Global competitiveness of any society hinges basically on its ability to incorporate the spirit of excellence at all levels of society. A chain is as strong as its weakest link. To widen the decision making options of knowledge rich economically disadvantaged communities and individuals; one needs to build upon their experimental and innovative spirit. Only then the whole chain can be strong. This proposal describes a vision and process for making this happen.

Honey Bee Network of grassroots innovators has proved that technological and institutional innovations developed by individuals and communities can provide a new way of thinking about (a) conservation of diversity, (b) generation of sustainable alternatives for natural resource management through self supporting viable economic and non-economic options, and (c) augmenting self reliant livelihood strategies. It is a model of poverty alleviation and conservation of natural resources which builds upon particular resources in which poor people are often rich i.e. their knowledge. In many cases, the insights learnt from local innovations can even extend the frontiers of modern science. In the case of herbal medicine, the studies have shown that as many as seventy four percent of the human plant derived drugs are used for the same purpose for which local communities and tribal people use these plants (Farnsworth, 1981). What modern science did was only to make the method of extraction, formulation, storage or delivery more efficient, or in some cases generate a synthetic analogue of the active compounds. It is a different matter that in almost no case, modern private or other public sector organizations have ever shared any gain from this knowledge with the local communities or individual innovators. The experience of TBGRI is an exception. Honey Bee Network was started ten years ago to correct asymmetry in power relationships between formal and informal sectors of science, technology and economic enterprises. Honey Bee Network believes in protection of intellectual property rights of local communities as well as individuals and has been pleading for that much before the issue of patenting was being discussed widely in the country. Honey Bee does what we intellectuals and other public professionals often fail to do. It connects flower to flower and takes away their nectar and pollen without making them to complain. The cross pollination of ideas among local communities is possible only if we share our research findings in local language that communities can understand and critique. Similarly, when we collect knowledge from people, we should not make it anonymous knowledge. The providers should be acknowledged and their IPRs should be protected. Further, if we get any material rewards, gains or any other form of income from commercialization, diffusion or publication of this knowledge, we must share part of the gains with knowledge providers and their communities.

It is this spirit which guides the activities of the voluntary organization, SRISTI (Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions) set up in 1993 to support and strengthen the Honey Bee Network - a voluntary informal network of creative people, policy makers, scientists, NGOs and other professionals interested in augmenting grassroots innovations. The Honey Bee Network tries to a) provide a peer groups of farmers, artisans, scientists, academics across language, culture and regional boundaries to nurture, critique and encourage innovative experimentation; b) break the nexus between the regions of high biodiversity and high poverty endowed with poor public as well as private infrastructure; c) provide access to information that can help improve productivity without increasing cost using other farmers’ innovations. Most of the grassroots innovators do not have access to relevant information, which cripples their ability to raise resources and explore opportunities in different markets. Thus poor demand of ecological and technological skill as well as their eco- friendly products forces them to become "unskilled labourer" in the urban houses and markets; c) galvanize existing institutions and community structures to inspire and sustain the curiosity and spirit of younger generation to pursue the path of experimentation and excellence in local eco-enterprises and natural resource management; d) resolve an ethical dilemma about sharing and protecting traditional as well as contemporary knowledge of individuals and communities evolved through conscious efforts but guided by different value systems without keeping people poor. The fact that we have not found many young healers indicates that younger generation does not find the career of healer or herbalist worth pursuing when it entails a life of penury though with a lot of goodwill in the community, and e) generate a system for rewarding and providing incentives to the innovative individuals as well communities under the provision of several international and national agreements like Convention on Biological Diversity (Art 8(J)), International Convention to Combat Desertification (Art 16) etc.

Response to these challenges has been organised through an iterative and interactive process for nurturing and encouraging creativity and innovations of people at grassroots. SRISTI has achieved some success on various fronts in addressing various challenges described above (Please see SRISTI report in annexure one). We greatly acknowledge the support provided by various agencies like Swiss Development Cooperation (1981- 1990) , International Development Research Center (IDRC) Canada, Pew Conservation Scholar Programme (award to Professor Gupta), Swedish Society for Nature and Conservation, MacArthur Foundation, University of Gothenburg, FAO /FTPP Programme and Global Environment Facility ( GEF) and UNDP supported project on Dryland biodiversity in North Gujarat being implemented on behalf of Ministry of Environment and Forestry and most importantly the grassroots innovators themselves (Please see details of the financial resource received by SRISTI, and audited balance sheets of last three years in Annexure two). However, we strongly feel that the real indicator of success will be when these activities can be sustained on their own through collective efforts of local innovators, investors and entrepreneurs in the near future. We are very conscious of the need to transform these activities from the "project mode" to a "self sustained polycentric movement". We hope that NISSAT will help steer this proposal for support from various public agencies to make transition towards the "local self governing sustainable institutional network" possible.

INFODev Division of World Bank has sanctioned a small grant of USD 250,000 for pilot testing a multi language electronic network among local communities has not fructified so far during last two years. Department of Biotechnology rejected a proposal on adding value to innovations by and for women through a natural product laboratory because the proposal "emphasised mainly research". However, SRISTI on its own has taken steps to take a building for three years from Ahmedabad Education Society in Gujarat University Campus to set up a lab and other facilities from its own resources. Sadbhav Trust from Mumbai has agreed to support the Lab called as Sadhbhav-Sristi-Sanshodhan to the extent of RS 60 lacs for two years. SRISTI is implementing a project on behalf of Ministry of Environment and Forestry, GOI, supported by GEF (Global Environment Facility) and UNDP aiming to conserve Dryland Biodiversity in North Gujarat through essentially knowledge intensive approach. This project is aimed at developing a larger proposal which may or may not have any role for SRISTI in future.

The proposal therefore, aims to provide a complete framework for operationalising the concept of Knowledge Network for Augmenting Grassroots Innovations - a goal very strongly articulated by Dr.Mashelkar in his various lectures. We are convinced that it is these Knowledge Networks in various sectors, which will help India overcome various constraints and mobilize our most important resource, i.e., the knowledge.

This proposal intends to operationalise the concept of Knowledge Network (KN) visualized by Honey Bee Network on the basis of its experiences of last ten years. The KN aims at scouting, stimulating, sharing and sustaining creativity and innovations at grassroots by establishing symbiotic linkages between local innovators, investors, R & D institutions and experts, entrepreneurs, policy makers and other civil society actors. The Knowledge Network can be described as multi-channel, multi-node, multi-level network of individuals and institutions engaged in generating sustainable creative solutions through augmenting local innovations and knowledge systems. It deals with the best of the formal as well as informal knowledge systems. It encourages the diffusion and scaling up of technological as well as institutional solutions which existing institutions, markets and structures fail to promote. It helps overcome one of the major constraints faced by creative communities and individuals i.e. their sense of isolation. It provides scope for lateral learning among those who solve problems and not just those who articulate the same. In that sense KN aims to experiment with solution augmenting approach rather than just problem solving approach. It recognizes that local communities may not always achieve optimal solutions to local problems and thus linkage with modern science and technology, markets, and other institutions may be necessary. But this should be possible at the terms which grassroots innovators can negotiate and deal with. The knowledge network will mainly focus on value added or raw grassroots green innovations as well as traditional knowledge which is very obscure on Internet or for that matter on any other net (particularly contemporary innovations). We also want to overcome the isolation of such public spirited scientists in public or private sector who treat people's knowledge about biodiversity and other resources with respect but are isolated and often ignored by their peers.

