Investigating Innovation Practice: Cross-Disciplinary Studies in International Development by Pierce Edward Cornelius Gordon
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Investigating Innovation Practice: Cross-Disciplinary Studies in International Development by Pierce Edward Cornelius Gordon A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Energy and Resources and the Designated Emphasis in Development Engineering in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Alice M. Agogino, Chair Professor Clair Brown Professor Harrison Fraker Summer 2018 Investigating Innovation Practice: Cross-Disciplinary Studies in International Development Copyright © 2018 by Pierce Edward Cornelius Gordon Abstract Investigating Innovation Practice: Cross-Disciplinary Studies in International Development by Pierce Edward Cornelius Gordon Doctor of Philosophy in Energy and Resources University of California, Berkeley Professor Alice Agogino, Chair Innovation practice is a transdisciplinary field that aims to create a better world out of an existing one by pooling methods and mindsets of inquiry and creation. The field observes design contexts, assimilates the collected knowledge into problems to be addressed, ideates solutions to those problems, and iteratively tests those solutions in real environments to determine how they address these problems. Over the past decade, the field has become more accessible to a much broader collection of amateur designers. They utilize the field to understand more diverse contexts, to include and adapt more disciplines, and to address a wide variety of complex and seemingly intractable issues. Due to the evolution of the fields’ popularity, debates began to arise about the fields’ utility and place in society. Development professionals treated design thinking and related fields as a silver bullet that could easily address issues of global poverty. Critics asked if the field was different from existing disciplines, whether the field delivers demonstrable impact, and if the democratization of design practice to ‘amateur’ designers is even worthwhile. However, these debates revealed how little knowledge is collected about how practitioners conduct innovation practice in the first place. To learn about the activities, benefits, methods, and obstacles of beneficial development-focused design practice, I detail three studies that apply lenses of analysis to innovation narratives to see how various collectives of self-determined innovators actually practice their craft. The first study outlines a systematic literature review of human-centered design for development. By applying design principles to a population of researcher-designers and their narratives, we learn if these designers actually practice innovation with these principles of human-centeredness in mind. I outline three previously conducted studies about the nature of this field, which describe the population, location, history, and methods these projects use across various contexts. and detail an analysis of the participatory nature of human-centered design for development. In so doing, I describe statistics about the prevalence of participatory design practice, reveal how the studies report the complexities of participation, and collect insights about the stakeholders who are allowed to design. The study then sums up the importance of investigative analysis methods across populations of design narratives, so that researchers can learn more about how ‘good practice’ is perceived. 1 The second study describes an ethnographic evaluation study of notable actors in the Botswana innovation community. This study begins with a reflection on epistemological frictions between the popular fields of innovation practice and impact evaluation. After revealing the theoretical and practical gaps in how innovators evaluate, I introduce the Botswana history, policies, and institutions that support innovation practice on the national level, while describing their activities and how innovation actors perceive them. I then detail the creation of a grassroots innovation community that practices participatory co-design of locally beneficial technologies by outlining the history of its indigenous stakeholders and describing an ethnographic narrative of two formative innovation workshops. I then describe the methods, approaches, purpose, and stakeholders involved in the evaluation of innovation in the local and national institutions. This analysis reveals evaluation tools applicable to many innovation contexts, and insights about how these evaluation approaches are aligned and misaligned with each other. Finally, I describe insights on the practice and facilitation of innovation in the country, to clarify cultural, institutional, and practical barriers and qualities that hinder the potential benefit of innovation. The final study is a reflection on the inadequacies of ethics systems in Botswana to support beneficial innovation practice. While investigating the previous chapter, I happened upon narratives with no simple solutions, and few resources for development-centric designers to effectively navigate this ethics space. Moreover, while facing the country’s institutional review board system, I gained first-hand experience with the goals, dynamics, and limitations of the Botswana research system of ethics. This chapter unpacks how the ethical system fails to align with the needs of beneficial innovation practice and suggests theoretical alternatives to draw upon for future use. This dissertation describes the complex possibilities of participatory design practice, the various goals, activities, and perceptions of the evolving Botswana innovation ecosystem, and details the frictions between the understudied field of ethics in design for development and existing institutions. These studies reveal how ‘good’ innovation practice is wholly based on the context it is applied: on its practitioners, their tools, their goals, the environment where it is used, and the stakeholders with whom the designers interact. Though these studies outline how the methods and mindsets of innovation practice are accessible to more communities than ever, it does not mean that innovation practice itself becomes simpler. These lenses of cross-contextual analysis, participation, evaluation, and ethics reveal how the amorphous, evolving field requires innovators who are responsive and respectful of the contexts in which they are situated. These studies outline a few of many approaches that reveal the unique dynamics in development-centered innovation practice but are essential for any designers’ toolbox to ensure we collectively create a better world. 2 Acknowledgements During my graduate school experience, anyone who would enter my apartment for the first time in North Oakland would be asked to write on the wall. The people who did so ranged from one- time acquaintances, to lifelong friends, to ex-lovers and family members. Most everyone had advice to give, and I am forever grateful for each nugget of appreciation they have offered. As everything in an apartment, however, this wall had to be painted over. As I reflect on its presence in my life, I cannot be sad about its temporary nature, the wall delighted all visitors, taught life lessons to all who contributed to them, and reminded me of all the relationships I had built during this doctoral journey. For everyone who signed the wall, thank you. For everyone who has been influential on this path, thank you. For my friends, my antagonists, my support and my sounding boards, thank you. Sone specific people I must shout out: Mama, you put me on this path, one from which I will never stray. Words will forever fail my gratitude, so instead I will show my appreciation through my actions. You showed me what love looks like in public, and I will continue to do so in your image. i Daddy. Daddy, daddy. daddy! DADDY…., the brightest parts of what people see come from you. Only with my passion, my artistic appreciation, and my personal growth you passed down to me could any of this have been possible. My sisters, you keep me vibrant and motivated more than you might ever know on this path. I love love love love you all! Fuga duga, bongo head, and chocolate cheese are all needed after this dissertation. My SpelHouse family: no other academic community is a better family than this one. You’ve fed me, kept me warm, kept me connected, kept me alive, and I will continue to do the same in the future. Keep holding the crown over all our heads! All the Black Graduate Community, including but not limited to BGESS, BGSA, LSAD, BIPP, and many others: stay connected, and thank you for the beautiful relationships. For the ERG connections who helped me deal with the struggle; you are the light I needed, and I love you forever. If you know, you know. Go clean the kitchen; you know you need to. To my loving Michigan family in the area, thank you for showing me what leaders are, and what it means to be the best. My many mothers and fathers I’ve accumulated over the years, including Dr. Rahmelle Thompson, Mrs. Yvonne Gordon, Mrs. Sharon Burch, Mr. and Mrs. Friar, Prof. Oscar Dubon, Mrs. Sheila Humphries, Prof. and Mrs. Otlhogile, and everyone else I should have named but my memory fails; thank you for being the connections I needed in my life. Some notable members of my village: Garnette Elizabeth Mason, Tayler Michelle Friar, Nancy Douyon, Dr. Tabassum Majid, Prof. Chauncey Smith, Andrew Middleton, Prof. Brian A. Burt, Rukayatu Tijani, Esq., Chris Park, John Bent, Joanne and Arthur Tan, Lauren Reeves, Dr. Kene Akametalu, the MIT MSRP and