Force multipliers include tools, frameworks and approaches that help us accelerate outcomes in our work.

Organizational Tracking Indicator

cKinetics uses a formal measure, the Organizational Tracking Indicators (OTIs), that link inputs to outputs and outcomes.

These are tracked for our different areas of work and have 2 aims:

  • Ensure we continually ‘think’ differently and uncover insights. This is done by creating a measurable linkages between our activities and the change we are able to effect.
  • Help ensure alignment with the mission and the vision.

The OTIs strive to create a positive change in the Sustainability-Valuation Equilibrium.

Frugal innovation

Most Sustainability initiatives require higher expenditure upfront with gains being realized over time. This is true with respect to measurement systems, renewable infrastructure, closed loop systems as well as efficiency interventions.

At cKinetics we aim engineer to drive down costs by using principles of frugal innovation- using only elements that are needed, adapting them to the local context, sourcing regionally and planning for lower operating expenses.

When we work in the area of services we extensively use principles of Lean manufacturing and quality optimization.

We aim to use these principles to drive down cost of ownership by an order of magnitude, if not more (usually 1% to 10% of original costs).

Our resource management platform- comMIT, as an example, is an outcome of frugal innovation- that gets deployed in factories at a fraction of typical other tools.

Change Management

Any introduction of a strategy, innovation or new practices, is stymied unless accompanied with a comprehensive people-engagement approach.

Hence, change management and social/ behavioral engineering is at the cornerstone of most initiatives we work on.

We have developed models for engagement at all levels: be it with management or with the workforce or with the community.

Most of our approaches that we employ aim to drive re-enforcement of positive behavior coupled with aligning incentives and feedback loops

For driving change management at a workforce or community level, we creatively use a variety of communication styles (in local languages).

Diagnostic Frameworks and Tools

Sustainability is a relatively new inter-disciplinary practice. During the course of our work, we have developed several diagnostic frameworks and tools. We use these to accelerate outcomes in our areas of work.

These tools include:

  • Optimizing Sustainability Valuation Return-  Market driven Sustainability can only be achieved where the economic value creation returns are increased while the resource intensity is reduced. We have developed a set of indicators to track areas of work on both fronts to maximize chances of uptake.
  • Value Added Water- cKinetics has pioneered the use of a new concept called ‘Value-Added’ Water where water is seen as a resource carrier; and priced accordingly. This is relevant for industries such as pharmaceuticals, textiles, chemicals, paper & pulp, and other similar water intensive industries. This concept has been used to develop the economic case of several programmatic interventions and has been acclaimed at the World Water Week, Stockholm in 2013.
  • Off-Grid Power Plant Economics Modeling Tool- With the proliferation of off-grid renewable energy systems, we found that there weren’t adequate tools out there that helped match different technology types to (a) the variety of load curves that existed and (b) different pricing points of tariff and fuel. To meet this need we constructed a tool that we use to identify viable opportunities, create business plans as well as develop financial forecasts.
  • Smart Cities Opportunity Assessment Model (SCOAM)- As developers, cities and technology providers come together, cKinetics' division Sustainability Outlook has developed the Smart Cities Opportunity Assessment Model (SCOAM) to help identify the market opportunities and assess the investability in different cities. SCOAM examines four key focus areas, namely, Smart Energy, Smart Water Management, Smart Transportation and Smart Waste Management.

IoT and Sustainability Data Analytics

An emerging force multiplier for us is Sustainability Analytics. In all our spheres of work we are witnessing proliferation of data – machine to machine data (M2M) as well as operational efficiency data. We see this happening at homes, communities, factories and cities.

We see this trend only accelerating with the proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT) and increased use of people using smart systems.

Being data driven is one of our operating philosophies; and we construct data models in almost every engagement. Analytics forms the cornerstone of a lot of our analyses.

cKinetics’ platform comMIT is a response to the market need for middle-ware that can speak to different data types.