The development landscape is changing dramatically and these shifts can be an opportunity to re-think the way the international community addresses global poverty, inequality and discrimination worldwide. Over the past three years, UNDP has tested promising approaches to improve its effectiveness and innovate with partners. For UNDP, innovation for development means using the most up-to-date concepts and means available to achieve change. It is about finding better ways to create impact for people and the planet, to strengthen resilience and build more inclusive societies. 

In 2014, UNDP launched the Innovation Facility as a dedicated funding mechanism that nurtures promising development interventions on the ground. A diverse global team based in Addis Ababa, Amman, Bangkok, Istanbul, New York and Panama City scans the horizon to identify promising approaches and technologies used by the private and public sector. The Innovation Facility takes a portfolio approach to compare the effectiveness of promising concepts, promotes calculated risk-taking and ‘working out loud’ to learn and identify effective ways of designing solutions around the needs of the people and communities affected by development challenges.