Our journey
In the autumn of 2022, each member of our group arrived in London to pursue our respective graduate studies. Over time, our paths converged in various academic settings, workshops, and gatherings in common spaces of the London School of Economics. During this period, Amit received an email from the school's newsletter about "2022 Geneva Challenge," calling for proposals from master's students worldwide on 'Poverty reduction'.
Capitalizing on our shared vision and diverse backgrounds, we formed a team. Driven by a collective passion, we dedicated ourselves to the project, putting in long hours. Our hard work and collaboration paid off and our team was honoured with the prestigious first prize and secured the seed funding from the Graduate Institute Geneva in November 2022.
Following this achievement, we embarked on the preparations for implementation of 'Project Connect' in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, India. After meticulous planning and dedication, we were delighted to run the implementation of Project Connect.
step by step of what we have done and acheived
Team building - how we met
Our journey as a team began at two renowned institutions, LSE (London School of Economics and Political Science) and LSHTM (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine), where we pursued our master's degrees. Our paths crossed, and we discovered our shared passions and interests, sparking the formation of a strong and enduring friendship. The bond we forged at the time laid the foundation for the collaborative working atmosphere that led to the development of 'Project Connect'. This connection proved to be instrumental in our success.
Preparation of Geneva Challenge
Upon reaching a consensus on the problem statement and its solution, we developed key priority questions that needed to be answered through research and analysis using primary and secondary research methods. To make the project theoretically grounded we scoped through published articles, books, grey literature, and government documents. For primary research we interviewed relevant stakeholders like district education officers, district collectors, community members, school students, and founders of various non-profit organizations. In the last three months of the contest leading up to the Finals in November 2022, the team members were based across Europe, Asia, and Africa, thus we created a detailed communication plan with flexibility across different time zones to ensure continued discussion on our progress. We consolidated our insights into a detailed project report which included: problem statement, systems and root cause analysis, intervention using the Theory of Change, and feasibility and sustainability analysis.
2022 Geneva Challenge
Amidst intense and healthy competition, our team secured the First Prize at the prestigious "2022 Geneva Challenge." Our solution for poverty reduction earned praise and reaffirmed our commitment to positive change.
Preparation & Implementation of Project Connect
From January to July 2023, our efforts had been focused on preparing for the implementation of "Project Connect" in the Patera block of Damoh District, Madhya Pradesh, India. Following extensive consultation with local government officials, we selected three villages – Singhpur, Ryonjhaghat, and Sanga – as our project sites, with around 400 households in total. We conducted training of the change agents which included high-school students and Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers. We also conducted a preliminary needs assessment by focus group discussion (FGDs) on the first day of our project on most critical challenges faced by people in accessing various social welfare schemes.
Based on our findings, we identified seven welfare schemes that presented significant barriers for beneficiaries due to bureaucratic complexities, time poverty, lack of information, and other issues. As part of our pilot project, we conducted on-the-ground data collection through high school students and ASHA workers. This data was then compiled into a database, enabling us to identify potential beneficiaries for the identified schemes and assess their eligibility with precision.
Further, through advance mediation we facilitated the enrolment of potential beneficiaries in the respective schemes, ensuring they can access the benefits.
2022 Geneva challenge
Additional Information on Geneva Challenge
Eager to stimulate reflection and innovation on development from diverse disciplinary and contextual perspectives and with the generous support of Ambassador Jenö Staehelin, the Graduate Institute has launched in 2014 the Advancing Development Goals Contest, an international competition for Master students.The idea is to gather contributions that are both theoretically grounded and offer pragmatic solutions to a relevant international development problem stemming from an interdisciplinary collaboration between three to five enrolled master students from anywhere in the world. The 2022 Advancing Development Goals International Contest for Graduate Students aimed to present innovative and pragmatic solutions to address the challenges of poverty reduction.