Jakarta, IO – SME Ministry’s research and innovation utilization director Dadan Nugraha said that his agency is currently assessing and reviewing approximately 80 potential community innovations from various regions in Indonesia .
“We really appreciate and even encourage the emergence of innovations from the wider community, including the invention of Nikubanyu (Nikuba) by Aryanto Misel of Cirebon, West Java,” Dadan said, per Kompas, Friday (14/7).
However, Dadan said that in order for these inventions to be widely applied and utilized, they need to be validated using scientific principles, registered to obtain Intellectual Property (IP) protection, as well as certified according to prevailing regulations.
“BRIN itself facilitates innovation from the community through the Grassroots Innovation Facilitation (FIAR) scheme,” he said, adding that innovations originating from the community can be scientifically tested and proven, protected, and meet the regulatory standards.
“In the future there will be mentoring and guidance by researchers from relevant fields,” he said.
Dadan mentioned several examples of grassroots innovations that have been identified and proposed, including alternative fuels, appropriate technology (TTG), waste treatment technology, digital technology applications, IoT in agriculture and food processing.
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“The FIAR program is open to the public, both individuals and groups, who are not from the government institutions, industry, universities or research institutions,” he added.
Dadan explained that FIAR does not provide direct financing incentive, but merely technical assistance. “We encourage more innovations that originate from the grassroots be protected, certified, implemented, and commercialized so they can benefit the innovators,” he said. (rr)