“I’m not
necessarily the most innovative person in the
room, but I spot innovation and support it”
What is innovation in terms of development? We have a working definition of innovation for development – it’s not particular to us – which is simply doing something differently that adds social value. It’s about identifying more effective solutions that add value for the people affected by development challenges – through their governments and their communities. Examples include setting up innovation labs with governments to re-design public service delivery; embracing new and emerging sources of data to implement and monitor the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); exploring alternative sources of financing to deepen and diversify support for the SDGs; and using behavioral insights to help with policy-making. See the hashtag #Inno4Dev on Twitter for more.
How do we get better at development innovation? It’s important to look at the right problem, to define the challenges properly, and to engage as many people as possible who have a stake in solving the problem. It’s also important to recognize the complexity and scale of
Behavioral sciences in action in Egypt.
the challenges we’re trying to overcome, as well as today’s pace of technological change. Trying to redefine who we think experts are – taking a far more expansive view – is vital; we should not leave untapped anyone who may have an insight or an idea for solving a problem. Also critical is being more agile in response to feedback about what works and what doesn’t. We certainly cannot be beholden to old ways of doing things. It’s not possible to carry on like we have in the past; the challenges of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs are too complex.
Does innovation require a special type of person? I’m not necessarily the most innovative person in the room, but I spot innovation and support it. It’s important to create an environment for innovation to thrive and for people interested in trying new things and exploring what’s over the horizon to be supported. There is a certain amount of risk-taking involved and it’s far easier if you’re working among a supportive community of social innovators who ‘work out loud’ and share experiences.
2014
I4D Lab was established in
Where can people find these communities? Anyone can become part of a community like this. Social innovators often find each other on social media. At UNDP, we have innovation communities at national, regional and global levels. See
http://bit.ly/UNDP_innovation for more resources and to sign up for the global Inno4Dev community.
Can you share a successful (Arab States-related) project with us? Gender-based violence (GBV) is a major issue in the Arab region, as it is in many parts of the world. In Egypt, we are looking at an emerging field of work, behavioral sciences, to help reduce GBV and support those affected by it to make better use of the services offered to them. Behavioral insights is a combination of psychology, economics and neuroscience that examines how people make decisions. It recognizes that people sometimes make irrational decisions, but behavioral science helps us understand that we make these decisions in predictable ways. In Egypt, UNDP is working with
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PHOTO: Abdelhamid Ezzat/UNDP Egypt
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