Identifying Grassroots Innovations Methods

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Identifying Grassroots Innovations
Methods Processes

• T. J. James
• National Coordinator (SD)
• National Innovation Foundation
• Ahmedabad 380015
• India

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There is an old Indian story of an aged
woman.She was searching something under a night
lamp in a street. A person passing by asked her
what she was looking for. She said she had lost a
stitching needle and was looking for it. The
person asked where she had lost her needle. She
replied, inside the room. The person was baffled
and asked her that why was she searching for it
in the street. The lady replied that there was
light in the street. Many research scholars
also do the same mistake of looking for ideas and
innovations where the light is rather than where
it was embedded. (Gupta Patel 1992)
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How we find odd balls

• Network
• Media
• Shodhyatra
• Students
• Competitions
• Innovators
• Shodh Sankal
• Old literature

• National Campaign
• Cultural fairs
• Exhibition
• Women SHG
• Traditional food festival
• Fellowship
• Curriculum of students
• Involving other networks

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Honey Bee Network

• Regional publication of Honey Bee.
• Volunteers
• Organizing
• Innovators/Traditional healers workshop
• local Press conferences/media
• Students club

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Network Partners All over IndiaNGOs RD
InstitutesScientistsFarmersStudentsTeachersJo
urnalistsWomen groups
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Promoting womens knowledge practices through
Women SHGs

• Step 1. Mobilizing knowledge practices to
  belonging to womens knowledge domain
• Step 2. Facilitating product development by
  pooling the best practices
• Step 3. Diffusion through women SHGs- lateral
  marketing and Vertical marketing in urban market.

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Mobilizing knowledge practices from womens
knowledge domain

• Organizing specific competition for women
• Involving regional collaborator.
• Formal announcement in SHG
  federation meeting
• Village level meetings
• SHG leaders training programme
  
• Distribution of pamphlets
  ,Notices etc
• Demonstration of unique
  practices
• On spot documentations
• Local media and newspaper
• Other NGOs

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Mobilizing large no of knowledge practicesThe
Kerala SHGs example

• Recipes food items infants, children, adults,
  menstrual period, pregnancy, delivery, - leafy
  vegetables , mostly from non cultivated plants
• Beverages herbal, for rainy season, summer, all
  season.
• Herbal remedies head ache, stomach disorders
  ,pain , swellings ,cough
• Cosmetics herbal- pimples ,eye lining, hair
  dyes, dandruff, rosy cheek, removing black heads,
  removing scars etc.
• Agriculture cultivation methods, food grain
  preservation
• Veterinary practices poultry, cattle.
• Food processing methods prevention of fungal
  attack, various drying and storage methods,
  pickles.
• Cooking methods easy boiling, reducing salt etc.
  
• Others mosquitoes repellent, cleaning of
  vessels, windows, stitching of cloth, fermenting
  of food products

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Facilitating product development by pooling the
pest practices

• a) Pooling of best practices at the NIF head
  quarter
• b) Meeting with the NGO staff and SHG leaders
• c) Village Level Meeting with knowledge holders.
• d) Lab Testing of the products

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Diffusion through women SHGs- Lateral and
Vertical Marketing

• Lateral marketing of products based on indigenous
  knowledge
• Brand name micro venture innovation fund
  (MVIF)
• Formal launching of product Vertical marketing

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Shodhyatra The journey of exploration
The journey of exploration on foot is organized
for one week to ten days, twice a year during
extreme summer and winter.

• Recognize, reward honor knowledge holders
• Disseminating grassroots innovations and
  traditional knowledge
• Understanding the creative process
• Identify the innovators and unique knowledge
  holders
• Reinforcing their experimental ethic.

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Activities

• Bio diversity Contests
• Recipe competitions
• Road Shows
• Workshops
• Discussions
• Demonstrations
• Mobile exhibition

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Scouting through Media

• Identified Interested Journalists
• Requested to cover Innovations
• News/advt in print and visual media
• Competition for journalist
• Featured in Visual media

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Scouting through Students

• Summer Scout
• Curriculum
• Fellowships
• Students network science clubs

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Scouting through innovators

• Innovators circle /peer group
• Easily identify
• Emotional attachment
• Themselves as a model

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National campaigns for scouting innovations and
traditional knowledge

• First - 1,600
• Second - 13,500
• Third - 21,000
• Fourth - 14,000
• Fifth - 20,000

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Other Methods

• Shodh Sankal - Local network of grassroots
  innovators Lateral learning environment among the
  grassroots innovators.
• Innovation insurgents
• Electronic submission
• Traditional food festival
• Kite Festival
• Scanning of Old Literature
• Identifying other interested networks and
  involving them

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Process of Documentation

• Primary documentation
• Address of Innovator
• Educational Qualifications
  
• Details of Technology
• Sample/Photographs

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Secondary Documentation

• Specific details of Innovation
• Method of development
• Construction and operational details
• Cost estimate, capacity etc.,
• In case of traditional/herbal technologies,
  samples of plants, scientific names,
  quantity/proportion of ingredients, dosage is a
  must along with other details

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What all should one keep in mind while scouting
and documenting?

• Maintain emotional and friendly relationship with
  the innovator knowledge holder. The innovator
  should consider scout as friend, mentor and
  guide.
• Scout is the formal spokesman of the innovator.

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Problems in Documentation

• Grassroots innovator might be suspicious
• Signing of PIC there is high expectation among
  innovators and knowledge holders.
• Differentiating between community and individual
  knowledge.
• Same plant is known in different places with
  different names.
• Or similar local names for different plants in
  different areas eg. Pipal, Pipul Ficus religiosa
  or Piper longum

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Prior Informed Consent (PIC)

• The purpose to obtain the PIC from the
  innovator/tk holder is to get the proper
  authorization from the innovators/TK holders to
  enable NIF to work for and on behalf of them.
  Also, the purpose of the PIC is to create trust
  and reliability between the Innovator and NIF

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Experiences with the PIC sharing of knowledge

• PIC of old Illiterate people
• Cultural values and beliefs of the community
• Not aware of context and implication of PIC
• PIC creates unnecessary expectations

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Screening documentation process
Entries received
Grassroots/Professional/ Students
Approval by NIF Board
National Register for Innovations and
Outstanding Grassroots knowledge
Documentation 3
Recommendation for the awards/ Value
addition/Validation/MVIF Formal Informal
Research Advisory Committee (Innovators,
awardees, collaborators, scientists/experts)
Prior
Informed Consent
Preliminary short listing
Documentation 1
Secondary short listing
Documentation 2
Regional Research Advisory Committee (Collaborato
rs, nodal officers, volunteers, experts,
innovators)
Approval of the NIF board
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Thank You