Ingenuity and Systematic Innovation in Poverty Alleviation Initiatives

This article examines poverty alleviation initiatives to analyze how ingenuity and systematic innovation manifest in their design and delivery. The article examines three organizations to contrast their approach toward poverty alleviation. Legacy experience in terms of the approach taken and complexity in portfolio of initiatives come forth as key variables influencing disposition toward systematic innovation or, alternatively, ingenuity. Ingenuity and systematic innovation are presented as conceptual parallels contributing to debates on ingenuity’s positioning in relation to innovation.