International Innovations: Distributing and Diffusing Beyond the Initial Scope

This week’s readings focused on a diverse set of innovations created to deliver basic human needs. The article that sparked my interest was Holland et al.’s “African Innovations” piece, which listed 15 innovations that have been created to tackle problems that numerous countries in Africa face. As I was reading the article, I started thinking about the process of diffusion if these products were to be distributed to countries outside of Africa. Being of Haitian descent, I thought about how many of these innovations could be helpful and successful in Haiti specifically.

                One of the innovations mentioned is the Hippo Water Roller, which is a drum that is rolled on the ground, facilitating the process of hauling water across long distances without causing injury. Just like in many African countries, Haiti also faces problems when it comes to lack of access to clean water and many Haitian women and children find themselves walking several hours a day to get water. Therefore, I was intrigued about how the distribution and diffusion process would work if the Hippo Water Roller were to be sold in Haiti. I asked myself: In acting as enablers in delivering basic human needs, what challenges will social innovators face when considering broader distribution and diffusion?

According to a CNN article published in July 2010, the founder of the Hippo Water Roller, Grant Gibbs, was actually considering bringing the product to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake but experienced difficulty due to the high shipping costs for the Rollers to be sent from South Africa. Gibbs mentioned that there was a possibility for him to establish a mobile Hippo Water Roller unit in Haiti later that year. [1] I also found a link to a Crowdfunding page organized by Grant Gibbs that was made to raise funds to send the Rollers to Haiti. So far, only 6 percent of the financial goal is met. [3]

 

This example really opened my eyes to the difficulties associated with the large-scale distribution and diffusion of socially innovative ventures. This distribution specifically was rendered impossible due to the high costs, which in turn removed the ability for possible new customers in Haiti to experience the ‘Trialability’ that is one component for successful diffusion. In Brown and Wyatt’s “Design Thinking” article, they mentioned how critical it is for designers to consider distribution channels in order to not miss an opportunity for wider distribution of their products. [2] One could say that this was a missed opportunity for social impact, broader diffusion, and the delivery of basic human needs on a bigger scale than initially anticipated. One could also say that the product wasn’t initially created for Haiti and its creators aren’t obligated to consider the implications of greater diffusion.

All in all, I think that it is important for social innovators to consider distributing and diffusing their products outside their initial scope in order to increase their ability for social impact. At the end of the day, the problems that social innovators are trying to solve are oftentimes not isolated to a specific area, as with the case of the Hippo Water Roller in Africa and Haiti. However, I’m curious what you all think. Should broader distribution and diffusion be considered, or are the complications too great? What are some effective ways for social innovators to raise funding in order to achieve broader distribution and diffusion?

[1] http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/innovation/07/12/ost.hippo.water.roller/index.html

[2] http://ssir.org/articles/entry/design_thinking_for_social_innovation

[3]https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/let-s-help-haiti-with-the-hippo-water-roller-innovation-technology#/