FrontlineSMS for Healthcare, Genesis

Several times since we have arrived in Hubli, people have inquired about how our project began, so now I would like to take the time to recount the tale.

Two of the people I lived with this past school year, Alex John and DJ Strouse, were amongst the participants of the University of Southern California Steven Institute for Innovation’s first Global lmpact Program (GIP) (see their project’s blog here, last year's group posts are the earliest entries). Last summer DJ, always challenging me intellectually, recounted the lessons he learned while working in Hubli and I followed his team’s blog sporadically. Fast forward to November 2008. DJ Forwarded me an email regarding a brainstorming session for the upcoming summer’s second GIP. During the session I remember feeling confident and hopeful- here was a program that sought to bring students together to spearhead projects that would have a sustainable social impact.

After that initial meeting with my future Global Impact teammates I knew I was interested in the program- an all-expenses paid (minus the cheap cost of food and leisurely travel) trip to India would allow me to truly explore my socially innovative potential. I thank DJ for being what I now fondly refer to as “my catalyst”. He encouraged me to apply for the GIP and as soon as I began to show an interest in diving into the world of social development he met me head on, always offering me a challenge and his extensive knowledge of that world, which he had been pursuing as a potential life path before he discovered his love of physics.

Because it was not initially clear whether GIP member selection would be based on initial project proposals with self-made groups or selection through individual applications, and because I studied Biological Sciences at USC, DJ got me in touch with someone he knows who is interested in public health, Daniel Bachhuber.

Daniel and his friend Isaac Holeman had collaborated on trying to merge FrontlineSMS, (a software program that allows for bulk text messages, automated responses, grouping of cell phone numbers and many other features,) with OpenMRS, (the organization Partner In Health’s electronic medical records system). At 2008’s Netsquared conference, the two were finalists with this merger proposal. MobilizeMRS was its name, but it would soon become a larger organization called FrontlineSMS: Medic, thanks to further partnering with some Stanford University students.

Because I was trying to find an idea that could be implemented in Hubli, Karnataka, India, where I knew there was little in the way of electronic medical records infrastructure, Daniel and Isaac suggested I aim for a simpler technology than their MobilizeMRS. They got me in touch with Josh Nesbit, a Stanford undergraduate who had successfully implemented a pilot project called Mobiles in Malawi. He first used FrontlineSMS without the more complex link to an electronic medical records system, which can be overly complicated technology for rural populations who have little-to-no knowledge of computers and or mobile phones.
I was eager to bring this project to the table and very early on got great feedback about its potential- both for impact and adaptation to India. After applying for the Global Impact Program as individuals in January 2009, there began a long process of project development, multiple proposal drafting sessions and eventually selection and rejection of projects. This was done by members of the Deshpande Foundation, which is the source of funding for the Global Impact projects.

By consulting carefully with the ever-so-helpful FrontlineSMS: Medic team (Isaac, Josh, Lucky and Nadim- see their web site), I spearheaded the project proposal of team SMS. After it became one of the approved projects I soon welcomed Jonathan Goldford and Dan Greenberg to the team- two amazing additions, both Business majors who could bring a fresh and different perspective from my own (particularly in the area of organization). I had been working with Jon all semester in my first and only college business class, Global Strategy, and knew him to be a natural-born leader with monk-like patience, a seemingly inexhaustible work ethic and a soothing willingness to lend a hand to teammates in need of help. After beginning to get to know Dan I was initially blown away by how much he had already pursued social development- co-founding a chapter of Net Impact at USC. I always left our conversations and on-campus speaker events where we ran into each other, mind abuzz with exciting thoughts and new possibilities.

After some re-working of the Global Impact team rosters for the three projects, the SMS team was lucky enough to welcome Tapasya Desai. In the initial stages of the project, even before it was definite that she would be a member of the team, she was always the most attentive and quick to respond to my project proposal logistical emails and her knowledge of Hindi (which she will self-deprecatingly claim to be minimal) seemed, and now has undeniably PROVEN, to be a powerful asset. The language and her cultural understanding of Indian people has allowed us to approach many a person with warmth and a bond that can only be had through understanding of another person’s language and thoughts. I knew Tapasya and I would be able to chat about both saving the world (given the nature of the program) and the lighter side of life (evidenced by her extremely helpful recommendations for my spring break trip to Miami in March)!

With our team fully formed, we had only to search more actively for a partner NGO. This would be a complicated process for various reasons. As Dan pointed out in his last post, there were many things that would change once we finally landed in Hubli. Our team will write a fully detailed account of our project’s full process once we have made more progress. Please stay tuned.

~Lena