Research Activities

Awaaz.De is a social enterprise that develops and supports mobile solutions for social mission-driven organizations in education, health, agriculture, and microfinance. Across Gujarat, Bihar, and Assam, we conducted 47 individual interviews and eight group interviews with five Awaaz.De’s client organizations: Precision Agriculture for Development, Self-Employed Women’s Association, Ambuja Cement Foundation, CRISIL Foundation, and Jan Jagaran Shakti Sangathan. From these interviews, we assessed the social impact of Awaaz.De’s technology on the end users living in rural communities. With the help of Awaaz.De’s team members, interviews were conducted either in Gujarati, Hindi, or Assamese which were then translated to English in the field.

Key Findings:

1. Awaaz.De’s social impact is locally embedded. Some client organizations use its technology as a supplement while others use its software as an essential part of their service delivery. Given this degree of integration, end users have difficulty differentiating the impact of Awaaz.De’s contribution from the client organization’s contribution.

2. Field staff engagement enhances social impact. Client organizations with highly involved field personnel in local communities are more successful in using Awaaz.De’s technology effectively and creating positive social impact. As a result, strong relationships between field personnel and end users give Awaaz.De’s developers insights and information essential to designing relevant and applicable features.

3. Customized content creates value for end users and client organizations. Dialogue between the communities and the client organizations will tailor the client’s content to make it enjoyable and useful for the end users. Short and clear messages with numerical data are beneficial for some audiences compared to educational and dramatic skits for others.