The proposed Knowledge Network (KN) aims at achieving following main objectives:

1. To document indigenous technologies and science evolved through experimentation and practice at grassroots.
2. To disseminate indigenous technologies and innovations after adding value to them through scientific research, build textual and multi media databases accessible through direct and remote connections.
3. To establish an electronic network through computers for exchange of ideas and technologies generated by less articulated innovative individuals and communities across the language, cultural and regional boundaries and link them with volunteer experts in formal sector; promote lateral learning across sectors, spaces and sections of society.
4. To add value to the local ecological and technological knowledge through documentation, characterization and validation with a view to improve sub-optimal livelihood strategies and generate innovation based enterprises.
5. To generate and evaluate various models for providing incentives to the grassroots innovators for generating new technologies and conserving natural resources
6. To inspire younger generation to be creative and pursue culture of experimentation combined with ethics, equity, efficiency, environment and excellence.
7. To protect intellectual property rights of local innovators by setting up a national and global registry system and using various other means under the provision of international agreements like CBD, ICCD and TRIPS and
8. To influence micro and macro policies so that they favour the grassroots innovators who have remained otherwise unrecognized

To achieve these goals HB network would build up and expand the existing the relevant databases, anchor local and regional knowledge networks, establish linkages among innovative farmers and play the function of benevolent broker between grassroots innovators, formal scientists, investors and entrepreneurs. The conceptual framework (fig:1) shows how survival strategies of different kinds are guided by prior knowledge systems incorporating differential access to factor markets (that is land, labour, and capital) and product markets (that is technology). These are further influenced by policy transfers (such as food for work, employment programmes, subsidies etc.). Any dynamic knowledge system has to evolve through continuance of valid traditional knowledge and discontinuance of invalid traditional knowledge, as well as evolution of contemporary innovations. These could be pursued by individuals as well as communities. This research programme aims to scout, and document (box 1) develop data base (box-2), add value to it through on farm, on station and lab research (box –3), protect IPRs (box-4), disseminate and network (box-5), evolve benefit sharing mechanism to reward individuals and collective creativity, and provide incentives (box –6), scale up ( box-7) and influence policy at micro and macro level(box-8 a and b) so that commercializable and replicable products can be developed. It is obvious that to sustain livelihood strategies through combinations of these options, several simultaneous changes will be needed at micro and macro level (Mathur and Gupta 1984). Sustainable livelihood is inconceivable without sustainable Natural Resource Management and biodiversity associated Knowledge System.

Various activities proposed in this programme (see figure: 1) to operationalize KN have been divided in eight main modules as described below.

1. Scouting and documentation
2. Electronic textual and multimedia data base development
3. Value Addition Research
4. Protection of Intellectual Property Rights
5. Dissemination and Networking
6. Benefit Sharing, Rewarding and Compensating individual and collective innovators
7. Scaling up of Innovations through commercial and non commercial channels
8. Policy changes at micro and macro level

Thus all the eight modules are closely linked in the strategy of this research program. Several more examples can be given. A memorandum of understanding has been signed between SRISTI and a private sector company involved in commercializing animal drugs and feed supplements to commercialize three formulations based on improvised traditional knowledge with arrangements of royalty sharing and up front payment of a small amount. Returns from these products will be used to set up incentive system for animal healers most of whom are very poor and their children do not want to learn this skill because of lack of future assurances of reasonable livelihood. Earlier work in this program has convinced us of the viability of the conceptual model and we feel that next phase will help us take it forward. How far we will be able to go will depends upon the scale and time frame in which we can test out many more models of incentives for conservation.

SRISTI has been scouting and documenting grassroots innovations developed by farmers, artisans, live stock and poultry keepers, pastoralists, fishing community and other individuals etc., for last ten years. It has scouted more than eight thousands innovations from various parts of the country. The process of documenting innovations is like that of navigating a river in which streams of new ideas keep on joining. One of the most difficult tasks of operationalizing knowledge network approach is the setting up of an on-going system for scouting and documentation of contemporary local innovations and providing feed back to the innovators. We also faced difficulty in scouting some of the innovations because of their wider spatial distribution. For instance, locating innovative artisans who make farm implements is extremely difficult as very few people are involved in this profession in any particular village. One has to survey scores of villages in a region to scout one innovator. Similarly locating and keeping in touch with innovators of migrating community like shepherds, pastoralists is also difficult. Development of electronic network for documentation will be extremely useful for innovators as well as agencies involved in the documentation if the two way kiosks ( that is where retrieval of information as well as sending or deposition of information can take place) could be established in different rural and urban centers. Innovators will be able to access other creativity and feed-in their own insights.

We also realize the limitation of our work in scouting more women innovators. We could hardly scout women innovators in comparison to more than four thousand male innovators or people with outstanding examples of traditional knowledge (One innovator may contribute more than one innovation and hence the larger number of innovations than the number of innovator ) . In spite of the best efforts and intention to reach women innovators, we could not achieve our target of scouting women innovators over these last years due to various constraints such as limited ability to hire competent and willing women researchers who will like to go alone in rural areas (e.g. resource constraints prevented us from providing a male researcher with every lady researcher though we tried even that in some cases). We noticed an inherent capacity of some of the women to build up creative adaptive strategies instead of innovating something new for coping with various stresses so as to transcending the same. SRISTI will intensify its search for women innovators in drylands, hilly regions and other high risk environments where the proportion of women headed or managed houses is higher because of emigration of males for jobs in irrigated or urban regions.

Methodology

We have evolved various methods and approaches for scouting and documentation of innovations. We have been able to mobilize large number of students from rural collages (Gramvidyapiths based on Gandhian philosophy of education) and agricultural schools, rural youths, grassroots functionaries of agricultural and rural development departments of the state government, teachers and development workers for documentation of grassroots innovations. Various methods and approaches used for documentation and dissemination are explained briefly here. Our network members in different states do not use all of these approaches as yet due to resource constraints but these are time tested methods.

1. Survey of odd balls in the villages through students

Student volunteers from different Gramvidyapiths are selected every year to work with us during their summer vacation for about two months. The selected students are given orientation training in small groups for scouting and documentation of innovations. The students are encouraged to appreciate the grassroots innovations attempted by their family members and neighbors in the village to begin with. The students are asked to narrate some of their own experiences, which they found interesting, intriguing and inspiring. By underlining the ones that we find counter intuitive or less obvious, we convey what we are looking for. The message about what we are looking for gets across through their own insights. Thereafter students go for field visit for 7-10 days in their native region. They look for odd balls in the villages who have been doing things differently compared to others. These insights are documented with the names and addresses of the innovators. Samples of the material especially plants, seeds, soil etc., used in the practices are also brought. A herbarium is maintained for being used as educational material in villages and fairs. The addresses of a few other farmers who either know about the innovator and/or have fields adjoining the fields of innovative farmer are also collected to verify the information. We write letters to these contacts later to have a first round of confirmation. Subsequently, another student/field investigator revisits each practice to avoid any error in the process and verify the practices.

