DtM's Director of Resource Development Speaks at AGS Annual Meeting
The three panelists from NESCAUM, seed sustainability, and DtM discussed their organizations and identified deployment mechanisms that have worked well in the past and what further they need from academia in order to move forward in fulfilling their role to promote a transition to more sustainable societies. Participants discussed the critical issues for building the infrastructure and the communication capacity among societal sectors and academia in order to facilitate the distribution of research results where they will have the most impact.
Moderator:
Peter Edwards, Plant Ecology, Institute of Integrative Biology
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich
Panelists:
Praveen K. Amar, Director, Science and Polisy, Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM)
Katja Brundiers, Managing Director, seed sustainability
Lubna Nabi, Director of Resource Development, Design that Matters
Spring 2007 Incubator Project Summaries
DtM recruited seven student teams from MIT, RISD, Stanford University and Arizona State University to develop specific prototypes and to conduct market research for the Infant Incubator project. DtM’s design teams included: seven students and professors Sebastian Fixson and Matthew Kressy from MIT/RISD course 15.783j “Product Design and Development,” who developed a “works-like” prototype; four students and Professor Jan Klein from MIT Leaders for Manufacturing (LfM) “Tiger Team,” who researched market segmentation and product feature sets; thirteen students with professors James Patell, David Beach, and T.A. Sarah Stein Greenberg, from Stanford’s d.school course “Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability,” who also worked on a number of “works-like” prototypes; and two mechanical engineering students with Professor Winslow Burleson, from Arizona State University, who worked on a temperature control system for the incubator.
Student teams were mentored by volunteers from IDEO members: Colleen Cotter, Mekayla Beaver, Kate Schreiber, Elizabeth Johansen, Yona Belfort, and Jeff Chapin. In addition to mentoring students, these volunteers helped synthesize field data, conducted U.S. based user research at St. Elizabeth's Hospital, and participated in the evaluation of student design concepts. DtM is very grateful for their services. Final prototypes were reviewed by domain experts from Massachusetts General Hospital, Stanford University Hospital, and experts in engineering, design and manufacturing.
Below is a summary of student projects and their results:
DtM CEO Speaks at Villanova University Social Leadership Seminar
DtM at Investor's Circle Conference
This event included a panel discussion on “Emerging Markets: Investing to Serve the Poor,” which addressed questions about how investment, placed in the right hands and in the right fields, can stimulate economic opportunity, healthy communities and sustainable business practices.
DtM CEO Panel Speaker at CIMIT Innovation Congress
DtM’s CEO, Timothy Prestero, was a panel speaker for the conversation, “Innovative Technology and Global Health: Barriers and Opportunities,” which discussed healthcare solutions in environments needing cost-effective, locally relevant responses. This panel also highlighted the development of technologies designed to protect mothers and infants both in the United States and internationally.
Moderator:
Kristian R. Olson, MD, MPH, DTM & H (Lond.), Clinical Educator Svc, Department of Medicine, MGH; CIMIT Global Health Initiative Leader; MGH Center for Global Health
Senior Advisor; Instructor, HMS
Panel:
Timothy Prestero, SM Mechanical Engineering & SM Oceanographic Engineering; CEO & Co-Founder, Design that Matters
Thomas Burke, MD, Director, Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Global Health
Jonathan Rosen, PhD, Executive Director, Institute for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization, Boston University
DtM CEO Presents at IDSA Green Conference
IDSA’s reference for green design, the Okala Design Guide, describes sustainable design not only as environmentally benign and economically viable, but also socially equitable. It is this component of sustainability that DtM has built into its mission, and believes is an essential tool in achieving a sustainable community and world.
DtM’s Holds Its First Annual "Dinner that Matters"
The event began with a reception where we displayed some of our recent products. The product displays were demonstrated by IDEO and other professional volunteers that have worked on DtM’s projects, as well as two of the RISD students who developed DtM’s incubator prototypes. During our dinner program, we honored our long-time supporters Eijk and Rose-Marie van Otterloo with DtM’s Design Visionary Award. The Design Visionary Award recognizes those who have demonstrated a commitment to improving the life of the world’s poor through their support of innovative, grassroots solutions. Each year, DtM will bestow this award on a friend, partner or contributor who has joined us in this quest. We had a great time and are already looking forward to next year’s event!
