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Understanding origin of innovation at the base of pyramid
G V S B Sarada Devi
saradad11@iimcal.ac.in
I am a fellow student at IIM Calcutta. I am planning to work in the area of Innovations at the Base of the Pyramid. In my thesis, I am planning to try and evaluate the following:
1. Understand the origins of the innovations - Who does the innovations? - Individuals, institutions, nature of the institutions - for profit/non-profit etc.
2. Identify the determinants of these innovations - the antecedent conditions
3. Understand the enabling conditions for these innovations - Role of education, intermediaries and government
Some of these questions would evolve as I get clarity and finalise my thesis questions. I have been trying to gather information on the innovations from various sources like reports, newspapers, published case studies and books. The Honey Bee Network has done a fantastic service by documenting many innovations and already has an extensive database on rural innovations. I was wondering if I could get access to this database so that I can supplement my own work with authenticated information. I am currently working on my proposal and access to the database at the Honeybee Network which will help me in finalising the methodology for my thesis.
A large part of information about various innovation is freely accessible from our Network websites. Please look up sristi.org and nifindia.org and also plan a visit to SRISTI, NIF and GIAN at Ahmedabad. We will be happy support your research. A student of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) is already working on cognitive aspects of innovation struggles at the grassroots. Stay engaged! –Ed.
A crowd-funding based website platform
Ajay kumar
ajayksagar1@gmail.com
I am a 3rd year student of IIT Kharagpur. We are working on a crowd-funding based website platform. Eureka crowd fund is a platform for innovators, artists, and entrepreneurs. The platform can help the users to get crowd funding, place their art/project/product for pre-ordering or sell the rights of their project.
I read that you have organised several grassroots innovation contests. I need their contacts so that we can message them to launch their crowd-funding campaign on our website. Our website will be active soon but we have a facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/Eurekacrowdfund
(We are trying to develop a similar platform at techpedia.in and may be you embed it there, since crowdfunding is linked to mentoring and networking as well for eventual success: in any case, best wishes!-Ed)
Seeking guidance for a few ideas
Heminder Singh
rednimeh75@gmail.com
I have just submitted thesis for PhD in Botany in University of Mysore. However I have a few ideas, not related to botany, which I want to convert to patentable products. I feel highly constrained and helpless in the absence of any guidance or support from the university system concerning Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).
1) a pocket microtome for taking anatomy sections 2) a gadget to minimise mechanical shock in railway accidents 3) a make-shift, economical Laminar Air Flow (LAF) cabinet) 4) an apparatus to obtain distilled water as a by-product for lab use 5) a database software for fungal identification (requires few months) 6) A low-cost haemocytometer.
Kindly let me know if any of the ideas can be supported so that I may be able to send more details.
Honey Bee Network only supports the innovators from informal sector through NIF. Students are supported to some extent through techepdia.in at sristi.org but without financial assistance. However, extremely frugal innovations are considered under SRISTI Social Innovation Fund. -Ed.
Participatory research with farmers
Zewdy Gebremedhin
zewdy@3d4agdev.org
My name is Zewdy Gebremedhin, the Research Officer with the farmer participatory 3D4AgDev Program - www.3d4agdev.org. I got your contacts from one of my research supervisors, Professor Charles Spillane, who suggested I connect with you to seek advice on our research project. We are currently working on the program whose overall goal is to link the potential of User-Led Innovation with Rapid Prototyping (via 3D printing) and enable women smallholder farmers in Africa to design and develop their own labour-saving agricultural tools, tailor-made for their culture, soils and cropping systems.
We have begun research activities at identified sites in Central Malawi and part of our initial field work involves identifying and working with women smallholder farmer innovators.
Surely, my colleagues will send you stuff on checklists for detailed documentation but I will not advise using a detailed questionnaire for preliminary survey through students or some such naive scouts. However, please also do not hire highly expert scouts, they know so much that there is no much scope left for farmers’ ideas to enter! You can read many papers on this approach at sristi.org/anilg or anilg.sristi.org
We will be very happy to publish some of the innovations you discover in the Honey Bee. We are already transferring some technological innovations to Kenya and you may read about that also on our website. -Ed.
Two-year-old farmers’ association shares their story
Devchandrabhai Savaliya
ViswaVatsalya Manav Seva Trust
Bagasra, Amreli
We have formed an association for organic farming under which we organise monthly farmer’s meetings for the last two years. In these meetings farmers share their experiences. We also invite one or two experts on agriculture related problems. These meetings are carried out in different villages in farmers’ house or out in the open in a decentralized and independent manner. So far the response has been good. We have received guidance from various notable members of the society like Hirjibhai Bhingradia, Prafulbhai Senjaliya, Dr Hasmukhbhai Suthar, Hasmukhbhai Patel, Kantibhai Dudani, Muljibhai Bhalani, Dr Hiteshbhai Jani, Mayurbhai Mehta, Rajeshbhai Zhaveri, and Rajnikant Patel.
We hope that soon there will be more farmers’ associations like yours in other districts of the country. We truly appreciate your efforts. –Ed.
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| Volume No. |
Honey Bee 25(1) 22, 2014 |
