Catalyzing Change: A Five-Year Roadmap for Urban Sustainability and Innovation

Innovation methods

Data sources

SDG(s)

Sustainable Development Goal(s)

8Decent work and economic growth

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Please be aware that the content herein has not been peer reviewed.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.

Title

Please provide a name for your action learning plan.

Enhancing sustainability, innovation, and impact in urban development by supporting a state-owned government corporation in its five-year strategic planning.

Challenge statement

Challenge type: If you are working on multiple challenges, please indicate if this is your "big bet" or "exploratory" challenge. Please note: we ask you to only submit a maximum of 3 challenges - 1x Big Bet, 2x Exploratory. Each challenge must be submitted individually.

BIG BET

Challenge statement: What is your challenge? (Please answer in specific terms: "Our challenge is that...”.)

Our challenge is to balance urban expansion with sustainable resource management while ensuring financial stability, efficiency,and strong governance. Through UNDP’s support for HDC in their strategic planning, we are providing actionable insights into development to create resilient, future-ready cities in the Maldives by 2030.

Background: What is the history of your challenge? What is causing or driving it? Who is involved? How does the current situation look like? What undesired effects does it produce?

The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) significantly influences the urban environment of the Maldives, aiming to transform quality living through sustainable urban development. HDC oversees the creation of Hulhumalé, the country's largest residential city, designed to house two-thirds of the population. In addition, HDC is developing an industrial island for waste management, a tourism commercial island, and extensive reclamation projects for new artificial cities. The Maldives contends with issues like limited land availability and concentrated urban population. As HDC broadens its urban development efforts, it needs a strategic approach to resource management. The strategic plan for 2025-2030 focuses on improving financial stability, operational efficiency, governance, and long-term sustainability while responding to socio-economic and environmental shifts. This strategic planning, driven by UNDP and HDC, is informed by the 2023 Hulhumalé Liveability Index study, using its pillars and scores as the framework for the strategic plan.

Quantitative evidence: What (official) data sources do you have on this challenge that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge? You can add text, a link, or a picture.

https://www.hdc.mv/hulhumale/beyond-hulhumale/ https://www.hdc.mv/hulhumale/ https://www.hdc.mv/about/ https://www.hdc.mv/rasmale/ https://www.hdc.mv/urban-hubs/thilafushi/ https://www.hdc.mv/urban-hubs/kudagiri/ https://www.hdc.mv/urban-hubs/thilafushi/ https://www.hdc.mv/urban-hubs/gulhifalhu/

Qualitative evidence: What weak signals have you recently spotted that characterizes its urgency? Please provide qualitative information that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge. You can add text, a link, or a picture.

https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2024-06/liveability_index_of_hulhumale_maldives_final_1.pdf https://www.hdc.mv/liveability-index/

Value proposition: What added value or unique value proposition is your Accelerator Lab bringing to solving this challenge? Why is it your Lab that needs to work on this challenge and not other actors within UNDP, other stakeholders in the country respectively? Why is it worth investing resources to this challenge?

The Maldives Accelerator Lab has been leading this partnership with HDC for over two years, and the SAP initiative emerged as an extension of the existing co-financing agreement established with HDC, resulting in Acclab colleagues leading the engagement from CO. In 2023, this collaboration developed the country’s first City Liveability Index for Hulhumale, now featured on a dashboard on the HDC website. The current SAP work has mainly been directed and informed by the scores of the Liveability Index. Furthermore, the current landscape assessment of the SAP has focused on digital and innovative solutions, another key area of interest for the Maldives Acclab in 2025. There is significant potential to leverage smart cities and data-driven decision-making to enhance our co-financing partnership further and attract other donors.

Short “tweet” summary: We would like to tweet what you are working on, can you summarize your challenge in a maximum of 280 characters?

The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) isshaping the future of urban living in the Maldives! From Hulhumalé’s expansionto new industrial & tourism hubs, HDC's 2025-2030 strategy supported by UNDP—focuses on sustainability, governance & growth of artificial #islandcities. #Maldives #DataDrivenDevelopment #Goodgovernance #SDG11

Challenge classification

Partners

Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.

