Scholarly Advances in Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship: A Typology of Research Publications

The rapid increase in academic and professional programs in Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship reflects a paradigm shift towards market-centric approaches to scale Appropriate Technology solutions for developing communities. Trans-disciplinary academic frameworks that integrate teaching, research and entrepreneurial engagement can be pivotal in the development of such sustainable and scalable technology ventures. Engaging students in original, institution-approved, and publishable research can bolster their learning while strengthening the venture-creation process. Although the dissemination of knowledge (e.g. designs, business strategies, lessons learned, effective educational regimens) is desired by the growing community and is recognized as crucial to success, several systemic barriers impede the emergence of open and democratic scholarly forums. This article discusses the opportunities and challenges faced by students, faculty and practitioners in their quest for disseminating knowledge through scholarly channels. While the knowledge is extremely valuable, it cannot always be encapsulated and shared through conventional hypothesis-driven manuscripts. Consequently, academics and practitioners struggle to carve out and share aspects of their work that constitute scholarship and can potentially help other innovators. This article presents a typology of manuscript frameworks to illustrate the multiplicity of publication types that can collectively transform this exciting field into a rigorous, vibrant, and respected global community of engaged scholars and problem-solvers.