Lean Research Projects

Danbo Joachim, Fawziyya Issah and their team embarked on a project to improve the welfare of women in Northern Ghana. The project was geared towards building a platform of feminist and women advocacy groups in the Northern parts of Ghana against the marginalization of women  to achieve this common goal.

The team implemented the Lean Research module in its project research. This is how the 4Rs were implemented in their research:

• Rigorous (ensuring accurate data): The projects applied Rigour by selecting the right respondents for the project, vetting data and ensuring that responses were credible and reliable.
• Relevance: In the focus group discussions, moderators ensured that issues were related and relevant to the objective of the study. Moderators regularly interjected to reign in responses that were going off-topic.  
• Respectful: Some respondents were involved in determining the structure of the study and all respondents were assured of the anonymity of the data being collected. Because of the structure of the project, a voice acclamation was used to get consent from respondents.
• Right-sized: The team worked with mainly 2 women’s groups each at Tamale, Bolga and Wa.

 “As a team with two men and only one woman, the lean research helped us to achieve balance in how we dealt with the views expressed by the participants.” – Danbo Joachim.

PROJECT: RESPECTFUL DATA COLLECTION FOR INTERNET OF THINGS PROJECTS 

Francis Gatsi and his team undertook academic research with the goal of aligning IoT data collection processes with lean research principles. The research was particularly unique because it involved taking principles of social sciences or the humanities and applying them to a purely technical domain. The team employed the following Lean Research principles in its undertaking:

• Respect: The Project sought to explore what constitutes “consent” in an electronic system. 
• Relevance: The team analyzed the appropriateness of the data collected and how that affected network resources. 
• Right-sizing: A team decision was made on how many sensors should be deployed and whether that captured the required data points for effective representation. 

“The whole research was centered on exploring ways to implement “respect” in the use of IoT devices for data collection, and in doing that, we intended to answer the question: Are users able to enforce “consent” in any kind in IoT system?” – Francis Gatsi

PROJECT TITLE: EMPLOYABLE DIGITAL SKILLS FOR THE YOUTH IN ACCRA AND KUMASI

Mark Sasu and his team embarked on a project to create proficient and employable digital skills in the areas of Content Marketing, Web Designing, Graphic Designing, Online Advertising, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing and Podcasting for youth in Accra and Kumasi. The research project employed the Lean research approach in the following ways:

RIGHT-SIZED: The questionnaire gathered only the most important information relevant for the project, by selecting the right number of people to interview.

RIGOUR: The research methodology was kept to a high standard.

RESPECT: A premium was placed on the dignity and respect of various research subjects as well as other stakeholders to ensure that they felt free to reject or accept participation without fear or inhibition.

RELEVANCE: The research questionnaire was designed to gather only the most important information relevant for the project.

“The Lean Research Practices were very beneficial to the success of our research process because we have been able to design the training modules that addresses the needs of the participants, meets the goals and objectives of our team, and the results of the training will help churn out individuals who will be able to meet a need in various sectors.”  – Mark Sasu

PROJECT TITLE: GHANA HUB RESEARCH

Abena Engmann and his team conducted research on the hubs and incubators of Ghana to understand the hub landscape from our local perspective as well as to map out specialty areas and show successes that will help third parties appreciate and understand the landscape better. The team made use of the lean research practice in the following ways:

RIGOUR: The researchers reached out to a good number of all the participants in the population that were being studied, made easier by the fact that the participants were more accessible. The subjects also had the opportunity to review and refute research findings.

RESPECT: Consent was sought and obtained. Also, the interviews were scheduled at the convenience of the participants.

RELEVANCE: The research results were framed in ways that can inform action and the decision-making of various stakeholders.

RIGHT-SIZED: Steps were taken to ensure as much as possible to interview the entire population since it was not a very large group. At least each region was represented in the number of interviewees obtained.

“COVID -19 actually helped us to implement the lean research practices of Rigour and Respect. Rigour because we were able to reach almost all the participants because most participants were home due to the lockdown. Also, we scheduled interviews at their convenience.” – Abena Engmann

PROJECT TITLE: CUSTOMER VALUE PROPOSITION: AN EVALUATION OF HOW CUSTOMERS PERCEIVE THE VALUE DELIVERED BY COMPANIES: A CASE STUDY OF OPTIONS MART LIMITED.

Eugene Eluerkeh and his team embarked on a project to evaluate how customers perceive the value delivered by companies using Options Mart Limited as a case study. The team employed the Lean research method in the following ways:

RIGOUR: Literature Review was used to back the rationale for topic and project. Also, a random selection of respondents who patronized the shop were used.

RELEVANCE: The project was a mutually beneficial one as it would boost client satisfaction if the company decided to make adjustments according to the findings of the research project. Aside from helping it maintain its current customer base, there is the possibility for expansion. 

RIGHT-SIZED: A qualitative in-depth Interview was employed to interview 5 customers per Shop. (20 respondents in total).

RESPECT: Zoom or face-to-face, we observed COVID19 protocols. Consent was sought and customers were offered a drink as a thank you.

“Research participants will always need to have the confidence of knowing their data will be confidential and well preserved” – Eugene Eluerkeh

PROJECT TITLE: THE AVI COVID RELIEF IMPACT PROJECT

Natasha Dadzie and her team embarked on several projects to provide relief to communities impacted hugely by the COVID-19 pandemic. In undertaking the project, Natasaha and her team employed the Lean research approach in the following ways:

RIGOUR: The team designed a central data collection sheet for the entire project outlining individual project goals, milestones, indicators and communities served. The data collected was also verified by professional point persons to ensure accuracy for presentation to stakeholders. 

RESPECT: The team included community stakeholders and obtained their consent by finding acceptable norms that exist within their community.

RELEVANCE: The team identified the right community stakeholders and channeled all project activities through them. They also designed an impact evaluation strategy to track and quantify impact.

RIGHT-SIZED: The team used a need-based approach to select target communities and beneficiaries. They also ensured that beneficiaries of the project were spread over communities in and around Berekuso to increase the impact of the project. 

“At the forefront of our project’s impact are the people, whose daily lives changed significantly over the past few months due to the pandemic.”  – Natasha Dadzie