understanding of it, and realized I could speak less, but say more.
A moment where you felt like you were making the future – like you were creating something that had never before existed and would (or could) influence your future and that of others.	When we had a demo at Branda and then they completely took it over and started fully conversing with AISHA.
A moment where you felt like you truly have a strong sense of purpose and belonging in this dynamic, globalized, interdependent world.	Working at Branda, same demo, different staff. Seeing AISHA at work really changed my perception of our project and gave me a very fulfilling feeling.

Link to our final slide deck:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1FgzYJvTFIq1sTx_G-GTe34N6_vlVWfCuYqVaBZBzYEM/edit?usp=sharing

 

Clarity on SWOT Analysis:
Being more specific about the unique value AISHA brings compared to other initiatives, such as providing examples of its innovative impact in real-world scenarios. Clarifying how data-driven approaches directly improve user outcomes.

Highlighted the need to expand on how AISHA plans to mitigate identified weaknesses, such as improving awareness, addressing technological literacy, or handling inconsistent internet access.

Expansion:Elaborating on how AISHA would specifically leverage growing demand, government support, and public health crises, with actionable strategies or partnerships.

Work on refining the threat section to focus on the most immediate risks and detailing contingency plans for addressing issues like political instability or data security challenges.

While strengths and opportunities were presented optimistically, weaknesses and threats could benefit from a solutions-oriented framing to show proactive problem-solving. 

Further emphasizing the importance of incorporating local input into content development and feedback mechanisms to ensure cultural alignment and long-term success.

Identify the 10 toughest questions from the 14-page list for your project, and answer them in advance of your presentations.

 

1. How well do your customers understand the larger problem you are trying to address? (e.g. growing rates of malnutrition and stunting)
   1. Healthcare Workers 
      1. These customers are highly aware of the challenges in healthcare delivery due to limited resources, low training completion rates, and the difficulty in retaining critical medical knowledge. They recognize the need for continuous, accessible education and easy-to-use tools that can help them improve their practice and patient care despite these challenges.
   2. Educational Institutions and Hospitals 
      1. These stakeholders are keenly aware of the gap in healthcare training in low-resource settings and the importance of educational technology to bridge this gap. They recognize the challenge of delivering high-quality, consistent medical education to staff in regions with limited access to formal educational resources.

 

1. What is your BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal)?
   1. Three years from now, AISHA will have deployed their AI-driven educational platform in over 50 healthcare facilities across 10 additional countries, expanding beyond the original 20 Sub-Saharan African countries. This deployment will have supported more than 100,000 healthcare workers and students, including nurses, doctors, and medical students, in enhancing their knowledge retention and clinical skills through interactive lessons, quizzes, and targeted study recall tools.

 

1. What is your IP strategy?
   1. AISHA’s Intellectual Property (IP) strategy focuses on protecting the unique technological innovations (own ideal device), educational content (database), and proprietary systems developed within the project, while ensuring accessibility and scalability to maximize impact in healthcare education. 
      1. Copyright Protection
         1. Educational content 
         2. Software and algorithm 
      2. Trademark 
         1. AISHA 
         2. Platform name (AISHA Quizzes, AISHA lessons, AISHA Answers) 

 

1. What kind of brand recognition do you aspire to have?
   1. AISHA aspires to build strong, positive, and trusted brand recognition in the field of healthcare education, particularly in low-resource settings. Our brand should be synonymous with reliable, innovative, and accessible educational tools that are deeply integrated into the healthcare ecosystem across Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.

 

1. What economic forces and trends are relevant to your venture?
   1. Rising Demand for healthcare workerforce development 
      1. Healthcare Workforce Shortages: Sub-Saharan Africa faces severe shortages of trained healthcare professionals. This shortage drives demand for scalable, cost-effective training solutions like AISHA, which can quickly and effectively upskill existing healthcare workers and train new ones.
      2. Government and Donor Priorities: Many governments and international donors are prioritizing health workforce development as part of larger healthcare infrastructure investments, creating opportunities for funding and partnership.
   2. Digital Transformation in Healthcare
      1. Increased Investment in Health Tech: Globally, there is a trend toward increased investment in health technology solutions, including AI and telemedicine. This trend aligns well with AISHA’s focus on AI-driven education and positions our solution as part of a broader movement toward digitization in healthcare.
      2. Growing Mobile and Internet Penetration: In many African countries, mobile and internet penetration is expanding rapidly, which allows AISHA to reach healthcare workers more effectively. As more regions gain connectivity, AISHA’s platform can more easily scale and operate.

 

1. What cultural and social forces and trends are relevant to your venture? 
   1. Community-Centered Approach to Healthcare
      1. Role of Community Health Workers (CHWs): In Sub-Saharan Africa, CHWs are vital in providing healthcare, especially in rural areas where formal healthcare systems are limited. Community-centered healthcare means CHWs are often trusted messengers within their communities. AISHA’s platform can empower CHWs by providing them with accessible, reliable information they can use to educate and treat their communities.
      2. Community Trust: Health information is often best received through trusted community members. AISHA can leverage this trust by offering tools that CHWs and other local healthcare workers can easily access, building community confidence in health education.
   2.  Focus on Women’s Health and Reproductive Health Awareness
      1. Growing Support for Women’s Health: With increasing awareness of the importance of maternal and reproductive health, there is a demand for accurate, accessible information in these areas. AISHA’s content can support healthcare workers in offering informed guidance on topics that may carry cultural sensitivity, such as family planning, maternal health, and reproductive rights.
      2. Gender Equity in Healthcare: Gender equity is increasingly emphasized, both in terms of providing equitable care and supporti

• Write 3 elevator speeches about your project. Identify three different stakeholder groups and craft a different speech for each one. Use the “12-floor” (1-1.5 minute) format.

