One article that struck me this week was the profile of the non-profit Open-Source Ecology (OSE) and its Global Village Construction Set. By freeing information and making it available to the public at large, the GVCS creates the ability to create your own tools to solve the problems at hand. This is to me what social innovation should embody. It’s not about pushing a product on a developing market and calling it innovation. It’s about letting those who own a problem also own the means to solve the problem by their own designs, and often more affordably.
The idea is exciting, but the question is how to create more interest and participation in growing the database as well as creating access to these ideas and designs in the developing world. Other challenges would be to translate these designs into the languages of the regions where they are needed most and to collaborate on alternate designs where the material needs for construction cannot be readily met.
Furthermore, the argument can be made that a product or design engineered for profit may be more efficient and durable, but can it be made at a reasonable price, and can it be accessed in developing regions? If so, great. How long would it take for the designs available now to catch up to industry standards? Would they be able to? I would imagine that an open-source hub of ideas would evolve on its own in much the same way that we have seen open-source software take off. One of the exciting prospects of accessible information is that it would open up growth of localized businesses, especially those with specialized skills, to expand their repertoire of products and services.
As for sustainability of a resource like the CVGS, I would propose that the model be a based on suggested donation, in much the same way that people, groups, and other non-profits have done. For example: Both Louis C.K. and Radiohead have pioneered independent distribution online, and have proved that the model has been successful. In the same way, Humble Bundle has sustained itself and partnering charities off of the donations it receives from sales of digital content. Alternatively, they could also launch donation campaigns for content and money in the same way that Wikipedia does. In the end, these schemes allow the consumer to decide directly the value they assign to the goods they receive. Some may not be able to pay and others will donate much more.
Source:
Take a look at the designs offered by Open Source Ecology:
And the cool things Humble Bundle offers:
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