Grassroots innovations and sustainable energy use in urban contexts: case studies from India

Abstract

Purpose

Grassroots innovations, developed by local people using locally available resources, have shown the potential to provide low-cost technological solutions to the problems faced by underserved consumers in the global south. This paper aims to link the concept of grassroots innovations to energy use in the context of India.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper takes three case studies from the list of technologies scouted and nurtured by the National Innovation Foundation to critically discuss the potential of grassroots innovations for the dissemination and diffusion of urban sustainable energy uses. The data for this study has been collected from various secondary sources. It discusses the opportunities and challenges in promoting grassroots innovations for sustainable energy uses in urban settings.

Findings

The paper discusses the opportunities and challenges in promoting grassroots innovations for sustainable energy uses in urban settings.

Originality/value

Although the concept and understanding of grassroots innovations have well developed, its linkages with sustainable energy use in urban settings have received scarce or no attention in the literature.

Citation

Kumar, H. and Sharma, G. (2023), "Grassroots innovations and sustainable energy use in urban contexts: case studies from India", Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 529-546. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTPM-03-2021-0042