Local innovations; "process" more than a "product"

The readings of this week focused on many examples of innovations addressing social needs such as access to safe drinking water, free education, food etc. Designers, inventors, engineers and innovators are constantly looking for new solutions to address social issues. Examples include the “Hippo water roller”, which is a tool to transport water on long-distances for people who live far from water facilities and have to walk miles to get water; or the “CardioPad” , a computer tablet that detects heart disease in rural areas where access to medical services is difficult. I found that the article “Africa Innovations: 15 ideas helping to transform a continent” is very useful as it highlights three important sections in innovations: the problem; the method to address the problem and the verdict (the results). (1) I think that it is important to add a section: the sustainability of the project. Can the results observed be consistent and sustainable? 

In my opinion, The example “9 DIY AID SUPPLIES” is one of the innovations that was the most relevant in the article about African innovations because it was sustainable at the local level; the authors stated “ Advance Aid’s work in Kenya in 2011 marks the first time that emergency relief goods produced in Africa have been provided for an African emergency, with 80% of goods sources within the country. It put $1.5bn into the Kenyan economy and brought orders to 12 local manufacturers”.(1) Involving the local community and transferring knowledge are key to help a country progress. The report “Innovation for Sustainable Development” published by the United Nations emphasizes the crucial role of local innovations in social and economic development in Africa. The local innovations are more a “process” than a final “product”. They can involve several businesses and have an impact on production, on the value chain, on the distribution channels etc. Furthermore, they can “engender learning processes that go well beyond the projects themselves, pointing the way to solutions of national or regional significance”. (2) Thus benefits from local/sustainable/successful innovations transcend the original purpose of the innovation.

However, the report of the United Nations also mentions that Africa is still behind, and that a large part of Sub-Saharan African countries have difficulties adopting innovations due to their lack of resources in R&D ; their small local markets; and the high level of educated Africans migrating. (2) The challenge for social innovators is to implement innovations that can be adopted by these countries, and that will not only help the countries develop but continue evolving simultaneously. 

(1) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/aug/26/africa-innovations-transform-continent

(2) United Nations. "Innovation for Sustainable Development" (2008) https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/publication.pdf