Innovation unleashed: The power of diverse partnerships

Navigating the intricate world of global development involves various entities with diverse and sometimes conflicting interests. How can one effectively connect with potential partners, uncover shared goals, and generate mutual value? Successful collaboration with private businesses, academic institutions, and governments is crucial.

At the 2023 End of Year Event – Learn and Share S.P.A.C.E. for Innovation, the Partnerships Pillar Breakout Room, moderated by Herman Johansen, facilitated enlightening discussions among Innovation Champions. These discussions plunged into their projects and the tools from the UN Innovation Toolkit that aided their endeavors:

• Katherine Oglietti, from ITC collaborated with private and public actors within a global coffee network to promote sustainable practices. By identifying their knowledge gaps in technical expertise, they were able to foster partnerships to develop a comprehensive Global Digital Map of sustainable coffee initiatives worldwide.
• Saahil Kapoor, representing UNFPA collaborated with essential partners, including diverse youth groups, the government, co-founding companies from the private sector, technology partners, as well as media and influencers to launch the "My Rights, My Choices" platform – a digital space to inform and create awareness around SRHR in India.
• Elitza Stoilova CEO of Umni, in collaboration with UNWTO, leveraged partnerships with the International Youth Centre in Pernik, Graosoft, and Travel Mind to develop a Touristic City AI Chatbot to enhance the tourism engagement and experience.
• Samuel Pablo Pareira, from WFF talked about how they actively identify and engage with private sector investors and partner with them over the long term to create synergies between them and global startups attending their Startup Innovation Awards.