Grant Proposal: Rebecca, Alondra, Josue, Hugo, Ulan, Nathaly

• Executive Summary 

The Almaty Air Quality team is seeking funding to further advance the research database that will be used to generate the algorithm and advice provided to each user. Currently, AQA has a database consisting of over 100 scholarly articles and research reports but are seeking to escalate to next level research in the city of Almaty. Through the funding provided, AQA will be able to begin the beginning phases of an intense research study that will allow a better understanding of the social dynamics of Almaty residents and the distribution of air pollutants considering factors such as geographical location and socioeconomic status.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Air and Radiation will benefit from a partnership with AQA because of the topic and questions under research through the project being relevant to the whole world although it is focused on Almaty, Kazakhstan. Air quality is a global concern that continues to intensify in a world filled with industrialization. AQA is working towards understanding the complexities of the issue from the public’s perspective and is searching for the most effective mechanisms and methods to drive people to take individual action, which the AQA team has already begun to develop through technology. 

• Statement of Purpose 

Almaty Air Quality (AQA), is a project centered around combatting the dangers of poor air quality through a mobile application emphasizing self autonomy amongst its users. AQA recognizes the major sources of the air pollutants in Almaty like the transportation and power plant sectors. However, the needed action to address these sectors and their large contributions to poor air quality could be a long term solution so the mobile application provides individuals with preventive health behaviors to relieve the consequences as much as possible. AQA is an engaging mobile application that individividualizes its daily tips and advice based on its users’ personality, lifestyle, and preexisting health conditions. 

• The following questions will guide the inquiry and data collection: 

1. How can we get the general public to feel included in the plan to combat the dangers of poor air quality? 
2. What kinds of  features should be included in the mobile application to ensure long term usage by users? What does the constant development and update systems look like to ensure the AQA mobile application is always providing relevant and up to date information? 
3. How can the AQA mobile application be a platform of engagement and collaboration instead of just a one sided benefit being provided solely to the users? What can the uers contribute to the plan to address the air quality issue? 
4. How can the AQA team ensure accessibility since the platform will be provided through smartphones? What do the other platforms of AQA look like to ensure individuals who have little or no access to smartphones will have a reliable, efficient alternative way to be part of the project and its vision? 

1.         Project Description

1. The goal of this project is to create a user friendly app that will provide individualized mitigation plans that will allow them to reduce their exposure to air quality.  Our app design will allow users to pick characteristics specific to them and their lifestyle.  Then using our app algorithm we can specify individualized recommendations for users to follow.  Our app will also feature real time air quality data within the city and track users progress with making lifestyle changes. 
2. We are partnered with AlmaU, a university within Kazakhstan to help us with obtaining information that we can’t, since we aren’t actually in the country. 
3. We are also working on marketing our app through local social media influencers who are willing to publish our recommendations on ways to reduce pollution exposure and improve overall health. 

1.         Plan of Action: Outline

1. Use funding to travel to Kazakhstan and stay there to begin field work observations.
2. Buy hand held air quality monitors to use throughout the city during travel
3. Schedule interviews with local doctors, employers, students, and other. residents to get a sense of the types of lifestyles they have, problems they have, and input on solutions they think would be beneficial.
4. Schedule tours of the city to get a sense of the air quality distribution and how the city functions.

– Who is Rebecca Gjini?

I am a person that explores the world with curiosity and passion.  I see every opportunity and situation that comes my way as an opportunity to learn and grow.  Knowledge is something that I never take for granted. Knowledge is how I begin to understand the world around me and is the way I will learn to understand who everyone else is in this world is.  I am determined in everything that I pursue and push my boundaries to try things and to explore the experiences life has to offer. Creativity and enthusiasm are also parts of who I am. I approach problems in my life with a certain level of mindfulness and think about what solutions will allow me to live an entertaining and positive life.  I want to live a life that is filled with excitement and happiness.  I am a person who wants to be there for other people and contribute what I can to make the lives of the people around me better.  I am patient, I am loving, and I am a person that is shaped by the experiences I’ve had and the memories that I have yet to make.


- How will you change the world?

I will change the world by embracing my individuality and using my strengths to tackle problems that are of large importance to me.  Climate change is, in my opinion, the biggest problem the world is facing today.  As someone with a love for mathematics and science, I want to utilize my skills to combat global warming.  I want to conduct climate predictability research that will embrace the urgency of finding solutions to climate change.  As a researcher I will learn about ways to better predict extreme weather events and natural disasters so that policymakers have a better understanding about how to address these issues.  I want to do what I can to make people aware of the necessity for action on climate change and to bring a sense of humility to the world.  I want there to be a better appreciation for nature throughout the world and the research I do will help promote that and show people what happens when the planet isn’t taken care of.  


- What do you want your epitaph to read?


I want my epitaph to read: “beloved wife, sister, mother, grandmother, friend, etc. Bringing joy and happiness to everyone she meets”

Living an Impact-Focused Life

What’s your Why?