 

1. ng women in the healthcare workforce. AISHA can support this by offering inclusive training that equips healthcare workers of all genders to address gender-specific health issues.

 

1. What political forces, trends, actions might significantly influence your venture?
   1.  Healthcare Policy and Government Initiatives
      1. Healthcare Investment and Reform: Many African governments are increasingly investing in healthcare infrastructure, prioritizing health reform to reduce disease burdens and improve healthcare outcomes. Policies that support healthcare workforce training and education align with AISHA’s mission, as government endorsements or funding could enable wider distribution and implementation of AISHA’s tools.
      2. Digital Health Policies: Governmental policies focused on digital health innovation, telemedicine, and mobile health can accelerate AISHA’s acceptance and integration. Policies that promote digital literacy, especially among healthcare workers, create a more receptive environment for AISHA’s digital, AI-based platform.
   2. Funding for Health Education and Foreign Aid
      1. International Health Funding: Many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa rely on international aid for healthcare programs. AISHA’s goals align with funding priorities from organizations like the World Health Organization, USAID, and the Global Fund, which invest in projects that strengthen health systems and workforce capacity. By aligning with these funding streams, AISHA could receive the financial support necessary for scaling its efforts.
      2. Government-Funded Training Programs: Governments are increasingly funding training programs for healthcare workers to address critical skill shortages. AISHA could benefit from partnerships with government training initiatives, as governments seek effective, scalable educational tools that can enhance workforce capacity at a low cost.

 

1. What kind of relationship do you need to deliver to acquire and retain your customers and boost sales / engagement in the long run?
   1.  Trust and Reliability with Institutional Partners
      1. Partnership Agreements: Build formal partnerships with healthcare facilities, universities, and government health agencies. These agreements should emphasize mutual objectives, clearly outline commitments, and demonstrate AISHA’s reliability as a trusted resource.
      2. Consistency and Transparency: Consistently deliver reliable, accurate, and relevant content, and communicate transparently with partners about AISHA’s mission and impact, which will foster trust and long-term collaboration.
   2. Engaging Community and Peer Support
      1. Community-Building Initiatives: Create a sense of community among users by offering forums, social media groups, and virtual meetups where they can share insights, discuss cases, or ask questions. Building a user community promotes loyalty as users feel part of a network with shared goals.
      2. Peer Mentorship Programs: Enable experienced users to mentor newcomers, building trust and a sense of collaboration while encouraging continuous engagement.
   3.  Responsive Feedback Loops and Content Evolution
      1. Regular Feedback Collection: Consistently seek input from users to improve AISHA’s offerings. Feedback through surveys, focus groups, and direct conversations ensures that AISHA evolves in response to user needs, fostering a sense of shared investment in the platform’s growth.
      2. Rapid Response to Feedback: Implement updates or improvements based on user feedback, which shows responsiveness and builds loyalty. Users will feel that their needs and insights are valued and reflected in the platform.

 

1. What kind of partnerships have you developed till date or plan to develop?
   1. Universities
      1. Current Partnerships: AISHA has established relationships with universities to integrate the platform into their curricula. By incorporating AISHA quizzes and lessons, universities use AISHA as a study and recall tool for healthcare students, providing valuable data on knowledge gaps and educational needs.
      2. Planned Partnerships: AISHA aims to partner with additional universities to expand its reach, particularly in low-resource settings where access to healthcare education materials is limited. These collaborations will enhance AISHA’s reputation and broaden its impact on healthcare training.
   2. Makeni Regional Hospital
      1. Current Partnership: As a major healthcare facility in Makeni, this hospital serves as a vital partner, helping AISHA pilot its devices in real-world clinical settings. Makeni Regional provides essential feedback on user experiences, which AISHA uses to refine and optimize its content for local healthcare needs.
      2. Planned Partnerships: AISHA seeks to collaborate with additional regional hospitals to further test and scale the platform, ensuring that AISHA is valuable and adaptable across various healthcare environments.
   3.  Future Partnerships with More Primary Health Units (PHUs), Universities, and Hospitals
      1. PHUs: Building partnerships with additional PHUs across regions will help AISHA reach more community-level health workers and enable the platform to support early intervention and preventative care.
      2. Universities and Hospitals: By expanding partnerships to include more educational institutions and hospitals, AISHA can reach a broader audience of healthcare students, professionals, and institutions across the Sub-Saharan African region. These partnerships will help AISHA grow, ensuring it addresses a wide range of healthcare needs and educational contexts.

