Accelerator Labs

01

INTRO

The Accelerator Labs are UNDP’s new way of working in development. Together with  the State of Qatar and the Federal Republic of Germany, 60 labs serving 78 countries as the first cohort in 2019, with an expansion to 91 labs in 115 locations in 2020, will work together with national and global partners to find radically new approaches that fit the complexity of current development challenges. The labs introduces new services, backed by evidence and practice, and by accelerating the testing and dissemination of solutions within and across countries. Sense-making, collective intelligence, solutions mapping and experimentation are part of the new offer from UNDP to governments. Together with partners, the Labs will analyze challenges within local contexts to identify connections and patterns in search of new avenues of work to act effectively in addressing wicked development challenges. The Accelerator Labs are located in 13 Arab States including Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia as a self-starter.

SDGs

End poverty in all its forms everywhere
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
Reduce inequality within and among countries
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impact
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Strenghten the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development

Methodolgies

Innovation Labs

Countries

Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia

Funded

Yes

Start Date

End Date

02

MULTIMEDIA

Partners

The Federal Republic of Germany

The State of Qatar

More Projects

Quotes

“We believe that now ... it's time for the Arab nations to rise again through science and innovation."

Tamer Taha, Founder of Yomken

Human-centered design is a philosophy, not a precise set of methods, but one that assumes that innovation should start by getting close to users and observing their activities.

Donald A. Norman, Co, Founder of Nielsen Norman Group

The main tenet of design thinking is empathy for the people you’re trying to design for. Leadership is exactly the same thing – building empathy for the people that you’re entrusted to help.

David Kelley, Founder of IDEO

We spend a lot time designing the bridge, but not enough time thinking about the people who are crossing it.

Dr. Prabhjot Singh, Director of Systems Design at the Earth Institute

It’s not ‘us versus them’ or even ‘us on behalf of them.’ For a design thinker it has to be ‘us with them'.

Tim Brown, CEO and President of IDEO

The agenda specifically recognizes youth as “critical agents of change”. To ensure the success of the 2030 Agenda, we need all young people on board - all of you, young activists, innovators, disruptors and trailblazers.

Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator

When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors

Failure is an option here. if things are not failing, you are not innovating enough.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors

If the government regulates against use of drones or stem cells or artificial intelligence, all that means is that the work and the research leave the borders of that country and go someplace else.

Peter Diamandis, Executive Chairman of the X Prize Foundation

The way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas and throw the bad ones away.

Linus Pauling, American Chemist

We are trying to prove ourselves wrong as quickly as possible, because only in that way can we make progress.

Richard Feynman, Noble Prize Winning Physicist