Undercurrents

6The Surprisingly Sexy MiddleCrossing the Valleys of Death to Scale Innovation

Nearly every problem has been solved by someone, somewhere. The challenge of the twenty‐first century is to find out what works, and scale it up.

—President Bill Clinton

EVERY DAY, INVENTORS are conceiving extraordinary solutions to address the problems of our world. They are creating new drugs and vaccines for patients in need; digital devices that allow students in remote settings access to the same information as those in major urban centers; tools that help farmers reap larger crops; and innovative financial services that offer the poor a ladder out of poverty. Every week, I see fresh evidence of this dazzling pipeline of innovation through the scores of email pitches that come my way from activists, students, and entrepreneurs seeking support for their frequently brilliant ideas. Every year, we champion extraordinary new inventions identified through contests sponsored by groups like the Skoll Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, government innovation authorities, and the TED Conference. The energy and funding generated by this attention has been a tremendous shot in the arm.

Yet when I take a step back, my excitement sometimes wanes. There are already hundreds of incredible, effective solutions sitting on laboratory shelves or floundering in pilot programs—ingenious ideas for saving or improving the lives of millions, maybe billions, of people that never get beyond the proof‐of‐concept ...