Introduction
Hello, I am C S Aishwarya, and I am part of the Bizdev Team at Glific, one of the initiatives under the umbrella organization called ProjectTech4dev. Having joined Glific just 2.5 months ago, I’d like to share my journey so far.
I was excited to participate in the 3rd cohort of “The Tech4Impact Chatbot Accelerator 2024,” which marked my first meaningful engagement with the social sector. Transitioning from the for-profit world, this experience was crucial in helping me reorient and immerse myself in this new field. The event brought together a diverse group of 24 NGOs, all eager to create their first chatbot, learn, and grow.
I played a key role in onboarding these organizations, assisting in sourcing, understanding their needs for chatbot implementation, and guiding them on how Glific’s features could best support their goals. After the application process for the Accelerator closed, I continued to be involved in the planning and execution of the event.
Onboarding Organizations
The process of identifying and onboarding the organizations involved understanding their needs, goals, and the unique challenges they face. With Gautam’s support and through multiple conversations I had with various NGOs, I recognized the critical need for technical interventions, particularly for NGOs working at scale in data collection, content dissemination, and feedback/surveys. Learning about the diverse issues these NGOs were addressing, as well as the innovative approaches they were taking to create impact, was truly inspiring.
I am really proud that Gautam and I, as a team, were able to onboard 24 unique NGOs for the accelerator, each with its own specific use case for a chatbot to be developed. We assisted them in breaking down their use cases into pilot goals for the months of August and September and helped establish metrics to measure the success of the bot. This phase was an eye-opener, as I realized that the end users of the bot are more accustomed to using WhatsApp. It became evident that WhatsApp, as a platform, could be leveraged for much more than just connecting people across time zones.
Planning and Execution
Now that we had 24 organizations onboarded, it became even more crucial to ensure that the planning and execution of the accelerator were flawless. Despite being a new joiner, Thanks to Krishna as she entrusted me with significant responsibilities, such as creating an Accelerator Guide, which served as a comprehensive resource for two different stakeholders. NGOs used this guide to understand their peers in the cohort and their respective use cases, which, in turn, helped them identify potential collaborators for future partnerships. Internally, we utilized the guide to demonstrate to potential funders how Glific is scaling.
I also assisted in planning the seating arrangements for the NGOs and allocating Glific mentors. With 24 organizations, it was important to ensure that each one received equal attention for support and query resolution. This experience taught me the importance of planning & team coordination. Additionally, thanks to Sangeeta, I had the opportunity to participate in 2 to 3 support calls where we helped organizations with Facebook verification, Gupshup setup, and other essential processes that needed to be completed before convening in Delhi for the accelerator. Through this experience, I learned how these processes are carried out and the level of patience required to see them through.
I also took the initiative to source the stationery and printables required for the sprint. Team collaboration was key when we shared the responsibility of carrying a total of 12 kilograms of supplies to ensure they arrived safely at the event. Special thanks to Gautam, Tejas, and Sangeeta for their support in making this happen.
Glific Walkthrough
Glific is a powerful tool that facilitates two-way communication between social impact organizations and their end beneficiaries via WhatsApp. During the event, I had the opportunity to learn about and work with its key features, including:
- Scheduled Messaging: NGOs can set up triggers or schedule responses and messages for specific dates and times, saving time and resources.
- Data Collection: Glific enables easy data collection by linking Gsheets, which aids in analysis and helps NGOs make informed decisions.
- Multi-lingual Support: The platform supports multiple languages, ensuring NGOs can effectively reach their diverse audience.
- Integration Capabilities: Glific can integrate with various tools and platforms, such as OpenAI, GPT Vision, Exotel, databases, CRMs, mobile apps, and Bhashini, enhancing its functionality and utility.
A few implementations of these features observed at the accelerator include:
- Arghyam used the scheduled messaging feature to send inquiries to their frontline workers about whether they had received their salary for the previous month. If any worker had not received their payment, the system would alert the appropriate person with the collated data to take immediate action. Data collection for this process was managed through Gsheets.
