When the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Accelerator Labs were first launched in 2019, the vision was to create the largest and fastest learning network across the globe, leveraging UNDP’s reach and systemic approach to address our biggest development challenges. In the 91 countries the Accelerator Labs were initially set up in, a basic structure was created: one Lab with three Heads for Experimentation, Exploration, and Solutions Mapping.

Here in the Philippines, the Accelerator Lab is known by partners and colleagues as “ALab PH”, a play on the Filipino word for flame or blaze. ALab PH began its mandate to ignite work on the three frontier challenges of circular economy, sustainable cities, and local convergences for poverty reduction.

As the frontier challenges evolved into a diverse portfolio of work — including marine litter/circular economy, inclusive value chains, local convergences, and public sector innovation, among others — the ALab PH Heads created the role of “Social Innovation Analyst” or SIA to help carry out the innovation work. The SIAs served as the arms and legs, helping the Heads move the Lab’s work forward to new horizons while deepening existing engagements.

How might we shape a role to fit ALab?

Since its inception, the SIA role has been continually tailored to fit the Lab's needs and mirror the evolution of the portfolios created inside the Lab and for the Country Office. The ever-changing nature of work necessitated agile thinking and innovation. Among the plethora of personas the SIAs must embrace, it includes being a portfolio coordinator for learning and knowledge management. Within each portfolio, the SIAs are expected to work with different stakeholders and unconventional collaborators to oversee its implementation. They are also responsible for sharing insights and findings that contribute to the learning network of both the Accelerator Lab and the Country Office.

To advocate for innovation, the SIAs embrace the role of keepers of tools. They have actively participated in the creation or facilitation of social innovation tools and modified them according to each stakeholders’ needs. Examples of such tools are design thinking, foresight, sensemaking, futures thinking, among others, and the task involves making these tools more accessible (aka less jargon-heavy) to the partners.

Lastly, to promote the cross-pollination of learning and broaden visibility, SIAs also act as a sounding board for strategies. They provide feedback and “intel” on developments to support internal and external stakeholders who would like to innovate on a range of things, from process improvement to co-designing policies.