Water In Sight
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Water In Sight AB |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 300 000 |
| Project duration | July 2020 - February 2022 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | Innovative Startups |
| Call | Innovative Startups step 1 spring 2020 |
Important results from the project
Aim: contribute to increased resilience in low-income countries (SDG 6 Water & 13 Climate Action) Objective: a digital transformation of water and weather data collection in developing countries, enabling climate change insights and better protection of vulnerable people in flood-prone areas. Our cost-effective and low-tech prototype digitizes daily measurements of river & rainfall levels in Malawi. Data show potential of contributing to improved climate change insights and faster flood-warnings.
Expected long term effects
Results: - Scalable low-tech MVP transcribing observed rain and river-measurements from SMS to internet, sent by Observers (users). - Data Center Portal for download, visualization & operational dashboard. - 2,500+ data collected at 40 stations in Malawi 11.2021 - 02.2022. Effects: - Endorsement from Observers who are encouraged by prominense. - Support confirmed by gov staff to adopt and scale solution, impressed by speed and ease of accessing data. - Rapid data collection during Cyclone Ana flooding showed potential to improve warnings.
Approach and implementation
Our team in Malawi managed our co-design process with government staff and Observers. They organised all logistics, travels, interviews and training. They also helped ensure interoperatiblity of the solution with the government´s own data systems. Their role was instrumental to success. Our IT experts produced and adapted our prototypes immediately as learnings from testing came through. Their ingenuity and input on a needs-basis proved indespensable. Our Flood Expert reviewed data compared to satellite observations, and confirmed its potential for flood modeling.