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| Design that Matters | |
|---|---|
| Name | Design that Matters |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Founders | [Redacted] |
| Headquarters | [Redacted] |
| Focus | Appropriate technology, product design for low-resource settings |
| Website | [Redacted] |
Design that Matters
Design that Matters is a nonprofit product design organization focused on creating affordable technologies for low-resource settings. It collaborates with universities, medical institutions, humanitarian organizations, and corporations to develop devices intended for use in humanitarian crises, public health campaigns, and rural clinics. The organization engages with communities, engineers, and policy actors to translate needs into manufacturable products.
Design that Matters operates at the intersection of product design, global health, and humanitarian aid, partnering with actors such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Harvard University, World Health Organization, and UNICEF to prototype and field-test interventions. Its work involves collaborations with industrial partners like GE Healthcare, Philips, Siemens, and manufacturing hubs in regions including Shenzhen, Bangalore, and Nairobi. The organization draws upon expertise from institutions such as MIT Media Lab, D-Lab, Partners In Health, and PATH while engaging with funders and networks such as the Gates Foundation, Clinton Global Initiative, and Skoll Foundation.
Founded in 2001 amid growing interest in frugal innovation and appropriate technology linked to initiatives at MIT, Stanford d.school, and NGOs active after events like the Indian Ocean tsunami and the Haiti earthquake (2010), the organization evolved through partnerships with universities such as Princeton University and University of California, Berkeley. Early projects drew inspiration from work by figures and groups including Vikram Sarabhai, Amartya Sen, Paul Polak, and organizations like Grameen Bank and BRAC. The group expanded its portfolio through grant awards and competitions hosted by entities including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, and the World Bank’s innovation programs, enabling pilots in countries such as Ethiopia, Nepal, Peru, and Uganda.
The organization applies principles of human-centered design associated with practitioners at IDEO, Frog Design, and the d.school, emphasizing field research with stakeholders like clinicians from Boston Children's Hospital, community health workers linked to Partners In Health, and technicians from Médecins Sans Frontières. Its approach integrates concepts from sustainable design advocates such as William McDonough, frugal innovation theorists like Navi Radjou, and development economists linked to Jeffrey Sachs and Esther Duflo. Prototyping cycles reference standards and regulators such as the Food and Drug Administration, International Organization for Standardization, and guidelines from the World Health Organization while pursuing manufacturability with partners in industrial clusters like Dongguan and Taiwan.
Projects include medical devices and public-health tools developed alongside hospitals and NGOs such as Partners In Health, Médecins Sans Frontières, and UNICEF. High-profile initiatives involved neonatal care technologies that drew attention at conferences hosted by TED, earned recognition from the Skoll Awards, and were cited in programs by the Gates Foundation and Clinton Global Initiative. Field deployments occurred in collaboration with ministries in countries such as Bangladesh, Kenya, and Rwanda and engaged supply-chain partners including Flextronics and Foxconn for scaling. The organization’s outputs have been discussed in publications and forums connected to The Lancet, Nature, MIT Technology Review, and panels featuring leaders from WHO and UNICEF.
The organization maintains a cross-disciplinary team model with designers trained at institutions like Rhode Island School of Design and Royal College of Art, engineers from MIT and Stanford University, and program staff with experience at Oxfam, CARE International, and Save the Children. Governance has included advisory input from leaders associated with Harvard Business School, Harvard Medical School, and corporate R&D groups at GE Healthcare and Philips. Strategic partnerships extend to manufacturers and distributors in regions serviced by UNICEF Supply Division, procurement networks such as Global Fund, and social enterprises modeled on Grameen Bank and Ethical Apparel Africa.
Funding sources have combined grants and awards from organizations including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, Skoll Foundation, and philanthropy linked to Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation alongside project contracts with corporate partners such as GE and Philips. The business model balances grant-funded research and development with licensing agreements, manufacturing partnerships akin to those used by Medtronic and social enterprise distribution models in the vein of Grameen Bank and d.light. Revenue and sustainability strategies have referenced blended finance approaches promoted by the World Bank and impact investors associated with Acumen Fund.
Critiques leveled at the organization mirror debates in the global development and appropriate technology communities represented by scholars and actors such as Amartya Sen, Daron Acemoglu, Esther Duflo, and practitioners at Oxfam and Médecins Sans Frontières regarding scalability, local manufacturing, and unintended consequences of externally designed interventions. Challenges include meeting regulatory requirements exemplified by the Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency, navigating procurement systems like those of UNICEF and national ministries, and aligning with local supply chains in places such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, and India. Evaluations often cite the broader discourse on aid effectiveness involving entities like the World Bank, IMF, and debates at forums such as the World Economic Forum.