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Writer's pictureElise Quevedo

Sustainability: Collaboration remains essential in integrating digital technologies into traditional sectors



Summer may be over, but we can all agree we have experienced temperatures that are higher than any other summer in some cities.


Higher temperatures = higher intake of water

It made me appreciate how fortunate I am to have access to clean water at any moment of the day, a privilege that many in other regions of the world do not have.


Did you know 1 in 10 people do not have access to clean water? Life doesn't exist without water. The body can go without food for up to 2 months, but without water, it can shut down in as little as 3 days.


charity:water is one of the top charities chasing a common goal, ending the global water crisis. With over 171,000 water projects funded and over 19 million people served in 29 countries, charity:water positions among the top 5 charities dealing with this challenge.


This year they celebrated their 18th year since being founded.


So how can technology help charities such as charity:water achieve this objective? Let me give you a few examples. Let's start with strategic allies such as Accenture Labs.


charity: water and Accenture Labs collaborated to monitor water projects and keep clean water flowing for people in need. (Note that they also collaborate with tech partners such as AWS, Ublox, BodyTrace, Google.org, and CTP to name a few)


Before their collaboration, charity:water knew that there had to be a better solution for helping keep water flowing at all of their remote locations. They looked to IoT devices to try to figure out how they could develop a sensor that could be retrofitted on the water points and provide them the data on how the water flows.


During their initial pilot program, they placed thousands of sensors in the field and gathered hundreds of millions of data bits within three years. The main issue was the data's lack of clarity. Although they believed it held significant value, they lacked the necessary tools and expertise to extract, comprehend, and analyze it.


Enter Accenture


charity: water partnered with Accenture Labs’ Tech4Good program, which applies cutting-edge applied research to help address critical challenges facing society. It aims to help build a more sustainable and inclusive world.


I remember reading when they said:


“We started a conversation where Accenture could use their best and brightest resources to help us do the data analysis to understand trends and events in all of this data and help develop the building blocks for a predictive algorithm that will tell us when wells are going to break down before they even break down.”

"There's about 3000 of these water pumps in Northern and Southern Africa with a sensor connected to the cloud. The data comig from all these 3000 sensors was data we've analyzed, a total of 32 million data points.

From that amount of data, they were able to extract patterns and understand how people use these water networks. We were also able to detect anomalies, so the potential failure of the pump or changes in the behavior of how people use it, and that was one of the building blocks of a predictive maintenance application that charity:water is now looking into implementing"


When a pump fails, people have to walk several miles to a neighboring village to get clean drinking water. Accenture hoped that with the work they've done with charity:water, they'll be able to solve that problem.


Google


One other significant partnership was established with Google, enabling charity: water to effectively store and analyze data through cloud services. Through these insights, the nonprofit can better track the impact of its work and make data-driven decisions.


Salesforce


charity: water has also worked with companies like Salesforce to optimize donor engagement by implementing sophisticated customer relationship management (CRM) systems, allowing for better communication and retention of supporters.


These tech collaborations have also helped charity: water to boost transparency and innovation.


Amazon AWS


Through its partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), the organization developed real-time sensors placed in water projects, enabling live tracking of the functionality of wells. This not only improves the maintenance of water systems but also builds donor trust, as they can directly see the impact of their contributions.


Apple


Tech companies also support charity: water with fundraising innovations; for instance, Apple integrated the charity into its Apple Pay system, making it easier for people to donate through their mobile devices.


These collaborations allow charity: water to continuously enhance its operational efficiency and fundraising capabilities, further propelling its mission to provide clean water to millions.



With the growth of charity: water's network, the task of upkeep will become increasingly challenging. The team will persist in finding new ways to reduce maintenance expenses and system downtime, ultimately enabling more communities to access clean and safe drinking water efficiently and reliably on a larger scale. Through its dedication to transparency and accountability, charity: water is revolutionizing the concept of charity as it works towards resolving the water crisis.


We need more tech companies supporting innovative non-profits like charity:water and harness the power of emerging technologies to improve lives


The takeaway here, by continuing to collaborate we can merge technology and those fields that are unable to scale and get further on their own.


Let’s continue having conversations that spark action! Conversations that inspire us and motivate us to move forward.


Trust in Tech, Trust in You.



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