ESSAYS FROM THE EDGE OF HUMANITARIAN INNOVATION Year in Review 2017 UNHCR Innovation Service From the editors: Year in Review 2017 In the humanitarian and innovation communities, the collective sense of urgency reached new heights this year. Never before has innovation been so important in light of growing needs and fewer resources. Whilst new technologies and platforms continued to advance, we refocused our efforts to the future. Experimentation, research, and refugee voices were central to the new direction. We continued to argue that innovation did not, and does not, equate technology. UNHCR’s Innovation Service was instead focused on behaviour and mindset change - a small nudge team interested less in drones and more in better decision- making. 2017 was also the year that we killed our Innovation Labs and invested in a more holistic approach to innovation, diversity, and collaboration in a way that we hadn’t before. This past year, our programmes and trainings gave UNHCR staff the opportunity to innovate and test new projects and processes across the world. The availability (or lack thereof sometimes) of data continues to have a profound impact on our work at the Innovation Service. If you were to look at the themes found in our year in review, they would be focused on data, storytelling, listening, predicting, and monitoring. In our new publication, we’ve highlighted these themes through stories from the field, stories from refugees, stories on failure, stories on where we’ve been and a look at where we’re going. From research to organisational change, and experiments, take a look back at what UNHCR’s Innovation Service was up to in 2017. Andrew Harper served as the Head of UNHCR’s Innovation Service through the first half of 2017. A special thank you to Andrew for his leadership and guidance during this period, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration with you and your new team. Table of Content Contributors Practical tips for innovating in UNHCR 4 In alphabetical order A brief innovation glossary 6 Team Predictions for 2018 8 Ailadi, Illustrator Innovation, Diversity and Gender: How you can take simple actions for gender equity. 10 Sandra Aluoch-Simbiri, Regional INS (Instant Network Schools) Officer UNHCR Innovation Service & Inclusion and Diversity 11 Stephen Awiti, Regional INS (Instant Network Schools) Technical Officer Giving a voice to LGBTQ refugees 14 Edina Bata, Admin Programme Associate Beyond numbers: Why cultural change has to accompany our renewed investment in data. 17 Erica Bower, Associate Climate Change Officer From big data to humanitarian-in-the-loop algorithms 26 Jennifer Brookland, Freelance Journalist Teaching a ‘robot’ to detect xenophobia online 30 Ann Christiano, Frank Karel Chair in Public Interest Communications Jetson: insights into building a predictive analytics platform for displacement 33 Katie Drew, Innovation Officer (Communicating with Communities) Numbers suck 36 Chris Earney, Head, a.i., Innovation Service Why UNHCR is experimenting with communications 46 Vinicius Feitosa, Associate Research and Information Officer (Protection) Connecting neuroscience, storytelling, and psychology 50 Julie Gassien, Energy and Environment Officer Why there’s no innovation without experimentation 56 Caroline Harper Jantuah, Senior Advisor - Inclusion, Diversity and Gender Equity Manufacturing Innovation 60 Anjali Katta, Intern, Innovation Service Three lessons learned in supporting refugee-led innovation 64 Mika Koch, Intern, Innovation Service Innovation Fellowship: Driving innovation through mindset and cultural change 66 Sofia Kyriazi, Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engineer Developing humanitarian innovation impact metrics: where do we start? 70 Miguel Luengo Oroz, Chief Data Scientist, UN Global Pulse The promise of boring innovation 74 Mohsin Mohi Ud Din, Founder of #MeWeSyria The Measurement Problem 76 Rebeca Moreno Jimenez, Innovation Officer (Data Scientist) The beginning and end of the Innovation Index 79 Subhi Nahas, Chairman of the Spectra Project Why UNHCR is taking action on climate change displacement 84 Annie Neimand, Ph.D. candidate, frank Research Director Designing solar street lighting with the Syrian community 90 Babusi Nyoni, User Experience (UX) Designer A future-looking approach to energy and environment in Angola 93 Lauren Parater, Innovation Community and Content Manager No progress without collaboration 98 Hans Park, Strategic Design and Research Manager Going far for refugee education, together. 102 Emilia Saarelainen, Innovation Fellowship Programme Manager Our Innovation Labs are dead. Long live Innovation! 