1)  CULTIVATE A CULTURE OF COLLABORATION ANDCO-CREATION. Public innovation thrives through collaboration and co-creation involving various stakeholders. Engaging citizens, public servants, and private entities in the innovation process fosters a culture prioritizing the needs and experiences of citizens. This ensures that solutions are tailored to address real challenges and improve public services effectively by applying agile methodologies. 2) LACK OF ADAPTIVE GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE. Successful public innovation and digital strategies require adaptive governance structures. Traditional bureaucratic models may hinder innovation, so there is a need for flexibility and openness. There has been resistance to change within government counterparts to adopt, implement, and scale strategies related to public innovation (Thinkia – citizen lab) and digital strategies (My Future is Today). As a result, our efforts to bring about significant changes in public policy at the national or local level have been slowed down. 3) LACK OF RESOURCES. Insufficient resources, both in terms of funding and skilled personnel have been posing a significant barrier to public innovation and digital strategies. Without the necessary financial support and expertise, our governments counterparts have struggle to implement and sustain these two initiatives: Thinkia – citizen lab & My Future is Today.

ACTION 1: THINKIA - CITIZEN LAB Thinkia is the first national citizen innovation lab in Ecuador and is one of the commitments of Ecuador's Open Government Partnership Action Plan 2019 - 2022. This lab seeks to promote public innovation on a national scale with the goal of enhancing the well-being and prosperity of citizens, as well as strengthening trust in public administration. To ensure Thinkia's sustainability, we convened a diverse group of participants from the innovation ecosystem, including academia, the public sector, and civil society organizations. Together, we co-manage, co-fund, and jointly implement Thinkia's work agenda. This consortium of participants is selected every two years, and UNDP is part of the 2023–2025 cohort. Furthermore, we ensured that this lab is integrated into the public sector. Thus, we secured the Secretariat of Higher Education and Innovation to take the lead in 2022 and provide public funding each year. ACTION 2: MY FUTURE IS TODAY In the framework of the interagency project 'Expanding Social Protection for Young Men and Women in Informal Labor,' executed by UNDP, ILO, and UN Women during the period 2020-2022 with funding from the Joint Fund for the Sustainable development Goals, UNDP developed the platform “My Future Is Today” that promotes decent work for young people. The platform serves a dual purpose, providing tools and information for young people (18 to 29 years old) to enhance their employment situation. Simultaneously, it gathers user information ethically and securely, sharing it in open data format with external entities working to benefit young people. We handed over this platform to the Ministry of Labour between the end of 2022 and 2023. Alongside the transfer, we trained the team in new technologies to be able to administer the platform and donated hardware to strengthen the Ministry's IT infrastructure. Action 3: Digital Readiness Assessment, was deployed with the Ministry of Telecommunications to provide the government with indicators and a clear path to push towards a more digitalized and inclusive Ecuador.

ACTION 1: THINKIA - CITIZEN LAB Through Thinkia, we promoted two initiatives this year to foster public innovation. Firstly, we collaborated with the Municipality of Quito to co-create public services that provide livelihoods for people experiencing homelessness. Applying design thinking, we generated solutions in collaboration with public servants and individuals experiencing homelessness. Secondly, to scale this work, we launched a national innovation challenge for all municipalities in Ecuador, inviting them to participate in a similar process of receiving training in public innovation and working on the improvement of public services. The goal of the innovation challenge was to identify a service that municipalities would like to improve in collaboration with external actors and users and take action to implement the improvements. Furthermore, leveraging our experience in public innovation, we actively contributed to the design, construction, and socialization of a toolkit in collaboration with the Global Team. This toolkit provides practical tools aimed at strengthening local public innovation capabilities, thereby contributing to the broader ecosystem of actors. It represents the first prototype of a cross-country product, illustrating how Research for Development operates within the network. ACTION 2: MY FUTURE IS TODAY The Ecuadorian government lacks an effective mechanism to register the occupational situation of young people in the labor market, such as being employed, unemployed, or working in an informal job. Our objective was to test a new mechanism for collecting and updating this data by promoting the use of a platform that benefits young people in improving their working conditions. As users engage with this platform, the data collection process is ongoing. Action 3: Digital Readiness Assessment Considering Digitalization's impact in our world, UNDP has set as one of its key objectives to enable digital development in all its country offices, with partners and governments. To do so, the Accelerator Lab in Ecuador has been working with UNDP´s Chief Digital Office to implement the Digital Readiness Assessment and the Ministry of Telecommunications. Digital Readiness Assessment (DRA) is a diagnostic tool created by the Chief Digital Office to support Governments and Country Offices in conducting a rapid assessment of the country's advancement in digital transformation, providing scoring and recommendations across pillars of government, regulation, digital infrastructure, business environment and people/ skills

