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INNOVATIONFOR IN AFRICA

@marclepage

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Agenda

•No need to discuss

the Concept

• Innovation is a

Practice, not a

Theory

• Innovation in Africa:

it’s already

happening

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Why innovation?

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Why innovation?

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• SoPs

•“Lessons learned”• CoPs

• Good practice

?

KM

Complicated

Complexity

Codification

Complex

Procedure

The old world…

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• SoPs

•“Lessons learned”• CoPs

• Good practice

?

KM

Codification

Complicated

Complex

Procedure

Complex world, sophisticated

clients

Complexity

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Innovation in Africa

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Innovation Hubs & Centers in Africa

Credit: WhiteAfrican.com

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The UNDP Africa Innovation Knowledge Fair

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3 Principles

• No Innovation in Isolation. We innovate to do

Development Better. Innovation is about

needs and solutions.

• Innovation is not high-tech. Innovation is 5%

technology and 95% imagination. Social

Innovation is about Behavioural Science.

• Steal with Pride! The best knowledge is

probably outside the room. Partner to deliver.

Reach out to the young crowd.

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Principle 1

Innovation is

about Needs

and Solutions

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THE NEED

Cheap, affordable

and clean

electricity for low

income families

Access to Energy

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THE NEED

Share information

on hot spots and

safe zones during

a crisis

Crisis Information

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THE NEED

Differentiating

between genuine

and fake drugs

Health Security

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THE NEED

Decent toilets in

low-income urban

centres

Urban Equipments

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THE NEED

Basic financial

services get to

people in the

rural areas

Mobile Banking

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THE NEED

Decent &

affordable

housing for low-

income urban and

rural dwellers

Housing

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THE NEED

Improving access

to clean water

Hippo Water Roller Project

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Real-time Air Quality Monitoring

THE NEED

Citizen get

accurate

information

on air

quality

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Linking citizens with MPs: Ureport:

THE NEED

Engaging with

citizens

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Visualizing Budget in Kenya

THE NEED

Making Budget

Understandable

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… in Liberia

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Tunisia: early warning system

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Mobile4HD-UNDP&Motorola

Bring together local social innovators and link them to both governments and development organizations and practitioners

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User led innovation in development

http://userinnovation.undp.sk/

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UNICEF « first 72 hours »

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Innovation in policy

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Design Lab

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Principle 2

Innovation is not about Technology: it’s about

Imagination and Behaviour

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Analyze points of pain

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Principle 3

Steal with Pride

(and learn!).

Knowledge is

outside. Hire

young people.

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UNICEF

Innovation

Fund

20M USD

Fund

Rapid funding

of

2nd-stage

projects

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UNDP Innovation Framework

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Define the Bottleneck

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“If I had an hour to solve a problem,

I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about

the problem and 5 minutes thinking

about solutions.”

Who said?

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Define the Bottleneck

• When defining the right problem… go SEE

the problem!

• Case managers of workers with labour

injuries (MindLab)

• Assumption: the problem is how much

compensation

• In reality… What will my life be from now

onwards (home, other jobs, life with

partner, leisure, mobility...)

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Prompts of innovation

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Where do ideas come from?

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• Think with others, don’t cut & paste

• Google! Find Data!

• Discuss with others outside and partner from the

outset

• Scan the horizon

• Use Social media to signal interest

• Map your local social innovation scene

• Attend local innovation events

• Crowdsource

Reflect & Find

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Problem definition

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Innovation

Government donor agencies

Private Foundations

Social Venture

Capitalists

Corporate Social

Investment

Governments

Social Innovators

Regional & Global Organisations

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Prototype!

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Incubate

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The Road to Innovation

Don’t start with “Let’s

innovate”

Support Innovators

Don’t buy high-tech gadgets Imagine the Future

Don’t go full scale without

prototyping

Take calculated risks

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Innovation at UN(DP)

• Innovation in what we do and how we do!

• Innovation in programme design: design

thinking, co-design..

• Innovation in programme communication:

real simple reporting (beneficiaries reporting

continuously, directly)

• Innovation in M&E: micro narratives..

• Innovation in operations – UN wide:

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2014 innovation facility fund

•45 submissions from 25 country

offices

•Africa bureau/global Innovation

group/innovation advisor Addis

review

•1,000,000 USD awarded

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2014 innovation initiatives

(1/2)1. DRC: A narrative based methodology involving people’s

stories and allows both qualitative and quantitative data

collection and analysis

2. Cote d'Ivoire: Placing the discussion of gender-

sensitive policing services on the parliamentarian and

public agenda

3. Kenya: Livestock Insurance Products (Garrisa County,

Northern Kenya)

4. Mauritius: Building a more resilient society through

innovative education tools promoting the culture of

prevention

5. Sao Tome y Principe: Monitoring transformative impact

on development programmes

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2014 innovation initiatives

(2/2)6. Senegal: Promotion de l’entreprenariat social à travers

la production locale d’équipements solaires dans la

zone de Mekhé

7. Swaziland: Establishment of a Youth Innovative Hub for

inclusive development

8. Zimbabwe: Towards an ICT4D Policy and Practice

Platform: A Collaborative Public-Private Partnership

(PPP) Model Seeking to Leverage ICTs as Driver for

Economic Development in Zimbabwe

9. Burundi: Open challenge on rural energy access

10.Rwanda: Foresighting for development

11.RBA NY: One Click Away: Design, Evaluation,

Reporting

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Word of caution

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What role can UNDP play?

• What are the needs in Ethiopia in

terms of network of innovators?

• How connected to « problem

holders » are innovators?

• How do we facilitate the matching?

• What’s in it for YOU?

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THANK YOU!

Questions?

Connect:

@marclepage

Join:

undp.org/innovation