2. Organizing competition for scouting of innovations:

We have organized several competitions in various parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan among students of Gramvidyapiths, Agricultural colleges and Grassroots functionaries of the state government. Survey forms are developed to send brief information about the innovations scouted by the participants. Application forms, procedure and other details are explained in the common meeting in schools and colleges and meeting of development officials. Teachers coordinate such contests in their schools and ensure that students pursue the spirit of voluntary effort for scouting unsung heroes and heroines of our society and pursue participatory learning. We organize workshops for launching the contest for functionaries of the state government department. The entries sent in by the participants of the competitions are evaluated by a committee of three persons. The winners are awarded prizes and certificate in the annual network meeting after validating the information through personal visit. The advantage of this method is that large number (more than 500 persons) of students and functionaries can participate. Though many practice get reported repeatedly, our experience says that many innovations get scouted from unexpected and unreachable regions within a very short span of time through such competitions. Such competitions have already been organized in Gujarat, and Rajasthan. The efforts are being made to organize similar contests in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

3. Organizing biodiversity contests among school children

We organize biodiversity contests among school children, and adults. The aim of these contests is to scout "little genius" among children and identify their ecological knowledge. This helps in recognizing alternative knowledge systems in dry and forest areas. Further many times children who are weak in academics perform better in the contest for biodiversity related knowledge. Children are asked to bring samples of plants they know about, on an appointed day. They are also asked to list down all the plants they know. They are quizzed about uses and other nature-related aspects of the plants brought with them. Interestingly, we found that young children from disadvantaged backgrounds showed an extraordinary ability to inventorize biodiversity and its local uses. These contests also generate the inventory of various species along with the status of knowledge system associated with these in the community. These contests also highlight inter-generational gap of knowledge and thus help to set an agenda for conservation of species as well as knowledge associated with it.

4. Shodh Yatras (journey of exploration):

Based on the experiences of several years, SRISTI has launched a concept of Shodh Yatra in 1998. A journey of exploration is organized from one village to another for 10-12 days covering a distance of about 250 Kilometers in ten days on foot. Innovative farmers, artisans, students and scientists join Shodh Yatra and walk with the objective of participatory learning and dissemination of information as well as trigger experimental and inventive ethics among communities. Village meetings are organized in every village on the way for dissemination and rewarding of local innovators and experts in the village. Honey Bee textual and multi media computerized databases are shared with farmers in local language through computer and other means such as publications and posters. A mobile museum on medicinal plant, posters, artifacts, working as well as actual models of innovations etc., are used for making the presentation. Biodiversity contests are organized among children while recipe contests are organized among women in some of the villages.

Undergraduate as well as post graduate students from natural sciences and social sciences are encouraged to take up systematic studies on various aspects of indigenous knowledge system. Students are awarded fellowships or research grants for their research. These students also help in more comprehensive documentation of various innovations and in some cases also draw out conceptual insights. One of the papers based on doctoral dissertation by Astad Pastakia on Grassroots Innovations (drawn from Honey Bee database) on Ecological entrepreneurship pursued at IIMA under Professor Gupta's guidance was awarded the Best Paper Prize from an international journal in UK this year. Likewise, a post graduate thesis by Dilip Koradia on Women Innovators was adjudged the best thesis in Gujarat Vidyapith two years ago.

6. Scanning of old literature:

There are many visionaries and experts at regional level who did not get their due credit just because they did not publish in English. As a result many times we end up 'reinventing the wheel'. One of the purposes of scanning the old, vernacular/local language literature is to bring these unrecognized knowledge systems into the light. We have been collecting old books contributed by volunteers, old institutions and stalls and vendors of old books. We are trying to reprint some of these books. We have noticed that agricultural books published before 1940s had the tradition of publishing best practices from the indigenous knowledge system as well as from the formal knowledge systems. However, after independence this attempt to blend both the knowledge systems either became weak or disappeared. We will continue scanning such old books for collecting traditional wisdom.

1. About 100 students and other rural youth will be mobilized to work for two months during their vacation for scouting and documentation of innovations in each four states Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh/ Himachal Pradesh. The leads found by these students will be followed up through personal visit. Approximately 1500 new innovations or examples of outstanding Traditional Knowledge are expected to be identified through this programme. Attempt will be made to strengthen similar process in Assam also.
2. Six competitions will be organized in each state Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Assam. The practices collected through these contests will be verified.
3. Six biodiversity contests will be organized in each state Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Assam / West Bengal and Himachal Pradesh.
4. Two Shodh Yatras of 8-10 days long will be organized in Gujarat, and may be in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu also.
5. Twenty five students will be provided fellowship to work on various aspects of knowledge system. Detailed case studies will be made for at least 50 innovators.
6. Three old books on indigenous knowledge system will be updated and reprinted.

Asymmetry in information reinforces and sometimes even creates asymmetry in economic opportunities and power for different classes of people. Information technology can help overcome these asymmetries if disadvantaged communities and individuals can be empowered through appropriate institutional and technological arrangements. The distance between different social classes can even increase if the access to the relevant information is not backed up by improvement in access to the institutions or resources required to convert information into investments. The database development is thus just one step but an important one, in the knowledge chain from innovation, research, product development, intellectual property right protection, dissemination, to rewards and incentives for innovation.

The application of information technology for democratizing access to databases of formal as well as informal scientific knowledge is extremely crucial for long term balanced regional and social development. This can happen only in local languages and through effective interface of symbolic and digital modes of communication. The demonstration model of multimedia, multi-language database developed by SRISTI has made tremendous impact at the local level as well as at the policy level. In an invited presentation to the Prime Minister’s Taskforce on IT, the potential of the Honey Bee database was appreciated very much. Likewise, several other top policy makers in Ministry of Finance, Science and Technology, Scientific and Industrial Research, Information and Broadcasting, etc., have appreciated the potential of this approach to transform the thinking among the masses as well as the scientific community. The potential of creativity at local level becomes much more apparent through such databases which can be accessed either directly through personal interface or through remote connection.

Unless all the information collected through various methods and approaches from grassroots innovators is organized systematically it is very difficult to share this information back with them in real time. SRISTI has been trying to develop various electronic databases on the innovations so that information can flow back electronically to users within real time. Innovative practices collected from various grassroots innovators are verified through letters as well as personal visits. Information of the verified practices are translated in English and Gujarati (in future other regional languages) and stored in computers. As part of this project, SRISTI intends to strengthen its initiative of developing following databases on grassroots innovations.