 

1. How will you monetize the value proposition? What is your pricing strategy?
   1. Subscription Model for Healthcare Institutions and Universities
      1. Institutional Subscriptions: Hospitals, clinics, and universities that want to incorporate AISHA as a long-term educational tool will pay an annual subscription fee. This subscription will grant access to administrative tools, customized training programs, and insights into student or healthcare worker performance.
      2. Pricing Tiers: Pricing will be tiered based on the institution’s size and needs. Smaller clinics or institutions may be offered a lower rate, while larger organizations, such as universities and hospitals, can subscribe at higher tiers to access enhanced services and analytics.
   2. Grants and Sponsorships from NGOs and Health Organizations
      1. Partnership Sponsorships: AISHA will seek sponsorship from NGOs and international health organizations committed to healthcare education in low-resource areas. Sponsorships or grants could offset costs for users, sustain platform development, and increase reach without relying solely on end-user fees.
      2. Grant Funding: By demonstrating AISHA’s impact on healthcare outcomes and educational retention, the platform can secure grants from philanthropic organizations, international development funds, and governmental programs focused on healthcare improvement.

 

Write 3 elevator speeches about your project. Identify three different stakeholder groups and craft a different speech for each one. Use the “12-floor” (1-1.5 minute) format.

1. Hospital Superintendents
   1. “Imagine a tool that could empower every nurse in your hospital with up-to-date, evidence-based medical knowledge, accessible right at their fingertips. That’s AISHA. AISHA is an AI-driven platform that offers interactive lessons, quizzes, and instant answers to healthcare questions, tailored specifically to the challenges and needs in hospitals across Sierra Leone. By implementing AISHA, your staff can receive continuous, on-the-job training without the need to pull them away from their critical work. With our interactive resources, you’ll see improvements in healthcare knowledge retention, higher accuracy in patient care, and better support for your workforce overall. Think of AISHA as a way to elevate your hospital’s training capabilities while addressing resource gaps, creating a more confident and competent team. Together, we can bridge the knowledge gap in healthcare and provide better care to every patient.”
2. Nursing or Medical School Dean in Sierra Leone
   1. “Dean [Last Name], imagine if your students had a dedicated platform that gave them access to quality healthcare education and continuous assessment tools right from their phones. AISHA is an AI-powered platform designed to complement and enhance healthcare training, especially in low-resource settings like ours. With over 1,000 interactive lessons and quizzes, AISHA helps students grasp complex topics and retain knowledge more effectively. It even allows educators to track student progress and identify knowledge gaps in real time. By integrating AISHA into your curriculum, we can equip future nurses and doctors with the skills they need to serve Sierra Leone’s communities with confidence. AISHA can transform the way we prepare students for the real world, ensuring they’re ready to make a difference as soon as they step into their roles.”
3. Health Bureau in Sierra Leone
   1. “Imagine having a tool that could uplift healthcare across Sierra Leone by empowering thousands of nurses, community health workers, and interns with consistent, reliable, and instantly accessible medical knowledge. AISHA is an AI-driven educational platform, specifically designed for low-resource environments like ours. By supporting AISHA’s deployment, the Health Bureau can improve healthcare outcomes by standardizing training, boosting healthcare worker retention, and closing knowledge gaps across facilities. AISHA aligns with our country’s health goals, from maternal health to infectious disease management, by delivering interactive lessons and instant answers to support workers on the front lines. Together, we can make Sierra Leone a leader in accessible healthcare training, ensuring our workforce is skilled, confident, and prepared to meet the demands of modern healthcare.”

 

AISHA aims to empower 50,000 healthcare workers and nursing students in 20 Sub-Saharan African countries over the next five years. By providing AI-driven educational resources, AISHA will deliver over 1000 interactive lessons and quizzes, and over 10,000 questions, across more than 100 topics of health, enabling healthcare providers to refresh their clinical knowledge faster and more efficiently. Our goal is to increase healthcare knowledge retention rates and provide easier access to medical education. By having accessible, reliable and fast information, we get providers better equipped to answer questions and therefore, inevitably increasing patient education. As for scalability, AISHA plans to expand to 500 healthcare facilities and answer 100,000 invocations, providing vital support for under-resourced health workers in low resource areas.

1. User Engagement Metrics

Metric: Number of active users (healthcare workers and nursing students).

Goal: Reach 50,000 active users by the end of three years.

2. Content Utilization Metrics

Metric: Total lessons and quizzes completed by users.

Goal: Users complete over 100,000 lessons and quizzes within three years.

3. Knowledge Retention Metrics

Metric: Improvement in knowledge retention rates measured through pre- and post-assessments.

Goal: Achieve a 50% increase in knowledge retention rates by the end of three years.

4. User Satisfaction Metrics

Metric: User satisfaction scores collected through surveys and feedback.

Goal: Achieve a user satisfaction score of 90% or higher.

BUDGET

1. Technology Development and Enhancement ($30M)
2. User Training and Support ($20M)
3. Partnerships and Collaborations ($10M)
4. Monitoring and Evaluation ($10M)
5. Marketing and Outreach ($10M)
6. Infrastructure Development ($5M)
7. Research and Development ($5M)
8. Community Engagement and Feedback ($5M)
9. Expansion and Scaling ($5M)

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

1. Strengths
   1. Innovative Technology:
      • Utilization of AI-driven educational resources that provide personalized learning experiences, making training more effective and engaging.
   2. Strong Partnerships:
      • Collaborations with local healthcare institutions, NGOs, and educational organizations enhance credibility and expand outreach.
   3. Focus on Under-Resourced Areas:
      • Targeting healthcare workers in low-resource settings addresses critical gaps in healthcare education and delivery.
   4. Data-Driven Approach:
      • Robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks to assess impact and make data-informed decisions improve program effectiveness and accountability.

   Weakness

Growing Demand for Healthcare Education:

• Increasing recognition of the need for improved healthcare education presents opportunities for scaling services and reaching more users.

