Co‐evolutionary design for development: influences shaping engineering design and implementation in Nepal and the global village

Abstract

Abstract This paper calls for a new generation of engineers, and the technologies they will invent and implement, to meet the basic human needs for security, broadly defined. The greatest threats to security for most people are not armed conflict but ‘common good’ social and environmental challenges. ‘Co‐evolutionary engineering design for development’ begins with a relationship among partners in the global village, informed by on‐the‐ground realities out of which culture/environment/location‐specific solutions emerge. This learning, iterative process among partners includes cooperation, local expertise, local resources and reliance on the global environment as a ‘lab’ for knowledge‐sharing and open‐source innovation. This article describes the conceptual framework of ‘co‐evolutionary design for development’ and takes the reader through the 10‐step cycle using, as a practical example, the design and implementation of an innovative arsenic and microbial remediation filter for households in rural Nepal. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.