The fast and the curious

As a pandemic emerges, UNDP’s Accelerator Labs mark a year of asking the right questions

Whether it’s climate change, plummeting biodiversity rates, or unchecked consumption and waste, we already face unprecedented planetary challenges.

Now, the coronavirus COVID-19 has added an extra, deadly layer of complexity to the paths we must forge.

And we have a very limited time left in which to make the big changes that will create a sustainable and just future.

Now more than ever, there are no one-size-fits-all answers; new ways of thinking are needed.

A year ago UNDP launched a worldwide network of Accelerator Labs to respond to this increasingly complex world.

Algeria
Angola
Argentina
Azerbaijan
Benin
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Burkina Faso
Cambodia
Cabo Verde
Caribbean (based in Barbados)
Chad
Colombia
Congo
Côte d’Ivoire
Democratic Republic of Congo
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Ghana
India
Iraq
Jordan
Kenya
Lao PDR
Lebanon
Lesotho
Libya
Malawi
Malaysia
Mali
Mexico
Morocco
Namibia
Nepal
Niger
Pacific (Based in Fiji)
Pakistan
Palestine
Paraguay
Philippines
Rwanda
Serbia
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Sudan
Tanzania
The Gambia
Timor-Leste
Togo
Tunisia
Turkey
Uganda
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
Zambia
Zimbabwe

“Our ambition and our actions need to match the scale of these issues that we face.”
– UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner

Whether it’s building cleaner kilns in India, or getting to the bottom of deforestation in Uganda, the 60 labs in 78 countries are investigating fresh and fast ways to make effective change.

Supported by the governments of Germany and Qatar, the Accelerator Labs comprise entrepreneurs, engineers, data scientists, and grassroots innovators who’ve teamed up with UNDP economists and environmental specialists.

New thinking, new blood

The labs were launched quickly — in just over five months we hired 180 people across the globe.

65%

65 percent were from the private and non-profit sectors, academia and government

72%

72 percent were new to the UN

24%

24 percent were expatriates returning to their countries

“I was born and raised in France from Malian parents. My wish was to live one day in Mali, to contribute to its development.”
– Countel Kanne, Head of Solutions Mapping, Mali Accelerator Lab.

No problem too big or too small

We started by building on what already exists, rather than assuming not-yet-invented ideas would hold the magic answer.

Nepal

In Nepal we gathered citizens and local government to plan how to convert abandoned junk lots in Kathmandu into green community spaces.

Viet Nam

In Viet Nam we dived into the attitudes behind why people don’t recycle—is it really just a lack of bins? (Spoiler alert: “no”.)

Sahel

On a broader scale, the labs are investigating the deep-rooted and intertwined challenges facing the vast Sahel region—from climate change and drought, to desertification, terrorism, and displacement.

Learning from each other

Seaweed grows all over the world and six labs are collaborating to find sustainable uses for it—whether its poultry feed in Namibia, or a biodegradable alternative to single-use plastic in the Caribbean.

There is real potential for prosperity in these ideas. The global seaweed industry is expected to be worth US$22 billion by 2024.

After years of conflict, Libya faces a long road to full recovery, so our Accelerator Lab is tackling one of the basics—solid waste management. We’re working with local organizations and private companies to quickly come up and test the best ideas for dealing with the over reliance on single use plastic bags.

27 September 2019-Tripoli, Libya. Volunteers joined the Accelerator Lab to remove garbage, the first step in improving solid waste management. Photo: UNDP Libya/Ahmed Bhih

Tempting ‘digital nomads’

Mapping solutions at the Acceleration workshop in Belgrade as the Accelerator Lab was launched. Photo: Momira Marcović

Collective intelligence—the idea that many are smarter than one—is not new. But technology and mobile connectivity have given it a 21^st century boost.

In Serbia the well-educated are leaving in droves, which is draining billions from the economy. Our Accelerator Lab is digging into the almost real time data provided by the LinkedIn professional network to find the quickest response to a shrinking population.

We’re asking; can ‘digital nomads’ be lured home? Or failing that,can they be encouraged to actively be invested in their country while abroad?

Practicing what we preach

UNDP is showing how transformative sustainable technology can be. The Namibia team is testing electric cars for transportation and energy backup.

The Bosnia Herzegovina team has banned single-use plastic from UN House, testing what works at the office before going big with what they’ve learned.

UNDP aims to ensure business continuity, decrease dependency on external sources, increase energy efficiency, facilitate environmental responsibility, and pilot emergency response services with electric vehicles. Photo: UNDP Namibia

How will COVID-19 change the world?

COVID-19 is a challenge unprecedented in our lifetimes, and because pandemics stress almost every aspect of societies, it’s a development crisis as well as a health crisis. UNDP’s network of Accelerator Labs is working with its partners to prepare, respond and recover, by quickly coming up with ways to address the new world we now live in.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan has hosted a virtual hackathon, casting a worldwide net for ideas to help people cope with the crisis, particularly nurses and doctors, those most at risk, and small businesses.

India

India’s lab is working on several initiatives using data and intelligence, gamification and social media. One maps high-risk populations in more than 700 districts to help take proactive measures. The team is also partnering up on a campaign with UN Volunteers VForce to promote care for the elderly.

Cabo Verde

The Lab team in Cabo Verde has launched a virus tracking app to collect and provide information on COVID-19 while mapping areas with greater incidences for government focus.

Paraguay

Socio economic impact is the focus of Paraguay’s lab — it is drafting a proposal to help the government support the informal sector by following up on ideas that have been successful in other countries.

Somalia

The lab in Somalia has developed a story telling programme to encourage Somalis to “spread the word, not the virus”.

Ecuador

Ecuador faces particular challenges because of its weak health system. Their lab quickly established and began crowdsourcing citizens’ ideas and connecting those who were working on similar projects. The peer sharing platform has disseminated recipes for homemade disinfectant formulas and sewing patterns for facemasks and has begun mapping the most vulnerable families so food can be delivered.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan has hosted a virtual hackathon, casting a worldwide net for ideas to help people cope with the crisis, particularly nurses and doctors, those most at risk, and small businesses.
India

India’s lab is working on several initiatives using data and intelligence, gamification and social media. One maps high-risk populations in more than 700 districts to help take proactive measures. The team is also partnering up on a campaign with UN Volunteers VForce to promote care for the elderly.
Cabo Verde

The Lab team in Cabo Verde has launched a virus tracking app to collect and provide information on COVID-19 while mapping areas with greater incidences for government focus.
Paraguay

Socio economic impact is the focus of Paraguay’s lab — it is drafting a proposal to help the government support the informal sector by following up on ideas that have been successful in other countries.
Somalia

The lab in Somalia has developed a story telling programme to encourage Somalis to “spread the word, not the virus”.
Ecuador

Ecuador faces particular challenges because of its weak health system. Their lab quickly established and began crowdsourcing citizens’ ideas and connecting those who were working on similar projects. The peer sharing platform has disseminated recipes for homemade disinfectant formulas and sewing patterns for facemasks and has begun mapping the most vulnerable families so food can be delivered.

Where to now?

The UN has declared the next ten years the Decade of Action—a worldwide push to meet all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. And while coronavirus has thrown a very big curve ball, it also represents an opportunity to create a more equal world. The Accelerator Lab network has an even more crucial role to play. This year we’ve started by sharing what we’ve already learned with more people. We will continue to go for quick wins, while lining up partnerships for larger, more ambitious change. We’ll build a portfolio of experiments that take on systems learning and innovation.

There is hard work ahead, but despite the obstacles we can still lay the foundation for prosperous and just change.