Advancements in Technology:

• Continued advancements in technology (e.g., mobile access, offline solutions) can enhance the effectiveness and accessibility of the platform.

Government and Donor Support:

• Increased interest from governments and international donors in supporting healthcare initiatives provides potential funding opportunities.

Public Health Crises:

• The ongoing need for training in response to public health challenges (e.g., pandemics) highlights the importance of AISHA’s mission and can drive demand for its services.

Community Engagement:

• Engaging local communities in content development and feedback mechanisms can foster ownership and increase the platform’s relevance and effectiveness.

Opportunities

Weakness

Limited Awareness:

• Low awareness of AISHA among potential users and stakeholders may hinder initial adoption and engagement.

Resource Constraints:

• Reliance on funding and grants may limit the ability to sustain operations and expand services in the long term.

Technological Barriers:

• Inconsistent internet access and technological literacy in some target regions may affect the effectiveness of digital learning tools.

Cultural Resistance:

• Potential skepticism towards technology-based education in some communities could impede acceptance and utilization.

Complexity of Implementation:

• Coordinating multiple stakeholders and ensuring alignment on objectives can be challenging and time-consuming.

Threats 

Political and Economic Instability:

• Changes in political or economic conditions in target regions may disrupt operations and funding sources.

Competition:

• Emerging educational platforms and initiatives targeting similar audiences could lead to increased competition for users and resources.

Technological Challenges:

• Rapid changes in technology may require ongoing investments in updates and training to keep pace with user needs and expectations.

Data Privacy and Security Concerns:

• Ensuring data privacy and security for users may pose challenges, especially in regions with varying regulations and enforcement.

Potential for Dependency:

• Relying too heavily on external funding sources may create sustainability issues if those sources diminish over time.

Mid-Semester Presentations:

 

Go back through your presentation, the Q&A, and feedback received and come up with a list of TEN takeaways / lessons learned / things to do differently next time. 

 

1. Discuss Scale-Up and Business Strategies: Dedicate more time to discussing how to scale the project and potential business strategies for sustainability.
2. Clear Topic Introductions: Start each section by clearly stating what you will explain (e.g., “I’m going to explain XYZ…”), which will help guide the audience through the presentation.
3. Emphasize Future Goals: Clearly communicate the intention to move beyond Alexa in the presentation, rather than addressing it only during Q&A.
4. Highlight Partnerships: Discuss partnerships more prominently to showcase collaborative efforts and the project’s broader support network.
5. Engage the Audience: Find ways to actively engage the audience during the presentation to maintain interest and encourage participation.
6. Practice Timing: Be mindful of pacing to ensure that each key point receives adequate attention without rushing through information.
7. Use Visual Aids: Enhance the presentation with visual aids or infographics to illustrate key concepts and data more effectively.
8. Address Feedback: Review the feedback received from the Q&A session and incorporate suggestions for improvement into future presentations.
9. Follow-Up on Questions: After the presentation, follow up on any questions or points raised during the Q&A that were not fully addressed.
10.  Be more concise and straight to the point. Talk about the impact at the get go instead of in the middle. 

 

From the other presentations in your room, list FIVE things that other teams did well that you could learn from.

1. Team Introductions: Make sure to introduce everyone on the team at the beginning of the presentation to establish credibility and ownership of the project.
2. Clear Explanations: Teams that slowed down and took the time to explain key concepts thoroughly were more effective in communicating their ideas.
3. Effective Visuals: Some teams utilized effective visuals that complemented their narrative, making it easier for the audience to grasp complex ideas.
4. Engaging Storytelling: Presentations that included storytelling elements were more engaging and helped connect with the audience emotionally.

 

BYOC: Build Your Own Coalition!

 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1FgzYJvTFIq1sTx_G-GTe34N6_vlVWfCuYqVaBZBzYEM/edit?usp=sharing

 

Impact Statement: AISHA aims to empower 50,000 healthcare workers and nursing students in 20 Sub-Saharan African countries over the next five years. By providing AI-driven educational resources, AISHA will deliver over 1000 interactive lessons and quizzes, and over 10,000 questions, enabling healthcare providers to refresh their clinical knowledge faster and more efficiently. Our goal is to increase healthcare knowledge retention rates by 50% and improve nurse training completion rates by 20% through accessible study tools. Inevitably this would reduce the gap in patient education, targeting a 30% improvement in healthcare providers’ ability to answer patient questions accurately. As for scalability, AISHA plans to expand to 75 healthcare facilities and answer 100,000 invocations, providing vital support for under-resourced health workers in low resource areas. 

 

Impact statement: What is the POTENTIAL size and social / economic impact of your venture?

• The potential size of our impact is that 
• Social impact
  • Improved healthcare quality
  • Empowering healthcare workers
  • Public health education
• Economic impact
  • Reduced healthcare costs
  • Increased workforce productivity
  • Scalability across regions

 

Animated Visual of Current System

Animated Visual of Redesigned System

EDM Case Study 1

• Determine the facts in the situation

1. 1. 1. Lesotho is a small developing country in South Africa
      2. The information we need for them is crucial
      3. We are not providing them with financial compensation for the work they are doing for us.
      4. The water source is public
      5. The people in this country don’t know their water isn’t safe/that it is causing disease
      6. Research is done to understand the lifecycle and characteristics of the pathogen.
      7. Future plans involve the development of chemical additives for safe drinking water.

