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Projects
Innovation for a Better World - Frugale Innovation
Short Description:
Overall goal
“Frugal innovation” jointly developed by Austrian companies and local partners in emerging or developing countries can make a positive contribution: they can address global social challenges and contribute to the achievement of SDGs (e.g. combating poverty and hunger, promoting health and well-being or securing access to affordable and clean energy).
Expected results
- Creating awareness and strengthen the understanding for “frugal innovation” in Austria and South East Europe;
- Identification of possible new business models for Austrian companies that want to better use the potential of "frugal innovation”;
- Identification of potential partners and suitable projects for further grant funding in the area of “frugal innovation”.
Target group / Beneficiaries
All relevant actors from Austria and the focus region (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia) who are already engaged or want to become active in the future with the topic of "frugal innovation" will be addressed. This can include private companies, NGOs and international organizations. The location venue is Vienna.
It is planned to involve for the kick-off event 40-60 participants and for the three in-depth events 15 – 25 participants.
Activities
In order raise awareness and strengthen the understanding for “frugal innovation” in Austria and South East Europe, a kick-off event as well as three in-depth events are planned.
Context
A study carried out on behalf of the Austrian Council for Technology Development concluded that "innovation policy in Austria should focus more on the promotion of frugal innovation - from a purely technology-oriented approach to a more comprehensive and extended innovation approach that includes innovations in marketing and design. It seems necessary to raise awareness of the opportunities, potentials and risks of frugal innovation and to support companies in building up frugal innovation capacities".
The Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and the Research Promotion Agency (FFG, Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft) agreed to start a pilot project in South East Europe focusing on “frugal innovation”, due to preexisting close collaboration of innovation networks and great potential in this area.