AbstractTechnological change has always played a role in shaping human progress. From the power loom to the mobile phone, new technologies have continuously influenced how social and economic activities are organized—sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. Agricultural technologies, for example, have increased the efficiency of agricultural production and catalyzed the restructuring of economies (Bustos et al., 2016). At the same time, these innovations have degraded the environment and, in some cases, fueled inequality (Foster and Rosenzweig, 2008; Pingali, 2012). Information technology has played a catalytic role in social development, enabling collective action and inclusive political movements (Enikolopov et al., 2020; Manacorda & Tesei, 2020); yet it has also fueled political violence and perhaps even genocide (Pierskalla & Hollenbach, 2013; Fink, 2018).

AbstractThis chapter outlines a practical framework for designing scalable technology solutions that solve development challenges. We begin with an overview of the common constraints to sustainable development that often are encountered in the context of poverty. These constraints are based on a large body of research in development economics, political economy, psychology, and other social sciences; and they help to explain why engineering innovations so frequently fail to achieve outcomes when implemented in the real world. In the second part of this chapter, we provide a framework for implementing development engineering projects, consisting of four key activities: innovation, implementation, evaluation, and adaptation. Combining these activities in an iterative (and usually nonlinear) path allows the researcher to anticipate and design around the most common pitfalls associated with “technology for development.”