Why Our Air Quality Toolkit Had to Be More Than Just Sensors

When we first set out to create a low-cost air quality monitoring solution as part of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Open Innovation Challenge, the initial problem statement was clear: design a toolkit that resource-limited communities could afford. However, it quickly became evident that cost wasn’t the only barrier, and affordable hardware alone wouldn’t be enough to ensure the project’s success.

Providing sensors, no matter how affordable or accurate, is of limited use if they are difficult to deploy as a result of users not knowing how to use them, not having access to appropriate guidance, or lacking the technical background to interpret the data meaningfully.

While reports and research highlight these barriers, it’s important to remember that these are not just theoretical findings – they represent the lived realities that many communities grapple with every day. Working with our partners across Latin America, Asia, and beyond has shown us firsthand how these challenges manifest on the ground. Throughout this article, you’ll hear directly from some of these community leaders whose experiences were instrumental in shaping our approach to the toolkit.

Why Existing Solutions Fall Short

As much as the technology has improved, accessibility remains significantly unequal. According to a 2022 report on strengthening air quality management guidance developed by the Clean Air Fund, UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and Global Health Visions (GHV), “less than a third of the countries surveyed have successfully implemented monitoring networks or have air quality management strategies.”

The report found that while there are substantial resources available online, content is often tailored to experts, making it too technical for most readers who lack prior subject matter knowledge. Another key challenge is the lack of localised content available in local languages, noting “there is a need for guidance to be more context-specific”.

In the report, GHV gathers insights from close to 100 environmental officials, academics, and others across 119 countries, primarily in low- and middle-income countries. The aim was to better understand the gaps and barriers to effective air quality monitoring, and outline how guidance could be made more accessible and actionable.

As a result of these focus groups, “lack of technical capacity and knowledge” emerged as the top barrier to air quality monitoring, with “lack of funding” in second place. To address these, the report makes several recommendations for air quality monitoring stakeholders:

• Provide support to collect, access, and utilise high-quality, credible air quality data
• Streamline online resources for easier navigation and accessibility
• Deliver guidance on how to effectively communicate air quality data
• And importantly, develop guidance that can be easily adapted for local contexts and capacities

What Does It Take to Turn Data Into Real Impact?

Our approach is already in action on the ground through our pilot project in Vietnam, where a group of 14 users – primarily university students – are testing the toolkit. To ensure that the toolkit is accessible, we translated all materials into Vietnamese, which enables the students to understand and engage with the content with ease. This not only helps users to set up their sensors independently, but also empowers them to interpret and apply the data in meaningful ways within their own communities.

After All, a Toolkit Isn’t Useful If It Stays in the Box

That’s why we’ve designed this toolkit to be useful in the hands of real users, not just air quality experts. Making air quality data impactful requires more than just numbers. It’s about giving communities the tools and confidence to turn insights into action – whether that be to inform urban planning, shape public health policies, evaluate environmental strategies, or engage citizens in collective advocacy.

At its core, this project isn’t just about measuring air quality. It’s about making clean air data available, understandable, and actionable for those who need it most. By designing a toolkit for everyone, we’re helping to close the air quality monitoring gap in a way that’s truly inclusive and impactful.

Interested in learning how this all started? Take a look at the story behind the toolkit and how our partnership with the UNDP came to be in our previous blogpost: “How Our Shared Vision with the UNDP Led to a Powerful New Toolkit.”

References:

• https://www.undp.org/policy-centre/singapore/blog/leveraging-low-cost-sensor-solutions-hyperlocal-air-quality-monitoring