I believe I was put on this earth to:

To bring positivity and joy into other people’s lives

My purpose is to:

To learn and understand from other’s experiences and my own

I believe (my core values):

Respect, determination, passion, happiness, creativity, empathy

The one thing I must do before I die is:

Connect to my most inner self (spirituality)

My advocates and supporters all believe I:

Am independent, determined, caring, self-motivated

The evil I want to eradicate in this world is:

The lack of understanding and willingness to compromise between people

I want to work in order to:

Prevent climate change and create an earth that is equal for all humans and living organisms

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:

Eat oatmeal in the morning to start my day

Listen to the daily podcast when I run

Workout every day

Text my mom

Try to understand others conflicting view points

Surround myself

I never:

Drink caffeine

Eat dairy

My work style is:

Strong-minded

Determined

Very scheduled, schedule oriented

Do it myself kinda person

I try to treat people:

As if they are my friend, with kindness and respect

I always give people the benefit of the doubt and assume I will get a long with them and respect their boundaries

I approach problems by:

Trying to understand the other persons point of view

Admitting that it could be my fault

Passive aggressively

Victories are time to:

To celebrate and to learn what you did right to continue to move forward

If another attacks my point of view I:

Try to explain mine, but also try to interpret theirs and understand why they think the way they do.  I like to get in their heads and really consider if I should think the way they are

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

Speak out about it without being too aggressive.  I stand by my viewpoints, but try not to get too involved where it is not my place

Your Credibility – Your Whats

You have just spent some considerable time at Lehigh, and specifically in the Global Social Impact Fellowship, 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.

Articulating and learning from GSIF-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.

GSIF Framework

AQA: Rebecca, Hugo, Nathaly, Alondra, Josue, Ulan

Updated Version:  By- Rebecca, Josue, Nathaly, Hugo, Ulan, Alondra

Animation for AQA

Systems Thinking Challenge 1

“If u were the top police chief how would we deal with this problem”  blog post question- 

1. Differentiation: 
   1. Local government
   2. Taliban
   3. Policemen
   4. Overall population
   5. Ghost Policemen
   6. Commanders
2. Interdependence: 
   1. Police provide protection for the overall population
   2. Local government funding the ghost policemen are creating a low moral in the police force
   3. Commanders are getting cut of salaries from the ghost policemen
   4. Taliban feed off policemen with low morals
3. Holism: 
   1. People are upset because there are ghost policemen that are getting paid to do nothing. This lowers the overall morale of the entire police force and creates public distrust in the government.
4. Multifinality: 
   1. Goal of police force members: They just want to keep their paying job and to keeping serving their people 
   2. Goals for the public: They want to have a safe city and an uncorrupt government that cares about them
   3. Goals for the police chiefs: They want the corruption to continue because they are getting a free check out of it
5. Equifinality: 
   1. Desired goal is for the ghost policemen to be eliminated, but there is no incentive for the top down government officials to fix the issue because they benefit with a free check.  
6. Regulation: 
   1. An implementation of a verification system, that verifies if you are actually a police officer, eliminating the ghost policemen.
7. Abstraction: 
   1. Not having a verification system is problem for the policing system and for other industries that don’t have verification for their workers
8. Leverage Points: 
   1. High government- if the national government of Iraq would adopt this verification system and spread information about its benefit
      1. This would raise morale in the population restoring trust in the government. Additionally, it would create accountability measures. 
   2. Figuring out who is putting the “ghost” policemen on the payroll
      1. By identifying this person, the chief of police can either remove them or keep a closer eye on them so that they aren’t putting more people on the payroll that shouldn’t be getting paid.  They can be replaced with someone more trustworthy.  

How to solve the problem: 

Our solution will consist of a verification system implemented by the federal government that will require weekly sign ins, in order to receive a check.  Additionally once a month the sign in list will be examined and will check to see if there is anyone on the payroll that hasn’t signed in.  Then there will be a followup with that person as to why they haven’t been coming to receive their checks/ coming into work. It is important that the regulation comes from the top down government, because no one will listen to the community citizens since it’s the police chiefs that are the most corrupt.  Additionally, It is also important for morale so that people can be held accountable and that the people feel there is something being done to address the problem.

System Thinking Challenge 2: 

1. Differentiation: 
   1. Community members
   2. The lake (Lake Victoria) 
   3. Habitat (
   4. The moss (Hyacinth)
   5. The employees (the four employees that the entrepreneur hired and the future employees that can be hired in a possible other system that falls under the larger system) 
   6. Entrepreneur (Foreigner)
   7. Compost and Briquettes (Block of Biomass from the Hyacinth)
2. Interdependence: 
   1. The entrepreneur is taking the moss that is causing problems for fisherman and health consequences and making something (with the profits) that has economic value and possibly further cleans Lake Victoria 
   2. The entrepreneur is providing job for four employees from the village 
   3. Create more jobs for further people
3. Holism: 
   1. Community members are upset that she is selling the compost and briquettes for profit off of a natural substance in the lake
4. Multifinality: 
   1. Goals of the community members: They don’t want an outsider profiting off their land, however they want the moss in the lake cleaned up so that the fisherman can continue to fish and to avoid any possible health consequences 
   2. Goals for the employees: They want a job so they can make money and support their families
   3. Goals for the Entrepreneur:  Wants to help the community with their issue while also making a profit
5. Equifinality: 
   1. Desired output is that all parties want the moss extracted from the lake, but the community members want it gone to improve fishing while the entrepreneur wants it gone to generate profits
6. Regulation: 
   1. There should be direct communication between the entrepreneur and the community to make sure that whatever is being done with the moss and whatever the plans are for expansion of her company also aligns with the communities goals
7. Abstraction: 
   1. The process the entrepreneur created can be used in other areas where the moss grows
8. Leverage Points: 
   1. Ecosystem- By marketing the business right, the entrepreneur can inform villagers and locals about the negative effects of the water hyacinth (decreases biodiversity, spreads diseases, evenness in the water, blocks boats, disrupts fishing) so she can gain the approval of them. By gaining their trust and communicating well with the villagers, she can have a more prosperous business. 
      1. Assuring the locals that the entrepreneur has motives that go beyond the profits 
   2. As the entrepreneur’s need for hyacinth increases, she might be tempted to artificially control the moss level to profit more and not actually get rid of it. That might disturb the community and the fishermen. In the short run the entrepreneur will probably want to solve this issue of the water hyacinth infestation, but in the long run she’ll realize this business has sustained her and her employees. The radical decision would be to control the growth of the water hyacinth and her business to turn it into biomass. 
      1. To prevent this from becoming a monopoly or disruptive business, the entrepreneur must expand to other regions and consumers. Price would be a major factor in how this would sustain the community and her business. 

