Santa Clara University
IN-1: Innovation 1

The School of Engineering and the Center for Science, Technology, and Society (CSTS) at Santa Clara have partnered to promote frugal innovation, which addresses the need for products and services to improve livelihoods in under-served communities worldwide. Traditionally, these products and services, though innovative and promising, are often prohibitively expensive, difficult to use and maintain, and not well-suited overall to the regions for which they are intended. Ruggedization, simplification, sparing use of low-cost raw materials, an emphasis on earth-friendly practices, and a philosophy that favors “good enough” over “perfection” in creating compassionate, utilitarian design are the primary goals of this principle. The School of Engineering and CSTS have also partnered with the Leavey School of Business to adjust to a business model known as "lean entrepreneurship", which specifically addresses the needs of emerging markets. In the Winter of 2011, CSTS faculty introduced a course "Technology, Innovation, and Public Health" highlighting the principles of frugal innovation, using case studies to examine what works and what doesn't in considering innovative approaches to third-world development issues. Frugal innovation, and the strides Santa Clara is making to address it, is unique in that Santa Clara's location in the Silicon Valley, along with its dedication to educating for a just world, make it the perfect intersection for the growth of such initiatives. Closely linked to the concept of social entrepreneurship, frugal innovation embodies the idea of business for a better world. By promoting and developing technologies that promote sustainable development and promise a better life for some of the world's most impoverished populations, and simultaneously addressing the economic feasibility of adopting and using these technologies, frugal innovation clearly addresses the environmental, social, and economic principles of sustainability.

Also see: http://www.scu.edu/engineering/enews/2010fall/innovation.cfm