%0 Journal Article %J Open Source Business Resource %D 2010 %T IEEE Humanitarian Projects: Open Hardware for the Benefit of the Poorest Nations %A Glenn McKnight %A Alfredo Herrera %X An opportunity to solve some of the pressing needs of impoverished nations may be effectively addressed by the active sharing of open hardware solutions. As other articles in this issue of the OSBR demonstrate, open source software is already being used as an effective technology to address humanitarian needs in developing countries. The adoption of open hardware, as an alternative to commercial off-the-shelf products, may be another effective solution to global development challenges. In this article, we will not discuss the socio-economic aspects inherent with global initiatives; but there is a need for meaningful dialogue to come up with appropriate and long-lasting solutions. The focus of this article is on one of the recent activities of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic engineers (IEEE): the Humanitarian Technology Challenge. The Challenge identified three humanitarian problems that could be solved through technology and challenged participants to find an open-source approach to tackle them. The challenges were Reliable Electricity, Data Connectivity, and Personal Identification Records. This article describes the work part of the Reliable Electricity challenge from three perspectives: i) that of the initial HTC Reliable Electricity team; ii) its offspring, called Community Solutions Initiatives (CSI); and iii) an IEEE Canada group called the Humanitarian Initiatives Committee. All of these groups are part of the IEEE. %B Open Source Business Resource %I Talent First Network %C Ottawa %8 12/2010 %G eng %U http://timreview.ca/article/401 %N December 2010 %9 Articles %1 IEEE Canada's Humanitarian Initiatives Committee Glenn McKnight is the Humanitarian Technology Challenge Reliable Connectivity Liaison of IEEE Canada's Humanitarian Initiatives Committee. He has worked extensively with Canadian and international private and public sector organizations to promote cost effective IT and non-IT projects. His work included Baygen Radio of South Africa, environmental technologies in China, and IT strategies in India. His certification experience includes developing apprenticeship programs, operating IT schools, and promoting the Linux Professional Institute as an international standard. %2 IEEE Canada's Humanitarian Initiatives Committee Alfredo Herrera is a senior member of the IEEE and the Chair of IEEE Canada's Humanitarian Initiatives Committee since its creation. He has over 12 years of experience in telecom system validation and digital hardware design and verification. He currently works for Ericsson in Ottawa as a Radio Hardware Systems Integration and Verification Engineer and previously, he worked for 10 years at Nortel Networks. He has been a member of the IEEE since 1996 and has been Vice-Chair of the Ottawa chapter of the IEEE Technology Management Council and the IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology since 2005. He is also a Master's student in the University of Ottawa's Systems Science program, and his research topic is on using technology for development.