Strategic Innovation at the United Nations: A Network of Ecosystems

By: Elizabeth J. Altman and Amy Klopfenstein and Frank Nagle

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Synopsis: In 2021, Gina Lucarelli, leader of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Accelerator Labs, prepared for a meeting with UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner. The two planned to discuss the future of the Accelerator Labs, a network of social innovation labs located in countries throughout the world. The labs discovered promising solutions to social problems within a specific local community and elevated their learnings to the lab network. The first set of labs launched in 2019 and had high levels of autonomy, essentially operating as startups. While Lucarelli was pleased with the progress of the first cohort of labs, she was uncertain whether Steiner would continue them beyond their initial three-year funding window. Lucarelli envisioned three paths forward for the labs. The labs could wind down and integrate their methodologies into UNDP country offices, secure independent funding and spin out from UNDP, or reintegrate with the central organization and operate within the UN's research and development division. At the conclusion of the case, Lucarelli must decide which would be the best option to advance UNDP's mission of promoting environmental sustainability and global well-being.