Initially, the Honey Bee database was only textual and that too only in two languages, i.e., English and Gujarati. There are following kinds of databases that have been developed so far in the last ten years: (a) published innovative practices about 1028 in English and Gujarati, (b) unpublished innovative practices in English (2600), (c.) unpublished practices in Gujarati (5600), (d) unentered practices in handwritten note books (2300), (e) untranslated practices from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, etc. (3500), (f) medicinal plant database with pictures (30 plants) data exists on 250 plants yet to be incorporated in this data base, (g) multimedia database on grassroots innovations (50), (h) database on indigenous institutions for common property resource management from twenty two countries (80), (i.) database on published and unpublished literature, reprints, documents on various aspects of knowledge system, development, IPRs, biodiversity, natural resource management, etc (17500).

In addition, we have acquired several other databases on patents, local knowledge on resource management (NAARM database), plant disease management (TAPP database from Cornell University, USA), plants of pesticidal importance (from wealth of India, 750), ethno biological information and have email access to NAPRALERT and several other databases.

1. Database on Technological Innovations:

Information collected and verified through semi-structured interviews of innovators through students, teachers, grassroots functionaries and other volunteers and staff are arranged in specific format of the database developed by SRISTI. This information will be entered in computerized database in English as well as other regional languages. This database has a facility of making quick searches on any word and generate list of innovative practices along with the name and addresses of innovator. Practices can be classified and made into groups according to the crop, problem, region, innovator, communicator, gender etc. So far, we have used Procite bibliographic database which is compatible with gist card and thus can work with local languages. A proprietary software will, however, need to be developed with multi-language and remote access compatibility. It should also be possible for the authorised users to retrieve information automatically from the server hosting the databases without human mediation to save time and resources. However, meta research may be needed to find out which kind of users use which databases for what purpose, and how often.

2. Multimedia Database (MMDB)

To overcome the limitation of textual databases and other publications in communicating with illiterate farmers, SRISTI has been trying to develop a multi media database using graphics, photograph and other audio visuals possibly from the original innovators. A prototype of this database is developed which has 50 profiles of innovators. This prototype has been shared very widely in various local, national and international fora. The Multi-media database on grassroots innovators is also shown to farmers, tribals and others during the Shodh Yatra. This would enable farmer innovators from neighbouring regions to have access to a much more rapid means of communication among themselves as well with scientists, entrepreneurs, green consumers etc. Efforts will be made to convert all the entries of the above textual databases in the multimedia database in due course. The advantage of the MMDB is that it helps in overcoming the barriers of language, literacy and localism. An illiterate farmer can look at the visuals and hear the sound to comprehend the essence of the innovation not only from local areas but also from other regions. It was found to be only product of its kind when it was presented at Global Knowledge Conference organised by World Bank in Toronto in June 1997.

3. Multi media Database on Medicinal Plants

Detailed Information about the use, cultivation, habitat, varietal diversity, geographical distribution, propagation methods, identification mark, ecological knowledge regarding various plants are stored in the database. This database has provision of storing graphics and photographs of plants. Scientific information on these plants from NAPRALERT and other sources will be also collected and stored in the database. This database will strengthen the efforts of biological scientists working on various plants. A sample database base on medicinal plants has already been developed to demonstrate the utility of such a facility in auto mode as well as manual mode in which one can search all plants used for a given disease or agricultural use or find out different uses of any particular plant.

4. Proximal and Remote Access to Touch Screen and online Databases:

The touch screen database implies that a farmer who is illiterate can retrieve solutions as well as send questions. For instance, a farmer comes to the kiosks and touches the screen. He is asked a question in local language whether he had a problem or a solution to share. If he had a problem, he should press red button and if he had a solution to share, he should press green. Let us assume that he has a problem. When he presses red button, he is asked whether his problem was related to crops, animals, soil, trees, craft, tools, etc. A picture/symbol of each is displayed. Farmer presses the button displaying crop symbol. He is asked about which crop and the symbols of different crops are displayed. He press paddy. He is asked next as to which aspect of paddy does his problem related to. Symbols of pests, soil, fertiliser, seed, processing, etc., are displayed. If he has a problem of pest, he presses that button and is shown different pests and disease pictures. On pressing the relevant button, he is asked to choose among different solutions displayed one by one. Whichever solution he selects, he can print the same or hear it narrated. He goes back and tries out the solution. If he finds it effective or otherwise, he is requested to come back and provide his feedback. He is also asked what control measures has he used in past with what effectiveness. A kind of expert system is behind this touch screen database. If farmer had a solution to share, he will go right to the point where the problem is indicated. He will be asked what kind of solution he has, whether it requires purchase inputs or is management oriented or requires a combination of both. He can then speak out his solution or type it out as the case may be. After doing that the kiosks narrates it back so that if anything has been left out, he can correct it or add. The touch screen database can be of two kinds, i.e., proximal and remote access. The first one has entire database in its memory and does not have to call a remote server. The second one may entirely be dependent on remote access or may have partial information in its database and remaining may have to be accessed from a database situated away such as at Honey Bee Headquarters.

1. Electronic textual database with 4500 records on grassroots innovations will be developed in Gujarati, English, Hindi and Tamil languages.
2. Multi-media database with 1500 records on grassroots innovators will be developed in Gujarati, English, Hindi and Tamil languages.
3. A multi-media database on 250 medicinal plants will be developed in Gujarati, English, Hindi and Tamil languages.
4. An operational software required for all the textual, multi-media and providing proximal as well as remote access would be developed.
5. Two kiosks will be set up in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu for providing direct access to databases.
6. An electronic network with on-line facility and 4-6 nodes will be established. Efforts will be made to set up this system in Gujarati, Hindi as well as Tamil languages.

Mere documentation and dissemination of indigenous innovations may not help much in keeping various streams of indigenous knowledge systems alive. In the emerging context of economic

reforms and liberalization, harnessing market forces would seem to be the most powerful way of scaling up and disseminating eco-friendly products and processes. It is futile to even think about

achieving financial self sufficiency for research and development activities without converting innovations into commercializable products. The Golden Triangle of Creativity explains how the KN may help in linking innovators, investors and entrepreneurs.

Converting local innovations into marketable products will need, testing and/or modifying innovations through on-farm, on-station and laboratory research. It is well known that existing markets as these have evolved do not put premium on diverse and small scale production systems. Yet, the transition of niche markets for organic products in some countries into mainstream markets indicates that consumer preferences can indeed be molded. Various actors in `food links', `herbal product links' and `biodiversity links' may get nested together with those who innovate, add value and generate markets for these products.

Our research over several years provided some of the useful insights about the transition of innovations into product but most of these insights remain to be tested widely enough. We pursued systematic research on 13 plants in collaboration with a private sector lab as well as at Gujarat Agricultural university. The results of these experiments reveal that many of the plant based pesticides are as effective as neem if not more. To that extent these may help in diversifying and broad basing the pest control strategies and prevent resistance from developing in insects (likely from any uniform treatment even if of herbal origin). Two plant based veterinary drugs have been tested and one of them is based on catachin which is very good anti oxidant compound. Results also show that it is very stable and may prove very valuable as an anti ulcer drug.