How should she solve the problem: 

She should try and make her compost and briquette process one that also benefits the community as a whole and not just benefits them by getting rid of the moss.  The entrepreneur should have an open discussion with community members about their expectations of moss removal and what they feel is becoming an issue with her company’s extraction of the moss. In addition, the entrepreneur should also address the possible noise and sight pollution that will increase around the lake. The employers that she hires should be members of the community so that the community can benefit from increasing it’s employment numbers.  Her moss extraction also needs to take into account how it is affecting fishermen. If the demand of the moss compost and briquettes is increasing, then the increased demand in moss will make the entrepreneur want more moss in the lake to extract, which can hinder the fisherman’s ability to catch fish.  She should look for other communities that are also having similar issues with the moss so that she has multiple sources of resources and not just Lake Victoria to avoid resource depletion.  Lastly, the community members might also not like that an outsider is coming in and making a profit off their land and resources.  She should find a way to give back to the community for the ability to take free resources from the lake and make a growing company that will likely make profits in the long run.

Another factor that needs to be considered is possible oversight on the entrepreneur and her business because we do not want depletion to occur which can lead to an unwanted outcome backfiring on the group that initially benefited which were the fishermen. According to “Water Hyacinths are crucial for animals and fish in aquatic habitats”, the moss is what helps feed some of the life within the lake and is a major contributor to their diet.  If too much moss is extracted then it could affect the ecosystem and harm the aquatic life and fisherman’s ability to collect seafood.

Water Hyacinths are crucial for animals and fish in aquatic habitats. 

http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/extension/4h/plants/Water_hyacinth/index.html

Water hyacinth- Native to Amazon, South America

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/national_invasive_species_awareness_week_water_hyacinth_bohling16

Describe 5 partnerships that have been formed to support project and impact success of failure of venture. 

Identify partnerships at the individual, team, and Lehigh/GSIF level

1. AlmaU
   1. They agreed to partner with us from the beginning of the project.  The partnership helps provide funding to both sides, allowing for them to use us as a resource and allowing us to use them as a resource when applying for grants.  
   2. They help us gather information from the country that we wouldn’t be able to learn and access, especially since we didn’t have any field work.  We help them
   3. Yes, because they want to fix the air quality issue for cleaner air in the city and we benefit from their research inputs
   4. To help strengthen this partnership it would be helpful to have clearer communication and incentives because they went MIA over the summer when they took their summer break
   5. They provide cultural and societal norms background information which can help our team make appropriate decisions 
2. Almaty Urban Air  (AUA)- 
   1. We’re working to solve the same problem. 
   2. They have helped us with software, because their app is already created
   3. We help them by offering them a different perspective and knowledge
   4. This partnership would be stronger if we could find a way to integrate both our
3. IQAir
   1. We will use their air quality data
   2. It has helped us justify the reason for needing air pollution mitigation plans to help reduce exposure
   3. They help us with our data collection and we can help them spread their product to more Kazak residents that might want to track their air quality
   4. Our partnership would strengthen if our app was directly paired with their company  
4. Arnika 
   1. Environmental NGO that has connections to other non profit environmental groups
   2. They have awareness projects based in Kazakhstan that we don’t have access to.  They also have relationships with the government and connections to resources that we don’t have available.  
   3. Yes this is a symbiotic relationship because we can utilize their connections and we are helping solve the issue they are interested in
   4. It will be strengthened once we have a usable model of our application because there will be something tangible to talk about.
5. Professor Holland
   1. She is a professor that has invested her research in air pollution and understanding how air pollution affects the health of cities.  She is an expert in her field and is a good resource for how to combat air quality issues
   2. She helped us by giving us information on how to jump start our venture and what types of problems we should look at.  We can also rely on funding for each other so if we get a grant that allows us to get air quality monitors she can utilize them and vise versa. 
   3. The relationship isn’t necessarily symbiotic because she was willing to give her expertise for no personal benefits.  She was also willing to pay for us to use handheld air quality testers in country when we were originally planning on going
   4. If Professor Holland had more stake in our project then it would make our project more equitable because she has a good name for herself in the research field
   5. She’s a key factor in keeping our relationship and communication with AlmatyU active. She keeps track for the AlmatyU and their progress.

1. List 10 ways your teaming approach has changed, teamwork skills you have developed, and lessons you have learned.
   1.  Originally I’m typically the person that likes to try and take on everything, which is just not sustainable in the long term.  So, now instead of always being the one to try and take charge I’ve really tried to step back a little and let other people speak up about taking on more responsibility.
   2. I’ve also gotten better at being able to assign tasks to people when I feel like the work I’m doing is too much for me to handle.  I’ve gotten better at asking for help and understanding when it’s okay to not be on top of everything all the time.
   3. I’ve learned that I need to trust my teammates to do the work that needs to get done.  Sometimes I get caught up when people don’t have the same time management approaches I do so I need to tell myself that they’ll still do the work, just at different times and paces than I do.
   4. Having people on my team with very different opinions I’ve realized is super important because it makes me consider all the issues that I wouldn’t have necessarily though of
   5. I think another thing that I’ve learned is to make sure my team members know how much I appreciate them.  It’s hard working over zoom without human interaction, so letting people know I appreciate their hard work is important for motivation.
   6. A teamwork skill that I’ve developed is being able to find people’s strengths and weaknesses so we can better utilize them to make the most progress on our team.
   7. Another skill that I’ve developed is being clear with communication.  It’s really important to have everyone on the same page otherwise things get messy super fast and no one knows what’s going.
   8. A lesson that I’ve learned is that sometimes you can get frustrated with your team members and it needs to be known to them that you are frustrated.  Obviously needing to say it in a constructive way, but it’s important to be honest and open about things that are and aren’t working.
   9. A teaming approach that I’ve changed is also switching from expecting someone else to just do the work to actually taking charge more and either assigning work or doing the work myself.  Typically in teams I used to let someone take on the responsibility of being the leader, but now I’ve gotten more comfortable and confident taking on a more important role in my team.
   10. I think one last thing I’ve learned that it is important to bond with my team outside a work setting.  I’ve learned the importance of getting to know each person as an individual and understanding people’s different circumstances.  It feels good to be connected on more than a working level so it’s easier to communicate and get things done together.

