of talents and perspectives, economically
viable pathways to build careers in
fields like social entrepreneurship and
innovation must continue to evolve. There
are a few key issues – awareness, action,
and deep engagement. Social media has
done a tremendous job to build awareness
for the challenges faced by individuals,
communities and countries around the
world. Campaigns like the Girl Effect and
Let Girls Learn have opened the eyes
of many to how critical it is to empower
women and girls. But awareness does
not simply translate to action and deep
engagement, nor are either of these
things undertaken without financial and
intellectual investment.
Until fairly recently, the Peace Corps was
one of the primary ways for American
students to get deep engagement and an
extended on-the-ground experience in the
developing world. This is a remarkable
opportunity, but one that is limited to
individuals able to navigate the familial
and financial dynamics of leaving their
homes and cultures. It’s more than going
away to college (which is also expensive)
and the opportunity cost can be very high,
even for people who would appreciate the
transformative power of the experience.
Outside of the Peace Corps model, more
people are working on global development
challenges
through
international
organizations, faith-based organizations,
or programs that provide immersive
experiences. There has also been an
increase in the number of internship,
study and research abroad opportunities
in developing countries. Unfortunately,
broader validation or financial support
for this work isn’t necessarily spread
evenly. For example, incubator and
accelerator programs to advance a social
entrepreneurship or innovation are
evolving, but the investment landscape
is not always spread so that a diverse
array of actors can be engaged. One way
to potentially target this gap is through
engaging dynamic diaspora groups eager
to remain intellectually involved in the
opportunities and challenges in their
ancestral homes. This diversifies the
perspective and expands the reach of the
global development enterprise. There
are always more ways to be inclusive, but
we must first identify unconscious bias
to this diversity and find ways to spread
opportunity so that it taps into the talents
of our global citizenry.
GridWatch: Using Cell Phone Sensors to Detect
Power Outages
By Tamara Straus
The effects of the electric power grid
have been compared to the Silk Road
and the 19th-century railway system in
terms of revolutionizing communications,
economies, and societies. Yet in many
countries, the power grid is ridden by
outages—with results ranging from
disrupted work time and spoiled food to
heat-related deaths.
Utility companies in developed countries
tend to use smart meters to monitor
household power. These meters take high
fidelity measurements and can determine
the location and length of outages, but
they also can be prohibitively expensive—
only about 40 percent of American homes
have them. Meanwhile, utility companies
in developing countries cannot afford to
deploy smart meters and are forced to
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rely on customer feedback to understand
the quality of the power they provide.
In 2013, Prabal Dutta, an assistant
professor of electrical engineering and
computer sc