@article {1152,
	title = {Science Is Indispensable to Frugal Innovations},
	journal = {Technology Innovation Management Review},
	volume = {8},
	year = {2018},
	month = {04/2018},
	pages = {49-56},
	publisher = {Talent First Network},
	address = {Ottawa},
	abstract = {In recent years, frugal innovations have become widely popular due to their no-frills nature that entails lower costs. However, most of the frugal innovations, at least at the grassroots level, are makeshift contraptions, made from indigenous ingenuity, that achieve their goals under constraints on various resources but may suffer from limited lifespans due to premature failure. Consequently, it is imperative that sound scientific principles not be overlooked or haphazardly applied in realizing these innovations, irrespective of their grassroots or sophisticated nature. This article therefore argues for the need to use science, sometimes at the cutting edge, to realize grassroots and advanced frugal innovations that are not prone to failure under various working conditions. In so doing, this work advocates the use of classical and new design methodologies that are rooted in science to save resources and, hence lower costs, while aiming for robust functionality of frugal products. In particular, a frugal design approach using a modern version of the safety factor called the {\textquotedblleft}factor of frugality{\textquotedblright} has been propounded to effectively create any type of frugal innovation from scratch. By combining the ingenuity of the resourceful creators of frugal innovations with a scientific approach that aims to make the resulting products {\textquotedblleft}fail proof{\textquotedblright}, such innovations may better contribute value to business and benefits to society.},
	keywords = {factor of frugality, factor of safety, frugal innovation, research, sustainable development},
	issn = {1927-0321},
	doi = {http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1152},
	url = {http://timreview.ca/article/1152},
	author = {Balkrishna C. Rao}
}