1. Goals	What are the personal goals (small g) of each member on this team? (Team Member #1,#2, #3, etc) Make sure they connect to the DREAM on the Individual Profile.  What is the Project GOAL (big G) we’re all committed to achieve together? Is our Project Goal scaled to our resources (dreams, materials, skills, differences, etc.) and constraints (assignment, time, skills, etc.)  What are the metrics for success for what we’re producing? My personal goals: My goal is to be able to understand all the different concepts and ideas that need to be considered when trying to create sustainable change.  I want to be able to write a research paper that outlines the issues we’re tackling in an interesting way.  I also want to get more research and modeling experience because I am applying to graduate school and feel it is important to start early.  Big Goal G: Decreasing the people’s exposure to air pollution and the amount of health diseases and deaths associated with cardiovascular and lung diseases in Almaty and improving overall quality of life  Small Goals: Strengthen our relationship with AlmaU to better understand the students and people there.   Creating our survey to identify our prime customer segments.  Recruitment passionate students to continue working on our project Better understanding of the financial side of our project Scaled to our resources and constraints?  Our Project goal is scaled to our resources and constraints. Our venture is still in the early stages of development. We have an ultimate goal and know how we want to approach it, which is through a mobile app that will provide individualized advice. Our advice will guide people through better behaviors that can be taken to decrease the chances of getting a chronic illness associated with cardiovascular and lung health.  What are the metrics for success for what we’re producing? Decrease in the morbidity and mortality rates from conditions related to cardiovascular and lung diseases  Decreasing the medical cost related to poor health
   Roles	Who is responsible for which deliverables? Alondra, Josue, Hugo – responsible for developing the survey and sending it out.  Rebecca, Nathaly, Ulan – responsible for figuring out the financial portion of the project, identifying the funding sources.  Everyone – responsible for writing a research paper, finding ways to make our project sustainable in the long term, and connecting with the partners from AlmaU.  Which deliverables that require collaboration, subgroups & individual work?  All of our deliverables require collaboration because they are fundamental parts of our project.  Who does each person depend upon to succeed? Everyone depends on one another for various things. We know what our strengths and weaknesses are and use them to our advantage.  Do we need a project manager to coordinate?  No, we do not need a project manager because we all keep each other accountable.
   Procedures	Decision Making –  Consensus/majority rules If there is a tie in votes, our advisor’s vote will break the tie Effective Meetings Everyone comes with updates on their progress with their deliverables We review goals and methods to progress towards them  Meeting roles:   Facilitator- advisor Notetaker- Rebecca Communication- Zoom Weekly meetings with Advisor and team on Fridays @ 11:30 AM Weekly meetings with only team members to work on deliverables together and update one another  We send messages to update one another on our progress and where we may need help Email advisor with updates on progress

2. Relationships

   Team Diversity – What is the diversity on our team?  Our team consist of a range of disciplines from computer science/ engineering to environmental studies/ economics/business Disciplines to tap for solutions;  individual learning styles for the stages of invention;  overall team learning style strengths and places to supplement;  cultural backgrounds , work experience,  dreams to leverage for scope & impact of goals, new roles, better procedures;  languages for more diverse customer set, bigger market; Alondra→ Invested in learning about the environmental issues being faced globally. Learns mainly from social interactions Hugo- Learns mainly from reading. Enjoys to learn about other cultures and  Ulan – Comes from the same cultural background as the region our project is based on, fluent in their naitve language  Nathaly- Passionate about environmental issues and helping disadvantaged groups. Learns by doing and seeing. Rebecca-Trying to understand environmental issues from a more quantitative standpoint to fully interpret the implications of air pollution on individuals. Josue  Listening – Notice my binary thinking, auto-rankism, and go beyond it.  Team Name Air Quality, Almaty

