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February 4, 2010
 

Ecosystems and Emerging Nets

In my talk last week at Aalto I discussed the concept of ecosystems, of which the BoPNet is an emerging one, and described how we often have to make choices of which ecosystem we belong to: Win or Mac, Android or Symbian, Western tech or now Eastern tech. The BoPNet is itself an emerging system on mini-ecosystems, each devised around the local needs, capabilities and tools available. Where we used to make choices about ideologies, religions or other social systems, increasingly we have to choose around technical platforms that will shape our social behaviors.

One of the pleasant surprises of the later stage of the workshop was how many of our teams created solutions that were ecosystem-based, leveraging many local assets in their target area, be it Lagos, Cairo, Indonesia or Afghanistan, to create a semi-contained "platform" to improve local lives which could be scaled and connected to other similar platforms nearby into a larger system of systems. One group even created a library or set of modules around needs that could be ported to other networks—seeds that could be spread to other fertile ground.

This question of ecosystems will become increasingly important as these local nets emerge and connect. Force them to make long-term ecosystem choices too soon, and the lock-in may stifle or kill bottom-up innovation. In developed markets, there is always demand, and that provides a cushion to absorb this blow. In emerging markets and fragile local economies, this demand is not strong enough to do so. Letting local needs and local desires call the tune for ecosystem development is important, and our "co-creators" in the workshop got that. Whether larger practices of top-down ecosystem lock-in are forced in the BoP's emerging networks of communication, transport, health, education etc. will determine how well the smaller cells of the net emerge, grow and link. I hope the thinking we saw in our workshop is the new logic that pervades going forward so the green shoots of network development can open and grow.

 

Filed under  //   ecosystems   events   networks  
Posted by Scott Smith 

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January 29, 2010
 

Workshop Recap: Designing Solutions for Emerging Ecosystems

       
Click here to download:
Workshop_Recap_Designing_Solut.zip (569 KB)

Coming to the end of the week in Finland, the dust has now settled from our workshop on innovations for emerging markets this week at Aalto Design Factory (though the snow continues to fall) and there finally has been some time for reflection. First, a huge thanks goes out not only to my partner in this prototype, Niti Bhan, but to the generous team at the Design Factory and its leader, Kalevi Ekman as well. Without Niti's personality, her suggestion of the workshop, and her work within the Design Factory, none of it would have started. Without the DF team's generous support and interest, none of it would have actually happened. And from the workshop and the connections made, both human and cognitive, many positive things will surely emerge.

The Design Factory describes itself as a passion-based co-creation platform, which suited the day very well. Many people showed up in the dark Nordic morning to take part in this event because of their passion for combining design, innovation and social development. Because of this, collaborative creation of ideas was the key thread throughout the day. The blend of students, entrepreneurs, and people stepping out of their roles in private companies and government bodies—with both local values and global views—was exactly what was needed. We put the workshop here because, as Ekman pointed out before the event, Finland is uniquely positioned to leverage its skills, assets, energy, IP and unique social values to help solve serious problems and improve life elsewhere in the world. 

Niti and I took the first hour or so to describe the realizations from our respective roles and trajectories that brought us to this point—mine from the consumer culture side, hers from her field work experience and research in low income, challenging environments. Along the way, these trajectories met, and new patterns are now emerging, showing us possibilities of new ecosystems blending technology, social and cultural structures that are uniquely configured.

We were there just to set the table, however. The core of the day, and the best part of the workshop, was generated by the participants. Organized into teams, they were tasked with taking on a new unfamiliar roles, in new countries, cities and situations, and a unique set of external factors and barriers around which they needed to create a solution for a specific target user. It was fitting that took place within the Aalto Ventures Park facility, which itself is a converted workshop. With a variety of tools, materials and working styles, each created something uniquely suited to their task: water delivery systems that doubled as information networks, thoughtfully conceived community centers in conflict zones, a mobile platform for local jobs, and more. Each used the human networks already in place, and each contained multiple innovations worth considering alone. 

Given that our tendency today is to throw technology at problems in scattershot ways, most striking to me was how the groups constructed or leveraged existing networks and ecosystems giving only the lightest touch to technology—resulting in an appropriate simplicity and resilience in every solution. No hammers looking for nails, no new complexities created to suit potential capabilities, just carefully considered balance of tools and needs. If this was the only takeaway, it was a day well spent. Luckily, there was a lot more to leave with, not least a sense of momentum and whetted appetite—for us, for those who participated, and for the broader Aalto community as well.

 

Filed under  //   Aalto   BOP   BOPNet   co-creation   design   Design Factory   ecosystems   events   Finland   innovation   technology  
Posted by Scott Smith 

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