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The builder's path

Five steps from a problem to its solution.

For: Parents and students in Arunachal Pradesh can't see whether their school is on the list for repairs, or when the work will happen.

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

ὁ δὲ ἀνεξέταστος βίος οὐ βιωτὸς ἀνθρώπῳ

Socrates · Plato, Apology 38a

Routes to a solution

Six ways to take this forward

Each route is a different kind of journey, with real people and organisations to contact at each step, starting with those in Arunachal Pradesh.

  1. Step 1

    Find a lab or university incubator

    Researchers and students who can test it properly.

    • DST NIDHI ↗

      Department of Science and Technology support from idea to startup, through technology business incubators.

    • BIRAC ↗

      Grants and incubation for biotech and health innovation.

    • Startup India ↗

      The national startup programme: recognition, schemes and a directory of incubators.

    • Atal Innovation Mission ↗

      NITI Aayog's mission: Atal Incubation Centres and challenges for social problems.

  2. Step 2

    Win a research grant

    Funding for a rigorous trial or study.

    • DST NIDHI ↗

      Department of Science and Technology support from idea to startup, through technology business incubators.

    • BIRAC ↗

      Grants and incubation for biotech and health innovation.

    • Social Alpha ↗

      Lab-to-market platform for science and technology aimed at social problems.

    • SINE, IIT Bombay ↗

      IIT Bombay's incubator for technology startups.

What this problem needs

Ideas, sources and tools for this problem, from first interviews to funding.

  • Open data
  • Forms and documents
  • Web

Ideas to explore

  • Idea 1My school's fileSearch a school by name and see its proposal, department, approval date, funding and expected completion, as published by the Education Department.
  • Idea 2Photo condition reportsLet head teachers and parents upload dated photos of classrooms, toilets and roofs, so proposals can be prioritised by need.

Specific to this problem

Talk to first

Starter prompt

Built from this problem's brief. Paste it into Claude or any AI assistant.

Help me design and build a first working prototype for this problem in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, India.

Problem: Parents and students in Arunachal Pradesh can't see whether their school is on the list for repairs, or when the work will happen.
Who it hurts: Families and teachers at government schools in Arunachal Pradesh with damaged or inadequate buildings.
The moment it hurts: Another term begins in a school that needs renovation, with no word on whether the proposal has been approved or funded.
What people do today: Student unions raise the issue through protests and shutdowns, and the Education Department answers that proposals have been submitted or are at an advanced stage.
Why it is still unsolved: Repair proposals move between the Education and Planning departments, and their status is not published school by school.
What solved looks like: A public tracker of school repair and upgrade proposals in Arunachal Pradesh, showing for each school what was requested, its approval and funding status, and the expected start and finish dates, with a way for parents and teachers to add photos of conditions.
Where: Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, India

First, list what you would need to learn from the people affected before building, as interview questions.
Then propose the simplest version that would help, the screens or messages it needs, and the data it would use.
Keep it cheap to run, accessible, and respectful of people's privacy. Flag anything you are unsure about instead of guessing.
  1. Understand it

    Talk to the people who live it before you build.

    “Know thyself.”

    γνῶθι σεαυτόν

    gnōthi seauton

    Inscription at Delphi · Temple of Apollo
  2. Prototype with AI

    Get a working version in front of people fast.

    Using AI is not cheating. Every tool carries the work of the people who made it, and using it well is how knowledge has always moved forward. The thinking, the care for the people who live the problem, and the judgement are still yours.

    “The Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves.”
    Ada Lovelace · Notes on Menabrea's Sketch of the Analytical Engine, Note A (1843)
  3. Find the data

    Open data that fits this problem.

    “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.”
    Richard Feynman · Cargo Cult Science, Caltech commencement address (1974)
  4. Build it

    Tools matched to what this problem needs.

    “If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.”
    Isaac Newton · letter to Robert Hooke, 5 February 1675/6
  5. Launch and get support

    Ship it responsibly, and find help and funding.

    “Your right is to the work alone, never to its fruits.”

    कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन

    karmaṇy evādhikāras te mā phaleṣu kadācana

    Bhagavad Gītā · 2.47

Kit written for this problem from its brief; every link was checked. Links go to each provider's own site. Zetema is not paid for any listing.