DtM Speaks at the Net Impact Conference
DtM’s CEO, Timothy Prestero was asked to join the conference as a panelist for discussions on, “Technology for the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP)” and “Fortune at the BoP,” along with the following moderators and fellow panelists:
Technology for the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP)
Moderator: Robert Katz - Research Analyst, Markets and Enterprise Program, World Resources Institute
Panelists: Cindy Cooper - Co-Founder, Marketing and Social Impact Leader, Speak Shop
Paul Hudnut - Director of Venture Development, College of Business, Colorado State University
Timothy Prestero - CEO, Design that Matters
The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: How to fight poverty with profitability
Moderator: Bart Victor - Owen Graduate School of Management
Panelists: C.D. Glin - VP and Director, MBA Enterprise Corps
Timothy Prestero - CEO, Design that Matters
Tatiana Ramos - Founder and Managing Director, TDI Corporation
DtM Is Getting Bigger
Within the span of a month, DtM has doubled its office team!
DtM Speaks to Stanford Social Entrepreneurship Seminar
2007 Speakers Include:
Jim Fruchterman, Benetech
Don Baker, Energies Ltd.
David Green, Project Impact
Timothy Prestero, Design That Matters
The Tech Awards for Innovation Laureates, and many more!
DtM Receives Social Venture Network Innovation Award
To hear Timothy Prestero's interview at the event, view here:
DtM CEO Panel Moderator for “Design for Survival.”
Panelists:
Sheila Kennedy, Kennedy & Violich Architecture: Portable Light Textile
Mohammed Bah Abba: Pot-in-Pot Cooler
Sergio Palleroni: BaSiC Initiative
DtM on Social Entrepreneurship Panel at MIT
Speakers:
Peter Haas, Executive Director, Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group
Timothy Prestero, CEO, Design that Matters
Iqbal Quadir, Founder of Gonofone and GrameenPhone, Co-Director of MIT's Program in Development Entrepreneurship
Amy Smith, MacArthur Fellow Lecturer, MIT
Description:
More than two thirds of the world’s population lives on less than $1500 a year; more than a billion people live on less than a dollar a day. With little access to basic needs such as clean water, food and shelter, there is a pressing need to develop the infrastructure that will lift people out of this cycle of poverty. This panel presents some of the leading local proponents of a small but growing group of engineers, designers and social entrepreneurs who are addressing this need.
From low cost processes to create cooking fuel from sugar cane waste, to inexpensive solar lighting for rural households, from small-scale hydro-electric systems that can provide a village with electricity to light-weight projectors that enable adult literacy classes; these organizations are working cooperatively with NGOs in developing countries to tailor a host of technologies that leverage local skills and resources and help improve the quality of life. This session will present four innovative organizations in this field. In addition, you will get a first hand opportunity to meet some of the visiting NGOs who are in the process of designing and implementing these solutions around the world.
Todd Copenhaver Joins DtM team for the Summer
DtM CEO Timothy Prestero Featured on Skoll's Social Edge
Stanford Incubator Team Elected 'Entrepreneur Idol'
Linus Liang, 25, a first-year graduate student in computer science, held up a diapered baby doll.
"What if I could tell you how you can save 4 million babies a year?" he asked. His idea: create a low-cost incubator that could help infants in developing countries. [...]
The five finalists pitched again. Liang brought out the doll again for his pitch. Charles River partner Saar Gur called the prop "questionable."
But as with "American Idol," the viewers decided. The crowd of rejected contestants and student spectators clapped and cheered the loudest for Liang, who took home the $2,000 grand prize.
He just smiled to the audience, then scurried to the judges for more advice." -- from the LA Times article "Stanford students vie to be 'Entrepreneur Idol'", by Michelle Quinn, 14 Mar 2007.
