Our Work

Supporting India’s healthcare system through a cohort of comprehensive themes.

Biomedical Research and Innovation

Problem Statements

Currently, scientific institutions work in silos or with limited interaction with the medical or healthcare industry. This is limiting the scope of research for translating into meaningful healthcare products.
For years, translational research has been impacted by a lack of facilities, funds, and guidance.
Interdisciplinary research needs to be broadened beyond academic boundaries by fostering collaborations among medical, academic, industrial, entrepreneurial, and public health sectors.

Primary Objectives

Promote translational research and improve healthcare outcomes.
Empowering the healthcare and medical communities with access to state-of-the-art technologies and tools.
Enable respective communities to tap into the funding and mentorship program that will be devised under the very aegis of the institute.
Encouraging and forging medical, academic, and industry partnerships throughout India.

What exactly are we doing?

The plan envisages the setting up of a state-of-the-art institute that specializes in cutting-edge biomedical research.
The institute will be the first of its kind to apply blockchain in healthcare and research.
The institute shall also form a specialized network of technology and business incubators to support Indian researchers in creating high-quality, accessible, practical, and affordable healthcare solutions.
The institute shall encompass a supportive and collaborative ecosystem of world-class research facilities that will bring experts from all around the world to bridge the health deficiencies of India.
The work towards setting up this center of excellence will be done in phases with seamless integration of one with another.

India District Full-Stack Program

Problem Statements

Primary healthcare programs face challenges in effectively addressing the health needs of remote and vulnerable populations, including migrants and displaced communities in urban settings due to various challenges both internal and external to the ecosystem. To address these challenges, there is a need for re-oriented, people-centric, and comprehensive solutions that are practical and relevant. These solutions should empower healthcare providers and care seekers to build resilience in their daily lives and prepare for future health crises.
The concept of the "District as a unit of change" offers a promising approach, focusing on grassroots-level challenges and their solutions. While the current funding landscape often emphasizes existing solutions, there is an opportunity to develop innovative approaches that address local health needs more effectively.
Despite challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the effectiveness of decentralized actions in delivering essential healthcare services. By embracing flexibility in planning and contextualizing solutions, we can create a more resilient and responsive primary healthcare system for all.

Primary Objectives

Enable the co-creation and funding of solutions for pressing problem statements in direct collaboration with the individuals directly impacted by them.
Cultivate and empower local innovation ecosystems by assisting communities in mobilizing essential resources for:

Identifying problems and formulating precise problem statements.
Conducting practical and feasible HCD research to generate usable insights.
Building capacity in human-centered design, problem-solving, resource mobilization, and sense-making at the district level.
Prioritizing issues and making informed decisions through various tools and processes.
Nurturing the development of local solutions that are viable, affordable, acceptable, and manageable.

Foster a responsive and proficient healthcare ecosystem by facilitating the convergence of innovations, innovators, and effective solutions.
Establish a “district-level learning layer” to enhance understanding of programs, strategies and lessons learned for furthering informed decision-making at the district level.

Guiding Principles

Human Centered

Proximity to problems/solution

Collaboration

Co-creation

Catalyzing action

At our core, we embrace a human-centered approach that prioritizes understanding and empathizing with the needs and challenges of stakeholders directly impacted by the problem at the districts (district as a unit of change). We believe in the power of proximity, actively seeking to be close to the problem and solutions, in order to gain firsthand insights and create meaningful impact. Collaboration is at the heart of our process, as we strongly believe that diverse perspectives and collective intelligence drive innovation and sustainable change. Through co-creation, we engage stakeholders at every step, fostering a sense of ownership and ensuring that solutions are contextually relevant and effective. Ultimately, our aim is to catalyze action, empowering individuals and communities to drive positive transformation and create a better future for all.

Here’s a synopsis of our implementation plan

How do we plan to achieve it?

In the next 2-3 years, we will

Identify and prioritize a problem big enough to solve.
Ensure that all essential partners are on board and aligned.
Intend to select the right orchestrator/secretariat.
Actively co-create and partner to find solutions.
Use a pilot-based approach to learn and scale.
Document all the nitty-gritty involved and use it as means to measure the impact.

What exactly are we doing?

Here’s a synopsis of our implementation plan.

Partner and Understand

Preparation of district fact sheet, selection of districts based on (Typology, Demography, Health Indicators, Themes, performance around health system building blocks, etc.)
Partners selection (trusted, with good social capital aligned with DFS idea) Reverse Auction MoU with the Districts.
Stakeholders consultation, formation of multi partner (Govt. CBOS, community members, user groups, service providers, etc.) District Health Learning Labs (DHLL)
Training partners on HCD and its principles.

District team + Partners + Community Members + Service providers + Fellows

Diagnose and Prioritize

Defining the problem statement (Divergence and convergence), stakeholder analysis, etc.
Diagnosis (Ethnographic, participatory, Heuristic review, etc.), Assumptions, Problem tree analysis, abstraction laddering, etc.
Stakeholder consultation, design workshop-Creative matrix, storyboarding, rough and ready prototyping. concept posters, etc.
Setting up of governance, accountability, and M&E process.
Detailed Project/Pilot Roadmap.

District Team + Partners + Community members + Design team+ Innovation partner + Fellows, etc

Design, Apply, and Stabilize

Designing and co-creation of the interventions.
Pilot testing/prototyping.
Action Reflection cycle.
Feedback sessions (communication and feedback loops).
Refining the intervention/s.
Documenting Change.
Testing in multiple sites (validation).

District Team + Partners + Community members + Design team Innovation partner, etc + Governance + M&E + Fellows + Facilitators

Leverage and Scale

Advocacy and scaleup.
Leverage Institutionalizing (PIP, budgets.), CSR, large funders, etc.
District → State → National (may not always be in this order, will depend on the type of intervention).
Dissemination workshops + Knowledge documents, playbooks, etc.
Advocacy and Communication + Research team.

Advocacy and Communication + Research team

Emphasis on Research and Innovation

At Blockchain For Impact, our central objective is to foster an ecosystem where healthcare professionals and researchers synergize their efforts to address both current and future challenges within the field. Through discussions with industry experts and researchers, we have discerned a need for a robust platform that empowers young researchers to undertake pivotal research endeavors while also streamlining the development and deployment of healthcare solutions.

By establishing such a platform, we aim to not only advance our organizational goals but also make significant contributions towards enhancing India's prowess in research, innovation, and healthcare infrastructure. Via collaborative initiatives, we aspire to support the nation's capacity to effectively respond to emerging health crises and drive transformative advancements in healthcare.

We at ‘Blockchain For Impact’ through our core themes are aiming to bridge these unaddressed loopholes and create an ecosystem wherein like-minded healthcare experts and researchers can come together to solve the deficiencies of today and tomorrow.