1 Pro-Poor Nanotechnology Applications for Water: Characterizing and Contextualizing Private Sector Research and Development Matthew Harsh, Arizona State University Thomas Woodson, Georgia Institute of Technology 1 Nanotechnology has been proposed as a possible solution to the dire problems caused by contaminated water in impoverished communities. We characterize the global landscape of nanotechnology research and development using bibliometric and patent data to ascertain how private firms are using nanotechnology to create improved filters and other technologies that might create benefits for the ‘poor’. Research and development on nanotechnology applications for water is very international, but is occurring mostly in China, the USA and wealthy countries. Nanowater patents focus mostly on filtration systems. Other research areas like nanosensors and desalination have fewer nanowater patens which suggest that those technologies may be further away from development. A typology of firms shows that the role of nanotechnology in their business models varies, as does their commitment to poor communities in developing countries. At this point, the potential for nanotechnology to create pro-poor applications in the water sector has yet to be actualized. Contextualizing the analysis and its limits points to the importance of using other social science methods to understand specifics about how technologies are developed, manufactured, distributed and used in particular communities in order to better assess the pro-poor potential of emerging technologies. I. Introduction Waterborne diseases are a critical problem in developing countries: they cause thousands of deaths everyday, prevent children from attending school, and severely hamper economic productivity. 2 For more than ten years, scientists, policy scholars and non-governmental organizations have argued that nanotechnology 3 can help improve access to clean water for poor communities. 4 These analysts have pointed to private companies that are already selling nano- enabled products to improve the treatment and remediation of water, and to global research on many additional applications of nanotechnology, including sensors that detect pollutants. In short, there is a strong ‘pro-poor’ narrative associated with nanotechnology applications for water – there is hope that these technologies will create distinct benefits for ‘poor’ and disadvantaged communities. 1 This research was supported by the National Science Foundation under cooperative agreement #0937591 and the National Science Foundation, Graduate Research Fellowship. The views expressed here are solely those of the authors. 2 United Nations. “Welcome to UN-Water”, 2012. http://www.unwater.org/. 3 We use the term nanotechnology to describe any technology that is derived from novel properties arising from the manipulation of matter at the scale of one to one hundred nanometers. 4 Salamanca-Buentello, Fabio, Deepa L Persad, Erin B Court, Douglas K Martin, Abdallah S Daar, and Peter A Singer. “Nanotechnology and the Developing World.” PLoS Medicine 2, no. 5 (2005): 383-386. Hillie, T, Mohan Munasinghe, M Hlope, and Yvani Deraniyagala. Nanotechnology, Water & Development. Washington, DC: The Meridian Institute, 2006. Hillie, T, and M Hlope. “Nanotechnology and the challenge of clean water.” Nature Nanotechnology 2, no. 11 (2007): 663-664. Narrod, C. “Agricultural, food, and water nanotechnologies for the poor: Opportunities, constraints, and role of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.” IFPRI discussion papers, no. 0164 (2011).