8
S. Hostettler
interdisciplinary approach by bringing together practitioners, engineers, anthropologists, economists, computer scientists etc. to develop innovation that can bring about
a large-scale, positive social impact.
The constraints of low-resource settings can be a strong driver of innovation.
People living in rural or urban areas, educated or uneducated, are not just consumers
of innovation, they can also be the source. They have significant inventive power
to design and solve problems locally in their own sociocultural context. In Togo,
for instance, a 3D-printer was made using electronic waste salvaged from landfill
sites, with the aim of improving the lives of communities by “printing” objects
such as medical prostheses.
7 3D printing technology has the potential to bring about
concrete social impact and is particularly interesting in emergency relief situations
and for providing medical services in remote areas. Medical devices can be printed on
demand and in adequate quantity, e.g., irrigation syringes, oxygen splinters, umbilical
cords, and prostheses. Furthermore, using portable solar-powered 3D printers can
increase the technology’s autonomy. Overall, 3D printing could not only improve
health care in the developing world but could also allow for economic independence.
3D printing might help countries launch their own production rather than depend on
global supply chains by importing expensive medical devices from the developed
world (Dotz 2015).
1.6 Conclusion
Social impact requires the successful implementation of a technology at a large scale.
In this respect, developing a sustainable business model is crucial. De Jaeger et al.
(2017) argue that the underlying challenge when it comes to ensuring a high impact
depends on the development and successful implementation of a robust innovation/entrepreneurship ecosystem, the cooperation of all stakeholders, and sufficient
resources. Innovation must also be linked to national and institutional systems, e.g.,
when developing medical technologies, the Ministry of health should be a key partner
from the onset.
The challenge consists in considering all of these factors simultaneously; by not
doing so, the entire arch of technology development could run the risk of collapse
due to a single factor (e.g., financial sustainability or socio-cultural acceptability)
not being adequately addressed. It is for this reason that universities have a key
role to play in supporting the path to innovation and entrepreneurship education,
with outcomes that impact society at large. Human-centered design is the core of
development engineering that aims to scale for impact by incorporating development goals, constraints, and opportunities (Levine et al. 2016). Development engineering is based on the belief that innovative technologies have the potential to
improve life in low-income communities by incorporating insight from the social sciences throughout technological innovation—from prototyping to production at scale.
7 http://observers.france24.com/en/20161110-togolese-invent-3d-printer-waste.
S. Hostettler
interdisciplinary approach by bringing together practitioners, engineers, anthropologists, economists, computer scientists etc. to develop innovation that can bring about
a large-scale, positive social impact.
The constraints of low-resource settings can be a strong driver of innovation.
People living in rural or urban areas, educated or uneducated, are not just consumers
of innovation, they can also be the source. They have significant inventive power
to design and solve problems locally in their own sociocultural context. In Togo,
for instance, a 3D-printer was made using electronic waste salvaged from landfill
sites, with the aim of improving the lives of communities by “printing” objects
such as medical prostheses.
7 3D printing technology has the potential to bring about
concrete social impact and is particularly interesting in emergency relief situations
and for providing medical services in remote areas. Medical devices can be printed on
demand and in adequate quantity, e.g., irrigation syringes, oxygen splinters, umbilical
cords, and prostheses. Furthermore, using portable solar-powered 3D printers can
increase the technology’s autonomy. Overall, 3D printing could not only improve
health care in the developing world but could also allow for economic independence.
3D printing might help countries launch their own production rather than depend on
global supply chains by importing expensive medical devices from the developed
world (Dotz 2015).
1.6 Conclusion
Social impact requires the successful implementation of a technology at a large scale.
In this respect, developing a sustainable business model is crucial. De Jaeger et al.
(2017) argue that the underlying challenge when it comes to ensuring a high impact
depends on the development and successful implementation of a robust innovation/entrepreneurship ecosystem, the cooperation of all stakeholders, and sufficient
resources. Innovation must also be linked to national and institutional systems, e.g.,
when developing medical technologies, the Ministry of health should be a key partner
from the onset.
The challenge consists in considering all of these factors simultaneously; by not
doing so, the entire arch of technology development could run the risk of collapse
due to a single factor (e.g., financial sustainability or socio-cultural acceptability)
not being adequately addressed. It is for this reason that universities have a key
role to play in supporting the path to innovation and entrepreneurship education,
with outcomes that impact society at large. Human-centered design is the core of
development engineering that aims to scale for impact by incorporating development goals, constraints, and opportunities (Levine et al. 2016). Development engineering is based on the belief that innovative technologies have the potential to
improve life in low-income communities by incorporating insight from the social sciences throughout technological innovation—from prototyping to production at scale.
7 http://observers.france24.com/en/20161110-togolese-invent-3d-printer-waste.