Ulan, Nathaly, Hugo, Josue, and Alondra

1.  What is Air Quality Almaty (AQA) trying to achieve/hoping to change? 
   • AQA is the first informational and interactive mobile application, committed to providing individualized advice synthesized from over a hundred research papers and case studies. AQA aims to be an app that prioritizes engagement amongst its users and provides guidance through feasible everyday changes one could take to limit the exposure to the dangers that come along with poor air quality. 
2. What is the customer’s incentive for uploading our app?  
   • AQA provides users with a chance to prevent future health issues from the poor air quality around them. 
   • The government will also have an incentive because of the possible decline in health costs due to people engaging in healthier behavior. 
   • Costs of Poor Air Quality and Poor Behaviors: 
     1. Morbidity Cost Estimate: $1.59-1.686 million in Kazakhstan. 
     2. Mortality Cost Estimate: $15.9 billion-$16.86 billion in Kazakhstan.
     3. VSL Range for Almaty: $4.472747 million-$7.44967 million
     4. VSL Range for Kazakhstan: $2.65011 million-$2.8196 million
     5. Total Cost (Mortality + Morbidity): $17.49 billion-$18.372 billion
     6. .01* Cost= $174.4 million-$183.72 million
3.  Who will our partners be?- What will our partnerships look like?
   • AlmatyU– We need to better establish the relationship between the venture and AlmatyU. Kazakhstan residents as partners will greatly contribute to the effectiveness of AQA’s survey. 
     1. The tasks wouldn’t be demanding. Some tasks could include distributing our survey, contributing more data to the venture’s database, and reporting back on any feedback directly from survey takers and users.  AlmatyU team can also give us a better perspective on how to reword our surveys so that it is culturally relevant/appropriate to Kazakhstan residents.   
   • IQ Air– AQA will highly depend on IQ Air sources of air pollution and air quality for Kazakhstan. Since we would need large amounts of data setting up a partnership would help us in.
4. Where do we source our data?
   • Currently we have a Google Sheets database with our customer segments. Over 100 articles and scientific pieces have been synthesized to navigate the best advice that can be given out based on individual characteristics and lifestyles. 
   • We are working towards a better system that effectively works to input data and translate the data into easily understood graphs, charts, etc on our app’s platform. 
5. How do smart cities fit into the project?
   • Smart city technology can monitor, in real time, the air quality of areas and send alerts to people so they may avoid those areas. 
   • Kazakhstan residents will be better equipped to combat the growing issue of poor air quality. Since many of the issues are not an easy change and are embedded in the way society functions, AQA will prioritize individual actions that can be done. 
6. How will we personalize our users’ data?
   • When users first sign up for the app they will take a short survey that obtains basic information about their demographics. As the user continues to use the app they will be asked more questions about their daily habits. Based on the collected information, they will be given specific insights/goals to help them reduce their risk. 
7. How do you incorporate civic action in your app? 
   • AQA can have a feature that will allow users to challenge other users or friends that have not downloaded the app to a challenge measuring who is incorporating the given advice in their daily lives.
   • A reward system that will motivate users to recommend the app to their friends 
     1. Example: Cash App motivates their users to recommend the app to contacts by giving them $5 when the person downloads it. 
8. What role does the government play in AQA? 
   • In the past, citizens have tried to protest against the poor air quality, however the government would jail those involved. One of the main contributors to the poor air quality are coal factories/ coal based heating, which plays a huge role in Kazakhstan’s economy. 
     1. This means our project has to have clear benefits economically for the government.
9. What role does social media play in this venture?
   • Social media can be used as part of marketing strategy, since many citizens already go to social media as a way to raise awareness.
10. How will you market this venture? 
    • Our venture blogs will help build credibility. Our team should promote our blog and share it with AlmatyU. 
    • Creation of a website. It would allow our team to start our online platform which will present information about our venture, our goals, our works, etc. 
    • Creation of an app is an essential part of our venture, so having that on the app store, google app store, etc will allow the public to access it.
    • Our venture needs to pursue publishing a paper or a scientific piece that will build credibility. 
    • Have promotional videos capturing our venture’s purpose and how we’re working on the issues. 
    • Build a social media platform. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter would be great ways to capture attention. Be actively engaged with informational presentations and posts. 
    • QR Code on informational posters placed in relevant public spaces
      1. For example, a playground saying something along the lines of “Hey Mom, Make sure you check the air quality levels before you let your child play in this park”. Then, having a QR code that will direct the audience to our mobile application. 
11. Who will become our long-term target customers?( What customer segment are we going to focus on? )
    • Customers that are the most susceptible to the air pollutions (Asthmatics, elderly, pre- existing health conditions, pregnant women)
    • People that have the least amount of resources to help reduce their exposure to air pollution
    • Customers that are most likely to develop adverse health effects from long term air pollution exposure
    • Note: We are still doing research on these to detect which customer segment or segments we mainly want to focus on
12. What other cities can we use as examples when looking towards solutions?
    • Looking to California and seeing what policies and solutions they implement to tackle the poor air quality from the fires and how covid fits into the situation
    • Other Cities that endure poor air quality due to industrialization
      1. Ex: Beijing, Mexico City, LA, Santiago, etc
      2. See how their governments are dealing w/ the issues, learn from them 
      3. How has COVID factored into dealing with poor air quality and what were the after effects in terms of pollution changes
13. How does your venture compare to other approaches already in the market to solve the air pollution problem in Almaty? 
    • AUA- basically just showcases air quality data
    • IQAir
      1. -tracks air quality through their own air quality monitors that people purchase
      2. Map our air quality trackers on world map that shows distribution of air pollution 
    • We differ because of the personalization in insights we provide along with the data to minimize user’s exposure
14. How can we incentivize community members to come up with solutions and act together to help reduce air pollution and reduce exposure to poor air quality
    • Creating app features that promote community involvement
      1. Having more local farmers markets that are within walking distance
      2. Promoting carpooling 
      3. Promoting bike riding lessons
    • Incentive widespread energy use reductions that allow people to either use less energy or make things more energy efficient
15. Who will be the main engineers of the application?
    • We are going to outsource app developers
    • Hopefully we can partner with IQAir to help with developing our app 
16. How will your venture be sustainable in the future?
    • Our venture will be sustainable through subscription-based memberships  ux
    • If we partner with a larger organization we can get a steady inflow of funds and be sustained through their already existing infrastructure 
17. How can we better utilize NGO organizations and nonprofits in Kazakhstan to help support our ideas and solutions? 
    • Utilize their base for marketing and to gain credibility in the public impact sector
    • Connections / networking with other important stakeholders in the city 
18. What are examples of your insights?
    • Choosing to walk over riding a personal vehicle can reduce your exposure to air pollution
    • Keeping babies inside during poor air quality index
    • Doing prolonged cardio exercise outdoors increases your risk of developing cardiovascular issues
    • Incorporation indoor plants that help remove pollutants from the air
19. How will you fund your venture? 
    • Applying for grants 
    • Partnering with larger organizations like IQAir
    • Funding from venture capitalists
20. How can we better utilize our relationship with AlmaU? 
    • They know how to read russian, so they can translate news articles and government policies for us
    • They are up to date with current events and can help us stay in the loop of what new updates are happening
    • They are more knowledgeable about living in the city and cultural understanding that we can utilize. 
    • They have better cultural understanding that could help us to build relationships with local community 

Group: Kendall Prime, Conner Calzone, and Gabby Alves

Ethical Decision-Making Methodology 

Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts possible. Clearly state the ethical issue. 

