Diving Into FunDoo's Scale Journey
Leveraging evidence-based decision-making to reach millions
FunDoo is a digital life coach that equips young people with 21st-century, employability, and green skills and provides information on mental health and immunization. Available on a wide array of platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Messenger, Viber, Telegram and SMS, FunDoo prepares young people for the future.
Since its launch in 2021, FunDoo has reached over 1 million registered users in Uzbekistan, Indonesia, India, Jamaica, the Eastern Caribbean Area, Mozambique, Greece, and Uganda.
FunDoo was originally launched in India by UNICEF and YuWaah (Generation Unlimited India) to help students bridge information gaps during the COVID-19 pandemic. With reliable information and resources, FunDoo helped young people make informed decisions about the Covid-19 vaccine and other health-related questions.
The initiative has since expanded to other regions and use cases. Today, FunDoo also offers information on a range of topics – from mental health to career guidance to green skills.
“FunDoo’s tasks have introduced…balance in my life. I learned valuable things about stress, such as what could trigger my stress and how to power my stress levels.” Celine, FunDoo User in Domenica, Eastern Caribbean Area.
FunDoo adapts and iterates to meet the evolving needs of its users using real time evaluation data. This helps monitor progress – from enrollment tracking to engagement levels. Insights reveal the potential for accelerated and global scale of FunDoo using UNICEF’s 5D Innovation Framework.
The 5D model, which underpins UNICEF’s portfolio management approach to innovation, helps set evidence priorities for innovative solutions and recommendations on how to improve scalability.
Dimension and results |
Recommendations |
Iteration |
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Innovation: FunDoo is a new and valuable concept.
FunDoo stands out because of the Fundoo character/persona, which is friendly, empathetic, and encouraging for a young learner.
FunDoo has gamification features like badges, points, and certificates and uses byte-sized activity-based learning modules, which are 30 to 45 minutes long, to equip young people with essential skills.
The solution is low-bandwidth and built on principles of human-centered design. |
Explore new learning innovations, including automation of learning modules and investing in research into using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
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FunDoo is implementing short learning modules that will take 15 to 30 minutes to complete, piloting audio-only tasks and comic strips to break the monotony of text-based learning.
FunDoo is also introducing task modules that are SMS-only to increase accessibility in digitally dark areas.
The digital life coach is piloting an AI integration model with personalized user journeys and dynamic content to make it more interactive.
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Proven impact: Learners like FunDoo.
Over 1 million users are enrolled globally, and qualitative feedback received through Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and user testing across eight countries confirms that FunDoo supports their empowerment and agency.
The tool is reaching its target population of adolescents and young people age 14 to 24 and addressing the skills gaps. .
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Conduct evaluations, such as longitudinal studies within the FunDoo ecosystem, to generate comprehensive evidence and concrete indicators of achievement.
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UNICEF is creating an assessment module for key tasks in FunDoo, on Mental Health, Human Papillomavirus (HPV), and Immunization. The dashboard is also being adapted for quantitative metrics on engagement, enrolment rates, and feedback questions as a parameters to assess the learning impact of the modules. |
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A viable business model: FunDoo can expand in two main ways.
FunDoo to Partners: Driven by partnerships with governments, schools, philanthropic organizations, private sector or NGOs.
FunDoo to Learners: Targets learners directly, through social media channels, and with support from learning ambassadors. |
Provide a clear strategy on models that serve a country contexts best and conduct a comprehensive ecosystem assessment to map potential partners before deployment.
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At the onset of the deployment of FunDoo in new countries, UNICEF will formalize the needs assessment process to determine the most feasible business model for a country context. |
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Proven scalability: FunDoo is relevant and effective to be scaled globally.
FunDoo as a solution is not resource intensive, and there is proven demand from more than 20 geographically diverse countries currently in the pipeline for FunDoo deployment.
FunDoo’s deployment has demonstrated its usefulness and scalability.
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For successful scaling in countries, the right personnel with the necessary skills and experience need to be identified and trained to ensure smooth implementation at a country level.
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Through its internal network of country offices, UNICEF is organizing capacity-building sessionson technical knowledge, user testing, content creation, and learning design. |
“FunDoo is accessible and interactive…I learned a lot of things that are not typically taught in school.” – FunDoo User.
“I enjoyed learning about time management and public speaking very much, and I now know how to speak [more] confidently,” Rishika, FunDoo User in India.
