the_challenge_proposal_template_2.odt (43.6 KB)
Information on the organization(s)/community(ies)/individual(s) submitting the challenge proposal
Name of the challenge Organizer:
Xavier Coadic
Organisation/community:
petites singualrités, PublicLab, Kaouenn Noz Biohackerspace
Country:
F̷̪̤̋ṟ̵͙̾͗a̷̛̩̎n̴͙͙̿́c̸̙͙̈e̵̪͒ and Belgium
Position/Affiliation:
hack2O project Coordinator
Contact Email:
Contributing experts/innovators:
Please indicate the affiliation of each contributor.
- Hellekin, petites singularités co-founder and NGI zero mentor
- Natacha, petites singularités co-founder and NGI zero mentor
- Vittorio Saggiomo, Assistant professor in BioNanoTechnology
WUR (Wageningen, the Netherlands) (future collaborator)
Step 1: Establish the Need for a Solution and Justify this Need
The purpose of this step is to articulate the problem in the simplest terms possible and to explain why we should attempt to solve it.
Q 1.1. What is the basic need? Max 100 words
This is the essential problem, stated clearly and concisely. It is important at this stage to focus on the need that’s at the heart of the problem instead of jumping to a potential solution.
Designing Water quality Diagnostics tests in low resource environments
Q 1.2. What is the desired outcome? 150 words
Answering this question requires understanding the perspectives of customers and beneficiaries. (The Five Whys approach can be very helpful). Again, avoid the temptation to favour a particular potential solution or approach. This question should be addressed qualitatively and quantitatively whenever possible.
We provide methodologies accessible to people where they are. From their home location, people should be able to carry out a qualitative test on water with the resources directly available in their environment
Q 1.3. What are the desired benefits, and how can they be measured? Max 200 words
Reducing water risks could have prevented more than a quarter of the 5.9 million deaths of children under 5 years. Key areas include rapid detection in safe water, arsenic/lead/mercury poisoning, poisons, contaminated soil and food
Q 1.4. Who stands to benefit and why?
Answering this question compels you to identify all potential customers and beneficiaries. Max 150 words
Any person who does not have access to a laboratory and who will thus be able to participate in the knowledge of water quality, becoming in the process legitimate to assert their rights and share information with other concerned persons.
Step 2: Contextualize the problem
Examining past efforts to find a solution can save time and resources and generate highly innovative thinking. If applicable, it’s important to understand why stakeholders have failed to address it.
Q 2.1. What approaches have already been tried (including by others)?
The aim here is to find solutions that might already exist and identify those that have been disproved. By answering this question, we can avoid reinventing the wheel or going down a dead end. Max 200 words
Satellite imagery and signal/data processing; monitoring at central nodes of water infrastructure; electronic devices for physico-chemical analysis (quantitative); in vivo/human sampling (biomedical focused) but it fails to bring information in the hands of the concerned stakeholders.
Q 2.2. What can be the internal and external constraints on implementing a potential solution?
Now that you have a better idea of what you want to accomplish, it’s time to revisit the issue of resources and commitments. Max 150 words
While Hack2o relies on an accessible online platform and a large community there is still a dependence on a supply/logistics chain to equip and/or access basic information, that can be mitigated by appropriate communication volarizing the legiitimity of the ‘amateurs’ carrying out the water quality test
Step 3: Write the challenge statement
Now it’s time to write a full description of the challenge you’re seeking to solve and the requirements the potential solution must meet. Here are some questions that can help you develop a thorough challenge statement.
Q 3.1. Is the problem actually many problems?
The aim here is to drill down to root causes. Complex, seemingly insoluble issues are much more approachable when broken into discrete elements. Max 150 words
We can estimate that data for 86% of chemicals are missing − of substances for adverse effects on humans and the environment Toxicology for the twenty-first century | Nature . Crowdsourcing the gathering of this information by fostering the usage of accessible techniques and community support multiplies the sources of information and their diversity, allowing for further enquiring about the causes.
Q 3.2. What requirements must a potential solution meet?
Must-Have vs Nice-to-Have. Max 100 words
Must be fully licensed free Libre and open source, and produce open data, in order to favor accessibilty and diffusion. Would be nice to have content several languages, we will favor community translation for local languages.
Q 3.3. Which problem solvers (actors/institutes/sectors) should we engage? Max 100 words We need to work with actors who have local implementation, starting with NGOs who deploy their actions accross borders. In europe we will engage existing citizen organisations that mobilize about water issues in their surroundings. We also are keep to engage state agencies that can support the promotion of the process to preserve the population.
Q 3.4. What information and language should the challenge statement include?
To engage the largest number of solvers from the widest variety of fields, a problem statement must meet the twin goals of being extremely specific but not unnecessarily technical. It shouldn’t contain industry or discipline jargon or presuppose knowledge of a particular field. It may (and probably should) include a summary of previous solution attempts and detailed requirements. Max 100 words
Water is essential to life and people’s health depend on its quality. Each and everyone by very simple procedures can get information on water’s quality. Hack20 plateform helps people to know about the simple processes to analyse their water, share results and possible mitigation strategies.
Q 3.5. What do solvers need to present?
At the workshop, participants will explore and define innovative ideas and solutions to address the selected challenges. What information about the proposed solution to your challenge do you think participants should present at the workshop? Max 150 words
The simplest and therefore most effective solutions may require decades of work to emerge and be “designed” (see https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2016/08/30/072207.full.pdf). The participants will have to present the concrete and necessary contributions to the development of such a simple and effective solution.
Q 3.6. How will solutions be evaluated, and success measured?
Clarity and transparency are crucial to arriving at viable solutions and ensuring that the evaluation process is fair and rigorous. Max 200 words
With 3A’s of diagnostics: Accuracy ; Accessibility ; Affordability REASSURED diagnostics to inform disease control strategies, strengthen health systems and improve patient outcomes | Nature Microbiology
Additional questions
Why are you interested in submitting the challenge?
We have been working for decades with people who have been affected by repeated disasters and who are concerned in their daily lives with problems related to water consumption, human nutrition, or agricultural practices. Also, our environment is invaded by living or inert elements as a consequence of the quality of our water (rain, wells, rivers, taps, demolition/construction sites, etc.). We also work with undocumented migrants, who often live in inhumane conditions, resulting in illness and poisoning.
Are you interested in participating in the workshop (online or in-person)?
Yes, online.
Do you agree to receive communications about the workshop on your e-mail address indicated above?
yes.
Do you have any other comments and/or suggestions?
We are currently working on seed bioassay for qualitative water tests, with several prerequisites:
- The system’s parameters / endpoints must be very sensitive to the toxic substance being analyzed/targeted.
- The response time must be “fast”.
- The (biological) test must be able to be used for both acute (short-term) and long-term measurements.
- The device must be easy to use and not require extensive personnel training.
- The cost should not be excessive, especially when intended to be used in developing countries.
- The biological material should be easily accessible and the operating costs should be low