• • 35% of the children are stunted due to poor nutrition
  • Maize and bananas are the items most commonly made into a gruel and fed to infants beginning at ~2 months of age to 24 months of age
  • Mothers believe that the gruel is good for kids, but science says it lacks some key nutrients
  • High rate of HIV in mothers create risk of child getting HIV during prolonged breastfeeding
    • WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding until an infant is 6 months of age
    • This increases the risk of the children having the HIV transmitted to them
    • They aren’t able to identify who has HIV and who doesn’t
  • We received a grant to help combat the poor nutrition of children in the area 
    • has sufficient funds for the women’s group to process and market a nutritious, shelf-stable porridge made from a large mix of locally grown produce
  • Nutritious porridge is supposed to wean children off of breast milk at 6 months of age
  • The foods used to make the porridge contain pesticides that can affect the health of infants
  • We need to figure out how to develop the cooperative
  • Women are skeptical because the porridge is something they haven’t used before (new product) 

• Ethical issue: We are choosing whether to potentially infect the children with HIV and/or run the risk of being nutritiously deficient with the gruel versus a better nutrition but potentially adverse health side effects from the pesticides that may be in the porridge, which is also a product that is not a cultural norm.  

Step 2 & 3: Define the Stakeholders and assess their motivations (personal and professional)

• Me (Grant Recipient): 
  • Professional: Wants a successful and sustainable venture to be achieved to boost credibility and improve reputation in the field (good publicity).  Want to earn money from grant
  • Personal: To improve the nutrition of children and the livelihood of households.  
• Donor : 
  • Professional: Gives the donor a good reputation of trying to do something impactful
  • Personal: The donor’s intent is to simultaneously improve the nutritional status of children and improve the livelihoods of rural households
• Women in the Cooperative: 
  • Professional: women’s group to process and market a nutritious, shelf-stable porridge made from a large mix of locally grown produce 
  • Personal: Want to improve the overall quality of life for their communities children and mothers
• Mothers: 
  • Professional: Work opportunities 
  • Personal: healthy children and and improve their livelihoods, 
• Infants: 
  • Professional: Probably don’t have any professional yet…
  • Personal: The children need to be given the proper nutrients from a young age while limiting their risk of contracting HIV.  Want to also prevent health effects from pesticides. 
• Farmers: 
  • Professional: Can make more money from selling produce to make the porridge 
  • Personal: Helping out the health and livelihood of mothers and children in the local communities

Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on information available, using basic ethical core values as guide Approaches 

1. Part of Porridge production is having women in cooperative farm crops without pesticides

1. 1. Pros: 
      1. The women can make money from growing their own vegetables 
      2. The food they feed their children will be more nutritious 
      3. There won’t be any pesticides in the food or there will be significantly less depending on if the women can completely supplant the other cash crops 
      4. Preventing the children’s chances of getting HIV
      5. Less expensive to fund the production of food if the women are providing the crops
      6. The women will not need to breast-feed as much, reducing the chance of HIV being transmitted being transferred to the babies
   2. Cons: 
      1. There might be more inconsistency with crops
      2. The crops are more susceptible to infestation and can go bad
      3. There might not be enough women to farm to help grow crops 
   3. Ethical Principle: The women are still feeding their children with nutritious food that will help their children reduce the chances of getting HIV and being affected by the impacts of pesticide consumption.

1. Use market power to pressure farmers to stop using pesticides by advertising certified pesticide free porridge

1. 1. Pros: 
      1. No more pesticides which are unhealthy for the infants and may cause further growth stunting
      2. This creates long term change around farm culture and pesticide use, making vegetables safer for the entire community
      3. Empowers women in our cooperative by showing the power of cooperative, making more women interested in joining
      4. The women will not need to breast-feed as much, reducing the chance of HIV being transmitted being transferred to the babies
   2. Cons:
      1. Might not work (cannot predict reaction)
      2. Farmers may lose sales due to this shift in technique
      3. Farmers might lie about pesticide usage for the sake of selling crops
      4. This is more of a long term movement, and does not satisfy immediate need for pesticide-free vegetables
   3. Ethical Principle: This is duty based thinking because it is our duty to deliver safe nutrition to the children of the mothers in our cooperative.

1. Create a gruel product that has additive nutrient supplements with the key nutrients the current recipe is lacking. We can create this gruel in place of the porridge, but still keep operations running.

