I recently read an interesting report by Booz & Company called ” The Importance of Frugal Engineering.” It cites the development process of the Tata Nano car as a case study to illustrate the imperative of this approach in designing products for the developing world. To me, the idea of “frugal” can and should be extended to the larger platform of international development. This is the vision of sustainable community development that is very different from the standard approach taken today.
Tags: Afghanistan Booz & Company developing countries economic opportunity frugal engineering George Bernard Shaw grassroots level international aid social change The Importance of Frugal EngineeringDisplaying Posts Tagged ‘developing countries’
Frugal Thinking
Connie K. Duckworth / August 23rd, 2010 / posted in business social responsibility, economic sustainability, opportunity / 1 comment
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Share on FacebookWould You Drink River Water?
Connie K. Duckworth / July 29th, 2010 / posted in afghan people, afghan women, sustainable community, sustainable economic development, sustainable environment / 1 commentGiven our national obsession with bottled water over tap, I somehow think that the answer for most of us would be a resounding “no.” But for billions of people, the question is not particularly relevant. They simply have no other alternatives and it makes them sick, literally.
Tags: afghan people afghan women Afghanistan Bamyan clean water developing countries Garden Center income-generating opportunities international development international development projects lack of clean water river water sanitation sustainable economic development water water filter molds water filtration world health organizationInternational development is a big business — as in billions of dollars big
Connie K. Duckworth / March 12th, 2010 / posted in business social responsibility, economic sustainability, investment, opportunity, social business enterprise / 1 commentHaving worked on Wall Street for my entire career, I sure never knew where the “real money” was hiding. Most of the money for humanitarian assistance comes from the governments of developed countries. Actually, I’d guess that hundreds of billions get aimed each year at improving the lives of the citizens in developing countries around the world, by a whole cast of development organizations. Here are a just a couple of examples.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is our federal government agency responsible for allocating and distributing American foreign aid. Its stated objective is to “extend a helping hand to those people overseas struggling to make a better life, recover from a disaster or striving to live in a free and democratic country…” In 2009, Congress appropriated about $26 billion for USAID’s handshake. Assisting in the execution of this mission are the for-profit “Beltway bandits”, the private consulting companies circling Washington, DC along Interstate 495.
Tags: Asian Development Bank developing countries fiscal accountability grassroots level humanitarian assistance hybrid innovative International Committee of the Red Cross International Monetary Fund international organizations non-governmental organizations Save the Children The World Food Program United Nations USAID World Bank
