Fourth National Campaign to Scout Grassroots Unaided Technological Innovations

To recognize, respect and reward the unsung heroes and heroines of our society who have solved a technological problem without outside help, the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, established the National Innovation Foundation in 2000 as an autonomous society under the Chairpersonship of Dr R A Mashelkar, Director General, CSIR. NIF is mandated to build the National Register of Green Grassroots Technological Innovations and Traditional Knowledge Practices developed by various individuals and communities in the unorganized sector. NIF’s commitment to grassroots innovators and traditional knowledge holders is aimed at (a) building their linkages with institutional scientists, technologists and designers to add value in their technologies, (b) mobilizing venture capital support to help convert innovations into enterprises, (c) protecting their intellectual property rights and (d) creating a culture of creativity and innovation in society. Through its activities, NIF is striving to make India innovative, self-reliant and a world leader in sustainable technologies.

Role of Honey Bee Network

The Honey Bee Network was  established about 15 years ago to connect creative people across language and cultures, acknowledge the contribution of innovators and expand policy and institutional space for local knowledge experts. NIF is building upon the Honey Bee philosophy and is trying to generate a movement in the country by linking green grassroots innovators with one another as well as with experts in modern science and technology, markets, design institutions and other relevant formal sector institutions. The national campaign is a means to build solidarity among creative people, by  unfolding the potential of genius at grassroots. Several values (7 E’s) are being blended such as ethics, excellence, efficiency, environment, education, equity and empathy. The purpose is not only to reward the innovators and traditional knowledge holders but also to enable them to help each other and in the process make India a knowledge intensive society. Creativity in that sense is being combined with compassion, conservation and concern for the disadvantaged people. The entries received by NIF are screened for their possible validity, uniqueness, creativity or embedded valuable traditional knowledge. The selected entries are evaluated with the help of group of experts and Honey Bee Network collaborators. The most outstanding entries are given awards and also support for prototype development and scaling up depending upon the social criticality, potential impact, eco-friendliness, economic condition of the innovator, potential for value addition through linkage with science and technology and prospects of diffusion through commercial and non-commercial channel.

The competition  

NIF solicits entries about traditional knowledge or unaided technological innovations attempted by individual farmers, fishermen and women, slum dwellers, workshop mechanics, local communities etc. in managing natural resources including biodiversity, generating herbal remedies for human, animal and plant health or developing new technological implements, gadgets or machines or processes for farm operations, household utility, transportation for improved efficiency, energy conservation or generation and reducing drudgery or any other low cost sustainable green technology related to various aspects of survival in urban and rural areas.
  
The awards  

The first best three innovations and traditional knowledge practices will be awarded Rs  1,00,000, Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000 each in different categories. In addition, three individuals and organizations who make extraordinary contributions in scouting grassroots innovations and traditional knowledge will also get awards of Rs 50,000, 25,000 and 15,000 respectively. There will be several consolation prizes of Rs 10,000 each in different categories depending upon the number of entries and incremental inventiveness and potential social and environmental impact. Special awards will be given for innovations and outstanding traditional knowledge of/for women. Outstanding entries will also be widely publicized in the Honey Bee Newsletter and through other media. Summary and/or details of the selected innovative practices and traditional knowledge practices included in the Register will be displayed at the websites of NIF with the Prior Informed Consent (unless such knowledge is already in the public domain) of the innovators/knowledge providers.
Students: Young inventors and innovators are invited to send their ideas or innovations for a special category of awards for them. These should be unsupervised, an outcome of their own creativity, without any support from their teachers or outsiders. Students are also encouraged to join SCAI at grassroots (Student Club for Augmenting Innovations) to help other innovators (scai@nifindia.org). There will be three prizes of Rs. 15,000, 10,000, 7,500 and consolation prize of Rs. 5,000 in this category

How to participate?  

Individuals or groups may send as many entries as they wish on plain paper providing the genesis of innovation and traditional knowledge and the background of innovation and innovators/ traditional knowledge holders, accompanied by photographs and/or videos if possible and any other information that may help in replicating innovations/traditional knowledge. Herbal entries may be accompanied by dried plant samples to enable proper identification procedure. 

The last date for the fourth competition is 31^st December, 2004. It is requested that every entry is sent with a full postal address, to facilitate further communication.

Check the guidelines before sending your entries. 

National Coordinator (scouting and documentation)

National Innovation Foundation

Fax: (079) - 673 1903
email: campaign@nifindia.org
Online Submission:  Submit Innovation

Why this contest?

The purpose of the competition is to uncover the hidden creative and innovative talent of our society so that livelihood prospects for masses improve through greater efficiency in existing enterprises and  also through establishment of new innovation based enterprises. NIF believes that innovations developed by individuals in our society without any outside help from markets or formal institutions can help generate a new model of poverty alleviation and providing employment. These innovations will also hopefully help in conserving resources and energy in every sector. A National Micro Venture and Innovation Fund is being set up with the support of SIDBI. The idea is to provide risk capital to such individuals from the unorganized sector whose innovations or traditional knowledge are found promising and meet the priority criteria of NIF. GIANs (Grassroots Innovation Augmentation  Network) provide incubation support to the selected and prioritised innovations scouted through the contest.

Outstanding traditional knowledge is getting eroded very fast. We want to document and disseminate the valuable knowledge produced by individuals and communities under the conditions specified by the knowledge providers. This will also contribute towards preservation and augmentation of the heritage of creative knowledge systems. 

Prior Informed Consent (PIC)   More Info

Each knowledge provider whose contribution is accepted for entry into the National Register will be requested to sign a Prior Informed Consent form. It will specify the conditions under which the knowledge provided to NIF can be shared with third parties with or without restriction on a commercial or non-commercial basis. The PIC form also provides an option for suggesting benefit-sharing formulae, should that technology or traditional knowledge be commercialized.

NIF will not include the entries in which

· the innovation has received institutional support at any stage of the research design or experiment, either in the development of process or product.

· the research has been pursued in formal research institutions supported by private or public sector (except the unaided innovations in small scale or tiny industrial sector).

· innovations are developed by those having professional degrees or diplomas in say engineering, medical science, pharmacy, biotechnology, veterinary science, achitecture, agriculture etc.

· research projects by students supervised and guided by faculty.

· essays or mathematical formulae or proposals for some development projects or only infeasible ideas are given.

 A separate database of innovations by professionals for applications at grassroots will be developed. These entries will include cases (a) where a self employed professional or one engaged in tiny or small sector has developed an innovation or conceived an idea with applications at grassroots without institutional help, (b) a professional has developed an innovation in a field other than in which he is professionally trained with applications in saving energy, reducing for drudgery of women or other such priority areas. The decision of NIF in regard to acceptance of entries and for consideration of award will be final and no correspondence will be entertained in the matter.

The decision of the screening committee at NIF regarding acceptance and rejection of entries, or awards for the same will be final.

Please note that your address is very important to us for making further contacts, please mention your address in the following manner.

Name:   _________________________________________________

House No.:  ______________________________________________

Building / Appartment:  ______________________________________

Street / Road / Village:  ______________________________________

Area / Locality / Tehsil:  ______________________________________

City / District:  _____________________________________________

State:  ___________________________________________________

PIN:  ____________________________________________________

email:  ___________________________________________________

Phone:  __________________________________________________

Fax:  ____________________________________________________

National Campaign Co-sponsored by

IIM Ahmedabad,   SRISTI, CSIR  &  Honey Bee Network

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