Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • MIT D-Lab promotes rural community innovations in Guatemala with Soluciones Comunitarias

    Nancy Adams

    October 10, 2014 |

    MIT News |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: Guatemala, Santa Maria Nebaj, El Quiché

    Using "Creative Capacity Building," MIT's D-Lab established in impoverished, rural areas in developing nations a method of empowering and supporting individuals in rural communities to invent low-cost technologies specifically geared to address the problems or needs of their locale. In 2009, the D-Lab paired with SolCom, a Guatemalan community organizing enterprise, and an international development fund to bring this model to the isolated, impoverished area of Nebaj, assisting locals in creating a Makerspace, or "integrated workshop, demonstration site, training center, and retail shop to complement the activities of microentrepreneurs." The collaboration has fostered an environment for sustainable, grass-roots change, in which the social and intellectual capital needed to create the needed innovations and inventions originate in the community itself.

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  • How to Attract Artists to a Down-and-Out Neighborhood

    John Tierney

    October 10, 2014 |

    The Atlantic |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Columbus, Ohio

    Public-private collaborations can promote entrepreneurship and foster economic revitalization. In the Franklinton neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio, partnerships between the city of Columbus, the Franklinton Development Association (FDA), and local businesses have led to a flourishing of artist studios, maker spaces, and other community attractions. The initiatives were funded in part by grants from ArtPlace America as well as the city of Columbus.

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  • Profits at the Bottom of the Pyramid

    Erik Simanis

    October 01, 2014 |

    Harvard Business Review |

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    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    Too often socially useful businesses end up failing because they get ahead of themselves and end up not being profitable. Companies now can select from an 'opportunity map' of ventures that serve the poorest individuals, and are more likely to be profitable and sustainable.

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  • Innovation Within Reach

    Sarika Bansal

    August 21, 2014 |

    The New York Times |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Nepal

    What about the world’s poorest, for whom new, expensive gadgets are out of reach - what types of innovation would be most beneficial for them? Through “frugal innovation”, people are designing products specifically to meet the needs of the world’s poorest citizens.

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  • Serving the base of the pyramid: five tips from emerging-market experts

    Bruce Watson

    May 30, 2014 |

    The Guardian |

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    800-1500 Words

    Response Location: United States, New York, New York

    The Social Innovation Summit, hosted in New York City, examines five key elements that allow the strategy of marketing to the base of the pyramid to actually succeed, and the companies big and small that are leveraging this approach to sustainably break the cycle of poverty in varied industries for communities around the world.

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  • The Robots That Saved Pittsburgh

    Glenn Thrush

    February 04, 2014 |

    Politico |

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    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Pittsburgh

    Post-industrial cities can re-platform their economies by fostering institutions that drive innovation and attract both financial and human capital. By promoting long-term collaboration between universities, cultural institutions, and entrepreneurs, Pittsburgh has undergone a three-decade-long urban reinvention. With Carnegie Mellon University as an anchor, the city’s robotics research sector has attracted investment from government projects and venture capital, creating a ripple effect of growth and urban development.

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  • Refurbished Wind Turbines to Power the Developing World at a Profit

    Mary Mazzoni

    January 30, 2014 |

    Triple Pundit |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, Emirate of Abu Dhabi

    The commercially-based Wind for Prosperity initiative may have devised a solution to meet growing demands for electricity in developing economies, where fossil fuels are expensive, difficult to access, and take a toll on environmental and human health. The venture works to refurbish wind turbines from Europe and re-deploy them in the developing world, providing clean and affordable power where it’s needed most.

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  • Playing With Toys and Saving Lives

    Tina Rosenberg

    January 29, 2014 |

    The New York Times |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Nicaragua, Jinotepe, Carazo

    Many different people are inventing health devices for resource-poor settings, but some organizations - like M.I.T.’s Little Devices group - are empowering developing communities and increasing access to healthcare by building medical devices that nurses and doctors in very poor settings can adapt themselves — or kits for making their own, often harvesting parts from toys to cleverly rig up medical equipment. It’s part of a major idea shift, one that’s transforming the design of foreign aid.

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  • Smaller-Town Startups: 'Stopping the Brain Drain' in South Carolina

    James Fallows

    January 25, 2014 |

    The Atlantic |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Greenville, South Carolina

    The "Next" Project in Greenville, South Carolina brings local government and companies together to create a business incubator to encourage new startups to launch -- and stay -- in the area. One such business, called the Iron Yard, acts as a sort of code academy, offering a 3-month bootcamp and guaranteeing that graduates of their program will find a job in the industry. So far, they've followed through on that guarantee.

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  • The women who bear the scars of Sierra Leone's civil war

    Jean Friedman-Rudovsky

    November 16, 2013 |

    The Telegraph |

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    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Sierra Leone, Binkolo, Bombali District

    The bloody civil war that tore through Sierra Leone for over a decade was one of the most devastating and violent in Africa's modern history. Those that suffered most were usually young woman, forced into combat, displaced, repeatedly raped and beaten. It has taken years for those who lived through the conflict to reclaim a normal life. One of the most powerful tools that many women leveraged were grassroots initiatives, funded by various NGOs, that the girls designed and led themselves, funding small businesses, support groups, and community projects.

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