Dynamic networks of grassroots innovators in India

Abstract: ‘Grassroots innovations’ in India are receiving increasing attention from innovation scholars and policymakers alike. These innovations are individual or community efforts to solve the problems faced in one's daily life. Moreover, rather than responding to any ‘potential market’ demand, these efforts are often geared towards satisfying one's own innate psychological needs and fulfilment of the so-called ‘social duty’. The National Innovation Foundation (NIF) is working towards popularisation and diffusion of these innovations. Such policies have taken the form of various kinds of formal and informal networks involving innovation. Using primary and secondary data, we intend to study the relationships between various kinds of networks that innovators form at different stages of innovation. Results show that networks keep changing and have vital effects on the innovation in the informal sector.