The Vietnam Innovation Day (VID) 2011, organized through the partnership of the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the World Bank, is an opportunity to bring to life innovative ideas that address local development challenges. Its co-sponsors to date are Australian Agency for International Development, Department for International Development (U.K.), the Royal Embassy of Denmark, the Embassy of Finland and U.S. Agency for International Development.
VID 2011 identifies and directly supports small and innovative development proposals that exhibit high potential for development impacts and deliver results which can then be expanded or replicated. The theme for this year’s program is “Innovation for Social Equity and Sustainable Growth”.
The Current Situation
Vietnam’s GDP grew at an average of over 7 percent annually during the past 10 years (GDP per capita in 2009 was approximately US$1,052). Vietnam is now a middle income country and is on-track to meet the Millennium Development Goals.
Vietnam’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which account for almost 85 percent of the 471,000 registered enterprises in Vietnam, have made a substantial contribution to the country’s success in poverty reduction and economic development and generated most of the new jobs over the last decade. However, there remains a large untapped potential for innovation among MSMEs and social entrepreneurs to bring even greater benefit to the poor and under-served, to bridge the economic and social disparities and contribute to the country’s sustainable development and quality of growth in Vietnam.
VID 2011 calls for proposals on “Innovation for Social Equity and Sustainable Growth” with the focus on the following sub-themes and with the objective of developing products and services for the benefit of the poor and under-served communities:
Energy Efficiency: Despite an average annual growth rate of 12% in electricity production over the past few years, Vietnam is still facing a great challenge in meeting - ever-increasing demand. The National Target Program on energy efficiency has set a target to save 5-8% of electricity consumption by 2015. Economic and efficient use of energy and the introduction of renewable and alternative energy sources are crucial solutions to ensure sustainable and continuous social and economic development. VID 2011 is seeking innovations in acquiring, adopting, creating and using new technologies, new processes and products that will reduce wastage of energy and promote alternative low-carbon energy sources, especially for those that are low cost and improve access to underserved communities.
Traditional Herbal Medicine:Â Vietnam has a long history of utilizing traditional medicine and health solutions using traditional knowledge and herbal plants. Traditional medicine is one of the national development priorities identified by the Vietnamese Government. Prime Minister Decision No. 2166/QD-TTg, dated November 30, 2010, ‘On the issuance of Government’s Action plan to develop traditional medicine and pharmacy of Vietnam by 2020’ aims to modernize and develop traditional medicine and pharmacy to improve and protect the health of the people. VID 2011 is seeking initiatives that tap Vietnam’s great potential in enhancing scientific and clinical research to allow traditional herbal medicine products to be brought to the market and improve access to related services.
Agriculture based products and services focusing on:
nature based, safe and environment friendly products/ production practices,
low cost technologies/ models for agro-produce/food storage and agricultural waste management / utilization (e.g., use of agri. waste to develop alternative materials), and
non-traditional institutional arrangements to better link farmers with domestic agricultural product/food markets and distribution channels.
The focus of each sub-theme is designed to serve as guidance for developing proposals that replace higher cost products (e.g., imported medicines), and improve affordability and access to product and/or services to the poor and underserved communities.
The Vietnam Innovation Day (VID) 2011, organized through the partnership of the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the World Bank, is an opportunity to bring to life innovative ideas that address local development challenges. Its co-sponsors to date are Australian Agency for International Development, Department for International Development (U.K.), the Royal Embassy of Denmark, the Embassy of Finland and U.S. Agency for International Development.
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