Linus and his teammates have taken on DtM's low cost infant incubator project as part of "Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability", a d.school course taught by Profs. Jim Patell and David Beach through the Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Engineering school, and the Institute of Design.
DtM Museum Exhibit Featured on the BBC
In the interview, Cynthia explains the overall vision for the exhibit, and Tim talks about the design history and impact of DtM's Kinkajou Microfilm Projector. Listen to the interview.
New Kinkajou Projector Exhibit at the National Design Museum
From today through September 23, 2007, DtM's Kinkajou Microfilm Projector will be on view at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, as part of an exhibit on technologies designed specifically to meet the needs of poor communities in developing countries. Curator Cynthia Smith and the rest of the museum staff have done a fantastic, thoughtful job of presenting these innovations in context. If you're in New York, make sure you check it out!
UPDATE: See also a New York Times article about the Cooper Hewitt exhibit, and a video, from May 29, 2007.
Photo by PRI's The World The Design for the Other 90% exhibit space at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.
DtM at NYU Stern's 4th Annual Conference of Social Entrepreneurs
DtM is now a Service Mark
Our attorneys at DLA Piper US LLP, Thomas Ryan and Mark Feldman, along with legal assistant Deanne Van Natta, have helped us to register both the Design that Matters service mark (the logo that we use to represent DtM) and the Kinkajou trade mark. We are grateful to DLA Piper for donating time and expertise to make this possible.
Save-the-Date: November 8th is DtM's Benefit Celebration!
Design that Matters (DtM) is holding our first-ever benefit dinner on Thursday, November 8th, 2007 at the MIT Museum in Cambridge!
This benefit event will be an opportunity for DtM to celebrate:
1) four years of growth as a non-profit design company serving the poor through innovation for social enterprise
2) our product successes, including the Kinkajou Microfilm Projector and the Improved IV Drip Clamp, and our new Low-Cost Infant Incubator project.
3) our community of partners and volunteers who have made all of our successes possible, and
4) our next phase of growth, where we scale towards our target of one million beneficiaries in the next five years.
If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Lubna Nabi at lubna@designthatmatters.org or call her at +1.877.820.8479. Keep checking the website for updates as the event approaches. See you in November!
The MIT Museum, 265 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA.
Kinkajou Projector Requests from Around the World
Shortly after an article about DtM's Kinkajou Microfilm Projector was featured in the August 2006 edition of Spore Magazine, we began receiving inquiries about the education tool from around the world. To date we have received requests from 17 countries in Africa, as well as Haiti, Jamaica, India and Nepal, for applications in general education, as well in health care and job training.
Kinjajou requests from around the globe
These requests are evidence that, although the Kinkajou Microfilm Projector was designed for a distinct set of environmental, social and cultural conditions, its benefits are universal. We are currently investigating manufacturing and distribution partnerships that will allow us to deliver the Kinkajou where it is most needed.
DtM at AWT Conference
Lubna Nabi of DtM was invited to present at the March 2007 meeting of the Association of Women in Technology in Austin, Texas. She presented alongside Rebecca Gonzales of AMD and Lisa Huddleson of the Dell Foundation, on a panel titled: "How Technology Enables Philanthropy."
The conference was attended by women professionals in the technology sector and local business founders. Lubna presented on how our low-cost design company is changing the way philanthropy is applied to the problems of the developing world. Her participation helped increase visibility for DtM and won DtM many new admirers among the audience.
Lubna on the panel at AWT
DtM Fellow Matt Eckelman on the Nepal Field Study
Matt Eckelman is a graduate student in environmental engineering at Yale, working on energy modeling and green industrial design. After returning from the Peace Corps in Nepal, he worked with Design that Matters as Fellow for the spring and summer before returning to school. Matt is a great resource to DtM as he is always willing to be shipped off to a foreign country for a great cause.
