The grant provides funding for a workshop on Research in Materials and Manufacturing for Extreme Affordability (RIMMEA) that will bring together experts from architecture, design, engineering and science from around the world. The two-day workshop is a partnership between Ball State University, The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and IEEE (financial support), to be hosted in Muncie, Indiana in January 2011. The workshop will focus on research opportunities range from application of advanced manufacturing and logistics technologies to deliver extremely affordable temporary and long term housing solutions that are also culturally rooted to the role of extremely affordable materials and manufacturing solutions for disaster relief and defense. BoP problems spanning architecture, industrial design, engineering, logistics, and strategy will be explored.
In addition to implementing the workshop and conducting an outcomes assessment of the learning that occurred among participants, the workshop will lead to the identification of important RIMMEA questions that are best addressed by employing integrated and systems approaches; development of priorities and assessment criteria for determining scientific maturity and merit of the topics; establishment of a research community for the further development of a RIMMEA program; and a report that provides NSF with a basis for requesting additional national resources for RIMMEA. The workshop will promote diversity among US and international attendees, impact more than thirty researchers, and directly impact billions of people at the BoP. With the involvement of organizations with worldwide networks such as ASME, Engineers without Borders, IEEE, OperationUSA, and The Honeybee Network, dissemination of learning from the workshop can be high.
Research in Materials and Manufacturing for EXTREME AFFORDABILITY A National Science Foundation Workshop Ball State University, Department of Architecture Muncie, IN, USA March 18 – 19, 2011 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Conventional aid mechanisms have done very little to raise those in the developing world out of poverty. To help address this concern, the National Science Foundation provided a grant to Ball State University, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Engineering for Change, and IEEE to organize the invitation-only Research in Materials and Manufacturing for Extreme Affordability (RIMMEA) workshop held in Muncie, Indiana in March of 2011. Architects, engineers, designers and entrepreneurs from around the world attended this workshop. One of the primary objectives of the RIMMEA workshop was to identify new research opportunities in design and manufacturing that can help produce extremely affordable and market-based solutions. Directing resources in this research space can help implement practical and easily accessible innovations that help solve problems in the developing world, such as access to basic lifeline infrastructures. Through open dialogue and breakout sessions, workshop participants determined that such designs/technologies must be usable, affordable, desirable, viable, and compatible with local conditions. Primary research themes that emerged through discussion included initiatives in agriculture, energy, health, manufacturing, materials, mobile technologies, and water. To properly address the outcomes of the infrastructure research investigations within the developing world, it was recommended by the group that implementation of certain frameworks is needed. These frameworks include the following: •Project assessment and evaluation; •Frameworks for integration and knowledge sharing; •Education; and •Community and life-cycle impact. There are challenges, however, that were identified at the workshop. Skill building and training are critical in establishing and sustaining research projects within global development. This infrastructure may not yet be in place. There are also intellectual property concerns to consider. To address this, assessment/feedback of programs and methods is needed. Lack of funding, of course, is another concern. This tends to breed competition instead of much needed collaboration. These challenges, however, are not insurmountable and can be addressed as appropriate with the proper collaboration and leadership. Many of these gaps can be bridged by NSF involvement. The RIMMEA workshop makes a case for funding research in this arena. Such research is not just beneficial to those living in the developing world. It can also benefit investors through potential returns on their investments and fulfillment of their respective missions. The developing world is a huge emerging market that can provide many opportunities in reverse innovation. Humanitarian engineering and design is also quickly becoming its own discipline and curriculum development is an emerging topic of discussion that will need to be facilitated properly. As it continues to expand into its own discipline, STEM education expands with it. Given the breadth of RIMMEA-type research and the significant challenges facing researchers in this space, the involvement of organizations/agencies like NSF can have a tremendous impact in global development initiatives and help sustain growth. Collaboration with NSF can further projects on location and improve prospects of success and scalability of cutting-edge solutions. CONCLUSION The collaboration between NSF and researchers in global development can help further initiatives on the ground, which will improve prospects of success, sustainability and scalability. Working within the infrastructure already in place and promoting additional research can lead to the continued development of cutting-edge solutions. Developing countries are not simply standing idle waiting for aid funding. The reality is that developing countries are emerging markets that can facilitate reverse innovation. The investment in market-based research and approaches is critical. Another reality to consider is that though global development is coming into its own as an established field, it still has much further to go in the maturation process. It’s big and it’s getting bigger. With the countless stakeholders and inherent difficulties in collaborating at such a large scale, this field can be unwieldy. This makes NSF’s role in this arena that much more important. NSF can help bridge the many gaps and challenges identified at the RIMMEA workshop. NSF and academia can establish a unique partnership. NSF grant funds and access to academic resources, i.e., professors, students, equipment, and interdisciplinary collaboration, can make a significant contribution in sustainable development initiatives. NSF can be a significant catalyst in this process. Such efforts can not only have an impact on the developing world, but can help promote STEM education in the United States, while at the same time addressing workforce development concerns by training the next generation of scientists and engineers. More information about the workshop could be found at: www.i-m-a-d-e.org/rimmea/