1. 1. Pros:
      1. Already a loved product by the community, so there is no need to convince the community to feed it to their kids
      2. Nutritional supplements can be easily added to any food and does not have any flavor
      3. The kids will finally have the nutrients that the original gruel was lacking
      4. Mothers won’t have to buy separate ingredients for the gruel; it will be premade with the added nutrients
      5. The women will not need to breast-feed as much, reducing the chance of HIV being transmitted being transferred to the babies
   2. Cons:
      1. Similarly, the villagers may be skeptical of these premade products
      2. Mothers may want to just keep making gruel on their own instead of buying one that’s premade
      3. Depending on the grant funding, there might be an issue with buying the vitamin supplements if they are expensive (typically inexpensive, though, but since we don’t know the amount of the grant, there’s no way to know for sure)
   3. Ethical Principle: The gruel with the added nutrition won’t included added pesticides that are bad for the children and will help bring added nutrition to their diet and lowering the risk of getting HIV from the mother

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

• Peers: The malnutrition team has discussed adding supplements to some of their recipes to make them more nutrient rich
• Inner reflection: the risk of HIV is in my opinion, worse than the risk of lacking some nutrients

Step 6: Select the best course of action – that which satisfies the highest core ethical values. Explain reasoning and justify. Discuss your stance vis-a-vis other approaches discussed in the class.

• I think the solution 3, creating a gruel that just has added vitamin nutrients to it, because it allows for the children to still get the nutrients they need without being exposed to potentially harmful pesticides and reducing their risk of getting HIV from breastfeeding from the mothers.  It also helps make the gruel more appealing to the mothers since they want to feel comfortable using a product they are familiar with.
  • For me as the grant recipient it will help me achieve my goal of providing proper nutrition to the children and improving the overall quality of life through the women’s cooperative.  It will give me good credibility and make a good impression on the donor who issued the grant
  • For the donor this will look extremely well for the donor and give them good publicity along with achieving their goal of improving the nutrition of children and they’ll know that their grant was put to good use.
  • For the women in the cooperative, it will help them achieve their goal of improving the children’s nutrition without giving them pesticides and they can help make the women feeding their children feel more comfortable about using the gruel since it is the same product they’ve been using before
  • For the mothers this solution would make them more comfortable with trying the gruel for their children and will still be giving their kids the nutrition they need with out compromising their health to HIV or pesticides
  • For the infants, they will be getting the nutrition they need without being exposed to pesticides and reducing their risks of HIV
  • For the farmers, this is probably not the best solution for them because then they won’t be selling as many crops to the cooperative to make the gruel since it won’t consist of the cash crops.  However, if they switched their crops to what is used to make the gruel then they can still make money off of the cooperative while contributing to benefitting the health of the children.
• I chose alternative 3 in place of alternative 1 mainly because the women are hesitant to give their children the porridge. Even if it is made without pesticides, the women purchasing the porridge may not believe this. They would have to try something new and different to what they are currently using, which is the main reason the mothers are hesitant to switch from gruel to porridge. Also, alternative 1 does not change the taste of the current food product that is being given to the children; it simply adds to the nutritional value. 
• I chose alternative 3 in place of alternative 2 because there is no guarantee that using market power will effectively pressure the farmers to not use the pesticides. Even if it does, the lack of pesticides does not change the fact that it’s a new product that the mothers don’t want to try. Alternative 3 allows us to keep the gruel, but just fortify it. 
• One of the downsides to alternative 1 is that the mothers may be hesitant to purchase premade gruel. They may prefer to make it on their own. This is something that cannot be predicted until put in this scenario. A possible solution to this hypothetical situation is to have the women in the cooperative all watch the making of this nutrient-fortified gruel and see for themselves that it’s extremely similar to the current gruel. Once they see it’s essentially the same, they will be inclined to use it on their own children, and tell others about it. Word of mouth is one of the most effective ways to advertise in African countries, so having the 500 women in the cooperative vouching for the premade gruel would help convince other mothers.

Step 7: (If applicable) What are the implications of your solution on the venture?

•  Economic:
  • Money would be coming in due to the sales of gruel
  • Provides business to vitamin supplement companies that we would be purchasing the vitamin nutrient supplements from
  • It will allow for improvement in overall quality of life and that tends to lead to more economic productivity.
  • The sales will hopefully provide more income for the women in the cooperative that will help out their families economically
• Social:
  • Less work for the mothers since the gruel is already premade
  • Children will receive the nutrients they need
  • Mothers don’t need to change what they are currently doing, so there is no expected cultural change
  • Overall quality of life will be improved by improvement of health of children
• Technology
  • The gruel recipe is being slightly altered, but will still be used to feed the children so reduce the risk of HIV
• Environment
  • There would be the affects of having to import all the nutrient supplements into the country which requires lots of packaging and travel to get the supplements to the cooperative

Grassroots Diplomacy Strategy Development Methodology 

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

• The women work for about nine hours every day and earn KES 300 (about $3)

• They have the opportunity to sell the produce grown on their small farms to the cooperative.
• The women like this arrangement because it saves them a trip (time + money) to the village market to sell their produce. 
• When a woman brings her hard earned money home, she has no choice but to turn it over to her husband, father, or brothers.
• The men do not use this money on their family, and spend it on frivolous things such as alcohol
• Social outcomes of the venture are not being achieved (improve women’s livelihood)
• I am one of seven members on the oversight committee this year and I have 6 months left of my position
• The other six members on the committee are also women and want things to change
• Women are convinced that this is the way things are and don’t see this as an issue that their money is being taken but:
  • They are upset their hard earning money is not used to feed the children

Step 2 & 3: Define the problem and the stakeholders, and their personal and professional motivations – 

• Me (the entrepreneur): 
  • Personal: Want the women to be happy and for their money to spent on their children, not frivolous things
  • Professional: Want to improve the venture so the women aren’t upset
• Women in the cooperative:
  • Personal: Want their husbands to stop spending money on frivolous things, want to spend their money on their children and other necessities
  • Professional: Want to get through each day on the job, they are enjoying their current jobs and want to keep them
• Oversight committee: 
  • Personal: They also want their children to be fed nutritious food and to prevent their husbands from overspending on alcohol or their friends families from being subject to alcoholism 
  • Professional: Some may want to get reelected, some 
• Families (including husbands)
  • Personal: They want their families to improve their overall quality of life by reducing how much the husbands are drinking and spending on alcohol and the husbands would benefit physically and mentally from reducing their alcohol consumption to be more productive for the rest of their family members
  • Professional: The women in the families want to continue working in the cooperative and would want to see more of their money invested into benefitting the family.  The husbands could have more opportunities to work if they are spending less time drinking and being unproductive due to alcohol consumption,

