Basic life needs of BoP-consumers includes status

In physiological sciences, Maslow's Hierarchy of Human Needs is often presented as a pyramid, with self-actualization at the top as the highest of human’s needs in ones life. The base of the pyramid is the physiological needs, which are necessary for survival. Once these are resolved, an individual can concentrate on the second layer, the need for safety. The third layer is the need for love and belonging, followed by the need for esteem, which includes also status. Finally, self-actualization forms the apex of the pyramid.
Luuk van Kempen investigated the scope, nature and welfare effects of status consumption by the poor in developing countries. In his thesis, he counterparts the idea that the poor do not have a need for status as long as they have not fulfilled their basic needs. Experiments in Bolivia showed that people consume status products before they resolved their physiological needs.

PRA and RRA

The Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) methodology is a development of RRA which gives local people more of an involvement with the research process and also expects more action from them. PRA is a growing family of approaches and methods to enable local people to share, enhance and analyze their knowledge of life and conditions, and to plan, act, monitor and evaluate. The essence of PRA is about changes and reversals - of role, behavior, relationship and learning. Outsiders do not dominate and lecture; they facilitate, sit down,listen and learn.

Institute of Design IIT

The Institute of Design of Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) initiated a Design for the Base of the Pyramid Project in Chicago and in three cities in India. It is an initiative to develop user-centered design strategies and concepts for new products, services and businesses capable of generating sustainable economic improvement in the lives of people living in the vast base of the global economic pyramid. Within this program, there have been used methods, like: remote observation (day in the life studies, disposable camera studies, research focused on specific activities), conducting the design criteria, concept development (scenarios of use and business model proposals).

Adoptability research in India

Rosaliek van der Velden (Master's Thesis TU Delft 2005, p.99) states that reliability, empowerment and accessibility are the main aspects of adoptability for BoP people in India (out of these 9: accessibility, affordability, compatibility, reliability, usability, empowerment, comfort, desirability and repairability).