IDEO.org partnered up with Digital Green to see how we might streamline the capture and communication of relevant data for stakeholders. Digital Green is an organization working in India to improve the sharing of agricultural knowledge and best practices among farming communities through a library of videos and a network of local partner stakeholders who facilitate community screenings. 

Opportunities for Design

While in rural India, the IDEO.org team worked closely with Digital Green to understand the existing challenges to data collection and entry. These challenges included long lag times between collection and entry, complex forms which lead to inaccurate data, and a lack of incentive to collect. When it came to data inputs, it was found that although rich data is being collected, most is either lost in the entry phase or is not being used effectively. For outputs, one of the biggest findings was that more data is not better data, especially if it is not being used properly. The power of data lies in what is relevant, and what kind of feedback it provides to the Digital Green stakeholders about performance. 

Taking into account these insights, the team identified three areas of opportunity that would help Digital Green towards the goal of better utilizing data to improve performance: 

1. Addressing the existing challenges

2. Designing new systems for data collection and entry

3. Designing data reports for key stakeholders

What we Designed

IDEO.org developed four different pilot tests for Digital Green. From streamlining existing collection to larger scale changes such as introducing a more automated smart phone system, three of four pilots are targeted at improving collection and entry. The final pilot is designed to leverage data output by bring relevant data to stakeholders through monthly and seasonal reports.

To learn more extensively about our insights and pilot tests, take a look at our final deliverable.