The process of value addition by building bridges between the formal and informal knowledge systems based on their respective strengths will facilitate developing commercially potential green products. Such bridges will expedite the generation of sustainable technologies in both the knowledge systems.

Methodology and Approaches:

During the first phase of five years of Value Addition research SRISTI decided not to establish its own laboratory and work in collaboration with other network members. Outstanding results of the first phase has convinced SRISTI to set up its own state of art laboratory dedicated to research on grassroots innovations. SRISTI will continue to build upon the strengths of various network members though the pace of the research is slow and cost of coordination is high. Following strategies and methods are being used by SRISTI and will be followed in this project for value addition research.

1. Screening of the Practices:

Practices collected from various sources and documented in various database developed by SRISTI are analyzed on the basis of different criteria such as its uniqueness in terms of, material used, efficiency, other options available in the formal as well as informal sciences. Extensive literature review and scanning of on-line electronic databases like NAPRALERT (Natural Products Alert) is done for the practices based on the use of local plants. Value addition research will be prioritized on those plants which are not reported in the literature for the same purpose as mentioned in the database by farmers. Several other factors are also kept in mind such as the severity of the problem for which innovation has been developed, the beneficiaries i.e., women, men farmers and landless labourers etc., possibility of generating employment, environmental as well as social impact. The practices are also sent to scientists in various agricultural universities and other research organizations for their comments.

2. On-Station Experiments:

On-station experiments will be organized on some of the innovative practices of farmers at experimental farms of the universities, Gramvidyapith and other R&D institutions to validate and add value to them. These experiments also help in finding out efficacy of the practice at different levels, externality, economics etc. Efforts will be made to organize multi location trials on some of the practices with the help of AICRP and other research schemes. Students pursuing their Master and PhD will be involved in these efforts.

3. Laboratory experiments:

In absence of its own laboratory, SRISTI has formed specific task forces on veterinary medicines, Plant Protection, microbial diversity and soil health, human medicine etc by mobilizing scientists from various institutions. Practices of strategic importance for value addition will be taken up for further research in the laboratory. This mainly includes herbal pesticides, growth regulators, veterinary medicines, herbal dyes etc. Experiments were conducted to find out active ingredient of the plants used, efficient method for extraction of those active ingredients, developing new eco-friendly formulations and products, testing bio safety of the new products, packaging and storage etc. These experiments will be supported with on-station and on-farm experiments to test the efficacy of the new products in actual environments. Students from the Pharmacy College, agriculture Universities, Veterinary college will be provided fellowships and research grants to take up long term experiments on formulations, active ingredients and bio safety aspects of various products. Guidance from the experts of Ayurveda especially Vriksha Ayurveda will be sought for developing herbal products.

4. R & D on Farm Implements:

Several farm implements and other machines developed by grassroots innovators also need R & D support for further improvement to facilitate adaptation in other regions and economizing the cost of production for viable commercialization. Travelling workshops of innovative artisans will be organized to discuss the new designs and improvements in the implements. We have found that exchange of ideas between artisans of one region to another helps in solving many problems which otherwise have remained unsolved for several decades and sometimes centuries. Engineers from the private sector will be involved to improve the industrial design of innovations. Students of National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, Indian Institute of Technology and other engineering colleges will be encouraged to take up projects on such innovations. Research grants will be given to innovative artisans to take up such further research individually or in group. Special emphasis will be given on the technologies required by rural women and land less labourers for instance pulley for drawing water, device for filling nursery bags and scrapper for collecting gum which have been recently developed.

Expected outputs

1. Fifteen herbal pesticides will be developed with longer shelf life, lower cost and lower or zero externality.
2. Five herbal growth regulators will be explored.
3. Twenty five implements will be improved and technologies for large scale production will be put in place.
4. Twenty five non-monetary sustainable technologies like sowing time, soil preparation, seed treatment, agronomical and cultural practices for controlling pest etc will be developed/ refined.
5. Veterinary kit will be developed for six diseases, twenty five Veterinary products will be developed which can be transferred to private sector, NGOs or cooperatives.
6. Two to three human medicine will be developed on the basis of lead found from indigenous veterinary practices.
7. Two other non-chemical products like vegetative dyes.

One of the ethical principle underlying SRISTI's approach is to share documented knowledge back with the providers of the knowledge in their own language. This becomes more meaningful when additional information collected from other regions as well as through value addition research is shared. Many times the process of documentation and dissemination happens simultaneously. Hence, methods used primarily for documentation also facilitate dissemination of knowledge and vice versa. Some of the methods we have been using for dissemination are described here.

Honey Bee newsletter and its local language versions were launched to share information with providers and other stakeholders. Local language versions essentially provides the platform for sharing value added information among farmers and other innovators while the English version help in sharing information across the language and regional boundaries. Farmer readers pursue experiments on some of the practices of other regions published in local version and give their feedback. Many times farmers share alternative options they might have either developed or used. Regional collaborators of the network publish local language versions of Honey Bee. These nodes have their own program for documentation, database development, dissemination and validation of the practices. Each version includes more than 70 per cent of the innovative practices from their own region and rest from other regions. Hence each version has its independent editorial team and unique identity. The proposed program will support Honey Bee and its local versions.

2. Organizing Stalls in Fairs

Agricultural fairs are vibrant traditional institutions in rural India where large mass of people assembles either for religious or cultural celebrations. SRISTI started participating in such fairs by putting up stalls. Many innovators volunteer to represent SRISTI at the stall. In addition a computer for accessing Honey Bee database in local language, posters, leaflets and other publications in local languages are kept at the stall. Many farmers visit SRISTI stall and get information about the innovations developed by other farmers. While accessing this information they also share their innovations with SRISTI members. This activity will be intensified by expanding it to the regional nodes.

3. Exhibition:

SRISTI has plans to make mobile as well as on-station museum on indigenous technologies and grassroots innovations. Permanent Exhibition will host multi media presentation, models, artifacts, and actual specimens of indigenous technologies. Facility for hosting various events, seminars, workshops particularly for young children and scholars will be created. Our intention is that young minds learn about the contemporary innovators in their own society and get inspiration to do something on their own. Museum may help in bringing change in the society towards making it meritocratic and inventive. Similarly, a mobile museum will be created with a mobile van equipped with all the equipment for presentation in the village. This museum will also travel from one school to another in different regions.

4. Shodh Sankals:

To generate lateral learning environment among the grassroots innovators SRISTI has initiated the concept of Shodh Sankal - a chain of experimenting farmers. Innovative farmers are encouraged to establish a regional network of innovative farmers, scientists and entrepreneurs at district level. This network meets periodically and provides platform for sharing of innovations among peer group. It also scouts new innovators and honours them in regional meetings. Farmers are trying to make this network self sustainable by sharing the cost of meeting, travel etc. SRISTI provides institutional support and organizes them under the umbrella of Honey Bee network. SRISTI intends that these network come up and take up the responsibility of documentation, dissemination, networking etc. This proposal seeks support for establishing such groups of innovators in different regions.