• Define the stakeholders

1. 1. 1. Members of the Lesotho community
      2. Government of Lesotho
      3. team of academic researchers who are doing the research
      4. Journals which will publish this paper
      5. Water management companies
      6. Sellers/consumers of chemical additives 
      7. Organizations funding the research

• Assess the motivations of the stakeholders

1. 1. 1. Academic researchers want to have publications
      2. Lesotho community wants to have safe water
         1. Does the community even know they don’t currently have safe water
         2. Even if it is identified they don’t, will anything change in their water source
      3. New scientific research, and possibly finding, will be produced
      4. Grantgivers want the work to be successful because they want to advance science 

• Formulate at least three alternative solutions (potential solution, ethical principle or code, pros, cons).

1. 1. 1. Pay them.
         1. Potential solution: pay for time and effort, hire a few people dedicated to your research, pay them the standard rate in country or more depending on the rigor of the work
         2. Ethical principle or code:
         3. Pros: 
         4. Cons:
      2. Identify if the chemical additives can cause health complications before using/selling it
      3. Identify community stakeholders and partner with so that can revise and approve the research 
      4. Identify the sources of water yourself
      5. Work with a local university 

• Seek additional assistance, as appropriate

1. 1. 1. Speak with different researchers who have previously worked in the Lesotho community/different projects completed there
      2. Reach out to local NGOs to identify how to address the community/about cultural 
      3. values
      4. Reaching out to local government for more trustworthy information 
      5. Identify who are local partners that can provide more reliable and long term information than random community members
      6. Code of ethics for microbiology research?
      7. Previous researchers who have done similar work
      8. Go to program managers and talk to them about words of wisdom for the research 

• Select the best course of action

1. 1. 1. Proceed with the research but pay the participants 
      2. Partner with the local government on obtaining water resource information in order to obtain more reliable facts and prevent disruption to the community. (hands off collection)
      3. Spend time learning about the community and cultural values through NGOs to discover the best way to address the community with these questions
      4. Educational workshop for the community 
      5. Work with the university in country
      6. Get the village elder to nominate a person you can work with
      7. Look at experts who have done similar work

• (If applicable) What are the implications of your solution on the venture

1. 1. The chemical company makes profits and takes away from the growth of local industries.

Answers

1. Funded by grant
2. Public property
3. The people don’t realize that their water is unsafe
4. All over the country, they are testing water sources

Is it Ethical to conduct this study? (what other people said)

1. Non-ethical: The team comes in without establishing connections who will be involved on-site (not sustainable and won’t benefit the community)?
2. Non-ethical: Potential further perpetuation of economic disparity by driving up costs of water based on study findings? (bad take KJ didn’t like that)
3. Ethical if you pay them 

Not human subject

Ethical study, therefore (although methods may be questionable).

Describe at least 5 partnerships with individuals and/or organizations that have been formed to support your project and that impact the success or failure of your venture. For each partnership, explain: 1) What constituted the partnership? 2) How did the partner help you? How did you help them? 3) Was this a symbiotic relationship? Why or why not? 4) What would help strengthen this partnership and make it more equitable?

 

Partnerships:

1. Makeni Regional Hospital
   1. Current 1 year pilot, as well as collaboration with previous team
   2. Maintaining feedback so we can improve our product
   3. They may be willing to purchase their own MiFi so that they can continue to utilize AISHA
2. WHI
   1. Providing facilities, transportation, and assistance during our project
3. Loreto Hospital
   1. Current 1 year pilot
4. Branda Hospital
   1. Current 1 year pilot
5. University of Makeni
   1. Helped us understand the dynamics trajectory of the nursing profession. 

 

Makeni Regional Hospital (Martin)

1. What constituted the partnership?
   1. Needing a champion to help implement our device and to have a pilot initiative 
2. How did the partner help you? How did you help them?
   1. Partner understood the nature of our project, comprehending that the product was meant strictly for educational purposes. Also, our partner has taken on the responsibility for the time being to pay for the internet, understanding that our team is comprised of students with limited funds at the time being.
   2. Providing an educational resource for his subordinates – nurses and interns – relieving him of some of the burden from his high-pressure job.
3. Was this a symbiotic relationship? Why or why not?
   1. Yes, the partner provides us with relevant feedback for us to further develop our device, and we are helping them with our devices!
4. What would help strengthen this partnership and make it more equitable?
   1. Better communication
   2. A person on the ground.
   3. More time(?) 

 

Branda Hospital: 

1. What constituted the partnership?
   1. Needing a champion to help implement our device and to have a pilot initiative
2. How did the partner help you? How did you help them?
   1. Partner understood the nature of our project, comprehending that the product was meant strictly for educational purposes. 
   2. Providing internet!!!
   3. Providing an educational resource for her interns
   4. AISHA quizzes as a pastime– Nurses and interns enjoyed the game we created, and while learning, they have also given us feedback for improvement.

 

1.  Was this a symbiotic relationship? Why or why not?

1. Yes, the partner provides us with relevant feedback for us to further develop our device, and we are helping them with our devices!

