Context Matters…

Each year, thousands of social innovations emerge from university labs, garages, multinational corporations and other places. However, very few are known to the world and even fewer are commercialized and available to the people who need it the most. Why is it that some inventions making a sustained impact while the others lie dormant in the form of published articles, public journals and public/private labs?

Case in point: The Raspberry Pi promoters’ initial ambition was to make the Raspberry Pi available to kids in the UK. The make, the characteristics of the device, the applicability were all meant to service a child from a developed country. According to most recent information [1], Raspberry Pi mini computer has a touch screen that can be plugged into other components such as computers, media servers and smart home devices. However, the product was marketed to the users in the developing world. Though the thought of a cheap product might sound appealing to its marketability in a developing countries, the innovators haven’t completely considered factors such as internet and electricity availability, consumer/beneficiary usability (BPL developing country homes seldom have smart device to connect the Pi) and competition with other smart phone devices that might impede the innovation’s use in these nations. For Example, in countries such as India, food, language, climate, dressing, habits and preferences varies every couple of miles. Making a product that hopes to serve “the entirety of developing nations” acts anti to the bottom-up approach of problem solving.

This week, we saw how innovations from diverse fields have been tackling tough societal challenges. While these innovations are inexpensive, reliable and focused on solving a particular problem, little is reflected on the applicability and deploybility journey of the innovation at the grass root level. Is there is alternative to the du jour (one size fits all) model? Is there more to change than designing and developing a great product? Can the Design Thinking approach be induced in to the innovation deployment cycle and reduce the gap between the lab and the beneficiary?

“Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that integrates the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.” Tim Brown, President and CEO, IDEO.


The deployment of the innovation involves understanding social structures and the complex value chain in which the innovation needs to interact with. It needs to particularly add value to the social capital of the region the innovation interacts with. Taking in account the below factors MIGHT help the innovator to develop context and deploy the technology more effectively:

• Feedback loop (Needs assessment): An effective feedback loop would ensure renewed understanding of the changing region needs [2], especially when interacting with the social system in the region. Partnerships and alliances with local organizations that work at grass root levels would promote coherent and effective cooperation [5] among the local community while giving deeper insight in to the beneficiary willingness and readiness to accept the innovation. 

• Suppliers are partners (Tech possibilities): Designing a good innovation is one thing and ensuring that it reaches the right person another. Training local staff, creating resources and institutional infrastructure and building effective and decentralized distribution systems are crucial for repeated interactions with the innovation. "Measures aimed at reducing waste, water, and energy use along the tiers of the supply chain can not only improve environmental performance, but produce cost savings to all the parties involved." [3] 

• From Silo to Systems: Co-operative & collaborative systems have empirically proven to be better at bringing about systemic change than singular innovations trying to act as magic wands. This comes from the former’s ability to interface through multiple intervention points within and outside organizations (products, teams, technologies, governments and related actors); consequently, bringing accountability and governance for the system as a whole to act efficiently. [4] 

The Human-centered Design thinking approach is unique in that it allows decision makers to employ the model in to not only designing the physical attributes of the innovation but in to the value chain in which it the innovation interfaces with.

[1] http://www.cnet.com/news/raspberry-pi-gets-an-official-7-inch-touchscreen/
[2]http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/h2020-section/europe-changing-world-inclusive-innovative-and-reflective-societies

[3]http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/hau-lee-surprising-formula-improved-supply-chain-performance

[4] Ideas borrowed from Social innovation in the real world - from Silos to Systems | Indy Johar | 

http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/Social-innovation-in-the-real-w

[5] Ideas borrowed from http://youngfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/The-Open-Book-of-Social-Innovationg.pdf