In 2005, I was freshly back from the Peace Corps in Nepal and working with Design that Matters at their home base in Cambridge. When Tim called me earlier this year to ask if I wanted to help out on an incubator project in Kathmandu, of course it was easy to say yes...
I had the great fortune to be able to return to Nepal twice: once with Tim in January for an initial assessment, and once in March with the Stanford/IDEO team. For both trips, I was in the multi-task position of acting as designer, guide, and translator. As such, I was somewhat apprehensive when, on our second full day in Nepal, we split up the team and sent Alex and Colleen with a guide to Chautara, very close to Tibet, while Leslie, Linus, Nick, and I conducted interviews at a couple of hospitals east of Kathmandu. For the entire trip I had been impressed with the Stanford students--how thorough they were in their questioning, how excited they were about the project, how well they seemed to adapt to the often chaotic streets of Kathmandu. I was even more impressed when, after a long bus trip back to the capital, the teams came together with stories and insights from both trips.
Alex and Colleen related the inspiring work of the one doctor who was running an entire district hospital; he minced no words in his desire for a cheap, functional incubator. Our team talked about the young nurses we had met who had been trained at the Children’s Hospital in Kathmandu, who so clearly wanted to do the best they could with the pair of available incubators in their neonatal wards. It was inspiring to watch the team synthesize all of the different information from our daily observations--I had never seen so many post-it notes on a wall before--with Colleen bringing many of the techniques from her work at IDEO to bear on this new project.
I think it was sometime in the middle of watching the Stanford students create a mine map of local incubator functions that I realized I wasn’t really guiding the team at all on the actual project. They had succeeded on their own in taking in the findings from our trip in January, generating new design ideas, and even presenting them to Ray Avery, the founder of Medicine Mondiale, DtM's client.
DtM Fellow Matt Eckelman outside the Kanti Children's Hospital NICU in Kathmandu.
The Nepal Field Team, minus Matt, outside the Kanti Children's Hospital in Kathmandu. From L: IDEO volunteer Colleen Cotter, Alexander Butterwick, Linus Liang, Nicholas Webb and Leslie Oestreicher.
IDEO Volunteer Colleen Cotter on the Nepal Field Study
Colleen Cotter is a human centered designer at IDEO, focused on designing products and experiences for children and families. Her product design footprint spans an array of industries: educational, medical, consumer products, food and beverages, and toys. Colleen volunteered her vacation time to mentor the Stanford students during their research trip to Nepal.
We’ve just returned from a whirlwind immersion into Nepali neonatal care.
The overall goal of our project is to develop a low-cost incubator and isolation unit for infant care in developing countries. We began by focusing this exploration on the needs and constraints of Nepal, with the intention of later broadening our reach to neonatal care units all over the world.
In order to truly understand the extraordinary needs of Nepal, it was critical for us to perform our research in context. By visiting Nepal, we quickly gained direct exposure to many factors that will influence the look, feel, and function of our prototype.
In three days, we visited six hospitals (both urban and rural), meeting with dozens of inspirational stakeholders including directors, doctors, nurses, parents, and technicians. We experienced first hand the incredible barriers neonatal units face, ranging from the varied standards of cleanliness to the struggling Nepali infrastructure for health care. We met with one doctor who serves as the sole physician for an entire region of Nepal, the director of the hospital, as well as the maintenance man for all hospital equipment.
In physically transporting ourselves around Nepal, we came to understand how challenging it is for patients to access health care, and for health care workers to access needed resources. The rural communities are at an especially high risk and pose unique challenges that affect the design of the prototype.
Our experiences highlighted both constraints and opportunities for our project. While in Nepal, the team applied a design filter, translating most observed struggles into design challenges. With each struggle, the team members asked themselves, how might we make this experience better?
By taking the time to observe in a NICU for several hours the team gained insights into how nurses interact with their patients, equipment, and space. Over time, many opportunities for improvement became obvious and the team was naturally brainstorming solutions. Easier access to the infant and clearer communication between alarms and nursing staff surfaced as critical issues to explore.
