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It is a project supported by the European Union (EU) and coordinated by the University of Antwerp. Kunlabora has the role of software partner and works with a mix of academic partners and a range of civil society organizations or Civil Society Organizations (CSO).
Academic partners:
- Universiteit Antwerpen (UA), Belgium
- Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB), Spain
- Universita Degli Studi Di Trento (UNITN), Italy
- Uniwersytet Warszawski (UNIWARSAW), Poland
- Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam (EUR), The Netherlands
- SYNYO GmbH, Research center for innovation andtechnology, Austria
CSO partners:
- FMV België: A leading umbrella organization dedicated to supporting associations in empowering migrant citizens through information, awareness, and mobilization to enhance their social standing.
- InteRed Spanje: A committed organization focused on transformative education to advance justice, gender equality, and sustainability.
- La Strada – Der Weg Italië: A dedicated organization serving children and youth in need, as well as youth struggling with addiction, and providing support for female victims of human trafficking and exploitation.
- Feminoteka Polen: An organization dedicated to combating violence against women.
- Orient Express Oostenrijk: An organization that empowers women, particularly those from migrant backgrounds, by providing language learning and other essential support services.
In this project, all partners work together on the challenges around gender empowerment and inclusion. Mostly the target audience is women with a migration background.
This project receives funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe Research & Innovative Action under grant agreement no. 101093987.
Needs of ReIncluGen
To enhance gender empowerment and foster inclusion, a platform was needed to facilitate networking and knowledge sharing on these topics. The University ofAntwerp, project coordinator, sought a technical partner capable of devising and building this platform.
The project emphasizes knowledge building and exchange of experiences. The University of Antwerp recognized Kunlabora as a suitable partner due to their commitment to projects with significant social impact. Moreover, given the university's focus on technological innovation, Kunlabora was involved right from the project's inception.
The project: development of a platform to share knowledge
Preparation ReIncluGen
We collaborated with our partners to draft the project proposal. A few months later, we received approval to proceed with the project, which has a total duration of 3 years.
At Kunlabora, we typically prefer working with a dedicated development team on projects spanning weeks, months, or even years. The ReIncluGen project, however, diverges from our usual operations as it progresses through phases. This phased approach allows adequate time between stages for project partners to focus on their core tasks.
From the outset, it was evident that we are part of an exceptional consortium characterized by strong commitment from all parties involved. The European Union has also shown significant engagement, closely monitoring ReIncluGen and providing valuable feedback to enhance project outcomes.
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European subsidized projects, including ReIncluGen, are structured into different work packages. This segmentation allows each partner's expertise to be prominently showcased:
• Work package 1: Academic research
• Work package 2: Mapping organizations and the work field.
• Work package 3: Analysis of best practices and challenges.
• Work package 4: Social media.
• Work package 5: Digital platform.
The last work package is the responsibility of Kunlabora.
Service Design Phase
The project commenced with a Service Design Phase, kickstarted in collaboration with Knight Moves, a sister company within the Cronos Group. Together, we defined the platform's objectives and constraints, followed by the creation of wireframes and a clickable prototype. These were refined based on user feedback from CSOs.
Through meticulous project mapping during the prototype phase, we effectively minimized the risk of investing resources in less relevant features. Engaging project partners right from the outset ensured their active participation, fostering optimal cooperation. As a result, the Service Design phase culminated in the development of a style guide and the platform's name: Quwa.
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Service Blueprint
We translated the insights from the Service Design phase into a Service Blueprint.This involved using a toolbox of techniques to comprehensively analyze the future application from functional, technical, and governance perspectives. The result was a well-founded design accompanied by an action plan that enabled us to initiate the platform development.
From MVP to MLP
Initially, we developed a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), where key features were given an initial implementation. Once the first version was validated, we focused on expanding and optimizing these features.
Our goal now is to evolve towards a Minimum Lovable Product (MLP). Quwa is designed for long-term usage beyond the initial phase funded by European subsidies. Therefore, ensuring user satisfaction is paramount. Alongside a positive user experience, the platform's aesthetics and usability are crucial factors in achieving this goal.
Test phase
We are currently in the testing phase of the project. Initially, we conduct rigorous internal testing of the platform. Subsequently, we invite external organizations to participate in testing. Once we gather sufficient feedback, we proceed with the second development round to refine and expand Quwa as needed.
As part of the testing phase, we have also developed a manual for civil society organizations on how to use the platform. While technically unnecessary due to its intuitive functionality, our experience shows that providing such resources helps overcome users' initial hesitation in adopting new tools.
Co-creation in the Social Sector
In our efforts to actively engage civil society organizations in shaping the platform together, we've frequently encountered surprised reactions to our level of interest. We suspect this stems from the fact that social organizations often operate on smaller budgets, leading them to rely on suboptimal tools and applications. As software developers, we take pride in strengthening these organizations through digitalization projects, enhancing their capacity to generate greater social impact.
The benefits of Quwa
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Quwa strengthens organizations involved in inclusion and gender empowerment by enabling them to share knowledge and network through the platform. This enhances their effectiveness, raises their profile, facilitates connections with new organizations, and promotes mutual learning.
Analytics and automation tools
During the Service Design phase, the need for thorough analysis—measurement and understanding—became apparent. Given the platform's lack of a general moderator, integrating intelligent supports was crucial. A prime example is the platform's ability to automatically generate trending topics.
Another automated feature includes calculating organizational profiles based on strategic criteria vital to Quwa. This functionality allows for targeted searches for new partners and enhances organizations' visibility as partners.
Furthermore, the platform facilitates automatic generation of activity reports. Users can track all organized activities within the platform, simplifying the processof exporting data for annual reports.
While English serves as the project's primary language, local implementation on the app posed challenges. As a solution, we implemented an automatic translation feature in the platform. This allows organizations to contribute in their native languages, with automatic translation into English for broader accessibility and collaboration.
Quwa success factors
The goal of Quwa is that users, on the one hand, use the platform to seek knowledge. On the other hand, it is also very important that they share knowledge themselves. We therefore consider this second part as one of the success factors for the continued existence of the platform.
Challenges
One of our initial challenges was managing a large, international consortium. Ensuring alignment of all stakeholders and maintaining their ongoing interest required leveraging our toolbox of facilitation and analysis techniques.
Another significant challenge pertained to budget constraints. While we secured funding for the application's development, ensuring the platform's financial sustainability remained uncertain. To address this, we integrated numerous smart automations. Additionally, opting for serverless hosting was driven by the 'pay-for-what-you-consume' principle, aligning with our budgetary considerations.
Beyond our role as software developers, we actively contributed to implementing and promoting the project within the EU. We also participated in non-software development work packages, often stepping outside our comfort zone. However, the anticipated social impact of our efforts makes these endeavors immensely worthwhile.
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The result
The collaboration is proceeding smoothly, with all stakeholders expressing satisfaction with Kunlabora as a partner. Furthermore, there is considerable enthusiasm among consortium partners following the recent launch of the app.
Another strength we've discovered within our company is our technical expertise, which proves invaluable in crafting robust grant proposals. We understand that custom software solutions come at a cost, and while our customers often acknowledge our competitive price-quality ratio, affordability can sometimes be a hurdle. Yet, custom software frequently yields significant efficiency gains. Therefore, we are committed to assisting with subsidy applications.
The project has already brought immense satisfaction to our employees, as contributing to a better world is deeply rewarding. The gratitude from social organizations further reinforces our motivation. However, the most rewarding outcome we anticipate is the substantial social impact this project can achieve.
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