Digital Public Infrastructure and Aadhar: Reimagining Institutions at Scale
Large-scale welfare programs are efforts by states to improve citizens’ well-being and promote social equity. Yet, many countries struggle with systematic inefficiencies, corruption, and bureaucratic hurdles affecting their effectiveness. Digital public infrastructure (DPI) has emerged as a potential solution helping to streamline processes, minimise human error, and increase transparency. However, its impact remains an open […]
Transforming National Energy Systems: Pioneering Institutional Models
The Power Transition Challenge Energy systems are among the most complex and critical infrastructures in modern societies. Their transformation requires coordinated change across technological, economic, social, and political dimensions. Yet traditional governance approaches—focused on regulation rather than active system transformation—often prove inadequate for managing such multifaceted transitions. As climate change accelerates and energy security concerns […]
Governing AI: Evolving Institutional Responses
The Global Governance Challenge As artificial intelligence transforms economies and societies, governments worldwide face an urgent challenge: how to develop effective governance frameworks for AI systems. According to the OECD’s June 2024 report, almost all OECD countries are developing or updating strategies and plans for AI that include specific objectives for its use in the […]
Bridging Skills and Employment: Bangladesh’s Data-Driven Solution to Youth Unemployment
The Employment Challenge Bangladesh’s youth unemployment presented a paradox: despite economic growth, a significant portion of young people remained jobless. Each year, nearly 2 million youths joined the country’s 82 million-strong labor force, yet many struggled to find employment. Employers, meanwhile, reported difficulties in finding qualified candidates, and training institutions produced graduates whose skills did […]
Redefining Mental Health: Victoria’s Collaborative Centre Innovation
A System at Breaking Point In November 2018, the Royal Commission into Mental Health began hearing thousands of testimonies from Victorians affected by the mental health system. The testimonies exposed a system riddled with fragmentation and inefficiencies, leaving families without coordinated care and perpetuating cycles of exclusion. When the Royal Commission delivered its final report […]
Guardians of Tomorrow: Pioneering Future Generations Representation in Wales and the EU
The Democratic Blind Spot In 2014, the Welsh Parliament confronted a fundamental governance challenge: “Who speaks for the future?” This question emerged as Wales, newly empowered through devolution from the United Kingdom, recognized that while democratic systems address immediate concerns of current voters, they systematically neglect those not yet born. This institutional blind spot was […]
Orchestrating Elderly Care: Singapore’s Integration Solution
The Silver Tsunami In 2007, a worrying pattern emerged in Singapore’s hospitals. Elderly patients were being discharged only to return within weeks with preventable complications. The phenomenon, dubbed “revolving door syndrome,” highlighted a critical gap in the city-state’s healthcare system. Despite world-class hospitals and clinics, care fragmentation was creating dangerous and costly gaps for older […]
Space Technology as a Catalyst for Development: Rwanda’s Space Agency
The Satellite Surprise When Rwanda announced the formation of its national space agency in 2020, the news was met with skepticism. How could a small, landlocked African nation with pressing development challenges justify the seemingly extravagant pursuit of space technology? Yet behind this bold move lay a calculated strategic vision. Rwanda wasn’t simply pursuing prestige—it […]
Rewiring Economy and Governance for Shared Prosperity Through Blockchain Solutions
As Istanbul Innovation Days (IID) 2025 invites us to rethink governance, participation, and the role of technology in a changing world, UNDP’s Alternative Finance Lab (AltFinLab), an initiative accelerating alternative & innovative finance for development, is exploring how blockchain can support more inclusive, transparent, and adaptive systems. AltFinLab works across topics such as financial inclusion, […]
In Conversation With Milica Begovic – Rethinking institutions for a complex world
Today, we’re meeting with Milica Begovic, the Head of the UNDP’s Strategic Innovation Unit. Begovic shares her perspective on the growing complexities that institutions face today, such as geopolitical power shifts, societal polarization, climate disruptions, and rapid technological advancements. https://youtu.be/uHEVhUNemMs Begovic argues that current institutions, which are often too hierarchical, rigid, and analog, are ill-equipped […]
