Diverse patterns of innovation in India for broader impacts

Abstract

This chapter examines inclusive innovation in India at the Bottom or Base of the Pyramid (BOP) as an example of the diversity of innovation processes at the bottom of the pyramid. It focuses on contrasting various stakeholders and their modes of involvement and interaction with traditional innovation processes using cases in the health care industry. The innovation environment at the BOP is often informal. Members of the BOP are not part of usual economic exchanges and are often overlooked as a source of innovation given their lack of involvement in official labor markets or processes of consumption. The idea aims at creating for the BOP useful high performance and high quality goods at affordable prices and is able to incorporate the ideas of pro-poor and grassroots innovation. Successful innovation at the BOP depends on knowledge, embeddedness, and the support of nongovernmental organizations, local governments, and community leaders.