Displaying 1-10 of 10 links
Ashoka supports social entrepreneurs — people committed to solving social problems with innovative ideas — to influence policymakers and bring about social change. Ashoka's network includes business entrepreneurs, policymakers, investors, academics, and journalists who work together to build infrastructure, such as access to financing and connections between business and academia,
The website publishes detailed information on Ashoka's activities including articles, blogs, video and audio. It also provides access to a directory of fellows (entrepreneurs) working in 60 countries and across sectors.
This online resource centre, run by the Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer and Technology, aims to raise policymakers' awareness of the importance of innovation for sustainable economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region.
The website features a directory of grassroots innovations and traditional knowledge. It also publishes information on discussion forums, workshops and seminars, as well as detailed case studies of innovation systems and policy measures in several countries. It provides inks to useful resources and relevant organisations by country.
D-Lab, run by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is a programme of academic courses aimed at developing and implementing low-cost technologies to address poverty. Its approach is based on building partnerships and promoting capacity building, local innovation and indigenous knowledge.
The website contains information on its sixteen courses, and projects developed through the programme. Instructions on how to implement certain projects — such as making charcoal from agricultural waste — are also included.
Fab@Home is an open-source project where users from around the world collaborate to create machines that can produce objects, including foods, on demand using only a computer. It offers all the information and technical advice needed to create a homemade 3D printer, and by providing open-source blueprints and software, the project allows complex designs to be produced without specialist skills and equipment.
The website publishes a blog and discussion board for members to share ideas and information. It also provides a library of designs compatible with 3D printers, lists of suppliers of necessary parts and discussion forums to help guide users through the process.
This organisation was set up in 1997 to foster grassroots innovation and traditional knowledge across India. It helps innovators develop and commercialise their ideas, and provides a network to support their activities through technical and business advice.
Divided into geographical regions, the website provides news and publications, a product inventory, business opportunities as well as information on project funding, careers and volunteering.
This academic initiative aims to improve understanding of how activists lead the way towards bottom-up solutions for sustainable development, including renewable energy initiatives, eco-housing and local food schemes. It also offers policy advice on how these initiatives can be supported.
The website is aimed at policymakers, academics and development practitioners. It provides brief summaries of current research, links to published material, including a literature review, a working paper and articles published in peer-reviewed journals, as well as upcoming events.
Makeshift is a quarterly online magazine dedicated to documenting examples of innovation and creativity across the world. It covers topics such as technology, business and art from a range of authors, focused on grassroots projects in developing countries.
The website publishes feature articles, infographics and videos, as well as access to the full magazine through subscription.
Practical Action aims to alleviate poverty by improving access to technologies and knowledge in poor communities across Africa, Asia and Latin America. It works in collaboration with communities, and campaigns for change in policies and systems of innovation.
The website contains information on completed and existing projects, upcoming events, and blog posts discussing relevant issues. It also offers an extensive document library of position papers, manuals and reports.
This programme was set up by several nongovernmental organisations to promote sustainable agriculture and natural resource management in developing nations. It aims to facilitate the use of indigenous knowledge to help farmers devise systems to cope with change, achieve food security, sustain livelihoods and protect the environment. It also works towards integrating local innovations into formal agricultural research.
The website offers information on projects arranged by country and project theme, as well as relevant news and events. It also publishes extensive resources including links to publications, training materials and a gallery with audiovisual resources.
The Honey Bee Network brings together innovators, academics, policymakers, entrepreneurs and nongovernmental organisations to collect, document, and disseminate innovations and practices at the grassroots level. These range from traditional crops and agricultural techniques to machines that reduce labour inputs or costs.
The website provides access to an innovation database containing ideas, inventions and traditional knowledge practices; a newsletter published in seven Indian languages and English; and innovation competitions. Twice each year, members of the organisation participate in the Shodh Yatra journey in which they visit rural communities to identify and document examples of unrecognised local ingenuity.