Quicksand (quicksand.co.in) co-founder Ayush Chauhan gave this presentation at the annual workshop of the University of Chicago Center in Delhi commemorating the graduating class of International Innovation Corps, a year long fellowship program that sends top student talent to work with Indian government on critical development problems. Ayush’s panel was on 'Last Mile Connectivity' focusing on how successfully piloted solutions and interventions can be effectively rolled out and adopted across the target audience. Ayush led by saying that the design of good quality, sustainable pilots required program teams to champion the last mile - that moment of truth when all the careful deliberation on systems, policy and enabling institutions meets the consumer. Using Quicksand’s work on the direct benefit transfers project and the urban sanitation project as examples, he demonstrated how an ostensibly powerful, transformative public policy begins to break down when no one champions the end-user.

1. Last Mile Connectivity
IIC Annual Workshop
July 30, 2015
@ayus_h
ayush@quicksand.co.in
www.quicksand.co.in

2. EXAMPLE 1
Direct Benefits
Transfer

3. Direct Benefits Transfer
An ambitious pan-India effort to transfer social security benefits and wage
payments directly into the bank accounts of the rural and tribal poor:
>plug leakages in the erstwhile process of transferring benefits through a
multi-tiered system
>advance financial inclusion goals for the poorest
>move forward towards a Digital India vision

4. Payments are made to end beneficiaries through an elaborate
system of smart cards, linked bank accounts, point of
transaction terminals, identity authentication and a network of
community service providers

5. Biometric authentication devices fail in these
settings on multiple counts

6. Heavily cash dependent payment system adds
risk, complications and delays

7. There is no awareness of these bank accounts
being anything more than payment conduits

8. EXAMPLE 2
Swachh Bharat
Abhiyan

9. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
A massive infrastructure effort to provide people basic sanitation access and
eliminate open defecation:
>building a toilet would prompt people to use them
>toilets would ensure safe disposal of fecal matter
>pay per use would ensure self sustainability of shared toilet facilities

10. Government has made a clarion call to build individual, public
and community toilets across the country through public-
private partnerships

11. People’s reasons for resorting to open
defecation is more than just lack of toilets

12. People with toilets at home may still be
defecating outside
Toilets often run into disuse because of a
dysfunctional sewage management system

13. People with toilets at home may still be
defecating outside
Enforcing payments within communities is one
of the biggest challenges for caretakers

14. Human Centered Design
A Framework to Tackle the Challenges of Last Mile
Connectivity

15. 1. Understand End-User Experience
>there is no substitute to spending time with people
>have a hypotheses that is grounded in the everyday reality of people

16. 2. Co-create Solutions
>involve a diverse set of stakeholders while conceptualizing solutions
>take a systems approach while designing solutions

17. 3. Make Prototyping & Testing a Continuous
Process
>prototyping & testing cannot be limited to pilots
>turn your ideas real and tangible to get quick and early feedback

18. Last Mile Connectivity
IIC Annual Workshop
July 30, 2015
@ayus_h
ayush@quicksand.co.in
www.quicksand.co.in