I’m enormously proud of the efforts put forth by this talented team. The team is currently working to translate our insights into innovative incubator prototypes. Stay tuned!
Dr. Sikarmi Dahal at the Sindupalchowk District Hospital in Chautara, near the Tibetan border. How can we make his job easier?
Alex, Colleen and the nursing staff at the Sindupalchowk District Hospital in Chautara, near the Tibetan border.
Incuabtor Field Team Leaves for Nepal
This Sunday, IDEO volunteer Colleen Cotter and DtM Fellow Matt Eckelman will lead a group of Stanford University graduate students to Nepal for week of in-depth user interviews and observations at maternity wards and infant care facilities in and around Kathmandu.
The students have taken on DtM's low cost infant incubator project as part of "Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability", a d.school course taught by Profs. Jim Patell and David Beach through the Stanford Graduate School of Business, the Engineering school, and the Institute of Design.
The goal of the field study is to develop a deeper understanding of both the product context and user perspectives. The resulting insights will drive the development of the student incubator prototypes during the Spring quarter course. We expect great things from the field team, and we hope they enjoy the buff momos!
IDEO volunteer Colleen Cotter and students field team members review Nepal research objectives at a pre-travel workshop hosted at the Stanford d.school.
Tasca Results
You made our event a success!
Thank you to those who participated in our Spanish Fiesta dinners at Tasca Tapas Restaurant on March 5th and 6th. We are happy to announce that we fund-raised and friend-raised in the course of two evenings, resulting in:
- $2,325 in revenue, and
- thousands of dollars worth of donated services in pro bono design, consulting, and legal advice from our supporters.
We are especially grateful to Tasca for hosting Design that Matters for two nights, during which they donated the full proceeds from our 150 supporters. The revenue and volunteer help will allow us to continue improving health care and education for the poor in developing countries.
Some of the many happy faces at the DtM spanish fiesta spectacular.
DtM Benefit Dinner at Tasca Tapas Restaurant
On Monday, March 5th and Tuesday, March 6th, Tasca Restaurant in Brighton will host two nights of fundraising to benefit Design that Matters (DtM), a nonprofit design company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.Anyone who makes a reservation at Tasca for one of those two nights (by emailing info@tascarestaurant.com), and mentions DtM, will have the full amount they spend on food donated to support DtM's work!
Dinner reservations can be made anytime between 5 and 11PM. So invite a group of friends to enjoy a Spanish feast while benefiting a good cause!
- When: Monday, March 5th or Tuesday, March 6th
- What: Two fundraising evenings during which Tasca will donate all food proceeds to Design that Matters, Inc.
- Where: Tasca Tapas Restaurant, 1612 Commonwealth Ave., Brighton / Ph: (617) 730-8002
- Time: Dinner anytime between 5PM and 11PM
- Parking: Limited valet for $6
- T-stop: Washington St. off green B line
- RSVP: info@tascarestaurant.com--Remember to mention DtM!
If you cannot make it, but still want to support DtM’s work, you can make a donation through our website!
Improved IV Drip Clamp Enters Clinical Trials
DtM partner Medicine Mondiale has just launched clinical trials of the Improved IV Drip Clamp in Nepal. This product is based on a concept originally developed in the 2001 DtM design studio and seminar course at the MIT Media Lab. The project got a jump-start when DtM incorporated as an independent nonprofit in 2003. In 2004, DtM Fellow Justin Yarrow conducted initial market research at urban and rural health facilities in Bangladesh and India. In 2005, DtM and Medicine Mondiale collaborated to conduct an in-depth clinical needs assessment in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Eritrea, Nepal and Kenya. Medicine Mondiale CEO Ray Avery has worked very hard to carry this product to implementation, and we're all thrilled to see the IV project hurtling forwards under his leadership.
Ray and his team expect to compete the trials, and begin volume production of the clamp, in early 2008. This invention has the potential to improve drug delivery and palliative care, and to save lives, throughout the developing world. To learn more, see the Improved IV Drip Clamp project page.
