Selected highlights from 2015
Our Impact
Setting the Agenda for Global Innovation Investment
In 2018, IDIA worked with the G7 organizing committee to create The Whistler Principles to Accelerate Innovation for Development Impact, providing the seven most advanced economies in the world with a framework that was then adopted by all G7 Ministers for humanitarian and development assistance.
This was a milestone moment for G7 countries in committing to driving change in their own organizations and enabling new partnerships to support pioneering solutions that challenge traditional approaches.
Co-creating best practice innovation approaches
Since its formation, IDIA members have convened multiple Working Groups and Taskforces to co-create standard-setting tools and frameworks informed by their synthesis of evidence and good practice.
In addition to their adoption among IDIA agencies and partners, these frameworks are now being used by multiple institutions within and beyond the global development community, from the National Health Service in the UK to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Strengthening country innovation ecosystems
Accelerating public sector scaling of innovation
IDIA members visit different countries around the world every year to learn directly from ecosystem actors advancing innovation in different ways. In 2019, IDIA worked with the Prime Minister and Government of Vietnam to influence their approach to leveraging science, technology and innovation as a pillar of socio-economic development.
This collaboration led to the creation of:
• a cross-Ministerial Coordinating Body on Innovation;
• a Policy Directive on Technology Adoption;
• an Evaluation Framework for innovation investments.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, IDIA members created a locally-facilitated approach (known as the “Mountain Model”) to accelerate the sourcing and scale up of innovations into public health systems.
The Mountain Model is now being used by 16 county governments in Kenya and by national Ministries of Health in Ethiopia and Tanzania with support from Grand Challenges Canada, the Gates Foundation and the Global Financing Facility. The World Health Organization also used the Mountain Model as the basis for its first ever World Health Innovation Forum and ‘Global Call to Action for Public Sector Scaling’.
Building the next generation of innovation leadership
Since 2018, IDIA has packaged and disseminated its learning through an immersive training course for innovation actors across the world.
Delivered in partnership with Stanford University and a range of global experts, practitioners and thought leaders, the IDIA Training on Managing Innovation for Impact has so far created a community of over 160 innovation experts who are leading the application of IDIA principles, tools and frameworks in different contexts.
Pioneering innovation ecosystem investment
Since its formation, IDIA members have convened multiple Working Groups and Taskforces to co-create standard-setting tools and frameworks informed by their synthesis of evidence and good practice.
The IDIA framework for Strengthening Innovation Ecosystems was used as the backbone of the UK Government’s first ever development innovation ecosystem initiative: a £30 million ’Research & Innovation Systems Africa’ (RISA) Fund strengthening ecosystems in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Ethiopia and South Africa.