5. Annual Meetings of the Honey Bee Network

The annual meeting of the Honey Bee Network has become an important event for innovators where they get opportunity to display, present and share their innovations with other innovators from other regions. SRISTI presents progress report of different activities to innovators, scientists, policy makers and other stakeholders. Various task forces and multi disciplinary groups meet and plan activities for the next year. Regional collaborators also participate in this event along with their innovators. Several top level policy makers also attend the meeting and encourage innovators. The proposed programme will support the annual meeting of the network.

6. Workshops, Conferences and publications in local language:

SRISTI will organize series of workshops for indigenous veterinary experts and herbalists, artisans, innovators of plant protection and crop production practices, farmers' breeders etc in rural areas. It will also organize various workshops on on-farm experimentation, validation and value addition research etc. These workshops will be held in local language so that innovators share their knowledge and network with other innovators. Various publication, books, monographs etc., will be published for farmers on various aspects of indigenous knowledge system.

7. Web Site

SRISTI has already created its web site on various activities. It will make an arrangement to share electronic database through its web site. Home pages will be made for various innovators so that they can establish contacts with scientists and innovators of other regions. It will also create electronic groups and hold discussion on various issues to expand the opportunities for grassroots innovators to expand their contacts globally.

1. Publication of Honey Bee - Quarterly newsletter on indigenous technologies and innovations with a circulation of 10000 copies
2. Publication of following local language versions

1. Soojh Boojh: - A quarterly in Hindi with circulation of 10000 copies in North India
2. Lok Sarvani -bimonthly in Gujarati with the circulation of 5000 copies
3. Num Vazhi Velanmi: bimonthly in Tamil with circulation of 5000 copies
4. Hitalgida: a quarterly in Kannada with circulation of 3000 copies
5. Tannika: a quarterly in Telugu with circulation of 3000 copies
6. Attempts will be made to bring out Punjabi, Assamese and Bengali versions of Honey Bee with a circulation of 2000 copies of each.

3. A permanent exhibition with multimedia presentation studio.
4. Two mobile museum on mobile van
5. Two Shodh Sankal will be organized each in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka states.
6. A two days long Annual meeting of the Honey Bee network will be organized.
7. Six workshops will be organized on various themes like herbal medicine, veterinary medicine, farm implements, plant protection and crop production.
8. Two books and four monographs will be published in Gujarati, Tamil, Hindi and some other regional languages
9. A web site will updated with home pages on at least 50 innovators.
10. Organization of national workshop in 2000 and international conference in creativity and Innovations at Grassroots (ICCIG) in 2001.

Honey Bee Network was the first people’s voice in defense of protection of intellectual property rights in the country more than ten years ago. At that time, hardly anybody talked about the issue of intellectual property rights. Even the Rio Convention was still few years away when the first issue of Honey Bee came out with the appeal to policy makers and others about need for protection of intellectual property rights. There is a dilemma that we faced right from the beginning. If we publish a practice, we exhaust the intellectual property rights to the extent of disclosed information. On the other hand, if didn’t publish then we will not be able to perform one of the Honey Bee functions, i.e., of connecting people to people. We used our judgement in each case. When we screened the innovations dealing with herbal knowledge through NAPRALERT database and found it to be unique, we decided not to publish it in the same manner. We took it up for value addition and further research. However, in the absence of laboratory facilities and unwillingness of formal scientists in most cases to add value to local knowledge, we could not add value to large number of unique innovations. And in a few cases, we published such practices also in the larger interest of improving productivity, reducing cost and making transition to sustainable agriculture faster. We also wanted to capture the imagination of the scientists who form the largest single constituency of subscribers at least of English version.

While pursuing publication and value addition, we also started filing patent application on behalf of some of the innovators through a patent attorney who volunteered to charge a nominal fee for the purpose. Since a long term solution had to be found, we also pursued the matter with policy makers both at national and international level. A national register has since been announced to be maintained by National Innovation Foundation (NIF) being set up soon. SRISTI and IIMA have played a crucial role under the leadership of Dr.Mashelkar (who is the Founder Chairperson of NIF) in operationalising this concept. Discussions were held with the European, US, Swiss and Canadian Patent Offices in this regard. Several suggestions were made such as: Using Honey Bee database as a source of prior art information, developing an international registration system for small scale green innovation, getting prior art search though WIPO’s assistance for the purpose, developing an innovation patent system as proposed in Australia with benefit of product patent regime, ten years duration, maximum five claims per patent and a very low fees, etc. It was realised that much of the inventive activity takes place in small sector which cannot bear the high cost of patenting involve in the current system. At the same time, without providing the benefit of intellectual property protection, many of the small innovations will not be able to mobilise investment or entrepreneurial collaboration. US Patent Office has recently sought input from NGOs in USA about which databases could be used for prior art searches before issuing the patents.

Patent protection is a highly skilled job requiring legal, technical and general professional competence to draft, file, maintain and protect the patents. SRISTI would hire legal professionals and get them trained with the help of eminent patent attorneys so that they can correspond with them as well as with NRDC to file patents. Periodic prior art search reports and status papers will be brought out on the pattern of Congressional Research Service of USA so as to educate the policy makers as well as grassroots innovators about the emerging issues in IPR protection. For instance, farmer breeders would need to know about Plant Variety Act, UPOV, FAO undertaking on plant genetic resources, CBD and Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) and WTO. SRISTI would also actively seek help from private and public sector scientists, members of Knowledge Network for technical advice in the matter. A V-Sat station with dedicated 128 KBS line will be maintained to provide multi user search facilities. Local language interfaces will be developed with a simple translate facility for key words to do search. A database of searches will be maintained for off line assistance to the innovators, students and scientists working together.

Special efforts will be made to monitor the on-going patent activities around the world so as to issue early warning signals about patents being granted on common use herbal or agricultural materials or associated traditional common knowledge. A small cell will be set up to monitor the herbal patents regularly so as to identify cases where Indian traditional knowledge may have been usurped by people within the country or outside. This will be done only on limited basis because to do it comprehensively, a large team of experts will be needed to work full time. It can be organized through an all India coordinated research project linking scientists of various institutions. SRISTI can help in conceptualizing and operationalising such project. With an investment of one hour a day, we will keep track of the whole range of knowledge domains and accordingly strengthen our inventive activity. National Innovation Foundation can also strengthen this activity.

This project aims to help the grassroots innovators in following ways:

1. To do prior art searches so as to help innovators know about distinctiveness and novelty of their innovation at global level.
2. To help in filing patents within the country and where necessary outside through shared costs and benefits as the case may be.
3. To help innovators file infringement cases so as to safeguard their intellectual property.
4. To help in filing trademark and copyright protection to prevent imitation of their innovations.
5. To organize workshops to generate patent awareness among grassroots innovators and scientists working with them and maintain on line patent search facilities.
6. To monitor the herbal patents assigned by various patent offices and find out whether these patents have used traditional or contemporary knowledge of Indian communities and individual informal knowledge experts and innovators.

