Promoting cross-sectorial partnerships and innovative collaborations is paramount for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. Firmly holding this belief, on March 18, the University of Geneva, in collaboration with the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), convened thought leaders, innovators and decision-makers from academia, international organizations (IOs) and the private sector for the third edition of the Geneva Trialogue, under the theme “Scaling Open Innovation for the SDGs”. The SDG Lab participated in two of the seven online thematic panel discussions:
- Open Innovation in the UN Geneva Ecosystem
Eleonora Bonaccorsi, from the SDG Lab and IISD where she focuses on the Geneva 2030 Ecosystem, moderated the first panel “Open Innovation in the UN Geneva Ecosystem”, analysing the importance of a cross-sectoral approach (e.g., academia, private sector, IOs) for scaling-up open innovation in the region.
Tina Ambos, professor of International Management at the University of Geneva and the Director of the i2i Hub for Intrapreneurship and Innovation, initiated the session by presenting three major challenges for open innovation in international organizations in Geneva, namely the impact challenge, the scaling challenge and the organizing challenge. To overcome such obstacles, Professor Ambos stressed the potential of cross-sectoral collaborations and critical skills. Multi-stakeholder partnerships have also been identified by Einar Bjorgo, Director of Satellite Analysis and Applied Research at UNITAR, as key to ensure the outcomes of science and innovation can be quickly implemented at the local level, especially in developing countries.
Bridging science and innovation with policy implementation represents the main priority also in the work of the other panellists, respectively Marieke Hood, from the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA), and Nicolas Seidler, from the Geneva Science-Policy Interface (GSPI). Whereas the former highlighted the crucial importance of anticipating and translating future scientific trends for a better dialogue between diplomacy and scientists, the latter explained how, in order to deliver on the promises of open innovation, it is essential to go beyond one-way knowledge transfer and actively support alignment and collaboration between scientific and policy actors.
On this note, the GSPI will also be the co-convener, together with the SDG Lab, of the event “Building Resilience to COVID-10 and Future Pandemics”, taking place on March 25.
- Blended Finance for Open Innovation and the SDGs
Nadia Isler, Director of the SDG Lab, was on the panel of the Geneva Trialogue thematic session “Blended Finance for Open Innovation and the SDGs”, moderated by Laetitia Gill of the Geneva Centre for Philanthropy.
As Ms. Isler explained, when it comes to finance for development, investment opportunities are not packaged to investors in a way that incentivizes their participation. Conversely, country level SDG agendas are often not presented in language and terms understood by investors, and therefore do not induce action. To tackle this misalignment, she presented the Lab’s work in incentivizing cross-fertilization of knowledge and expertise and co-creating policy solutions between the development and the finance communities, through initiatives such as Building Bridges Week and the Pipeline Builder.
Throughout the panel, Cherie Nursalim, representative of the Government of Indonesia, presented her work with the Blended Finance and Innovation Institute (BFI), a new multi-stakeholder partnership to support the incubation of inclusive business for the SDGs. Offering the perspective of a governmental funding agency on the topic of blended finance, Renaud Vuignier with the Swiss Agency for Cooperation and Development (SDC) and the Embassy of Switzerland in Beijing mentioned the main activities of SDC in funding SDGs and open innovation across the Asia-Pacific Region, such as Impact Hackathons. Covering the standpoint of academia, Giuseppe Ugazio, from the Geneva Center for Philanthropy at the University of Geneva, focused on the rising importance of philanthropic giving for educational equity, sustainable finance, justice and SDGs.
More information on the 2021 edition of the Geneva Trialogue can be found here.