The Oxford Social Sciences Division has recently profiled TMCD's DILIC (Diffusion of Innovation in Low Income Countries) project as a research making an impact in the world. This is due to the impact of this ground-breaking research in Africa and its influence on the United Nation's approach to sustainable development throughout the world.

Led by Professor Xiaolan Fu, the DILIC project revealed how businesses in low income countries innovate to survive and grow, despite facing numerous constraints. Data for the project was collected through fieldwork in Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania. The Ghana Innovation Survey, first carried out in 2013, broke new ground by surveying over 500 formal and informal businesses, an approach that had not been attempted in the country before.

Findings from the project were reflected in the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in the creation of a Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM) to support the implementation of the Agenda’s goals. Both Professor Fu and Dr George Essegbey, DILIC’s local partner in Ghana, were appointed to the TFM’s ten-person advisory team.

DILIC was recognised by the Minister of Environment, Science and Technology in Ghana as important for industrial strategy. The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has also adopted some of DILIC’s methodologies to use in their own research in low income countries.

Read more about the profile on the Oxford Social Sciences Division website here.

Learn more about the DILIC project here.