Photo by Doctors without Borders
Intravenous Drip Therapy at a Mozambique Refugee Camp
Production prototype of the Improved Intravenous Drip Clamp.
DtM Field Study in Kathmandu, Nepal
DtM's Timothy Prestero and Matt Eckelman just returned from a one-week field study in Kathmandu, Nepal for our new Low-Cost Infant Incubator project. The field study was a great success. We visited infant intensive care units at five different hospitals in Kathamandu, and interviewed everyone from doctors to nurses to parents to maintenance staff and the cleaning lady. We've learned an enormous amount about the needs for neonatal care, and it's clear that we have the opportunity to make a huge difference in the health care for newborns in developing countries.
Student project teams are now getting underway at MIT, Stanford, the Rhode Island School of Design and Arizona State University. We have a follow-up trip to Nepal coming up on March 19th, which will provide the student teams an opportunity to conduct their own field research.
Infants under oxygen hoods at a Nepali pediatric ICU
DtM Fellow Matt Eckelman interviews nurses Sati Mahandar (l) and Rama Adhikari at the Kanti Children's Hospital neonatal intensive care unit in Kathmandu
Community Consulting Teams and DtM
Incubator Research Begins in Boston
DtM has started initial product research on our low-cost infant incubator project. Working with a volunteer team from IDEO, we are conducting interviews and observations at local neonatal intensive care units to develop a basic understanding of infant care--in terms of both medical technologies and practices. We are also looking to collect insights from practioners as to what the aspirations are for infant care in the NICU, how existing incubators help and where they see opportunities for improvement. The US-based research is an important step in preparing for similar interviews and observations in Nepal.
We are grateful for the support of Dr. Mandy Belfort and Dr. Terri Gorman at the St. Elizabeth's Medical Center NICU who invited us to visit their facility. We would also like to thank hospital staff members Charlene Bent-Mack and Gina McKinnon, who patiently answered about one million "What's that?" and "How does that work?" questions. Thank you to IDEO's Elizabeth Johanson and Yona Belfort for helping to set up the interviews, and to IDEO volunteers Jeff Chapin, Mekayla Beaver and Kate Schreiber for donating their time and talents during the interviews.
IDEO volunteers Jeff Chapin and Elizabeth Johansen, along with DtM's Lubna Nabi, in full yellow-suited observation mode get an overview of the infant warming table with Dr. Mandy Belfort at the St. Elizabeth's Medical Center NICU in Boston.
DtM launches Low-Cost Infant Incubator Project
Design that Matters has partnered with Medicine Mondiale on a new project with the goal of transforming newborn care in developing countries. Worldwide, every year, over four million infants die within a month of birth, as a result of prematurity, low birthweight and infection. At least one million of these deaths could be prevented by providing these infants with an incubator--a clean, warm environment in which to grow stronger. Millions more infants would benefit from incubators in terms of shorter hospital stays and better long-term health outcomes.
Our client, Medicine Mondiale, has challenged DtM to design a prototype incubator that provide the basic functions of temperature control, air filtration and oxygen regulation. Conventional infant incubators developed for western markets can cost over US$20,000; our target cost is roughly US$200.
Since project launch, we have recruited five student teams at MIT, Stanford, the Rhode Island School of Design and Arizona State University. Each team is concentrating on different aspects of the design concept development and market research. In addition, IDEO has committed staff time and resources to product research and mentoring student teams. The initial user research and product testing will take place in Nepal, where Medicine Mondiale has an extensive network of contacts among health care providers and local manufacturers. You can follow the action on this project through the incubator pages on the DtM news blog.
Medicine Mondiale is a New Zealand-based NGO dedicated to making quality medicines and medical technologies available to the poorest of the poor in developing countries.
Bridging the gap: newborns under oxygen hoods at a Nepal intensive care unit (L), and a state-of-the-art Atom V85 infant incubator.
Sami Nerenberg Joins DtM Team
To read more Design that Matters news, return to the DtM Blog Main Page, or choose one of the article archives from the drop-down menus at the top of this page.
