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Project By: Deeksha Agrawal | Diksha Raj | Ritika Kanojiya | Yuvraj Kataria
Overview
The Nexogenous Development Model analyzes external factors like technology, policies, and socio-economic forces affecting rural development. Using this framework, we studied Gram Vaani, an NGO leveraging digital technology to enhance communication and local engagement in rural markets.
By tagging and categorizing archival data, we systematically assessed their strategies’ impact on community engagement and sustainable development. Combining data analysis with interviews provided a holistic understanding of how ICT supports development at the community level.
Our findings emphasize the transformative potential of technology in bridging information gaps and fostering meaningful social change in underserved populations, highlighting its role in addressing rural challenges.
Objectives :
Identify the role of Gram Vaani in increasing the level of participation and voice of rural communities
Analyse the Efficiency of the Nexogenous Development Model’s Dimensions in the Operation of Gram Vaani
Address outstanding operational issues in language support, content moderation, and problem solving
Triangulate the Emergent Framework by Conducting Interviews with Management
Make tactical suggestions for the platform to broaden its influence
Business Model Canvas :
The BMC of GramVani is:
Stakeholder Relationship Map
Methodology
The methodology followed by us is as follows:
1. Platform Selection:
Gram Vaani, an innovative digital platform for rural social mobilization, was chosen for its alignment with the Nexogenous Development Framework, focusing on community participation, social innovation, and rural development. The platform empowers rural communities by amplifying their voices and fostering local engagement.
2. Framework Definition:
The Nexogenous Framework systematically evaluates rural development across dimensions like social innovation, community engagement, and proximity, making it ideal for assessing Gram Vaani’s impact.
3. Data Collection:
A total of 58 archival resources, including news articles, blogs, social media posts, academic papers, and Gram Vaani’s website, were analyzed. These resources captured user interactions, community activities, and platform contributions to rural development. Scheduled calls provided deeper insights into Gram Vaani’s work in empowering rural populations.
4. Hermeneutics Analysis:
• Dimension Identification: Key themes such as democratic participation, bottom-up communication, and social innovation were identified using the Nexogenous Framework.
• Tagging System: Resources were tagged line-by-line using CATMA (Computer Assisted Text Markup and Analysis), producing 1,194 tagged phrases. Tags were systematically exported into Google Sheets for further analysis.
5. Inter-Rater Reliability (IRR):
To ensure consistency in tagging, an Inter-Rater Reliability (IRR) test was conducted on 15 sample phrases using JASP software, resulting in a strong IRR score of 0.785. This validated the reliability of the tagging process.
6. Corpora Creation:
Tagged phrases were grouped into corpora based on dimensions like democratic participation and community engagement. Each corpus reflected specific themes, facilitating organized and detailed analyses.
7. Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis:
• Quantitative Analysis: Tag frequencies revealed the most discussed dimensions, providing measurable insights into Gram Vaani’s focus areas.
• Qualitative Analysis: Content analysis of tagged posts examined the quality of interactions, user engagement, and the platform’s role in empowering rural communities.
8. Validation:
• Interview Preparation: An interview was conducted with Gram Vaani’s Community Media Manager to validate findings and gather additional insights.
• Cross-Referencing: The manager’s responses were compared with the analysis to refine conclusions, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of Gram Vaani’s contributions and areas for improvement.
Findings
Challenges Analysed
Language Integration:
The primary drawback is that the platform only supports the languages for which it was initially created. Gramme Vaani currently operates primarily in Hindi and English, although it also operates in several linguistic zones around India.
For example, even if the location is set to Tamil Nadu, the dialogue in the Mobile Vaani app is in Hindi, which clearly affects some users who do not speak Hindi. Because of the lack of localised content in regional languages, the platform is less accommodating to locals, and as a result, the platform's capacity to solve challenges specific to particular communities is limited.
Problem Resolution for Individuals
Another concern is that Gramme Vaani relies on partnerships to handle user-reported problems. According to Ms. Chatterjee, the platform addresses common and widespread issues, as well as particular complaints.
The reliance on collective writing reduces an individual's control over whether or not a specific subject will be handled, whether it is for reporting or metabolism. If the concerns of concern are regarded unimportant to the community as a whole, certain users may feel isolated.
Content Moderation:
Gram Vaani's content moderation process involves recording user content, which is then examined by a small staff of 15-16 moderators. This limited staff size impedes the rapid processing and publication of information, as evidenced by delayed replies to user issues and, conversely, the absence of different topics on the site.
If users do not feel as if they are being attended to, they may stop using the platform, and if there is a large amount of content that has been posted but not moderated, there may be issues that were important in real time but are overlooked.
Recommendations and KPIs
Conclusion
To conclude, this report of Gram Vaani confirms how digital platforms contribute to the improvement of rural people’s opportunities for better communication, engagement, and access to resources. Therefore, relying on the dimension set in the Nexogenous Development Model, we found key dimensions like Participation, Innovation, and Local Partnerships to be critical in the functioning of Gram Vaani. It encourages Social engagement from the bottom level, enabling communities to raise their concern and take part in the decision-making process Innovation is done through implementing new technologies such as missed call systems and voice applications.
Besides, Local Partnerships and Community-based organizations also enhance the sustainability of the organization’s programs and projects since they are adequately endorsed by the citizenry. It also helps to fill the *knowledge divide*, more so in health, governance, and agriculture sectors, by offering access to essential information and services.
Having analyzed the qualitative and quantitative data, it was evident that Gram Vaani indeed not only raises the voices of the community but also inspires personal and community development, skill development and initiation of sustainable change. The blend of community engagement, proximity, and capacity building makes Gram Vaani a strategic contender in mobilizing technology for social change and development in untapped rural segments.
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