Exploration of Innovation Challenges [REDACTED_PHONE]) Scaling Potential

How can the innovation challenge mechanism be scaled to better support green transition including innovation in Serbia?

UNDP Serbia is implementing a series of projects, which aim at “green transition”, i.e. ensuring that Serbia develops in line with the sustainable development goals. The green transition requires a cross-sectoral approach and broad societal participation to trigger transformative change. The portfolio of projects “Green Agenda in Serbia” funded by the EU, governments of Sweden and Switzerland, was designed to build broader engagement and participation. The project's objective is to contribute to the efficient, inclusive and sustainable implementation of the Green Agenda by improving the strategic and legislative framework, co-financing the implementation of innovative pilot projects and green investments, and mobilizing additional financing for scale-up investments. In this way, the project will contribute to the green transformation of the economy and society in Serbia. Special focus will be put on decarbonization, reducing air pollution, water and land, circular economy, agriculture, food production, and protecting biodiversity. Also, since 2017, UNDP implemented the GEF-funded project “Climate Smart Urban Development Challenge” which consisted of the Open Data Innovation Challenge and the Innovation Challenge for Innovative Climate Smart Solutions. The project triggered cooperation with various stakeholders, including public and private companies, LSGs, CSOs, academia and the broader community of innovators. Also, since 2021, UNDP is implementing the GEF-funded project “Reducing Community Carbon Footprint by Circular Economy Approach” with the main focus to promote circular economy as a tool for reaching low-carbon development, reduce pollution of the environment and improve citizens' well-being. The above projects conducted several innovation challenge calls in the areas of environmental protection - reduced air pollution, decarbonization (including resource and energy efficiency, renewable energy promotion etc.), circular economy (waste prevention, reuse and recycling), green infrastructure and sustainable food systems. The above projects provided technical support and co-financing for good local innovative ideas. In the past, similar UNDP projects invested approximately $2 million and managed to enable over $40 million of private-sector green investments (including borrowing). Recipients of the support in such challenge calls have been local self-governments in Serbia and their local public utility companies, in projects related to energy efficiency, circular economy, open data initiatives, and COVID-19-related actions.

The Lab uses its unique horizontal position to work with all teams within the country office, and its expertise in social innovation scaling models (scaling out, scaling up and scaling deep) to extract learnings from previous innovation challenges and propose scaling mechanisms.

Our learning challenge is to assess the impact & scalability of innovation challenges in Serbia by gathering data from projects, partners, & reports to pave the way for a sustainable future aligned with Agenda2030 & accelerate the green transition in Serbia

How can we effectively scale innovation challenges as a UNDP support mechanism, identify the role of a supportive ecosystem, and identify the resources required for scaling while also learning from the process? Under the learning goal “Understand and Document the Impact of Innovation Challenges” these are the sub-questions: What specific environmental, social, and economic impacts have the Innovation Challenge projects in Serbia had over the past 5 years? What has been the leverage effect across projects?  What were the pivotal learnings and unexpected outcomes from these challenges? How has the process adapted with regard to these?  What is the unique value-add that the UNDP has demonstrated? What have been important project successes that we have seen?  Under the current system, what resources would be necessary for scaling?  What ways could the process be improved to sustain scaling or the next chapter in the story of Innovation Challenge calls? Under the learning goal “Develop a Scalability Plan for Innovation Challenges - What Next?”, these are the sub-questions:  How do Innovation Challenge Calls fit into the green finance ecosystem in Serbia? What role do they play?  How can environmental, social and leverage impacts be scaled to the next level?  How could the UNDP's engagement of partners be improved in the context of Green Innovation Challenge Calls? What is the UNDP's unique value-add to the Innovation Challenge Calls? What role should UNDP play in the future?  What are systemic barriers that might hinder scalability? How might these be addressed?  How could the government of Serbia be further supported by the UNDP in the implementation of the development agenda (e.g., Green Finance Platform)? What are the key risks the Innovation Challenge Call mechanism faces, and how do they mitigate? 

Top 5 innovation methods or tools that we are using for this learning question - data analysis, case study, benchmarking, interviews, cost analysis Data Analysis:  Understanding the impact of previous innovation challenges in Serbia during the last five years requires data analysis. UNDP CO Project Managers are asked to provide project-level statistics, financials, and impact measurements. Trends and patterns can be detected by evaluating this data and combining it into a single spreadsheet, highlighting the environmental, social, and economic implications of these difficulties. Furthermore, data analysis enables cross-sectional cuts to analyze the impact and leverage effect variation across different themes and project types. Case Study: Case studies are vital in uncovering pivotal learnings and unexpected outcomes from previous challenges. Key adaptations made during the process can be documented through in-depth interviews with UNDP CO Project Managers. Benchmarking: Benchmarking involves comparing the innovation challenges in Serbia with similar initiatives from UNDP's accelerator labs in other regions (e.g., Malawi) or with the Serbia Innovation Fund. By understanding how these challenges fit into Serbia's green finance ecosystem, UNDP can strategically position its initiatives to bridge any gaps identified during the landscape mapping. Interviews: Conducting interviews with various stakeholders, such as IFIs, commercial banks, and successful project applicants, provides valuable insights for the initiative. Interviews with donors provide insight into their willingness to continue funding the issues, while collaboration with partners such as the EIB can be investigated to identify areas for development and strategies to improve the ecosystem. Cost Analysis: Cost analysis is critical for identifying the resources required to scale the challenges. UNDP can prioritize costs in different scaling situations by analyzing the costs associated with each stage of the challenge process and undertaking sensitivity analysis. Landscape Mapping: Landscape mapping involves analyzing the priorities, interests, and types of support for the Green Agenda from IFIs, banks, and other stakeholders. Placing UNDP and its challenges on this map helps identify potential partners and locate areas where UNDP can make a unique contribution. Stakeholder Mapping: By doing a stakeholder analysis, UNDP is able to understand each partner's interests, influence, and power and customize its involvement accordingly. In the scaling process, this strategy provides successful collaboration and partnership. Literature Review on Social Impact: A comprehensive literature review on social impact helps UNDP draw upon existing research and successful scaling strategies from comparable initiatives. It broadens knowledge of best practices and prospective areas for future improvement.

This challenge is completely related to the growth phase and bankability of incubated and accelerated projects that were selected in various innovation challenge calls.