INNOVATION Quarterly Update

The INNOVATION Quartely Update (2019 #3) has been released!

The update provides an overview of highlights from the innovation activities of UN organisations affiliated with the UN innovation Network.There are very exciting news from the UN Community, below we review a few selection of the innovations

The UN Innovation Network (UNIN) is an informal, collaborative community of UN innovators interested in sharing their expertise and experience with others to promote and advance innovation within the UN System. The UNIN is open to innovators from all UN Agencies as well as external partners and to date, representatives from 65+ entities in over 70 countries have joined the Network.    - UN Innovation

Selected News Briefs

• World Food Programme – In July, the WFP hosted the Innovation Accelerator, where UNFPA brought 8 of their global teams to participate in the boot camp and hone their ideas on access to family planning and sexual & reproductive health (SRH). There were some proposals addressed SRH education by digital storytelling, others sought to optimise the supply chain with artificial intelligence analysis of big data

• UN Women – In collaboration with WFP, UN Women completed the testing of blockchain-based cash transfers to explore how to provide female Syrian refugees with the possibility of receiving cash back at WFP-contracted supermarkets or pay for purchases directly.

• UN Environment - The One Planet network recently launched a data visualisation tool to provide a simplified means of understanding and exposing trends in the implementation of SDG 12 on Responsible Consumption & Production. The network’s 600+ partners report annually on their sustainable consumption and production across sectors, organisations and countries. This data is curated into interactive graphs, providing a quick way to navigate and find relevant activities, while highlighting general trends and revealing implementation gaps. Review their tool here.

• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - ANSI Niger and Cipmen, together with FAO, ITU, UNESCO and WHO have launched the Smart Village Initiative in Niger, which will transform how communities access agricultural services. The UN Entities have also signed an agreement to underline their common commitment to help achieve the SDGs.

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