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Dr Leslie Budd, Reader in Social Enterprise, Department of Public Leadership and Social Enterprise, The Open University
Interested in ICT with regards to policy
The importance is on how technology is disseminated and used.
The expertise in any organization is an important part of frugal innovation
Frugal Innovation, has been discovered by all organisations, but there’s a problem. If you’re an public IT manager you’re stuck with the public’s false expectations. Government wants quick fixes.
We have a fixations with competitiveness. “Firms compete, nations don’t, nations aren’t firms”
Is innovation the fix? “All we need is tech city?”
Does innovation determine the outcome of the economy? Is innovation the structure or agency for economy for economic growth?
The condom has been a better innovation than aeroplane - Frugal innovation
What do we mean by innovation? Innovation is often about process and how you do things ‘better’. Managing the complex interactions between your staff is part of frugal innovation.
What is the starting point for frugal innovation? Imitation rather than invention as the basis of frugal innovation (Jugaad)
Interesting views from Dr Leslie Bud, @OpenUniversity on frugal #innovation #socspring14 |
The term frugal innovation refers to the innovative products and services that seek to minimise the use of material and financial resources with the objective of reducing the cost of ownership while fulfilling or even exceeding criteria.
The context of frugal innovation comes from disruptive and lean innovation (high tech). Frugal innovation can add to both these things.
A lot of people make careers promoting stuff they know to be false in terms of innovation as some sort of a panacea #socspring14 Leslie Budd |
Six Principles for Frugal Innovation
1. Seek an opportunity
2. Do more with less
3. Think and act flexibly
4. Keep in simple
5. Include the marginalised
6. Follow your heart
Examples of frugal innovation -
- Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car.
- Bamboo scaffolding, you can build a bridge out of it (as demonstrated by BBC’s Top Gear!)
ICT and frugal innovation
- mPesa
- Village Phones Grameen Bank - renting out phones and enabling locals to start businesses.
Front Line Police invented an app called iPlod to help them on the front line. The police do have a sense of humour it seems!
ICT forms of 'frugal innovation' is better enabled by giving more people access to ICT than increasing fixed broadband speeds #socspring14 |
IT training for local groups proved to decrease IT exclusion.
“History is changed when we put into technology that counts” Don’t look for expensive, exclusive solutions.
Fin.