Industry
CSR divisions, inclusive-tech companies, digital public infrastructure initiatives, social-impact incubators.
Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar and Prof. Anil Gupta
The Centre for Inclusive Innovation is established to honour Dr. Raghunath A. Mashelkar, pioneer of the “More from Less for More” (MLM) paradigm of inclusive innovation, and Prof. Anil K. Gupta, internationally acclaimed scholar of grassroots creativity, and founder of the Honey Bee Network. Their work demonstrates that innovation can be affordable, accessible, ethical, community-rooted, and capable of scaling to millions. This centre embodies their shared vision of combining science, frugality, grassroots ingenuity, and institutional systems to advance socially just and sustainable futures.
Inclusive Innovation & the Future of WPU GŌARationale
WPU GŌA's transdisciplinary governance model requires Centres of Excellence to act as global validators and integrators within a system that includes Research Institutes (RIs) and Living Learning Scholar Communities (LLSCs).
This centre fulfils this mandate by enabling the university to address complex societal challenges, such as livelihoods, public health, ecological resilience, youth capability, and ethical technology, through integrated, field-embedded and research-driven inclusive innovation.
It links knowledge creation (Research Institutes), community understanding (Living Learning Scholar Communities), and global best practice (Centers of Excellence) to produce scalable, community-centred solutions.
Objectives
- Advance transdisciplinary research in advanced materials, manufacturing and emergent device systems.
- Design and develop new materials and affordable green processing methodologies for multiple industrial and societal applications.
- Foster industry-academia-policy convergence for translational impact.
- Train next-generation researchers and engineers through experiential learning and hands-on training.
- Build global partnerships to strengthen India's role in advanced manufacturing and emergent device development ecosystems.
Grassroots Innovation and Transdisciplinary Learning
Mandate
To catalyse frugal, inclusive, community-anchored innovation at population scale by integrating grassroots knowledge, scientific rigour, systems thinking, and transdisciplinary collaboration across Research Institutes (RIs), Living Learning Scholar Communities (LLSCs), and global innovation networks.
Activities
- Transdisciplinary research programmes aligned with RI themes, including climate, livelihoods, social technology, and policy.
- Field immersions and community innovation labs developed in partnership with LLSCs.
- Teaching and mentorship in inclusive innovation, grassroots methods, frugal engineering, and enterprise.
- Grassroots innovation scouting (Shodh Yatra-inspired engagements) in collaboration with community networks.
- Social enterprise incubation for youth-led and community-driven ventures.
- Policy and systems design labs collaborating with government and civic organisations.
Operational Plan
Mashelkar–Gupta Annual Innovation Lecture Series
Population-Scale Impact Summit bringing together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers
Summer/winter schools on frugal innovation, livelihoods, and social systems
LLSC-embedded community challenges and problem-solving studios
RI-aligned applied research studios for capstone programmes
Grassroots immersions across Goa and India
Fellowships for innovators, youth, and community researchers
White papers and toolkits on MLM, grassroots models, and systems innovation
Partnerships and Alliances
Academia
Institutions specialising in inclusive innovation, public policy, sustainability, systems thinking, and design research.
Government
State innovation missions, rural livelihood programmes, ministries (MSME, Environment, Education), local government bodies.
Community and Civil Society
SHGs, cooperatives, grassroots innovators, NGOs, rural and tribal communities linked to Living Learning Scholar Communities.
Global Networks
Frugal innovation labs, grassroots innovation networks, social enterprise ecosystems.
Outcomes and Impact
- Establishment of a national model for frugal and grassroots inclusive innovation.
- Creation of integrated, field-grounded, Research Institute-aligned research outputs.
- Youth trained as integrated solution architects capable of transforming systems.
- Strong community partnerships through Living Learning Scholar Community structures.
- Public systems and policies influenced through evidence-based insights.
- Scaling of community-owned enterprises, cooperatives, and livelihood models.
- Enhanced global visibility for WPU GŌA's transdisciplinary mission.
Members
Sushil Borde
Head, Reliance Innovation Leadership Centre, Reliance Industries Ltd.
Dr. Shankar Venugopal
Vice President, Mahindra & Mahindra