The builder's path
For: Residents in the Philippines can't easily check whether the flood control project listed for their area was actually built.
“Some things are under our control, while others are not under our control.”
Routes to a solution
Each route is a different kind of journey, with real people and organisations to contact at each step, starting with those in Philippines.
Step 1
Join an incubator or startup mission
They connect you to schemes and officials.
Y Combinator's free course and co-founder matching.
Accelerator for tech nonprofits.
Network of civic tech groups in many countries; find the one near the problem.
Step 2
Win a seed grant
Prove the idea works with a small, funded prototype.
Funds bold ideas in global health and humanitarian work.
Let the people a free tool helps fund its maintainer directly.
Grants for open source that makes the internet better.
Funds open source solutions from emerging economies.
Step 3
Pilot with a public body
A district, city or department tries it with real people.
Network of civic tech groups in many countries; find the one near the problem.
Ideas, sources and tools for this problem, from first interviews to funding.
Agency that implements the projects and publishes project information.
Investigative newsroom that works with public procurement data.
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 Philippines. Problem: Residents in the Philippines can't easily check whether the flood control project listed for their area was actually built. Who it hurts: People living near rivers and drainage works funded by the national budget, and local reporters and officials who watch them. The moment it hurts: The next heavy rain, when a dike or drainage project marked complete on paper does not hold, or cannot be found. What people do today: The government's Sumbong sa Pangulo site lists projects and takes reports, but checking a project means visiting it and matching it to a line in a long list. Why it is still unsolved: Project records often lack a clear description or exact location, so ordinary people can't tell which structure a listing refers to. What solved looks like: Each listed project has a map pin, a description in plain language, and dated, geotagged photos from residents showing what exists on site, with mismatches between 'complete' and what is there flagged for auditors. Where: Philippines 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.
Talk to the people who live it before you build.
“The true creator is necessity, which is the mother of our invention.”
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.”
Open data that fits this problem.
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.”
Tools matched to what this problem needs.
“Arise, awake; seek out the wise and learn.”
उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत
uttiṣṭhata jāgrata prāpya varān nibodhata
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
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.