 

4. What would help strengthen this partnership and make it more equitable?

1. Better communication
2. A person on the ground to help with technology issues
3. More time spent with them to give more training on how to use the device

 

Loreto Clinic

1. What constituted the partnership?
   1. Needing a champion to help implement our device and to have a pilot initiative 
2. How did the partner help you? How did you help them?
   1. Partner understood the nature of our project, comprehending that the product was meant strictly for educational purposes. Also, our partner has taken on the responsibility for the time being to pay for the internet, understanding that our team is composed of students with limited funds at the time being.
3. Was this a symbiotic relationship? Why or why not?
   1. Yes, the partner provides us with relevant feedback for us to further develop our device, and we are helping them with our devices!
4. What would help strengthen this partnership and make it more equitable?
   1. Better communication
   2. A person on the ground.
   3. More time(?)

 

WHI

1. What constituted the partnership?
   1. Long established relationship between Creative Inquiry and WHI
2. How did the partner help you? How did you help them?
   1. They provided headquarters for our operations
   2. Connected us with people like Edwin, who allowed us to improve upon our venture with his expertise
   3. Provided vehicles for our day to day operations
3. Was this a symbiotic relationship? Why or why not?
   1. No, WHI did not directly benefit from our project, nor did we form a relationship on the basis of AISHA, but on the  basis of Creative Inquiry and Lehigh University
4. What would help strengthen this partnership and make it more equitable?
   1. Possibly collaborating with more people like Edwin, and being able to use some of our skills to help them on their missions
   2. Have a mutually beneficial relationship between us and them (help them with their cervical cancer initiative and them helping us to further our projects and expanding it, possibly it into freetown)

 

University of Makeni (UNIMAK)

1. What constituted the partnership?
   1. The University of Makeni (UNIMAK) collaborated with the AISHA project to implement the AISHA Quizzes as a study recall tool for students. This partnership was essential for testing the tool in a real-world educational setting.
2. How did the partner help you? How did you help them?
   1. UNIMAK’s support: They provided access to students and faculty to test the AISHA Quizzes, helping refine the tool based on feedback. UNIMAK also allowed the project to use its facilities for data collection and provided insights into the specific educational needs of the region.
3. AISHA’s support: The AISHA project introduced an innovative educational resource (quizzes) aimed at improving student recall and performance, particularly in medical education. This was beneficial for UNIMAK’s academic programs.
4. Was this a symbiotic relationship? Why or why not?
   1. Yes, this was symbiotic. UNIMAK benefited from the educational tool, which enhanced student learning, while AISHA gained real-world data and feedback to refine the quizzes.
5. What would help strengthen this partnership and make it more equitable?
   1. Strengthening the feedback loop between students, faculty, and the AISHA team could further enhance the tool’s effectiveness. Additionally, providing more customized content for different departments at UNIMAK could increase engagement and mutual benefit.

 

Provide at least 2 compelling and specific examples of how you might engage with each of the 11 types of organizations that we discussed in class.

 

#1 Multilaterals:

• UNICEF: Have previously provided funding to certain hospitals and also the DHMT for internet- can be a useful collaboration for AISHA
• WHO: Goal is to build stronger healthcare systems: AISHA can assist with that, and a collaboration with WHO may make AISHA a necessity in a hospital setting

#2 Government Agencies

• Ministry of health and sanitation : Providing government resources and standard of procedures
• Providing the appropriate permissions to visit hospitals and interact with people 

#3 Non-profits

• WHI: They provided the logistical resources we required to carry out our operations.
• WHI (pt2)- They fund specific projects: they were hosting one during our time during fieldwork that made significant progress in cervical cancer diagnosis. Partnering with them may look like bringing and installing AISHA in different hospitals as well as providing maintained technical help.

#4 Foundations

• Bill Gates foundation: Has a Global Health Program that has improved healthcare in developing countries by creating tools to fight HIV/AIDS, improving family health, and preventing infectious diseases: all of which are big problems in Sierra Leone.
• The Global Fund: An international financing organization that provides support to countries in the response to AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.  

#5 Academia

• University of Makeni – Possible collaboration to utilize our device in their nursing programme (AISHA Quizzes)

• Ateneo University- possibility for a collaboration with them. We aren’t sure exactly what this partnership would look like, but they expressed interest in having a capstone team work on our project. There is a chance that this capstone team could work on the development of a new device!

#6 Social Ventures

• Other potential social ventures working with healthcare education in LMICs
• Medic Mobile – facilitates community health workers,  hospitals, and families in providing much-needed quality care to those in need

#7 Think Tanks

• We could work with a think tank that analyzes healthcare in a low resource setting to gain more information on healthcare practices and standards to improve our databases
• We can partner with think tanks and use them as a source of advertisement: so they can communicate our project and connect us with others working on similar ventures. 

#8 K-12 System

• Governmental Schooling System promoting jobs in healthcare through presentations and illustrations 
• Testing our device with students → user friendliness, how well does it work 

#9 Corporations

• We could potentially partner with bigger cooperation on some of their charitable projects, or get a grant through a medium like this.
• Amazon : collaborating to get devices and utilizing their technology and using it to further their philanthropic and charitable goals 

#10 Consulting Firms

• BCG – works across the healthcare industry, including: payers, providers, systems, medical devices, pharmaceuticals. A partnership with them would likely help us create our ideal device. 
• McKinsey & Company

#11 Startups -Start 

• AI and Healthcare Tech Startups: Collaborate with startups that specialize in AI-driven healthcare solutions to improve AISHA’s core functionalities. For example, working with startups in natural language processing (NLP) or machine learning can help enhance AISHA’s ability to interact with users, understand local languages, and deliver context-specific healthcare information.
• E-learning Startups: Collaborate with startups creating educational content for healthcare professionals. They can help develop or distribute AISHA’s lessons, quizzes, and simulations to broader audiences in healthcare training programs.
• K Health – gives its members access to an AI-powered symptom checker and 24/7 messaging through its mobile app