- Sol’s ARC utilized OpenAI integration to identify the type of disability a child was facing and then provided appropriate solutions to teachers based on the knowledge base they had created.
Hands-on Support and Personal Learning
Thanks to the accelerator, Gautam’s encouragement to create flows, and Tech4Dev’s support in cross-learning, I had the opportunity to work hands-on with flow creation – essentially the conversational design between the bot and the user. From my experience, the interface was both amazing and user-friendly. Creating flows was as simple as dragging and dropping elements and connecting them with arrows, with conversation flows written in plain English.
This ease of use allowed me to learn a lot, which later helped me answer many technical questions during calls, boosting my confidence. With limited knowledge and the help of the easily understandable documentation available on the Glific website, I successfully created a chatbot called VibeGuide, integrating it with ChatGPT within 2 hours. VibeGuide provided suggestions for music, novels, and motivational videos based on mood and interests. Given that this was my first time creating flows on the Glific platform with minimal prior knowledge, I was very proud of how easy and fascinating the process felt. It was an intriguing and enjoyable experience. I could relate to the feelings of the NGO representatives in Delhi during the accelerator event as they launched their first bot, despite their initial lack of technical knowledge.
If anyone wants to try it out, please click on this link: VibeGuide. This hands-on experience was particularly engaging and rewarding. Let me know what you think!
Through the accelerator, I had the opportunity to work with Harshvi and Jerin from Sol’s ARC on their chatbot, which aims to help special educators, parents, and teachers gain awareness and real-time strategies for assisting children with special needs. Thanks to Akhilesh, who played a crucial role in streamlining the process, I learned that putting ideas on paper is an effective way to organize and clarify thoughts.
I also had the opportunity to work with Sreechand, Anwar, and Hemant from Arghyam on their chatbot, which supports frontline workers by disseminating knowledge about village water schemes, assisting water user committees with field testing kits, and providing essential water quality data to communities. I was able to relate to their use case through a project I worked on during my final year of engineering called The Automated Water Meter System. I’m particularly grateful to Gautam for his support, especially as this use case involved more technical aspects, including the integration of GPT Vision.
Witnessing the excitement in the NGO representatives’ eyes as they created their own bots within just two days and observing the immediate impact of the technology was incredibly motivating. Many NGOs shared that they felt empowered and ready to use these tools to enhance their outreach and operations. This experience taught me that the satisfaction of creating something on your own brings immense happiness and drives you to achieve even more.
Personal Growth and Reflections
Participating in this event was a transformative experience for me. It reinforced my decision to join the social sector and work with Glific. The dedication and passion of the NGO representatives were inspiring, and it was rewarding to see the tangible impact of our efforts. This was especially evident when we as a team effectively addressed the feedback received on the first day of the accelerator to improve the experience for the NGOs on the second day. This event also enhanced my skills in planning, execution, onboarding, and training, all of which are invaluable as I continue my journey with Glific.
Another eye-opener for me was the visit to GOONJ. It helped me understand the immense effort that NGOs put in to create an impact selflessly and how they work to change the perspectives of both givers and receivers. I was truly amazed by their work. It was a significant learning experience for me as an individual and provided much to reflect upon.
Conclusion
My first accelerator event with Glific was a milestone in my career. It was an opportunity to learn, grow, and contribute to meaningful causes. I look forward to many more such events and am excited about the future possibilities in the social sector. This experience has not only broadened my professional horizons but also deepened my commitment to making a positive impact through technology and collaboration.
I would like to thank Gautam for all the support and guidance throughout, and Erica & Radhika for your inputs on my First Blog, which really helped.
For someone who wants to make a switch to the Social Sector, Things I loved the most as an individual are:
- The satisfaction of being able to bring about positive impact through my little contributions.
- It taught me the need for adaptability and open-mindedness because it often requires individuals to adapt to diverse challenges and work with limited resources.
- It always pushed me to continually learn because the social sector is dynamic, and there’s always something new to learn, whether it’s about the issues being addressed, the technology used, or the strategies for creating impact, I felt that I was always growing professionally & personally.
Thank you for reading about my journey. I hope it inspires others to explore the intersection of technology and social impact.