Recognised as the driving force behind sustainable economic growth and job creation, innovation remains at the forefront of development plans. However, Eastern European countries, notably Poland, Hungary and Croatia, lag behind their EU peers in almost all aspects of innovation. Moreover, while the majority of European/national innovation programmes focus on increasing R&D spending and technology absorption, the World Bank points out that, “This will be a long and difficult process because technological innovation does not yet seem to be a part of Poland’s economic DNA.” (Toward an Innovative Poland 2015). More generally, a hi-tech, high investment innovation approach is risky given the financial constraints faced by small businesses today, high levels of market saturation and the low consumer spending in the age of austerity. Frugal innovation, in contrast, is a low tech, cost effective approach which employs design thinking and problem solving skills to generate innovative and value-maximizing products and services. Frugal innovation can enable businesses across Poland and Europe to grow in spite of current economic conditions, by better meeting the demands of local price-sensitive consumers, solving unmet needs and opening up exports to global base-of-the-pyramid markets. OUR OBJECTIVES Our overall goal was to introduce the frugal innovation education to our enterprise-oriented VET institutions and universities and by extension, our economies. In order to do so, we have produced the following: i. Created 4 FRUGAL INNOVATION REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP PLANS (IO1), convening actors from across the public, private and education sectors. ii. Develop 2 CLASSROOM CURRICULUMS, TEACHERS’ PACKS AND ASSESSMENT TOOLS (IO2) to introduce effective Frugal Innovation teaching in classroom settings in the VET and HE sector iii. Develop 1 OPEN ONLINE TRAINING COURSE WITH SELF ASSESSMENT (IO3) to widen access to frugal innovation for existing entrepreneurs and SME owners; iv. Rigorously test and improve the resources with the target groups, then disseminate to maximize the uptake of the resources. The project involved participants at all stages, from design to execution to evaluation, specifically: - 50+ enterprise focussed VET & HE institutions and wider stakeholders participated in the REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP PLANS - 6+ SMEs or other organizations have their CASE STUDIES developed for use in the course materials - 24 teaching staff from VET institutions and HEIs have participated in the USER TESTING - 60 HE students, VET students and existing entrepreneurs/SMEs have participated in USER TESTING Altogether in the user testing there was 138 participants. - 226 VET institutions, HE institutions and wider stakeholders have participated in MULTIPLIER EVENTS Using a careful theory of change analysis, our tangible outputs have been designed to serve as catalysts and tools to enable broader and deeper outcomes which are both: a) knowledge outcomes (changes) b) behaviour outcomes (changes). These are more “intangible” in nature, but since they are crucial to the ability of the project to achieve its final goal, have also been monitored closely and measured throughout the project. The following tangible results have been produced by the project: a) 1 Project Management Handbook b) 4 Frugal Innovation Partnership Plans c) 2 Classroom course Curriculums, Teachers’ Packs and Assessment Guides d) 1 Open Online Training Course. e) 1 User Experience Test and Feedback Report f) 1 Integrated Dissemination Strategy h)1 Impact Evaluation Strategy i) 1 Dissemination Record and Report j) 1 Internal evaluation report k) 1 sustainability trategy l) 4 newsletters in all partner languagesm) 4 promotional videos in all partner languages n) 1 Impact Evaluation and Quality Monitoring report The tangible results will led to the following outcomes and impacts: - HE AND VET INSTITUTIONS AND WIDER STAKEHOLDERS acquired working knowledge of frugal innovation and will demonstrate greater commitment to support it - TEACHING STAFF in HE and enterprise focussed VET institutions in 4 regions expanded their knowledge and skills, being able to integrate frugal innovation into their teaching services. - HE STUDENTS, ENTREPRENEURS AND SMEs have developed Frugal Innovation mind-set and skills for application in their professional lives to help them create new services and/or address new markets and grow their businesses. - WIDER STAKEHOLDERS AND POLICY MAKERS gained greater awareness, & knowledge of frugal innovation as a new and important aspect of innovation education. In addition, the impact of the project has been felt at local and regional level through the strengthening of innovation teaching and the ability of thousands of entrepreneurs to engage in low-tech, practical innovation on the ground. .