TMI! How Knowledge Platforms Tame the Information Overload and Advance Global Development Through Technology

Abstract

Finding reliable data to inform decisions about technology for global development remains a challenge. Easily accessible "Knowledge platforms" are a way to curate and standardize information about technology for development. Three collaborators, Engineering for Change, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves and the Center for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST) are working together to create platforms to serve the global development sector. Such platforms could be the first step in making decisions about how to solve a problem that needs a technology-based solution. They could motivate manufacturers to demonstrate compliance with quality standards, and they could encourage independent research into each product's impact. Years of development experience worldwide have yielded a set of best practices to increase the life of a project. These platforms clarify those practices to improve quality and reduce waste. As the platforms mature, mining them for data could identify trends that influence the entire technology ecosystem. Those could include decisions about performance targets, future innovation, pricing, compliance with regulations, and funding priorities.