The content of this post is my entry to participate in a challenge to find out an index to measure the Human Potential. The challenge was run jointly by "Innocentive" and "The Economist".
Why Jugaad?
Executive Summary(What is Jugaad)
“Jugaad” is an Indian term used very frequently by people to mean “get the work done”. It signifies being resourceful rather than waiting for resources for completion of work. In simple words, jugaad represents the innovation done by people at every walk to life to keep walking, to keep going further. At times, jugaad is used for bribery also. But on a positive note, it represents sheet creativity and innovative skills of common man in solving some of the most intriguing challenges that are blocking their way to progress. Jugaad will help in realizing how people are using the available resources, know-how to evolve, get fit, get going, progress and thus survive.
Why Jugaad?
Darwin’s theory of “Survival of the Fittest” keeps on proving itself time and again. He proposed it for species, but it seems to be valid for Organizations, Nations and probably the earth as a whole. People are often forced into situations which force them to think beyond the obvious. In developing countries like India where fulfilling the basic needs of life is a challenge, these types of situations are more common. Government is not in a position to fulfil the requirements. Corruption and lack of transparency make it almost impossible for the benefits of various welfare schemes to reach the needy. That’s when people go for Jugaad. Jugaad is a outcome of Peoples desire to be fit, to evolve, to survive. It’s a proof supporting Darwin’s theory.
How to measure Jugaad?
Jugaad happens every walk of life and everywhere. Urban people are more more aware and so a website where people can submit their ideas would be the simplest way of building the database. For rural areas,to measure it, the local authorities will have to be educated to keep a watch of innovative things happening around them. The local authorities will append their jugaads list in a central database. The jugaads are ranked based on the kind of impact they have had in the place of origin. The rank would be based on the listed below formula.
Jugaad Rank = (Resources used * Impact)/Resources Saved
Resources used and Resources saved should in same unit to keep the mathematical integrity of the formula. Both the parameters should consider the tangible and intangible benefits. It is advisable to have these parameters in monetary terms to make the comparison fair and uniform.
The rank should be between 1 and 100.
Impact is an estimate of how many people would benefit from the Jugaad.
An average of all the ranks divided by 100 would give the Jugaad index ranging between 0 and 1.
Jugaad Index= (Average of all Jugaad Rank)/100
Impacts of Practicing Jugaad...
Positives
- ü It will foster a culture of innovation
- ü It will encourage people to think out of box
- ü An innovative idea could help curb Corruption
Negatives
- · Jugaad to get the things done through means of bribery is the real threat. It’s already practised and its ill impacts are clearly visible.
Can Negatives be converted into Positives
Yes, an innovative Jugaad to curb the corruption will turn the negative impacts inside out. The internet has the potential to be platform on which such Jugaad will be hosted. Corruption could be curbed by increasing transparency and an example would be this site IpaidBribe.
How can an index of Jugaad help the society
- An index based on Jugaad will measure the innovative skills of a community, society and/or a nation.
- A central database of such innovative skills has only sky as the limit. As obvious,
- The primary use would be to use the database to replicate the jugaad elsewhere and reap the benefits. Thus help the community evolve and grow.
- It would also ensure people are making the most of the available resources and thus saving the planet earth’s ecosystem.
- People will get new revenue generating streams, new means of earnings by implementing the jugaad.
- It would foster an environment of social innovation where ideas are constantly evolving to fit the conditions where they are applied.
External References
Wiki Page about Jugaad
