The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in collaboration with Digital Pathways at Oxford, the Inclusive Business Action Network (iBAN), the Honey Bee Network, and the Gujarat Grassroots Innovations Augmentation Network (GIAN), organised a Forum on Frontiers of Inclusive Innovation: Formulating Technology and Innovation Policies that Leave No one Behind. The forum took place through a series of six online sessions in November and December 2021.
The full report, Frontiers of inclusive innovation: Formulating technology and innovation policies that leave no one behind, is available here.
The closing session was a policy discussion on opportunities to expand and move forward on promoting inclusive innovation. It summarised the key messages that had emerged from the previous policy discussions and policy exchanges. The session put forward key recommendations for promoting technology and innovation policies that leave no one behind. Watch the recording of the session below:
Key Messages
Different countries have different national strategies and policies to encourage inclusive technology and innovation. There are several gaps that need to be addressed to encourage inclusive technology and policies.
- Digital illiteracy needs to be addressed. The investments for inclusive digital infrastructures are increasing but there is still a growing digital illiteracy rate in both rural and urban areas.
- Create a better platform for promoting grassroots innovation. There must be a lot of collaboration, such as collaboration with universities and funders, to create a supportive environment for grassroot innovators. Regional collaboration is also key to build a better understanding of inclusive innovation policies – what works and what does not work. Educating the public on grassroots innovation is encouraged to further promote sustainable solutions. There should be lessons on innovation in textbooks. Public media platforms must be utilised. Furthermore, there must be a provision of a network-based entrepreneurship model where people are able to collaborate on ideas and assist one another in challenges.
- Create scalable inclusive innovations. One of the challenges some countries face is scaling innovation despite numerous existing grassroots innovations. This particularly applies to innovations that can apply to the welfare of the entire country. Only a few out of numerous existing innovations have managed to scale up on a national level. Higher collective capacity is essential for scalable innovations.
Examples of good practices
- In Indonesia, the government has been working to deploy 4G Internet networks in more than 12,500 uncovered villages, which is expected to be completed by 2022.
- In Cambodia, the government is seeking to transform Cambodia into a digital economy and society by 2035. To do so, it has adopted a strategic framework to promote digital infrastructure, foster digital trust, develop digital citizens, build a digital government and promote digital businesses.
- In the Philippines, the Department of Science and Technology has adopted the Grassroots for Inclusive Development 2019 to 2022 Framework Plan. This plan promotes the use of community-led solutions that support sustainable development among Filipinos. The Department supports marginalised communities, including indigenous peoples and those living in geographically isolated areas, through science, technology, and innovation-based interventions.
- The Government of Fiji is seizing digital technologies to enable previously financially excluded citizens make payments, receive money, and access finance safely. Mobile money has enabled the government to reach vulnerable individuals who would otherwise have no access to government assistance and benefit, especially in the aftermath of natural disasters and in the face of the current pandemic.
Moving Forward
More regional exchanges and dialogues about inclusive innovation policies and practices in Asia and the Pacific can provide a useful platform for sharing knowledge and supporting more inclusive innovation.
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“What we have learned is that promoting inclusive innovation requires hard choices and long-term commitment. Hard choices because it requires dealing with opposing priorities. [...] A commitment because ensuring that the very poorest of rural communities can benefit from innovation is much tougher than creating innovations for, for example, high-income urban populations.” Kaveh Zahedi, Deputy Executive Secretary, United Nations ESCAP |
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Where support is needed
Participants identified support required to further promote inclusive innovation in three key areas:
Access to expert policy guidance and advice.
- Organise more discussions with policy makers to enhance their understanding of inclusive innovation.
- Develop a coaching/mentorship program where innovation specialists and policy makers can exchange good practices in inclusive innovation policy.
- Establish a fund to support and train more region-based experts and inclusive innovation champions.
- Provide a platform for dialogue in promoting systemic approaches, instruments and governance that support inclusive innovation development processes, structures, and policies.
- Create pathways to a dynamic, evidence-based, and proactive stakeholders consultation strategy, and a decentralised institutional mechanism that balances top-down and bottom-up efforts.
- Develop a fellowship program where fellows can support inclusive innovation at the grassroots level.
- Set up a community of practice that maps out existing good practices at the country-level.
- Facilitate programs for innovators and policymakers to understand the regulatory and institutional environment for better collaboration.
Invest in inclusive innovation research, infrastructure, and activities.
- Invest more on digital infrastructure to improve digital inclusion.
- Forge collaborative cross-country policy research efforts.
- Involve economic and planning ministries in these dialogues, as they play an important role on budget allocation.
- Increase public support for seed funding, pilot production, and testing/validation of grassroots innovations.
- Craft a regional risk fund to support grassroots innovations.
Increase recognition for inclusive and grassroots innovations on a country/regional level.
- Implement a pilot project to provide evidence on grassroots innovations, to help raise recognition for these innovations.
- Help gain political recognition for the knowledge systems and creative potential of marginalised communities and individuals.
Learn more about the forum's discussion topics
REPORT: Frontiers of Inclusive Innovation: Formulating technology and innovation policies that leave no one behind
This report highlights the opportunities and challenges that policymakers and development partners have to expand the frontiers of inclusive innovation. When inclusion is the next frontier of technology, STI policies are designed differently: With broader objectives than just economic growth, with social development and sustainable economies in mind; and they are inclusive in terms of aspiring to enable everyone to benefit from – and participate in – innovative activities.
Governments can add an inclusive lens to STI policies by considering the following questions:
This report explores how these four dimensions of inclusivity are addressed in several innovation policies: national STI policies; digital economy strategies; initiatives supporting grassroots innovations; and policies promoting inclusive business.
