Phnom Penh, Cambodia is a city that quickly inspired me with a vibration of optimism and energy. A place with a violent history that was emerging and growing its entrepreneurial spirit rapidly. BY SIMON GREEN

1. UsingTechnology Design for Health:
A Photo Essay about the
InSTEDD iLab Southeast Asia
BY SIMON GREEN

2. As
a
marketing
specialist
and
frequent
traveler,
I’ve
been
to
some
exotic
destinations.
But
never
to
Asia.
Phnom
Penh,
Cambodia
is
a
city
that
quickly
inspired
me
with
a
vibration
of
optimism
and
energy.
A
place
with
a
violent
history
that
was
emerging
and
growing
its
entrepreneurial
spirit
rapidly.

3. I
was
curious
about
was
how
Phnom
Penh
had
become
a
hub
for
innovation,
with
thousands
of
developers,
trainers,
NGO
and
government
employees,
and
how
the
InSTEDD
iLab
Southeast
Asia
fit
into
the
patchwork
of
the
region.

4. 2-
I
first
met
my
contact
Tharum
Bun,
the
communications
lead,
and
Channe
Suy
Lan,
the
leader
of
the
iLab,
via
Skype
calls
months
before,
as
we
worked
on
media
projects
together.
One
of
the
mantras
of
InSTEDD
is
“If
you
don’t
go,
you
won’t
know.”
It
was
not
until
6
months
later
that
I
would
have
a
chance
to
truly
experience
the
mantra
myself.
I
was
going
to
Cambodia
to
work
with
the
iLab,
to
understand
and
document
the
iLab’s
human
centered
design
approach.

5. I
would
begin
on
my
first
work-­‐day
at
an
event
organized
with
the
Center
of
Disease
Control.
The
iLab
was
celebrating
the
official
launch
of
a
digital
disease
detection
initiative
with
the
CDC
Cambodia
(of
the
Ministry
of
Health).
I
watched
as
epidemiologists
and
reporters
conversed
with
executives
of
nonprofits
Skoll
Global
Threats
Fund
and
InSTEDD.
I
listened
to
a
translated
presentation
about
participatory
surveillance
by
Dr.
Ly
Sovann
of
the
CDC
Cambodia,
and
observed
a
live
demo
of
the
voice-­‐software
Verboice
by
Channe
Suy
Lan
of
the
InSTEDD
iLab.
Pictured (Left to right): Eduardo Jezierski (InSTEDD), Channe Suy Lan (InSTEDD), Dr. Ly Sovann
(CDC Cambodia), Dr. Mark Smolinksi (Skoll Global Threats Fund), & Mr. Samnang (CDC Cambodia)

6. When
I
first
visited
the
iLab
location,
I
noticed
that
in
the
breakout
room
that
two
developers
were
working
on
something,
so
I
peeked
in
and
learned
that
Channa
and
Mesa
were
working
on
a
project
for
the
World
Food
Program,
to
help
transition
a
paper-­‐based
classroom
reporting
system
to
a
digital
one,
which
would
save
schools
and
provinces
months
of
otherwise
wasted
time
and
resources.

7. I
watched
over
the
next
week
as
they
improved
upon
their
work
plans
with
meetings
involving
different
stakeholders,
including
outside-­‐training,
to
come
closer
to
a
solution
that
would
work
for
the
people
using
it.
I
learned
first-­‐hand
that
the
iLab
approach
is
not
about
creating
something
and
shipping
it.
The
human-­‐centered
approach
is
about
iterating,
and
looping
in
the
end-­‐user
as
much
as
possible.

8. I
was
later
introduced
to
Thyda
and
Mouyleng,
two
young
coders,
who
started
at
the
iLab
as
interns,
but
were
now
writing
the
code
for
this
paper-­‐to-­‐digital
software.
I
was
impressed
with
the
work
ethic
of
the
team,
watching
as
they
chatted
and
coded
together
for
the
entire
day.

9. Every
morning
the
team
has
what’s
called
a
“stand-­‐up
meeting”
where
they
explain
to
each
other
what
they
are
working
on,
and
any
difficulties
they
are
facing.
The
senior
developers
help
to
guide
the
junior
developers,
and
they
rotate
from
project
to
project,
allowing
for
new
perspectives
and
new
angles
on
existing
challenges
and
emerging
developments.

10. I
must
also
mention
the
variety
of
people
who
visit
the
iLab.
Every
day
I
watched
as
people
from
sectors
like
malaria
detection,
CDC
Cambodia,
and
rural
clean
water
distribution
visit
to
discuss
big
plans
and
existing
projects
with
members
of
the
development
team.
The
door
was
open
to
all
sectors,
big
and
small,
from
small
nonprofit
entrepreneurs
to
representatives
from
large
government
organizations.
I
had
never
before
seen
such
a
diverse
representation,
where
all
are
welcome
to
learn
from
each
other.
This
open
architecture
allows
a
free
flow
of
information
and
new
ideas.

11. Throughout
the
week
I
worked
closely
with
Tharum
at
the
iLab
to
plan
and
produce
media
assets
to
support
the
CDC
Cambodia
digital
reporting
launch.
We
worked
to
explain
what
the
iLab
was
doing,
and
who
was
involved
in
the
process.
We
interviewed
executives,
senior
coders,
and
junior
coders.
We
scripted,
translated,
and
transcribed
the
video.
We
worked
closely
with
a
video
team
and
produced
various
footage.
We
spent
hours
per
day
in
the
breakout
room,
planning
and
discussing,
and
yet
we
felt
energized
with
the
progress
we
were
making.

12. The
InSTEDD
iLab
mission
is
to
improve
global
health,
safety,
and
sustainable
development,
by
working
side-­‐by-­‐side
with
end-­‐
users
in
the
field.
Sustainable
development
that
makes
an
impact.
That’s
what
the
iLab
is
about,
and
there
are
other
labs
in
the
world
that
have
adopted
a
similar
methodology.
This
agile
approach
is
what
makes
real
impact
while
reducing
waste
of
resources,
in
my
opinion.
It’s
an
approach
that
I
hope
to
see
replicated
in
more
places
across
the
world.

13. My
intention
was
to
visit
the
iLab
and
help
to
better
tell
its
story.
The
iLab
Southeast
Asia
is
a
special
place
that
is
creating
the
future
leaders
of
the
region.
The
open,
collaborative
approach
deserves
to
be
better
understood
so
that
more
organizations
can
adopt
similar
processes.
I
will
continue
to
work
together
with
the
iLab,
and
I
feel
confident
that
its
impact
will
continue
to
grow
greater,
and
help
create
additional
iLabs
around
the
world.

14. For
more
information,
visit:
www.ilabsea.org