Urban Innovation Bootcamp for Local Cities in Ghana: Key Takeaways

Innovation methods

Data sources

SDG(s)

Sustainable Development Goal(s)

6Clean water and sanitation

9Industry, innovation and infrastructure

11Sustainable cities and communities

Disclaimer:

Please be aware that the content herein has not been peer reviewed. It consists of personal reflections, insights, and learnings of the contributor(s). It may not be exhaustive, nor does it aim to be authoritative knowledge.

Learnings on your challenge

What are the top key insights you generated about your learning challenge during this Action Learning Plan? (Please list a maximum of 5 key insights)

1. Many local cities and municipalities lack the requisite technical capacity (innovation skills) for developing sustainable urban innovations. 2. The primary challenge faced by cities in their attempt to solve wicked urban problems is the ability to accurately define public problems and develop data-driven, innovative solutions. 3. More than 80% of the participants in the workshop (development planners and decision makers from the 10 local cities) were new to design thinking/human-centered design and its application to solving problems and developing innovative solutions. 4. Local cities need further capacity strengthening in problem identification, solution design, prototyping and experimentation, proposal development, and pitching.

Considering the outcomes of this learning challenge, which of the following best describe the handover process? (Please select all that apply)

Our work has not yet scaled

Can you provide more detail on your handover process?

In collaboration with our partners, the Lab intends to make follow-up visits to selected municipalities to assess the viability of their proposed solutions and co-design an action plan to help them test and scale their innovations.

Please paste any link(s) to blog(s) or publication(s) that articulate the learnings on your frontier challenge.

Data and Methods

Relating to your types of data, why did you chose these? What gaps in available data were these addressing?

Why was it necessary to apply the above innovation method on your frontier challenge? How did these help you to unpack the system?

Of 9 cities that applied to the 2021 Global Mayors Challenge, only one was shortlisted by Bloomberg for the Championship phase. Our exploratory engagements with these cities and local governments further highlighted the need for problem-solving and innovation skills to design and implement mission-driven and sustainable urban projects. Introducing participants to the latest innovation tools and technologies and using case studies and hands-on exercises to demonstrate the application of design thinking, collective intelligence and business model canvas to solving urban problems has helped to unpack current urban challenges and laid a foundation for developing sustainable innovations.

Partners

Please indicate what partners you have actually worked with for this learning challenge.

Please state the name of the partner:

Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF)

What sector does your partner belong to?

Government (&related)

Please provide a brief description of the partnership.

The Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) is a large international network that promotes and strengthens democratic local government to support sustainable development across the Commonwealth and provides a collective voice to advocate for greater empowerment at the local level. Through this collaboration, UNDP Ghana, through the Accelerator Lab, worked with CLGF and NALAG to engage development planners and decision makers in ten selected municipalities and metropolises for a 3-day innovation bootcamp.

Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?

Yes

Please indicate what partners you have actually worked with for this learning challenge.

Please state the name of the partner:

National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG)

What sector does your partner belong to?

Government (&related)

Please provide a brief description of the partnership.

n/a

Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?

Yes

End

Bonus question: How did the interplay of innovation methods, new forms of data and unusual partners enable you to learn & generate insights, that otherwise you would have not been able to achieve?

Please upload any further supporting evidence / documents / data you have produced on your frontier challenge that showcase your learnings.

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