Innovation is a crucial way to leapfrog into the center stage of global business leadership. Based on this cornerstone, Marico instituted its CSR initiative in 2003 by forming the Marico Innovation Foundation. The Foundation provides a framework to Industry and Social Sector to leverage innovation for quantum growth. The Foundation plays the role of a catalyst and works towards creating an innovation eco-system through cutting edge research, knowledge creation & dissemination. Its recognition platform - Innovation for India Awards, biennially awards breakthrough innovations from India.
One of its popular researches resulted in a best seller publication- “11 mission biographies -‘Making Breakthrough Innovation Happen: 11 Indians who pulled off the impossible”. This publication is a culmination of a six year joint discovery effort to identify genuine breakthrough innovations from within India and then uncover cutting edge insights into; ‘what did these innovations do differently to make the impossible happen?’. The other Knowledge building Initiatives of the foundation include alliances between top Indian Business Schools and Indian organizations for a 2-month elective ‘live’ course on Applied Innovation.
To extend the Marico Innovation Foundation’s catalytic approach towards Innovation, it organises “Innovation Workshop for Social Enterprises’. The purpose of these workshops was to enable social organizations to apply Innovation as a key tool to significantly increase their social impact and scale programs. Post the workshop a detailed analysis of the organisation is done. After this organisations are selected for a 12-18 month innovation incubation program.
Through the knowledge dissemination mechanism the Foundation is able to propagate the findings of the researches through large-scale mass platforms across India. In addition it’s Innovation Exchange is a portal that brings together onto one single platform the entire Innovation Ecosystem including researchers, innovators, entrepreneurs and academia across industry along with the investors and the mentors. This is in association with IIM, Ahmadabad & the Department of Science and Technology, GOI.
To recognize and applaud outstanding leadership with innovative focus in sectors, the Marico Innovation Foundation in 2006 institutionalised Innovation for India Awards. These Awards acknowledge & foster leadership with innovative focus in various Business & Social sectors. From 2010 a new category- - Public Governance has been introduced to recognize innovations where the Central or State government or any wing of the government including public-private partnership has innovated. The intent of the Awards is to reward projects and businesses that make a real difference to India and community at large. Based on the criteria of uniqueness, impact & scalability, ‘India’s Best Innovations’ are declared biennially. Since 2006, 32 innovators have been recognized which included organisations like Kirloskar Brothers, BOSCH MICO, Su-Kam, Titan, Azim Premji Foundation, Trichy Police, ITC IBD, Reliance KGD6, Tutor Vista, Goonj, PRS Legislative, Tata Chemicals and TERI, Gujarat Government’s Jyoti gram Yojana and Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR). Bharti Airtel & Tata Nano were recognized as Global Game Changers for their spirit of Innovation.
Behind the significant work of the Foundation, sits an eminent Governing Council that constantly steers the Foundation. While Dr R A Mashelkar FRS, CSIR Bhatnagar Fellow chairs the Governing Board, and other visionaries like Anu Aga, Director, Thermax, Sam Balsara, Chairman & Managing Director, Madison, Ashwin Dani, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Asian Paints, Ranjan Kapur, Country Manager - India, WPP, Prof Prasad Kaipa, Executive Director, ISB, Prof Sujata Ramadorai, Professor (School of Mathematics), TIFR, Harsh Mariwala, Chairman & Managing Director, Marico, K V Mariwala, Director & Chairman, BOIL, Dorab Sopariwala, Consultant form a part of the Council. Mrs Namita Vikas, Principal Consultant to the Foundation leads and manages its agenda.
The Foundation in its quest to fuel innovation constantly strives towards making effective through its various initiatives.
