"Imago Global Grassroots's mission is to help grassroots organizations build capacity and scale their impact. Imago deploys its resources and know-how to leverage grassroots organizations’ local expertise. I worked for one of their first and main Latin American clients, PovertyStoplight (PSL), a Paraguayan organization with a global scale that measures multidimensional poverty.

I worked on two projects: one for a client and one for Imago itself. My first project goal was to test a new business model to run the program in Paraguay. PovertyStoplight used to charge other organizations for using their technology and training. However, this new program offers free access to any volunteer who wants to assess multidimensional poverty in their community. As my second project goal, I contributed to creating the strategy to grow Imago in Latin American, developing a landscape analysis, and networking with potential clients and partners. Imago and PSL are both committed to bringing equitable solutions like the one that I have the opportunity to contribute to.

During my MPA, I learned about the importance of building capacity within the development field. Thus, I made sure to incorporate the local team in the whole process. I co-created practical materials to structure the new program. I supported the local team to develop a manual to guide volunteers who want to implement PSL in their communities, as well as presentations and agendas for the training. I also designed tailored workshops to provide them with the necessary tools to seize ownership of future projects. In addition, last semester, I took the course Design for Social Innovation, where I was introduced to human-centered design. In particular, I learned how to create empathy maps, which were vital to gain a deeper understanding of the ongoing work team dynamic. During my internship, I had the chance to apply the course’s learnings when I performed the project diagnosis for PSL.

Professionally, the main challenge was to collect data due to the virtual enrioment imposed by the pandemic. Gathering information was vital to understand how the program was running in order to draft the diagnosis and recommendations. Thus, I scheduled in-depth group and individual interviews with the team and end-users through video calls. Moreover, not sharing an office with my manager could have been challenging, but I set up frequent check-ins with her to ensure that I was on the right track and updating the priorities. It was also a challenge that I could not travel to Paraguay due to the pandemic travel restrictions. I was looking forward to joining the local team and observing how the program was running in the field. However, we overcame the virtual landscape, and we were able to create a great sense of team.

My experience as an IMAGO fellow has been a valuable experience. In my previous experience working at the central government of the city of Buenos Aires, I interacted with senior level staff only. As a development practitioner, I am grateful for this opportunity because I gained the skills to work with all organization levels. One of my most important takeaways is focusing on the field teams in an organization bottom to create capacity and ensure to implement the successful program implementation. It was rewarding to witness how much each of the field teams grew, and by the time my internship ended, they were ready to take the reins."