Please state the name of the partner:

Housing Development Corporation Ltd. (HDC) Maldives Acclab is working with HDC to develop a 5 year strategic plan, business plan and monitoring framework to guide sustainable urban development in the country.

What sector does our partner belong to?

Government (&related)

Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.

Maldives Acclab is working with HDC to develop a 5 year strategic plan, business plan and monitoring framework to guide sustainable urban development in the country.

Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?

Learning questions

Learning question: What is your learning question for this challenge? What do you need to know or understand to work on your challenge statement?

How can we use digital and data-driven insights for better decision-making in urban planning?

To what stage(s) in the learning cycle does your learning question relate?

Test, Grow

Usage of methods: Relating to your choice above, how will you use your methods & tools for this learning question? What value do these add in answering your learning question?

Data-Driven Urban Planning (GIS & Liveability Index Analytics): This would help us analyze spatial data, land use, and population density to guide urban expansion by utilizing tools such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Hulhumalé Liveability Index, Big Data Analytics. Smart City Technologies & IoT (Internet of Things): To improve efficiency in urban infrastructure, transportation, and resource management by utilizing tools such as smart sensors, AI-driven traffic management, real-time air monitoring. Systems Thinking & Scenario Planning: This will help us anticipate socio-economic and environmental shifts for long-term resilience. Tools to be used include Futures modeling, policy simulation software, risk assessment frameworks. Public-Private Partnerships & Co-Creation with Stakeholders: To ensure inclusive urban development by engaging communities, businesses, and policymakers by engaging communities in participatory urban design workshops, stakeholder engagement platforms.

Existing data gaps: Relating to your choice above, what existing gaps in data or information do these new sources of data addressing? What value do these add in answering your learning question?

We can aim to unify financial, asset management, and service operations data with the new data sources. Citizen engagement can also beleveraged to collect feedback and satisfaction metrics. With ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) metrics, new sustainability indicators may be incorporated into project assessments and governance reviews. Market intelligence and risk data can be utilised to gather analytics for financial sustainability, economic diversification, and infrastructure investment opportunities.

Closing

Early leads to grow: Think about the possible grow phase for this challenge - who might benefit from your work on this challenge or who might be the champions in your country that you should inform or collaborate with early on to help you grow this challenge?

Key Beneficiaries: -Residents of Hulhumalé, Malé, and future urban hubs will benefit from improved housing, urban infrastructure, and economic opportunities. -Small & Medium Enterprise (SMEs) & Entrepreneurs will thrive through new commercial hubs, innovation districts, and start-up ecosystems. -Investors & Private Sector Partners: Real estate developers, construction firms, and technology providers will find new opportunities in HDC’s urban expansion projects, Sustainable finance & green bonds will attract climate-conscious investors. -Government Institutions & Public Sector Agencies: Ministries such as the Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Housing & Urban Development, and City and Island Councils will benefit from aligned national urban strategies. -Climate & Sustainability Advocates: Environmental groups, researchers, and global sustainability organizations (e.g., UNDP, UNEP) will benefit from HDC’s commitment to ESG principles and climate resilience in urban planning. Key Champions & Early Collaborators - Government & Policy Leaders - Ministry of Economic Development → Aligning urban expansion with national economic -diversification plans. - Ministry of Climate Change, Environment & Energy → Ensuring sustainable, climate-resilient city planning. - Malé City Council → Coordinating urban management and municipal services. - Development & Financial Institutions - UNDP and Donors → Providing expertise, funding, and policy alignment for sustainable urban growth. - Private Sector & Industry Partners - Real Estate Developers & Smart Infrastructure Firms → Expanding sustainable housing & commercial hubs. -Technology Companies & Startups → Partnering for smart city initiatives (e.g.,AI-driven urban services, IoT for energy efficiency). -Tourism & Hospitality Investors → Developing tourism commercial hubs & eco-friendly resorts. - Academic & Research Institutions - Maldives National University (MNU) & Global Urban Research Centers → Contributing to policy innovation & urban resilience research. -Sustainability Think Tanks & NGOs → Providing expertise on ESG integration, climate adaptation, and liveability improvements.

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