Toward a New Field of Development Engineering: Linking Technology Design to the Demands of the Poor

Abstract

Engineering has the potential to accelerate the development of low-income communities by integrating insights from the social sciences along the entire arc of technological innovation, from idea to manufacture at scale. Here the case is made for a new field, Development Engineering, that will formalize this process by building on techniques from engineering, development economics, behavioral science, and sociology. Launching this discipline will require academic support infrastructures and sustained partnerships between academia, government, industry and the social sector.