Tech4Good is a movement that promotes the use of technology for the benefit of humanity and the environment. It encourages the development and inclusion of technology to solve global issues such as poverty, inequality, and climate change. It also promotes responsible and ethical considerations related to technology usage, which includes access to digitalization, data privacy and security, and the development of tools that are equitable and accessible to all. Additionally, Tech4Good encourages collaboration between tech companies and social organizations to create innovative solutions that can be scaled to help people and communities around the world.
Tech For Good (also known as Tech4Good) utilizes exponential technologies in order to help build a more sustainable and inclusive world and to address the critical challenges faced by the society. This program expands the positive effects that technology can have on health, education, well-being, biodiversity, equality, work, and ethics.Companies, organizations, projects, or even individuals,who aim to have a positive impact on the world by the means of technology,are all examples of Tech For Good.
The program firmly believes that technology can be actively used to reduce the inequalities and create a more equitable world. Data screening is Tech4Good’scritical tool as it works for racial justice, gender equality, and impartial healthcare.It also intends to strengthen technology and data for achieving a sustainable ecosystemso that it can easily assist the community in establishingthe professional norms for data practices that are rooted in equity, ethics, and data sovereignty, which contribute to social justice through like-minded social organizations.
Social organizations often collaborate with technology to serve the community because technology can facilitate more effective and efficient service delivery. It can streamline processes, reduce manual labor, and provide access to vital resources. Furthermore, technology can improve communication between social organizations and the community they serve, enable data collection and analysis, and increase the reach of social services. According to the study of Podder et al., (2018), the collective intelligence of Tech4Good Innovation Ecosystem can be used to amplify the mission and profitability of businesses such as those comprised of academia, regulators, civil society, and innovators rather than doing it alone.[i]The Equitable Data Practices thatTech4Good teaches individuals and organizations enable them to think about data in a specific context as their motive is not toteach math, statistics, or technical foundations; instead, theyenable organizations to think about social justice and design technology-driven solutions accordingly. According to a recent survey conducted by McKinsey, nearly half of the respondents are using social technologies to develop competitive intelligence, while a quarter is using the tools to develop strategy or marketing plans, while 37% said they were using social technology in some way to co-create and share the organization’s mission and vision. With this increased collaboration between technology and social causes, many individuals have tried to take creative initiatives for the betterment of society. One such individual is Sanjoy Paul.
Born on January 22, 1962, Sanjoy Paul is an American computer scientist of Indian origin, technology executive, business consultant, and author. He is a global managing director at Accenture, leading R&D in systems and platforms, and a part-time professor at Rice University’s Computer Science Department. He was the founder and CEO of RelevantAd Technologies Inc., a contextual advertising company; DigiNotebooks, an EdTech company; and Almawiz Inc., a digital contact center and lead generation company. Sanjoy is well-known for his research on the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML), Computer Networks, 5G and Wireless Networks, Multimedia Streaming, and Content Distribution. During his many ventures, he decided to initiate several economic movements through the platform of Tech4Good.
From 2011 to 2015, Sanjoy served as the Managing Director and Head of Accenture Technology Labs India, leading the Software Engineering R&D department and driving Tech4Good initiatives for Emerging Economies, including:
GPower –short for girl power, focuses on assisting underprivileged girls in making a healthy transition from childhood to productive adulthood by addressing key issues such as school dropout, early marriage, and trafficking. This initiative was taken in Kolkata to initiate an all-encompassing development and empowerment program for adolescent girls. GPower helps identify potentially vulnerable girls ahead of time by tracking their vulnerabilities in real-time, and triggering mitigation approaches by the government and non-governmental organizations to improve their well-being across four pillars: education, protection, health, and nutrition. The mobile-based GPower digital solution assists in bridging some key implementation challenges faced by national development programs aimed at girls, such as a lack of convergence of program implementation at the beneficiary level, inefficient use of funds and human resources, and a lack of uniform strategy guiding welfare programs.
GPower, an innovative digital solution developed collaboratively by Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and the Child in Need Institute (CINI), won the Vodafone Foundation ‘Mobile for Good’ 2015 award in India for women empowerment and inclusive development on March 8, 2016. The Vodafone Foundation’s ‘Mobile for Good’ award is a flagship initiative in India that supports emerging mobile solutions that have a transformative impact on society.[ii]
Connected Vision Care – a collaboration with Sankara Eye Hospital to screen people’s eye health and help prevent blindness later in life. 90% of the visually impaired worldwide live in low-income households, and 80% of all visual impairments can be avoided or cured if timely care is provided. Due to a lack of awareness and an inability to afford or access quality vision care, a large portion of the vulnerable population does not receive timely vision care. Many hospitals take a general approach to providing quality and affordable vision care by generating high patient volumes through community outreach. All of them, however, rely on semi-skilled field workers to reach out to the community. The paper-based systems that field workers use to register patients, collect information about them, and analyze the data pose a significant challenge to their effectiveness.When scaled across large geographies, the lack of online monitoring and access to real-time analytics makes the process inefficient.
