The resurgence of frugal innovation
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the limits of resource-intensive, growth-driven innovation models and accelerated the adoption of frugal practices across governments, communities, and organizations, including in advanced economies. From digital health and open-source technologies to Maker Movements and low-tech labs, frugal innovation challenges dominant capitalist logics by prioritizing usefulness, resilience, inclusiveness, and local impact over excess and complexity.
Frugal innovation is thus emerging as a powerful response to today’s economic, social, and ecological constraints. Rooted in the Global South, frugal innovation helps people solve real problems with what is already there by simplifying instead of adding, reusing instead of extracting more, reducing dependence on costly system, and designing solutions that are accessible, useful, and grounded in everyday local life.
It is a way to resist excess, to refuse waste as a default, and to design for real needs and broader access.
Read more : The resurgence of frugal innovation | R&D Today
