Case Study
Improving Livelihoods and Earnings of Village-Level Entrepreneurs in Uttar Pradesh
Project Overview
We partnered with Jan Sahas, a prominent Indian organisation that works with migrants and excluded groups, to improve the livelihoods of Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) in Uttar Pradesh. The project aimed to enhance Government-to-Citizen service delivery while exploring new opportunities for investments and improving Jan Sahas’ existing programmatic efforts.
Engagement Structure
We carried out an 8-week Product Innovation Sprint with a team of 2 consultants. The sprint was designed to identify challenges faced by VLEs, generate innovative solutions, and work closely with users and stakeholders to co-create prototypes and develop a pilot program.
Key Objectives
-
Identify and validate problems
Conduct research to uncover pain points experienced by VLEs and government stakeholders in service delivery.
-
Ideate and co-design solutions
Collaborate with users to co-design impactful solutions that address the problems identified.
-
Prototype and pilot design
Build a prototype for one of the solutions and design a scalable pilot program to test its effectiveness.
-
Explore potential investments
Provide insights and potential new investment opportunities to Jan Sahas.
Methodology
We utilised a user-centric design approach, ensuring that solutions were tailored to the needs of VLEs and other key stakeholders, including government officials. The engagement followed a structured process:
In-depth interviews
Conducted in 2-3 rounds with 30 participants (20 VLEs and 10 government officials) to gain insights into challenges and opportunities in the existing system.
Focus Group Discussions (FGDs)
Conducted in 2-3 rounds with 30 participants (20 VLEs and 10 government officials) to gain insights into challenges and opportunities in the existing system.
Co-design workshops
Conducted in 2-3 rounds with 30 participants (20 VLEs and 10 government officials) to gain insights into challenges and opportunities in the existing system.
Prototyping
Conducted in 2-3 rounds with 30 participants (20 VLEs and 10 government officials) to gain insights into challenges and opportunities in the existing system.
Pilot program design
Conducted in 2-3 rounds with 30 participants (20 VLEs and 10 government officials) to gain insights into challenges and opportunities in the existing system.
Skills Applied
-
Design Thinking & Innovation
-
User Research & Engagement
-
Prototyping & Pilot Design
-
Stakeholder Management & Facilitation
-
Impact Evaluation & Program Design
Outcome & Deliverables
- 10 problems identified and validated based on the needs of VLEs and government stakeholders.
- 8 solutions ideated, out of which 2 solutions were co-designed with users.
- A prototype was developed for the most viable solution.
- A comprehensive pilot program was designed to test the prototype in real-world conditions.
- The project insights contributed to one new potential investment decision for Jan Sahas, positioning them to further explore scalable interventions in government-to-citizen service delivery.
- Improvement recommendations were provided to enhance an existing program in 12+ states, strengthening its sustainability and impact.
Impact
The Product Innovation Sprint not only provided valuable insights for Jan Sahas to improve existing programs but also laid the groundwork for scalable interventions aimed at increasing the livelihoods of VLEs in Uttar Pradesh, which in turn would directly increase Government to Citizen service delivery. The collaborative effort fostered a deeper connection between VLEs and government services, paving the way for improved service delivery and support systems.
Duration
2 months