Inclusive Innovation Speaker Series Presents: Shobita Parthasarathy
Sep 24, 2024 — 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
On September 24, 2024, 12 PM (EST), Shobita Parthasarathy, Professor of Public Policy and Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies, and co-founder and Director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program at the University of Michigan will kick off the Inclusive Innovation Speaker Series, a program brought to you by the ISSP and the Inclusive Innovation Research Cluster, with a presentation on How Inclusive Innovation Shapes Understandings of Public Problems: Examining Tech for Sanitation and Hygiene in India.
About the Event
How Inclusive Innovation Shapes Understandings of Public Problems: Examining Tech for Sanitation and Hygiene in India
International development institutions, governments, and social entrepreneurs have become increasingly enthusiastic about 鈥榠nclusive innovation.鈥 The term refers to efforts to use science and technology to alleviate poverty and inequality, and improve countries seen as 鈥渦nder developed鈥. India is a central site for these experiments because it suffers from significant inequality, has a robust science and technology workforce, and has a long history of adopting a heterodox approach to knowledge and technology. What separates inclusive innovation from previous efforts is the urge to bypass infrastructural projects in favor of devices that are easy to make and circulate, and to use markets as a path towards societal betterment and individual empowerment. Over the years, there have been repeated analyses of the limitations of inclusive innovation, or tech for good, initiatives. But in this talk, I will discuss their political dimensions, whether they succeed or fail. Through an examination of innovation efforts in sanitation and women鈥檚 health in India, I will examine how inclusive innovation鈥攁nd perhaps innovation more generally鈥攊s shaping how we understand public policy questions and solutions, and ultimately, our understandings of risks, benefits, and the public good.
Dr. Shobita Parthasarathy
Speaker
Shobita Parthasarathy is Professor of Public Policy and Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies, and co-founder and Director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program at University of Michigan. Her research examines the political economy of innovation and innovation policy focusing on equity and justice, and the politics of knowledge and expertise in public policymaking. She often takes a cross-national or international perspective in her research, and has published widely on genetics and biotechnology, intellectual property, innovation policy, and artificial intelligence. She is the author of numerous articles and two books: Building Genetic Medicine: Breast Cancer, Technology, and the Comparative Politics of Health Care (MIT Press, 2007) and Patent Politics: Life Forms, Markets, and the Public Interest in the United States and Europe (University of Chicago Press, 2017). The former influenced the 2013 US Supreme Court case that determined human genes were not patentable; the latter won the 2018 Robert K. Merton Award from the American Sociological Association. Her current book project examines the history and consequences of 鈥渢ech for good鈥 initiatives around the world. She writes frequently for public audiences and also advises policymakers. She co-hosts The Received Wisdom podcast on issues at the intersection of science, technology, policy, and society. She has held fellowships from the American Council for Learned Societies, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, American Bar Foundation, and Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, The National Science Foundation, Wellcome Trust (UK), Ford Foundation, and Sloan Foundation have supported her research.