LET’S INNOVATE TOGETHER
irh.innovation@undp.org
SDG Blockchain Accelerator: Driving SDG Impact in 2025
In 2025, the SDG Blockchain Accelerator delivered 46 pilot- and implementation-ready solutions, with 12 already entering real-world testing. Developed across two global cohorts, 70% of these solutions are embedded within ongoing national and regional programmes – positioning them to move beyond standalone experiments and into active use. The SDG Blockchain […]

UN Blockchain Talks #6: What real supply chains demand from traceability systems
By the time a product or service reaches the end user, most of the difficult work has already been done elsewhere. Someone had to collect […]

UN Blockchain Talks #5: What Bhutan’s national digital identity tells us about privacy and implementation
During the fifth session of the UN Blockchain Talks series, the discussion moved beyond whether blockchain can support digital identity. A more useful examination was […]

How four Ukrainian cities are seeking their future during the war
On the eve of the fifth year of full-scale war, four Ukrainian cities have taken on what seems like an impossible task: to determine their […]

What is the portfolio approach and how does it work? Ukraine’s experience
In 2025, four Ukrainian cities – Khmelnytskyi, Bucha, Zhytomyr, and Slavutych – joined the Mission-Oriented Economy local transformation programme, part of the EU-funded Mayors for […]

Public spaces as places for human connection lie at the heart of human well-being
The components of urban systems, from waste management to transport and parks, are interconnected and dynamic. Intervening to create change in any one of these […]

New UNDP platform BOOST will use social impact innovation to tackle Covid-19 challenges
To tackle the long-term effects of Covid-19, UNDP Europe and Central Asia is launching BOOST, a regional acceleration program for social impact innovation. It will support […]

The pandemic urges us to rethink our stance on data
The current pandemic – the first of the algorithmic age – has not only shown the vulnerabilities of our social, economic and health systems, it has also […]

Can we use strategic innovation to tackle development challenges?
In the last few years there has been a growing interest from the public, private and development sectors in adopting a systems lens to develop […]

Beyond bitcoin: Using blockchain to advance the SDGs
Blockchain, an emerging technology often associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, has tremendous potential to tackle this and other challenges, accelerating development progress that truly […]

Green Aral Sea initiative: Planting a forest
UNDP Uzbekistan’s Accelerator Lab launched the Green Aral Sea crowdfunding campaign, which will help resolve the impacts of the Aral Sea disaster.
How to ‘do’ data empowerment
In this post we’re looking at ways to ‘do’ data empowerment. Our aim is to provide those who design, implement, evaluate or fund data for […]

A new year, new perspectives on data innovation
At UNDP we know too well that traditional approaches to development are struggling to keep up with the dynamic speed, breadth and nature of today’s challenges. And […]
Stay in the loop
Curious about the latest innovation insights in development?
Get them in your inbox.
We respect your privacy.