ACTION 1: THINKIA - CITIZEN LAB Through Thinkia, we promoted two initiatives this year to foster public innovation. Firstly, we collaborated with the Municipality of Quito to co-create public services that provide livelihoods for people experiencing homelessness. Applying design thinking, we generated solutions in collaboration with public servants and individuals experiencing homelessness. Secondly, to scale this work, we launched a national innovation challenge for all municipalities in Ecuador, inviting them to participate in a similar process of receiving training in public innovation and working on the improvement of public services. The goal of the innovation challenge was to identify a service that municipalities would like to improve in collaboration with external actors and users and take action to implement the improvements. Furthermore, leveraging our experience in public innovation, we actively contributed to the design, construction, and socialization of a toolkit in collaboration with the Global Team. This toolkit provides practical tools aimed at strengthening local public innovation capabilities, thereby contributing to the broader ecosystem of actors. It represents the first prototype of a cross-country product, illustrating how Research for Development operates within the network. ACTION 2: MY FUTURE IS TODAY The Ecuadorian government lacks an effective mechanism to register the occupational situation of young people in the labor market, such as being employed, unemployed, or working in an informal job. Our objective was to test a new mechanism for collecting and updating this data by promoting the use of a platform that benefits young people in improving their working conditions. As users engage with this platform, the data collection process is ongoing. Action 3: Digital Readiness Assessment Collective and ecosystemic intelligence was fundamental, without it would have ben impossible to perform the DRA in Ecuador.

The interplay of innovation methods, new forms of data, and collaboration with unusual partners has yielded valuable insights and learning opportunities that might not have been achievable through traditional approaches. DIVERSE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND CO-CREATION: (1) Innovation Methods (Thinkia - Citizen Lab): The utilization of design thinking and collaboration with a diverse set of stakeholders, including public servants and individuals experiencing homelessness, facilitated a holistic understanding of the challenges in public services. This co-creation approach ensured that solutions were not only innovative but also directly addressed the needs and experiences of the community. (2) National Innovation Challenge: The innovation challenge extended engagement to multiple municipalities, fostering a wide array of perspectives. This diverse participation allowed for the identification of unique challenges and needs in various regions. The collaborative training approach empowered municipalities to contribute their insights, enabling a richer learning experience. REAL-TIME AND COMPREHENSIVE DATA COLLECTION: (1) New Forms of Data (My Future is Today): The platform for registering the occupational situation of young people introduced a new mechanism for real-time data collection. Engagement with the platform enabled ongoing data updates, providing a dynamic and current understanding of the youth labor market. This approach offered a more nuanced view compared to traditional periodic surveys. (2) Quantitative and Qualitative Insights: The platform's data collection involved both quantitative and qualitative dimensions. This comprehensive approach allowed for a deeper understanding of the multifaceted challenges faced by young people, going beyond mere employment statistics. The continuous nature of data collection ensured a more accurate reflection of the evolving employment landscape. GLOBAL COLLABORATION AND TOOLKIT DEVELOPMENT: (1) Cross-Country Learning: The toolkit's development and socialization involved cross-country learning. By actively contributing to its design and construction, insights from different contexts were integrated. This cross-country collaboration provided a unique lens into various public innovation challenges and solutions, enriching the knowledge base beyond the local context.