Roser Award - A mechanism to foster innovation & entrepreneurship focused on society’s demands

The current globalized economy continues to become more knowledge-based with each passing year, and it demands a greater protagonism of education and access to information in societies and communities in general, especially in relation to the fields of innovation and entrepreneurship.The proposition of this article is to show that awards and prizes provide an important incentive, beyond intellectual property (IP) rights and expected return of investment (ROI), which motivate people to take chances and accept risks that they otherwise would not. It aims to analyze the methodology of the Roser Award and its results, demonstrating that this initiative truly spurs innovative ideas, entrepreneurship and the exchange of knowledge between the academic and business arenas.