Together We Stand

[ 49 ] The Innovation Lab: a new paradigm of partnering for impact Dan Kelly, Vice-President Global Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs; and Jennifer MacCann, Response Director Nepal Earthquake Response, World Vision International I nnovation is often born from necessity. The most vulnerable people in the world are frequently the most innovative as they seek creative ways to meet the needs of their families and communities. When disasters strike, communities and local actors respond with local and cultural knowledge to meet the most urgent and pressing needs with a mix of universal and contextualized actions. Likewise, the private sector, at its best, is innovating, identifying and responding to global and local crises to create a new and better world. The aid sector is recognizing that it is not currently able to do some of the things at which the private sector excels, such as early adoption of new technologies or rapid scale- up of innovative opportunities. Leading aid organizations such as World Vision are stepping into the innovation arena to bring best practices, including from the private sector, to affected populations. Together they are identifying, adapt- ing and developing more effective, expedient and sustainable solutions that deliver impact and build community resilience. There are considerable opportunities to achieve rapid change in developing countries and bring equal opportunity and tech- nological and socioeconomic achievements which have taken decades in the developed world. While many challenges in the humanitarian sphere have been addressed on a sector-by-sector basis, complex problems will require holistic solutions which transcend traditional technical sectors. As one of the world’s largest non-governmental organizations (NGOs), reaching people in around 100 countries, with an international team of 45,000, World Vision has accepted the responsibility to move the social economy forward and adapt for the future. Our long- term vision is for communities to be sustainable and connected with local and international partners to find innovative solu- tions before, during and after disaster strikes. Great leaps forward in disaster response will require increased engagement with entrepreneurs who have the right skills in the right areas. The right people in disaster-affected countries need to be connected with world-class leaders from business, NGOs, hospitals and schools, as well as local entrepreneurs. This will make use of skilled and passionate local people who want to help their community and country to recover from emergen- cies. The transition from disaster recovery to sustainability is driven by people who want to build back better. Partnerships make this happen. World Vision’s Innovation Lab for the Nepal In April 2015, a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal leaving nearly 3 million people in need of humanitarian assistance Image: Sunjuli Kanwar Singh, World Vision International 2015 Meeting the challenges of innovative partnership World Vision’s Innovation Lab for the Nepal Earthquake Response faced three major challenges. 1. How to innovate with and for the benefit of the most vulnerable people in the world The Innovation Lab aimed to increase the role of the private sector, leveraging the capacity of innovative people and building the capacity of communities and emerging markets. 2. How to integrate the innovation capacity of the private sector with the expertise of NGOs and communities in Nepal The Innovation Lab offered a physical and virtual space to facilitate partnerships between a range of local and international actors, with individuals and organizations from an array of backgrounds and experiences working together to achieve success for recovering communities. 3. How to demonstrate to others that innovation can help communities build back better after catastrophe The Innovation Lab aimed to produce practical, useful, replicable and scalable solutions leading to greater investment in developing countries. T ogether W e S tand