National Innovation Foundation

The National Innovation Foundation (NIF) - India was set up by the Department of Science &Technology (DST) in February 2000. The National Innovation Foundation (NIF) – India, is India's national initiative to strengthen the grassroots technological innovations and outstanding traditional knowledge. NIF has received over 1500 product inquiries from 110 countries for various technologies. Its mission is to help India become a creative and knowledge-based society by expanding policy and institutional space for grassroots technological innovators. It was set up with the support of Honey Bee Network.

NIF supports grassroot innovations developed by individuals and local communities in any technological field, helping in human survival without any help from formal sector. It also tries to ensure that such innovations diffuse widely through commercial and/or non-commercial channels, generating material or non-material incentives for them and others involved in the value chain. NIF is committed to making these innovative products available to the masses through a market mechanism or otherwise. The basic goal of BD department at NIF is to build a value chain around these innovations which could facilitate their transition into self-supporting sustainable enterprises.

Vision

To make India innovative and adding value to India's outstanding traditional knowledge base.

Mission

To help India become inventive and creative, and to become a global leader in sustainable technologies without social and economic handicaps affecting the evolution and diffusion of green grassroots innovations.

NIF India Objectives

To help India become innovative and creative, and to become a global leader in sustainable technologies by scouting, spawning and sustaining grassroots innovations.
To ensure evolution and diffusion of green grassroots innovation on a selective, time-bound and mission-oriented basis so as to meet the socioeconomic and environmental needs of our society.
To provide institutional support in scouting, spawning, sustaining and scaling up grassroots green innovations as well as outstanding traditional knowledge and helping their transition to self-supporting activities
To seek self-reliance through competitive advantage of innovation-based enterprises and/or application of "people-generated sustainable technologies" at grassroots level
To build linkage between excellence in formal scientific systems and informal knowledge systems and create a knowledge network to link various stakeholders through application of Information Technology (IT) and other means
To promote wider social awareness and possible applications of the know-how generated as a result of these initiatives in commercial or social spheres and encourage its incorporation in educational curriculum, developmental policies and programs.

Scouting, Documentation and Database Management (SDDM)

Scouting of the innovations is the first step towards the fulfilment of the mission of NIF. The art of scouting involves the extensive fieldwork; travel in rural and urban areas, search for 'odd balls' the experimenter, local community and knowledge experts in the society. Students in summer vacation also are encouraged to scout such creative people.

Value Addition Research & Development (VARD)

Key tasks performed by the Value Addition Research and Development team with the ultimate objective of commercialization through new business models are:

Coordination with public and private sector R & D institutions, academic institutions, private associations, industry clusters and innovation intermediaries.
Formulation of strategies, undertaking detailed product planning and prototype development while maintaining a WBS (work breakdown structure).
Mobilization of support for product development proposals through the DST's TePP fund and other similar programs / projects either at local or international level.
Creation of a contractual value chain through either benefit sharing or through an up-front fee as suitable in the specific context.

Business Development

Grassroots innovations offer a huge business potential, primarily because these solutions originate from people having a first-hand experience of all the problems involved. This need-based, cost-effective and sustainable solution-centric approach acts as a key differentiator and increases the probability of their acceptance in the market, not only within the country but also in the global markets.

National Innovation Foundation

Address: Grambharti, Amrapur,

Grambharti - Amarapur Rd, Amarapur, Gujarat 382650

Phone: 02764 261 131

Website: http://nif.org.in/