But even the most good-hearted among this new breed of innovators tend to interpret the needs of others instead of knowing them from personal experience.

That is not to say that people who have not lived the plight of the underserved cannot innovate on their behalf. If that were the case, we wouldn't have online microlending platforms like Kiva.org or the text messaging donation services that raised so many millions for the victims of the Haiti earthquakes. But it does beg the question of what remains undiscovered as a result of the particular world view of those primarily steering the innovation ship?

So how can we create a more inclusive and diverse engine for innovation -- one that could benefit everyone?

Here are some things we could establish that would help:

It's about time the next big thing came from the hood and not from MIT.

Paul Lamb is the principle of and a founder of the , a technical training program for low-income and underserved populations.

in Computerworld's Web 2.0 and Web Apps Knowledge Center.