MIT D-Lab
Impact Goals
D-Lab founder Amy Smith has said, “Impact is not just the product of innovation; it is the process of innovation.” In that spirit, D-Lab drives toward two goals. The first is better solutions: we strive toward a world where more effective products and services reach the users who need them, improving their incomes and their quality of life. The second is better development: we dream that a more inclusive approach to tackling poverty challenges becomes the rule and not the exception.
Pathways
We work towards these goals in three ways: we design, we teach, and we influence. In collaboration with innovators, entrepreneurs, and end-users, we develop and support solutions that can be delivered at scale. Through our classes and global workshops, we teach inclusive design and development to people at MIT and around the world. And by developing new findings and approaches, and sharing them through global communities of practice, we can influence others to adopt effective methods and inclusive practices.
Touchstone
All of our strategies hinge on a central point: the learning and transformation of individuals. Across our work, people come away with new skills, knowledge, mindsets, and relationships. Whether we are designing a product, teaching a class, conducting a study, or convening a summit, people and their learning are at the center.
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A toolkit toincrease the participation of crisis-affected populations in humanitarian innovation There is a consensus in the humanitarian sector that increased participation of crisis-affected populations in humanitarian innovation leads to significant benefits, including improved and more...
- Impact Goals D-Lab founder Amy Smith has said, “Impact is not just the product of innovation; it is the process of innovation.” In that spirit, D-Lab drives toward two goals. The first isbetter solutions: we strive toward a world where more effective products and services reach the users who need...
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Storing vegetables after harvest without cooling them can lead to spoilage and reduced income for farmers. Most techniques for cooling and storing vegetables rely on vapor-compression refrigeration, which may be unaffordable or not available for many smallholder farmers, especially those living...
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Freshly harvested fruits and vegetables in hot dry climates need to be quickly cooled for preservation. Typical cooling systems use mechanical refrigeration, which requires high capital cost and energy consumption. Evaporative cooling provides a cool and humid environment with lower energy...
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2.7 billion people worldwide rely on traditional uses of solid biomass fuels to meet their daily energy needs, an increase in 38 million over last year (IEA 2014). Traditional means of cooking pose acute and chronic health risks, introduce time burdens on women and children, contribute to...
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Launched at MIT in 2012 with a consortium of MIT partners, the Comprehensive Initiative on Technology Evaluation (CITE) was established to develop new methods for product evaluation in global development. MIT CITE was the first-ever program dedicated to developing methods for product evaluation...