Graphic from ColaLife Scenarios – Africa Village with shop
ColaLife is a very simple idea. However, if it’s to work it will require people and organisations to work together who have never worked together before. In other words it’s complicated. This has led me to think that perhaps we should take things one step at a time. Our current published strategy does this. First we want to do fieldwork and build the partnership that would be necessary to trial the ColaLife idea and then support this partnership in the co-design of the trial and then do the trial. But may be we should break things down further.
What if we cut things another way? We could focus initially on the issues associated with the distribution chain before we start carrying ‘social products’. This would look at the following:
- Options for the design of the AidPod (single use; possible secondary uses; re-usable; biodegradable; insulated etc)
- The design of the boxes that would carry them before the individual AidPods are introduced into the drinks crates
- The design of the procedures and processes including:
- When and how to introduce the AidPods into the system to cause the least friction (both logistical and legal)
- Risk assessment for the partners involved
- How to mitigate these risks
- How to effectively track AidPods
- All the informational and motivational elements including:
- What incentives would be required, if any, to ensure wholesaler participation?
- What would be the key motivators for the retailer?
- What would be the key motivators for the bottler/haulier?
- What temperature fluctuations would the contents of the AidPods experience?
Such a trial would not require all the regulatory clearance necessary if we were carrying medicines but would provide the information we would need to determine which ‘social products’/medicines could be carried. And this may whet the appetite of the regulators and make the acquisition of regulatory approval more simple down the line.
Thoughts?