Sankara Eye Foundation India is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing quality eye care to the poor and marginalized segments of society. In order to combat the above-mentioned issues, Sankara is committed to bringing about positive changes in the eye care sector by addressing the issues of quality eye care availability and affordability. The global burden of cataract-related blindness is growing by the day. Sankara’s goal in this scenario is to eliminate unnecessary blindness.This won Vodafone – Mobile for Good Award on November 17, 2014, for Accenture Vision Care Management Solution.[iii]
Connected Agriculture –it focuses on ultra-poor smallholder farmers (those surviving on less than $1.25 per day) living off barren land in coastal regions. It is an initiative that provides access to water and sanitation, while also teaching farmers how to regenerate their land and farm sustainably.As the climate becomes more volatile, global agriculture practices must rely more on the latest scientific knowledge to optimize farming practices. Smallholder farmers, who provide 80% of Asia and Africa’s food supply, are the most vulnerable because they have the most difficult access to information. The connected crop solution for smallholder farmers connects field agents, agro-input companies, and farmers to provide personalized crop advice, optimal fertilizer, and pesticide usage at the right time, and the knowledge to apply those, resulting in increased crop yield. The mobile application provides personalized advisories based on data from the Cloud and connects producers to labs, agents, nutrient suppliers, insect control suppliers, and others.
A contextual recommendation engine based on rules transforms a generalist field agent into a knowledge worker. Simultaneously, the system drives a stringent sales process for agro-input companies via their field agent’s mobile device, prompting the agent to gather information from the farmer and provide advice to the farmer at critical points in the crop growth cycle. The solution addresses the needs of three rural agriculture stakeholders: field agents, agro-input companies, and farmers, significantly improving agent productivity, product sales, and farmer crop yield.A six-month field trial conducted by Accenture Technology Labs in five districts of Karnataka, India, with a large agro-input company resulted in an average 15% increase in crop yields, with improvements for some cash crops exceeding 30%.
It provides small-scale farmers with comprehensive agricultural techniques at their fingertips, promoting affordable and environment-friendly methods for sustainably growing foodthat benefits both – nature and the economy. Karnataka Government MobileOne platform launched an auction system for agricultural marketplaces, connecting farmers and artisans with larger markets in India.[iv]
Connected Maternal Health Advisory – It provides every pregnant woman in the country with the opportunity to receive free, informative, stage-based messaging from conception to the completion of her baby’s first year of life, guiding them on various aspects of pregnancy and life after delivery. It is an initiative aimed at pregnant women in rural India that helps them significantly reduce the risk of miscarriage or personal health injury by providing personalized advice on timely checkups and proactive actions. It is also available as an app on the Karnataka Government Mobile One platform.
e-ICDS – an initiative aimed at improving children’s health and nutrition from birth to adolescence by ensuring proper food, medicine, vaccination, and education administration.The Government of India’s Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) has had mixed results thus far, with nearly one-fourth of children under the age of six still undernourished. Budgetary allocations have increased over time to strengthen and close gaps in the program, and there is increased pressure on policymakers and program implementers to demonstrate results. In this initiative, it is argued that malnutrition management necessitates an integrated digital approach that considers not only making data available but also establishing relationships between various program indicators and overlaying that with regional socioeconomic conditions and family demographics.The ICDS program must overcome obstacles such as community health workers’ limited skills and motivation, as well as poor utilization of existing services due to a lack of awareness and fine-grained socioeconomic data.Itspresentation was made to Narendra Modi, Gujarat’s Chief Minister at the time and India’s Prime Minister today. This solution was tested in 6 AWC centers in Tumkur District, Karnataka, with 5002 families and 652 beneficiaries served.
Smart Power Strip – an initiative aimed at converting millions of traditional appliances to smart appliances through the use of smart power strips, allowing poorer countries to reap the benefits of smart appliances at a low cost. The invention provides a system and method for measuring, monitoring, and controlling electrical power directed through one or more electricity-directing devices. Electrical sockets that supply power to one or more devices are included in one or more electricity-directing devices. A potential transformer is included in the system, which is designed to receive AC voltage directed through a socket and relay the voltage to a processing device.The system also includes a current sensor that is configured to sense current drawn from the socket and relay the current to the processing device. A microcontroller is designed to receive analog or digital voltage and current values that correspond to alternating current voltage and current.The microcontroller then measures voltage and current, calculates power consumption, and generates a control signal. The control signal activates an operationally connected switching device and switches power flow through the socket.This initiative received the MIT TR Grand Challenges Award.
Combining technology with social causes can also create technological solutions that address issues like climate change and poverty. For example, introducingtechnology to help farmers in developing countries use renewable energy sources or use machine learning to detect money laundering activities. Additionally, the development of technological solutions to help refugees or those in disaster areas gain access to resources like food, water, and medical aid – all these initiatives could contribute to humanity on a colossal scale. This is why people with the same instincts and motivational drive as Sanjoy Paul are valued in the recent world.
[i]Podder, S., Singh, S. K., Tanguturi, P., Roy, P., Gueret, C., & Dubash, N. (2018). Tech4Good: Collectively Scaling Up Social Transformation. In P-ICT4D@ WebSci.
[ii]https://newsroom.accenture.com/news/accenture-and-cinis-digital-solution-gpower-receives-vodafone-foundations-mobile-for-good-2015-award-for-women-empowerment-and-inclusive-development.htm
[iii]Kuntagod, N., Paul, S., Kumaresan, S., Balasubramaniam, B., & Ahmed, I. (2015, May). Connected vision care for eradication of preventable blindness. In 2015 IEEE International Symposium on Medical Measurements and Applications (MeMeA) Proceedings (pp. 202-207). IEEE.
[iv]https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/karnataka-to-launch-mobile-governance-portal-mobile-one-114120800424_1.html