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      Prometheus

      Volume 36, Issue 2
       
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      Analysing frugal innovation incubation programmes: a case study from the water sector

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      Journal: Prometheus
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            Abstract

            Perceived positive impacts of frugal innovation for sustainable global development have triggered a variety of programmes to foster such innovation. To increase the impact of these programmes, it is important to understand how they function. In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework for the analysis of interventions that foster frugal innovations through incubation. Drawing on relevant theories and concepts in the field of innovation and related literature, the framework is based on two major categories of factors influencing the nature and outcome of frugal innovation incubation. The first category relates to the incubation process, the second to the innovation environment. The proposed framework is applied to the case study of VIA Water, a Dutch programme to foster water innovation in African cities. The framework and the case study presented in this paper demonstrate the complexity of a frugal innovation incubation process and thus the need to take a holistic approach when designing and/or analysing related interventions. We conclude that frugal innovation incubation programmes should consider that the innovation capabilities of potential frugal innovators tend to be weaker in developing than in developed countries. Therefore, incubation programmes should devise strategies that present frugal innovators possessing local knowledge and creative ideas with a realistic chance of competing.

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            Author and article information

            Contributors
            Silas Mvulirwenande
            Uta Wehn
            Journal
            Journal ID (doi): 10.2307/j50022063
            Journal ID (jcode): prometheus
            Title: Prometheus
            Publisher: Pluto Journals
            ISSN: 0810-9028
            ISSN: 1470-1030
            Publication date (Print): 1 June 2020
            Volume: 36
            Issue: 2 ( doiID: 10.13169/prometheus.36.issue-2 )
            Pages: 95-115
            Affiliations
            Universalia Consultants, Quebec City, Canada
            IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Delft, Netherlands
            Article
            Publisher ID: prometheus.36.2.0095
            DOI: 10.13169/prometheus.36.2.0095
            SO-VID: b0af6a04-4752-4483-8662-ccc84c2b6985
            Copyright © © 2020 Pluto Journals
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            All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

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            ScienceOpen disciplines: Computer science,Arts,Social & Behavioral Sciences,Law,History,Economics

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