Step 4, 5, and 6: Formulate an alternative solution

1. Cooperative acts as an equity bank for the workers so that they can cash out directly, or through other products (family needs) and establish a general store that takes workers credit/acts as a bank. This store is open to the public and cooperative has another stream of income. The store offers beer for credit but quota is 2 six packs a week. Caveat AND incentive for saving: you can only take out one third of your savings at once (unless reason for emergency)
   1. Pros:
      1. Incentivizes men to not take money because they get more if they wait
      2. Creates a long term savings plan for women’s livelihood
      3. By offering beer for credit but establishing a quota, the men are still satisfied and get their beer, but don’t overspend on it. This way, there is money left to be spent on necessities in the home
   2. Cons:  
      1. Women aren’t receiving all their money are once so it might be harder for them to trust the process of splitting their income up into thirds
   3. Saving face: 
      1. Me: This helps give a solution that caters towards the women on the committee while also benefiting women that are working in the cooperative
      2. Women in Cooperative: This helps the women keep some of their money without having their husbands waste it on alcohol.  It allows them to not have to hide the money from the husbands and feel like their money is being protected from not being in a bank.
      3. Oversight Committee:  
      4. Families: This benefits families so that they can utilize the money being made by the women in smarter way and improve the overall quality of life for the family
   4. Relationship short-term implications: 
      1. Me:
         1. I am at first nervous to pitch this idea to the committee because I’m worried about how they may react. Once the committee approves, I will tell the other women in the cooperative about the decision – I’m assuming the women will like the idea but the men will be hesitant, so there may be a slight awkwardness in the beginning.
      2. Women in Cooperative:
         1. The women in the cooperative are happy because their money will be going towards their kids more. They are happy with me and the oversight committee for making this decision.
      3. Oversight Committee:
         1. The oversight committee also wants things to change, so my relationship with them is still great. They are excited that things are going to be different, especially because they thought they couldn’t do anything about it.
      4. Families:
         1. The families may feel some tension amongst themselves since the men won’t be able to spend their money frivolously anymore and will be upset about it.
   5. Relationship long-term implications:
      1. Me:
         1. Hopefully this establishes a better relationship between the women in the cooperative and myself because they see that I am trying to help them improve their home life without directly influencing anything at their homes or taking extreme action
      2. Women in Cooperative:
         1.  The women in the cooperative will have better at home relationships with their husbands with the reduction of alcohol consumption 
      3. Oversight Committee:
         1.  The committee will still have good relationships with myself when seeing the benefits that families are seeing as the women build equity and have their husbands reducing their alcohol consumption
      4. Families:
         1. Relationships within families will improve since the father’s/ husbands won’t be consuming excessive amounts of alcohol anymore and will can be more productive and involved in the family.
   6. Venture short-term implications:
      1. Me:
         1. Will need to try and find a way to advertise the general store so that more people will come and it will end up being sustainable in the long run
      2. Women in Cooperative:
         1. They might feel like they aren’t getting enough money since they can only take so much of their income out and it might not be enough initially to live on.  They will also have to deal with the backlash from husbands if they start to experience withdrawal symptoms .
      3. Oversight Committee:
         1. The women on the committee might think that the idea was bad if the women in the cooperative are suffering from their husbands being angry about not having as much alcohol and might have second thoughts or try to give more money to the women working so the husbands can continue to drink
      4. Families:
         1. Families might suffer from the husbands being mad about no more alcohol.
   7. Venture long-term implications:
      1. Me:
         1. I will help improve the quality of life for the women in the cooperative because I am helping them save money and reducing their husbands alcohol consumption.  The general store will also provide more income for the cooperative making it even more sustainable.  The cooperative will also benefit from having people retain equity in it.
      2. Women in Cooperative:
         1.  The women in the cooperative will have more money to spend because they can keep it in the cooperative.  They will still be able to provide for their families and have more control over how much their husband drinks.  They will also be able to build up equity in the cooperative so that they have more assets in the long run.
      3. Oversight Committee:
         1. They will feel like they are helping the women in the cooperative improve the overall quality of life for their families.  They will also have the benefit of knowing they were the ones that contributed to helping out the community families
      4. Families:
         1. Husbands with the reduced consumption of alcohol can become more-productive in society and potentially work within the cooperative.  Women will be able to save more of their money and have more assets that will improve their economic status and make sure that they can continue to live a sustainable life.

Other ideas mentioned in class were an incentive for women to save up enough money in the cooperative to eventually get some type of reward or prize.  So the more the save the better chance they will have of getting whatever type of gift is being given away.  This solution is valid, but it still runs the risk of the husband gaining control of the money and taking it for alcohol anyways.

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

1. Validate my idea with the council
2. Validate my idea with 25 men and 25 women one on one
3. After my idea is validated, I will announce the new system and get general feedback at a community meeting to directly engage community voice
4. Higher trustworthy people to keep track of the money and equity each woman has in the cooperative
5. Need to find someone to provide money to initially invest in the build up of the general store
6. Start the general store by finding a location and building or begin building the infrastructure
7. Need to higher people to work in the general store
8. Search for companies to provide product in the general store
9. Use women in the cooperative to market the general store and cooperative to get more business and publicity
10. Take surveys of the women over time to see how their family life has improved and how their husbands alcohol consumption habits have been to assess the success of the solution