 

Blog #5 Week 9/24 Class 5

Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts possible

• Ugochi launched a multi-pronged approach against homelessness and hopelessness through the global language of soccer. She founded the Soccer for Youth Empowerment Tournament (SYE-T).
• SYE-T engages vulnerable young people in urban city centers across the U.S. in soccer coaching and tournaments. 
• Winners of the regional competitions compete for the national title once each year, but even the teams that do not win attend the week-long tournament for professional and personal benefit. 
• Over the course of a week, the young people play soccer, participate in leadership workshops, explore career pathways, and strengthen their communication and teamwork skills.
• The first three tournaments that Ugochi organized had a total budget of about $100,000 which she raised from more than 600 supporters.
• In 2019, a major shoe manufacturer (we’ll call them…Spikey) sponsored the program to the tune of $2 Million which enabled Ugochi to expand the number of participating cities from 5 to 15.
• Schools and churches have provided their ground for practices
• Healthcare systems provided free check-ups and preventative health education
• Local photographers gifted free headshots
• During the five years Spikey supported them, the entities providing Ugochi with in-kind support started dropping out
• Three contractors that manufacture Spikey shoes in Cambodia employ children under the age of 12 and offer unfair working conditions
• One cambodia shoes manufacturer enforces its child workers to attend school before each shift and they can only obtain 20 hours of work a week
• Another manufacturer forces children to work over 60 hours a week
• Spikey executives deny these allegations and ignore the facts when they are brought up
• Spikey only wants men over ages 18 included for more competition
• Spikey makes negative comments toward the involvement of women

Step 2: Define the problem and the stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the outcome 

The Problem: Should you pull the funding or not pull the funding, what kind of changes to your social venture are you okay with and willing to accept for the money? Do you expect the organizations you work with to hold the same values as you, what do you compromise on versus not compromise on?

• Vulnerable young people in urban city centers 
• Ugochi Wilson
• Spikey
• SYE-T staff members
• All the community members involved in the SYE-T
• Local businesses in the host cities
• Local colleges and universities
• Women SYE-T participants 
• Spikey
• Spikey employees – kids in Cambodia 
• Mr. Mikey 

Things we considered when deciding if this is ethical:

• Is there a true community connection happening
• Is the program building character

Step 3: Determine and distinguish between the personal and professional motivations of the stakeholders.

• Vulnerable young people in urban city centers – want to participate in this program and rise above their environment (develop life skills, become employable, and foster a sense of purpose) 
• Ugochi Wilson
  • Personal
    • help all youth and run her program ethically
  • Professional 
    • Ugochi wants the program to thrive as much as possible and in as many locations as possible
    • Help thousands of young people develop life skills, become employable, and foster a sense of purpose
• Spikey
• SYE-T staff members
  • Personal
    • Ugochi having to downsize operations means many jobs will be lost in all the host cities.
  • Professional:
    • Carry out a career in a successful social venture
• Local businesses in the host cities
  • Professional:
    • The local community partners started dropping out because the operation outgrew them.
• Local colleges and universities
• Women SYE-T participants 
• Spikey
• Spikey employees
• Cambodia kids = want to earn money for their families, education, and themselves

Mr. Mikey  

• Personal:
  • Mr Mikey wants to keep his job, by defending Spikey with passion
• Professional:
  • Mr Spikey proves to be an efficient executive if he manages to keep situation under control

Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on the information available, to have a win-win situation for your relationship and your venture

• Cut Ties with Spikey and Seek New Sponsors
  • Ugochi could cut ties with Spikey to maintain the ethical integrity of her venture, especially since Spikey’s contractors are involved in child labor practices. She can seek alternative sponsors, particularly those with strong ethical and social responsibility standards. The challenge here would be the potential loss of significant funding, but aligning with sponsors who share her values could help rebuild the venture’s long-term reputation.
• Negotiate for Ethical Changes
  • Ugochi can use her leverage as a recipient of Spikey’s sponsorship to negotiate ethical reforms in the company’s supply chain. She could push for Spikey to end contracts with manufacturers that use child labor or to ensure they implement strict protections for child workers, such as limiting work hours and providing education. This would allow her to continue receiving funding while addressing the root of the ethical issue
• Publicly Address the Issue:
  • Ugochi could take a stand and publicly address Spikey’s involvement in child labor. This move might inspire public pressure on the company to reform its practices. It could also serve as a call for other companies to sponsor her venture, using her ethical stance as a marketing point. However, this could lead to Spikey pulling funding immediately, leaving Ugochi to find new sponsors.
• Collaborate with Advocacy Organizations:
  • Ugochi could collaborate with human rights or child advocacy organizations to bring attention to the issue. By joining forces with groups that campaign against child labor, she can amplify her impact beyond the U.S. and contribute to a global cause, potentially attracting ethical investors and socially conscious businesses to support her soccer tournament.
• Transition to a Hybrid Funding Model:
  • Ugochi could diversify her funding sources by transitioning to a hybrid model that combines community-based crowdfunding with smaller-scale corporate sponsorships. This could reduce her dependency on large sponsors like Spikey, ensuring that her organization maintains ethical funding while still receiving support from local communities and other stakeholders invested in youth empowerment.
• Meet halfway
  • Example: fund both an 18+ program and the women and under (explain how we will be allocating funding)

 

 Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection 

We must look at the reality of ethical dilemmas surrounding fast fashion and sweatshops, and similar study cases. Through this we can observe how these cases were resolved and learn about the different ramifications of this decision. 

