Strategy for CSIR to reach the masses:

For any technology to be made applicable in variable agri and socio-ecological conditions, diverse on farm or in-field trials are necessary. Let me list the concomitants of a viable action-learning strategy for CSIR to reach scale. At the same time, it should be noted that per long tail of innovations, not all technologies are meant to diffuse widely, some address niche-based constraints or problems. We should erode the incentives for the scientists to work on niche-based problem like rare diseases, or location specific soil/water quality issues. Else, what is implied  is that unless a problem scale,  it will not be eligible for scientific intervention. That will obviously not be ethically correct.

Antecedent factors for an innovation diffusion:

1. Realistic cost of its adoption through user trials so that user knows what is likely to be the direct and indirect cost of changing to new solution/innovation
2. Diversified on-farm or in-field trials to assess its recommendation domains: that is areas and conditions in which it is applicable
3. Assess its complementarity with existing solution, resources, or endowments of the potential users
4. Risk inherent in its field application and the cost of management conditions to be observed by potential user to reduce the risks
5. Gender differential if any so that women users are not at a disadvantage in benefitting from the tech innovation
6. Any other environmental impact, positive or negative which needs to be attended to by the users
7. Any policy or procedural changes required to facilitate the adoption fo innovations
8. Tie up with bankers if loans are required for the adoption so that user is not deterred on this account
9. Tie up with NABARD if it is agri/RD tech so that unit cost is approved for each state by the unit cost committee (a tie up with state level bankers committee may also be helpful).
10. Multi-media multi-language material for user self-learning, maintenance and small repairs if needed, a set of essential spares  in electrical or mechanical solutions may also be provided
11. Assessment of the capacity of licensee if the tech is being diffused through third parties, ideally non-exclusive small license fee will be desirable for social technologies,
12. There can be a fund set up like GTIAF (Grassroots Technological Innovation Acquisition Fund) in NIF whereby the state can fund the acquisition of IPRs from labs and make solutions open source

Post transfer factors:

1. Putting in place after-sale service directly or through third party vendors to ensure that tech innovation remains functional and viable
2. Creating small videos and sharing with all users to deal with preventive maintenance and also small first/second generation problems, or inadvertent mishandling
3. Handholding support
4. Ensure that insurance and other support systems are put in place for covering background risks of adopters (this can be done as a part of prior licensing package also)
5.  Training/capacity building, tie up with NGOs, KVKs and other field agencies in private, public or Civil society sector to sustain adoption process
6. Learning about unseen problems in field for lab research to improve the ver-2 of the solution
7. Creating learning post in the field to get regular real time feedback

Let innovation clubs be set up to search creative ideas, innovation and traditional knowledge of elders, , spread and celebrate innovations and sense the unmet social needs and underutilized resources

if Krishi Vigyan Kendra (#KVK) of CSIR in each district become hub of all institutional STI and #grassroots innovations to reach people, the mass reach will increase for all science departments immediately