Nova_integration

In Nova’s understanding, poverty is the product of the dysfunctional interaction of a wide diversity of factors and systems.

Based on this problem definition, we understand our task as the designing of solutions for households, where the functional integration of these factors has been achieved. This includes:

The integration of the knowledge of residents who experience poverty from the inside, and the knowledge of different researchers who see aspects of poverty from the outside
The integration of the insights of researchers of various disciplines with each other
The integration of technology in the household as a whole
The integration of the views of service and product providers with the perceptions of household residents
Eventually, the integration of all of the above

The Nova approach recognises the mutual influence and interdependence of the different focus areas on each other. In fact, they are only a few of many more: they form part of a large number of factors that have an impact on the household. In the household, these factors interact and combine to form the household that we observe. Maybe even more importantly: the household as a whole is an entity in its own right that determines the place and role of each of the constituting parts.
We therefore have to consider the place of each focus area in the household as a whole. Our task can be described as the functional integration of each focus area into the whole household system.

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

Methodology

When conducting research the Nova Institute makes use of a phased approach. This means engagement in Research and Design activities, as well as small to larger scale implementation depending on the project at stake and the partners involved.

In designing solutions, we have to understand the reality of a household with a given solution as a whole. In the early phases of design this understanding could be a concept rather than an actual household. The concept is formed through practice research and in-depth interviews with residents. The concept will then be implemented on a small scale, evaluated with the residents, improved and iterated until all agree that it complies with the given criteria, namely:

Desirability to end-users
Beneficiality (not replacing one problem with another)
Affordability
Effectiveness
Replicability (the ability to be widely implemented)
Sustainability

Nova has developed sophisticated and comprehensive instruments for measuring the quality of life of households and of our solutions.

Instruments

It is of the utmost importance to develop reliable tools to measure the quality of life (QOL) of people in the context of their households. Dependable tools could assist in verifying the claim so often made by service and product providers, as well as welfare programmes, that their interventions improve the quality of life of poor households. It is a challenging quest to develop tools comprehensive enough to justify their use as indicators for a notion as comprehensive as quality of life, but limited enough to be practical. The QOLA and PIQOLA instruments were developed by NOVA in response to this challenge.

Integration_wheel ...

QOLA

The QOLA instrument combines an extremely well-defined qualitative approach with a definite systematic methodology. It is a tool for researchers and policy makers to assess the quality of life of households in a given area.

Ultimately our goal is to refine the instrument to such a level that it can be confidently used by local or national governments, industries and/or any other institution or organisation concerned about the quality of life of households. The QOLA - instrument was developed and tested in the low-income contexts in South Africa in eMabalenhle (Mpumalanga Province) and in Mamelodi (Gauteng Province).

The instrument makes it possible to assess the QOL of a specific household in terms of the estimated ability household members have to actualise (or satisfy) their fundamental human needs in the context of the household; this estimation of need actualisation ability can be made once the results of the QOLA-instrument is charted (see diagram below); the chart nuances the functioning of the 25 elements within a single household in eMbalenhle near Secunda in Mpumalanga, South Africa as well as the need satisfaction level the household experienced at the time of the survey as reported by the household member interviewed.

QOLA Wheel

PIQOLA

The Particular Impact Quality of Life Assessment (PIQOLA) Instrument is a tool that measures the particular impact of a specific intervention and/or satisfier (usage pattern, product, technology) on the quality of life of one or more household members.

The instrument provides a methodology to generate relevant questions to measure the impact of a particular input on the quality of life of households. The instrument has proven itself as a handy tool to compare the impact of an intervention on the quality of life of different households in a given area.