We hear a great deal about 3D printing, FabLabs, makerspaces, hackerspaces and the like. They are emerging digital economy phenomena in the global South. But what research has been done so far in this domain? And what should the future research agenda be?
To answer those questions, Ryo Seo-Zindy – a doctoral researcher with Manchester’s Centre for Development Informatics – undertook a systematic literature review, which has been published as: “Researching the Emergence of 3D Printing, Makerspaces, Hackerspaces and FabLabs in the Global South: A Scoping Review and Research Agenda on Digital Innovation and Fabrication Networks” in The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries.
The review identified 70 papers of relevance (of which only a small minority covered the global South). It found that the literature maps a complex and varied picture of actors, activities, locations, and technologies. To link these all together, we propose the notion of “digital innovation and fabrication networks” (DIFNs). We define a DIFN as “a network of people, technologies, enterprises and other organisations, which use digital fabrication tools and other digital technologies to produce and innovate products in an open, community- and workspace-based environment”.
Textual analysis of the 70 papers included creation of the wordcloud below.
From this and other analysis, three overarching themes emerge from the literature.
i. Production:
– The idea of peer production as a new and collaborative mode for creation of digital artefacts and tools
– The rise of industrialised but small-scale production, using tools such as 3D printers
ii. Innovation:
– Support for grassroots, localised innovation often in physical workspaces
– Simultaneously, the emergence of new innovation intermediaries and hubs that link out into wider digital innovation ecosystems
iii. Openness:
– A cross-cutting theme within models of production and innovation, with a focus on re-usability, adaptability, and transparency
– But . . . beyond this, a vagueness or multiplicity of meanings around openness
Despite the work already undertaken, the rapid expansion of DIFNs in developing countries creates a growing series of knowledge gaps and, hence, a future research agenda. The paper discusses these in detail, with an overview of some elements summarised in the table below.
| Research Theme | Future Research Agenda |
| Methodology | · Extend use of conceptually-founded empirical research · Expand breadth of coverage to un-researched locations (Africa, Latin America, most of Asia), and expand depth of insight in East/South-East Asia |
| Production | · Map the production processes taking place within DIFNs · Map the relationships and production models arising between DIFNs and local manufacturing · Analyse the tension between collaborative and individualised production within DIFNs |
| Innovation | · Investigate how grassroots innovation, focused on local socio-economic problems, can be fostered · Examine the learning processes that occur between actors in DIFNs and the wider innovation system |
| Openness | · Research the different types of openness seen in DIFNs · Analyse the competing worldviews that influence and are negotiated in DIFNs |
Parts of this agenda are currently being taken forward with field research on DIFNs in South-East Asia.
Development Implications of Digital Economies (DIODE) Strategic Research Network 
Reblogged this on Researching DIFN.
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