 

 

Step 6: Select the best course of action – that solves the problem, saves face, and has the best short-term and long-term implications for your relationship and venture. Explain reasoning and discuss your solution vis-a-vis other approaches discussed in class. 

-Leverage the credibility you have with spikey to go to their competitors 

-It isn’t a lot of money for huge companies in the apparel industry 

–Important parameters – we want soccer to benefit the children personally and professionally not just be soccer.

Step 7: List the sequence of actions you will take to implement your solution

I would advise Ugochi to stick to her values, taking this big hit in regards to funding and downsizing of operations might mean a big step back for the organization. But the efforts don’t have to stop here. I would recommend using this as motivation to circle back to the original roots of the project, supporting the youth and protecting their wellbeing, not just for the kids in the US but also in the Spikey factories. Partnering with other organizations who are actively fighting against child labor and local community partners can strengthen the impact of the organization while staying true to their values.

Blog #4 Week 9/17 Class 4

• Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts possible

• • the growth of ~35% of the children is stunted due to poor nutrition
  • Traditionally, maize and bananas are the items most commonly made into a gruel and fed to infants beginning at ~2 months of age.
  • Mothers in the area firmly believe that the gruel is highly beneficial for their children, but scientific research has shown that it does not provide some key nutrient
  • HIV is prevalent in the area
  • WHO recommends ~6 months of exclusive breastfeeding
  • the longer a child nurses when the mother is HIV+, the greater the chance that the virus will be transmitted to the child
  • You have received a grant to establish a women’s cooperative in this region
  • You have enough funds for the women’s group to process and market a nutritious, shelf-stable porridge made from a large mix of locally grown produce
  • You can start feeding this to children at 6 months of age
  • Approximately 500 women from three contiguous sub-locations have indicated their interest in joining the cooperative, in hopes of improving their livelihoods. However, they are skeptical of the porridge
  • Pesticides are typically used in growing some of these crops and can result in adverse health implications for infants
  • Part 2
  • The co-op members love the program
  • The members have gained independence and a strong sense of community and identity
  • The members make about $3 an hour and work for 9 hours a day
  • The women sell their produce from their small farms to the cooperatives
  • Saves women time, they no longer have to travel to markets to sell produce
  • Women must give their earned money to their husbands, fathers, or brothers who spend it all on alcohol

• Step 2: Define the problem and the stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the outcome 

• • Women of Kenya/mothers
  • Children being fed this diet
  • Donor
  • Farmers/local farmers
  • You (co-op developer group)
  • Men in the women’s families
  • Part 2
    • Same stakeholders but a heavier focus on men in the families
      • Step 3: Determine and distinguish between the personal and professional motivations of the stakeholders. 
      • • Mothers want the best, most nutritious diet for their children
        • Children need a healthy diet to grow up
        • Farmers/local farmers want more business
        • You want to reduce HIV cases in children
        • Donor wants to improve health of children and improve livelihoods of local families
        • Men in the women’s families probably enjoy the extra money the women earn to spend on frivolous things
        • Part 2
        • The men want the money for themselves for alcohol and frivolous items
        • Women are okay with it but think the money should be spent on more important things
      • Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on the information available, to have a win-win situation for your relationship and your venture
      • • Implement a washing procedure of fresh produce into the cooperative before manufacturing
        • Go ahead with the plan – the pesticide risk is lower than the HIV risk
        • Implement educational programs to teach mothers and members about the health benefits of these crops and this new porridge, this promotes stronger cooperation and strengthens the belief that this porridge is safer than continued breastfeeding and maze.
        • Prepare food that isn’t grown with pesticide, make a farm in the long run?
        • Switch to natural pesticides in the long run?
        • Education plan to teach them the benefits/health concerns… providing them another choice with which they can use to make their decision
        • Part 2
        • Merry-go-round money pool system between women
        • Reinvest somewhere else from the cooperative.
        • Make a system where women can deposit money in a cooperative and save it.
        • Pay in not money but other useful currency (something that can be traded or bartered)
          • Vouchers for porridge (ex)

      Free porridge to worker’s child during working day

      •  Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection 
      • • Speak with other cooperative members about allowing deposited money into a joint fund where women can save it
      • Step 6: Select the best course of action – that solves the problem, saves face, and has the best short-term and long-term implications for your relationship and venture. Explain reasoning and discuss your solution vis-a-vis other approaches discussed in class. 

      The best solution is to set up a process for to clean the fresh produce before making the porridge. This can help manage the pesticides, making the porridge safer for the kids. With this, th solution also involves educating mothers  about the health benefits of the new porridge and help them understand why it’s a better option. This solution addresses both pressing issues at the same time.

      • Step 7: List the sequence of actions you will take to implement your solution
    • Set up the cleaning station for produce.
    • Create and distribute educational materials to teach mothers.
    • Hold community meetings to discuss the new porridge and answer any questions.
    • Start making and distributing of the porridge.
    • Monitor the children’s health and feedback from the mothers to ensure the porridge is effective and safe.