1. Filing of Forty to Fifty application for national patents.
2. Filing of five application for international patents.
3. Registration of four plant varieties developed by farmers under the Plant Varity Act.
4. Registration of local community germ plasm and its storage with NBPGR ( National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources) under Material Transfer Agreements(MTA) with local communities and farmer breeders.
5. Five policy papers/brief on various IPR issues in local languages such that common people can understand.
6. Organization of two regional and national workshops every year to create patent awareness among grassroots innovators and scientists working with them.
7. On- line patent search facility for grassroots innovators and the scientists working with them. This will be a reciprocal service and only if the time permits, it will be available to others on cost basis.
8. To monitor infringement of patented innovations through Honey Bee Network members and other volunteers and if need arises maximum two promising cases of infringement will be challenged on behalf of grassroots innovators.

6. Benefit Sharing, Rewarding and Compensating individual and collective innovators

One reason why Honey Bee Network has commanded so much respect from grassroots innovators for the last decade is the absolute transparency and fairness in recognizing people’s knowledge, innovation and practices. Honey Bee Network pioneered the ethical approach in which people’s knowledge was not to be treated anonymously. This was the first step. The second step was to recognize role of communicator as distinct from the role of innovator. It was also recognized that in many cases what one farmer narrated may not have been his or her unique knowledge. In such cases, domain of such knowledge was ascertained by inquiring about the degree to which it was widespread in the village/region. Over a period of time, when same practice would emerge from different regions, it will further confirm the widespread usage of that knowledge. A local practice well known in a give region may in fact be quite innovative in another region. The third step was to recognize that not all local knowledge is traditional, and communal that is collective. There are totally contemporary creative innovations hitherto not known to either a local community or even the formal scientific community. Likewise, there are also improvements made in traditional knowledge which some times may be known to local community but may be unknown to rest of the world. The role of local knowledge experts who have either reproduced a traditional knowledge or practice or have made improvements there in can not be treated at par with the rest of the community which just knows about it. It is true however, that rest of the community may have contributed towards conservation of biodiversity on which local knowledge is based and without which individual herbalist might not have been able to reproduce traditional knowledge or make improvements in it. Thus in the rewards and/or compensation for the local knowledge used by outsiders for value addition, a share for the community must always remain. There is no reason for creating a cleavage in the relationships that a local innovator or traditional knowledge expert may have with the community. It is also true that historically most local healers, herbalists and other traditional knowledge experts have remained poor because local communities could not properly compensate them for the services that they provided. That is the reason we oppose only community rights. We argue that there must always be a difference between the rights of individuals who produce or reproduce knowledge as against those who provide conditions for reproduction ( such as testing facility, raw material conservation, cultural context in which such a knowledge was produced in the first place etc.,).

Based on the experiences of last 10 years, SRISTI has developed various models for compensating and rewarding grassroots innovators. As shown in the following matrix, four kinds of strategies for rewarding and compensation used by the Honey Bee Network are (a) material – individual, (b) material – collective, (c) non-material – individual and (d) non-material – collective.

Individual

Reward

Collective

Various instruments to be used for different categories are discussed below. SRISTI will try to operationalise at least one instruments of incentive model of each type and help various NGOs and others also to do so.

1. Individual – Material

These rewards are in material form such as patents, copy rights or trademarks, user fees, royalty, monetary reward, fellowships, land assignment or equipments, etc., to individuals. These could arise from those who license technologies of herbal or animal based recipes by local individuals or educational or research grants etc.

2. Individual – Non Material

Documentation, coverage in press, TV and other media, Public felicitation, Invitation to lecture in schools, centers of learning and research. Invitation to conferences, workshops attaching name of innovator to the innovation (an incentive frequently used by the local communities themselves), photographs being placed in village or district councils, access to new skills. SRISTI has been giving SRISTI Sanman (honour) for last five years to outstanding innovators at grassroots level.

3. Community – Material

These are relatively quite important. The rewards in material form to communities or group of people help generate right signals for mobilizing collective action so important for conservation. The instruments of such rewards could include risk funds, trust funds, priority in the development or allotment of infrastructure such as schools, health care system, access roads etc., Free or easy access to data banks, access to external expertise, Community awards, Community grants/ risk funds, External aid in developing common property assets, Marketing intervention for organic produce etc.

4. Community – Non-Material

These are rather difficult to implement but may have quit endurable impact particularly when the rewards change the values of the communities in positive direction. Rewards include policy changes to ensure greater control over local natural resources, removal of perverse incentives (that is indications which encourage non sustainable use of resources) for conservation, favourable policy environment for eco-friendly products, conservation practices, media attention, community awards, capacity building through transfer of technology, building up of negotiation skills, pedagogy changes, inclusion in the curriculum of lessons which raise social esteem for local eco-friendly practices and innovations etc.

The magnitude, manner and form of incentive or benefit may influence the degree of involvement of the local communities or individual innovators in future projects of biodiversity conservation.

• Incentives could be in cash or kind, conditional (linked to research) or unconditional

• Community incentives could be of direct nature or they could be indirect. They could be provided at one point in time or over an extended period of time.

• Incentives could be provided by external agencies or by the local communities themselves. The improved status of the innovators on account of social recognitions may or may not be associated with greater say in decision making at the societal level.

• Incentives may focus on empowerment of local communities so that they may have better negotiating skills and better knowledge for conservation of local resources. Alternatively the incentives may be targeted directly at conservation. Incentives targeted at community may lead to action either at the community level or even at the individual levels.

1. SRISTI Sanman to twenty five outstanding women and men innovators from all over the country.
2. Royalty to be received from the private sector in the process of successful commercialization of five products will be shared with individual innovators or communities as the case may be.
3. Research grant/ award will be provided to at least 25 competitive innovators to pursue research on their own ideas.
4. Publication of profile of innovators periodically and display of their innovations on SRISTI’s web site.
5. Establishment of capacity building fund for grassroots innovators to attend conferences, visit other innovators, institutions etc.
6. Lectures of at least 25 innovators will be organized in various educational and research institutions.
7. One community trust fund in Gujarat and another in Tamil Nadu will be operationalized with different communities.
8. A fund for mentoring young budding inventors by arranging their visit to established or older inventors and other institutions.

6. Scaling up of Innovations through commercial and non commercial channels

Mere recognition and reward to individual innovators may not help in spreading the inventive ethic in society. It is important that other budding innovators see the recognition as a means to improve their livelihood. There are large number of award receiving artisans and others who are languishing for want of livelihood support systems. It is for this reason that SRISTI helped in setting up Gujarat Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network (GIAN) in collaboration with Gujarat Government to scale up and commercialise the innovations. Similar venture promotion funds need to be set up in different parts of the country. Alternatively, GIAN could expand its scope to include innovations from other states which have market in Gujarat.

