Agile innovation ecosystems that sowed the seeds for crowdsourced initiatives during the 2018 floods and Covid-19 in Kerala have been the subjects of focus in a paper published in the British Journal of Management, a top peer-reviewed journal.

Titled ‘Innovation Ecosystems: What makes them responsive during emergencies’ and authored by Sreevas Sahasranamam at the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship, Strathclyde Business School, and Vivek Soundararajan at University of Bath, the UK, the paper had studied the 'KeralaRescue' and 'CoronaSafe' initiatives.

Same innovation ecosystem

Authors define an innovation ecosystem as ‘the evolving set of actors, activities, artefacts and the institutions and relations, including complementary and substitute relations, important for innovative performance of an actor or a population of actors.

Most innovation ecosystem literature is based on a firm-centric view, wherein a focal firm is responsible for the innovation and its direct relationships. But it can evolve even without a focal firm actor when rapid response is needed to tackle a complex issue.

The two innovations were chosen since they evolved within the same innovation ecosystem (i.e. Kerala) and focused on solving the challenges posed by emergencies in that ecosystem. Their significant value was acknowledged by multiple stakeholders soon after, including an explicit endorsement from the State government.

Strong contextual understanding

KeralaRescue was an initiative by student volunteers of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-Kerala Section, which went on to become the official initiative of the Kerala Government for effective collaboration and communication.

CoronaSafe developed a live data system on patient inflow (CoronaSafe Network, 2020), which none of the Indian States had at that time. It also supported the setting up of care centres, in-patient care management and logistics for ambulances and relief.

“Our data suggests that the ecosystem actors within Kerala and their activities were grounded within a strong contextual understanding. This emanated through their networks with relevant stakeholders and through their prior experience of working on projects developed for use during emergencies,” the authors say.

Responsive to emergencies

“This helped them with an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses within the ecosystem, and mapping the nature of support needed for the emergency. These emergencies pose distinctive challenges, and our research highlights capabilities and institutional arrangements that make innovation ecosystems responsive to them."

Large-scale emergencies require quick, innovative and careful responses, as inappropriate responses can lead to fatalities. Multiple actors – including civil society, government, scientists and the public – need to come together with their resources and knowledge to conjointly develop and implement solutions.

Open dialogue seems to have played an important role in connecting different actors and levels of the ecosystem, thus facilitating coordination, the authors say.

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