If an innovation has the potential to change lives, it must get a fair chance to do so. Especially when the innovation is aimed at the poor, the underserved people. This is the purpose of L-RAMP (the Lemelson Recognition and Mentoring Program), a Chennai-based, joint initiative of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and Rural Innovations Network.

L-RAMP was established in 2004 with the support of The Lemelson Foundation, USA (www.lemelson.org), an organization started by American inventor Jerome Lemelson. L-RAMP is the oldest of the three Recognition and Mentoring Programs (RAMPs) supported by The Lemelson Foundation. The other two are in Indonesia and Latin America.

L-RAMP focuses on innovations from Tamil Nadu state and neighbouring areas.

Vision
L-RAMP vision is:
To improve the quality of life of the underserved population through innovations and innovation-led enterprises.

Mission
To achieve the vision, L-RAMP will play the following role:

•  Act as a facilitator in providing services required to take an innovation to the market. This journey involves various steps like technology validation, product design, prototyping, market and field tests, intellectual property protection, business modelling, and technology transfer.

•  Facilitate the establishment of viable enterprises, which manufacture and market innovations.

• Create a sustainable innovation-incubation facilitation model for replication and adaptation to different locations.

Sectoral Focus
L-RAMP focuses on four sectors where innovations and innovation-based businesses have the potential to create significant impact for underserved consumers. The sectors are:

•  Agriculture

•  Water

• Energy

• Dairy

The L-RAMP Model
L-RAMP seeks to promote the establishment of viable, replicable and scalable enterprises based on the innovations. This, we believe, is the most suitable and sustainable way to incubate innovations and help them reach end users.

The demands of this model define our strategies, services, systems, processes and activities.
To begin with, the success of L-RAMP’s model depends a great deal on the number of innovations that we spot and the ones that we select for incubation. Hence, we have put in place effective scouting mechanism and rigorous screening processes.

Once we screen and select innovations, a host of services are offered to innovators – funding, mentoring and networking. Recognition includes awards.

L-RAMP’s model also incorporates support for technology-based product innovations as well as process innovations in services or business models that promise wide ranging impact.

Read more about L-RAMP’s guiding principles and policies.

L-RAMP POLICY DOCUMENT (PDF) Click here