104 Agnes Schneidt, Innovation Officer (Energy and Environment) Using data to make your humanitarian organisation more client-focussed 106 Clara Van Praag, Humanitarian Education Accelerator Coordinator Listening & Learning: The Future of Communicating with Communities 112 Salvatore Vassallo, Senior Admin and Programme Associate A system that listens 116 John Warnes, Innovation Technology Officer 10 Things Haziq Hated About Humanitarian Aid 118 Jeff Wilkinson, Protection Officer Note from the illustrator 122 Dina Zyadeh, Innovation Officer (Operations) Cover art and editorial illustrations by Ailadi. Web edition. February 2018 UNHCR Innovation Service 2018 Be brave. members, colleagues, and using that opportunity to build refugees to create new ideas. the skills needed to learn from Innovation is not an easy Invite people with a wide one’s mistakes is key. process but it is worth it. You range of disciplines. Crazy will have to iterate and fail ideas are welcomed and Copy someone else’s idea. along the way - but use it as should be built upon. an opportunity to learn. Take When is innovation simply the risk to try something new Experiment. imitation? Often. Look at and it will pay off dividends in promising practices that the end. Innovation is never about already exists elsewhere and silver bullets. Learn by doing. apply it to your operation and Ask the right question. Try new things. Keep testing context. your original idea or process. Practical tips You won’t get an appropriate Discover what works and what Launch a UNHCR Innovation solution if you’re not asking doesn’t. Then experiment Challenge. the right question. Defining again. your challenge is a crucial Ask UNHCR staff and for innovating step in the innovation process. Challenge your assumptions. members of the public to Keep it short and make sure it suggest great new ideas. only contains one challenge. Everytime we approach Offer a prize or an incentive. You can continue to tweak a problem, we bring Give people a clear focused in UNHCR your challenge question until assumptions that limit our goal and they will surprise you you’ve identified the right ability to think about new with novel ideas. The word innovation is ubiquitous and confusing to most. We’d use a different word if we could. So problem. solutions. Think critically about what are the first steps for including innovation into your day-to-day work at UNHCR? And what does the assumptions underlying Innovate with everyone. it actually look like in practice? Engage refugees. your innovation and then test them in a systematic way. Include targets for innovation It’s easier than you might think. Refugees are better at within your team, division or knowing what works for Collaborate. operation. Measure these We’ve outlined practical applications of the innovation process to help get you started. Try to them and what doesn’t. They targets and the impact you’ve innovate how you innovate, whether that’s in your team, division, or entire operation. Employ some are great innovators and Work with other divisions, had. Don’t just have one of the practical tips in this list and other ideas found throughout this publication. If you still have full of their own ideas. Ask bureaux, external companies, innovation focal point - include questions - drop us an email. refugees for their feedback academia, and others during innovation into everyone’s throughout the process - but the innovation process. objectives. Before you explore opportunities to Choose a partner with realize it, everyone will be a empower them as innovators different skills and ideas. Go champion of innovation. themselves. outside the usual suspects. Be flexible and open to different Ideate. types of collaboration. Take advantage of other Embrace failure. people’s creativity and facilitate a brainstorming Acknowledging that failure session with your team happens to the best of us, and 4 5 A brief innovation glossary Creativity: The use of imagination or original in an interactive way, try ideas out quickly brainstorming, conceptualizing, developing, End-users: Individuals who ultimately uses or ideas to create something new.1 Tendency to and gather feedback easily. The prototype is and implementing the solution.10 are intended to use a product or service. End- recognize or generate ideas. tested to make sure it is fit for the purpose Social Innovation: A social innovation is a users are the starting point of the innovation Imagination: The ability of the mind to be and users’ need. Based on the feedback, the novel solution to a social problem that is more process. creative or resourceful.2 Imagination is the prototype is improved and tested again.6 effective, efficient, sustainable, or just than Facilitation: Facilitation is about taking a heart of creativity. Radical (or discontinuous) innovation: current solutions. The value created accrues leadership role in innovation process (instead