The concept of GIAN is to link innovation, investment and enterprise. It is not likely that all the three skills will be in one person. It is important that we try to connect them for which the databases discussed earlier will help. However, a Venture Promotion Fund (VPF) can help if the innovative idea has matured and has reached the prototype stage. VPF can also invest in a small scale model which still remains to be upscaled into prototype. In case of biological products, the scaling up will involve standardising the process and looking at the biochemistry of large scale production. The process of scaling up also requires some kind of research because a prototype may not work exactly when scaled up. In addition, market research, collaboration with design experts, and testing and certification are also required before commercialization. Most of the innovators may not have aptitude or acumen to become entrepreneur themselves. In such cases, these innovators have to be put in touch with other entrepreneurs through fair contracts. In first such case, through the efforts of GIAN, SRISTI transferred rights assigned to it by the innovator Mr.Amrutbhai for tilting cart to third party entrepreneur. The right for commercialization of the cart was restricted to three districts of Gujarat and for five years in lieu of which the entrepreneur paid Rs.40,000/= to the innovator. It was understood that innovator will transfer not only the technology but also the improvements in the same from time to time to entrepreneur. This is an example where golden triangle has been fulfilled. The testing and certification process is extremely complex. Most of the procedures of testing facilities in public sector have been designed keeping in mind the large industrialists and innovators. The systems are not designed to cope with small inventors and innovators. The role of support organizations becomes extremely crucial.

Synopsis of innovative ideas will be displayed on internet so that potential investors or entrepreneurs in any part of the world can seek out the opportunities of collaboration with an innovator in India. Globalisation of grassroots innovation will be the real test of proposed model of innovation augmentation and National Innovation Foundation (NIF) will be an important mediating mechanism for this. Scaling up, as mentioned above, will require market research and linkage with design and product development institutions. A panel of consumers as well as R&D workers will be maintained to test the potential of different ideas. Likewise, instruments will be developed to generate feedback regularly on already scaled up innovations. The Knowledge Network proposed earlier will help in mobilising the expertise and excellence in the formal sector for innovators engaged in scaling up of the innovations. Thematic help lines will be developed so that voluntary support from the scientists and technologists in public and private sectors. Support teams will help individual innovator whose innovation is being supported for scaling up. These teams will include mentors even from outside. Contacts with ICAR and CSIR labs as well as private sector labs will be established to mobilise skills and technical resources not available with innovators.

1. Attempts will be made to commercialize 10 herbal (pesticide, veterinary medicines, growth regulators and vegetative dyes) products developed from the value addition research on grassroots innovations.
2. About 10 different implements will be commercialized at national level.
3. Five to seven different non-monetary technologies or products including implements will be scaled up through non-commercial channels.
4. An incubator will be set up to encourage the linkages between innovators, investors and entrepreneurs.
5. Venture fund like GIAN will be set up in at least one state other than Gujarat for commercialization of value added green products.
6. Design, research (market, product development, packaging, and promotion) and other support to at least 25 innovators per year through contractual arrangements with relevant professional agencies at as reasonable cost as possible.
7. Two Clearing house meetings will be organized every year to bring entrepreneurs, innovators and investors together

6. Policy changes at micro and macro level

There are so many impediments that a grassroots innovator has to face that under ordinary circumstances, he or she will often give up. SRISTI has tried to strengthen the empirical content of various policy initiatives that IIMA has taken in this regard, be it the First National Workshop on Incubator for Innovation based Enterprises (December, 1998), Criteria and Indicator of Sustainability (Feb., 1999), Inter-Ministerial Committee of Secretaries meeting (April-May, 1999) to develop the framework for National Innovation Foundation with a corpus of Rs 20 crores, Workshop to develop Framework for Setting up SAMPADA, Strategic Alliance for Medicinal Plants Augmentation and Development, Workshop on intellectual property rights for Secretaries of Gujarat Government, etc. From time to time, specific meetings are held at different levels for pursuing policy issues affecting grassroots innovators.

The policy interface is a complex process in which several interventions have to be made at different levels so as to ensure that policy and procedures favour the initiatives and innovations at grassroots level. Some of these interfaces will be temporary in nature by definition. But some durable mechanisms will have to be developed to periodically assess the linkage between microlevel problems and macro level solutions. The board of NIF will provide one such platform where macro-micro linkages will be forged and reviewed. In different states where GIAN like institutions emerge similar interface at the state level will be organised. It has to be kept in mind that innovators by temperament generally are not gregarious. More so, they are not often part of organised lobbies. They also suffer from isolation and in some cases, low self esteem because of repeated rejection or indifferent response from society at different levels. The need for lobbying on their behalf cannot be over emphasised. A National Inventors Association will be formed which will affiliate with international bodies so as to give voice to the innovators and inventors at national and international level. The research on various matters connected with policies will also be undertaken at IIMA and other academic institutions sponsored by this project/programme. We are trying to transform the general mentality among the youth and therefore educational policies will receive special attention so that inventiveness takes root early in life. Workshops will be organised every year to highlight the achievements by the innovators as well as the problems they faced. An effort will be made that Finance Minister listens to a panel of innovators and inventors including the entrepreneurs linked with them before finalising budget just as he/she meets representatives of other constituencies. The National Register being set up under NIF will be operationalised through Knowledge Network and other mechanisms of scouting innovations.

Outputs:

1. Attempts will be made to operationalize INSTAR - a National Register of Grassroots Green Innovations.
2. Expected policy changes at central level within the country and also at International level such as WIPO and WTO to develop a low transaction cost mechanism for protection of intellectual property rights of grassroots innovators.
3. Policy makers at state as well national level will be supported on various issues related to creativity of grassroots innovations with an objective of making India a truly inventive society.
4. To organize Policy workshops in collaboration with IIMA every year to highlight lessons for agricultural, industrial and rural development policies.
5. Reports of the Various consultation and workshop organized with the policy makers, opinion leaders, media and grassroots innovators.

The Knowledge Network being created here aims at bringing about a renaissance of a sort in India and eventually the entire developing world. Cheap aid, subsidies, and dependence on borrowed models of development have taken a heavy toll of national imagination and vision. Grassroots innovations can help the country turn around and make knowledge rich economically poor people , overcome their poverty and deprivation if formal science and technology can be blended with informal science and technology. The Honey Bee network model developed over last ten years can indeed work in achieving this goal particularly with the incorporation of Information Technology and support of formal scientific laboratories.

The inventive ethic requires also a social, and cultural and ethical transformation if development process has not to lead to more exploitative type of technological development. Such a transformation will take place when we will continue to be guided by the values and spirit of generous local knowledge experts who have shared their knowledge, innovations and expertise without expectation of any return from us. The irony is that their generosity has become the reason for not only their poverty but also erosion of the knowledge systems. The younger children do not aspire to learn this living knowledge systems. They see a life of poverty ahead if they followed into the footsteps of their local expert elders. What we have proposed is a practical, ethically sound, and operationally manageable program of work that can help keep functional traditional knowledge systems alive, provide spur and support for contemporary creativity and innovation existing at grassroots level, extend frontiers of science through blending of excellence in formal and informal sector, and finally help develop a new knowledge and technology intensive model of poverty alleviation.

The budget provided here does not cover the cost of building and other infrastructure necessary to provide a hospitable sanctuary for these ideas. Only recurrent costs and immediate work related infrastructure are costed here.