Together with Center for Disaster Preparedness, Elrha, Grand Challenges Canada, and Innovation Norway, we have successfully wrapped up the session "The Missing Link: Connecting Community-Led Innovation Initiatives with National and Global Social Innovation Ecosystems in Humanitarian Settings"!
We had Rob Whitelaw from Elrha presenting the "Community-Led Innovation Partnership", Zainah Alsamman from Grand Challenges Canada sharing "Lessons Learned from Supporting Local Innovations", Max Vieille calling for collective action to strengthen emerging ecosystems. This was accompanied by insightful commentary from our panelists: Nishant Das, Kullein Ankunda, Mayfourth Luneta, and Therese Marie Uppstrøm Pankratov, with moderation by Max Vieille.
What are the key takeaways from the discussions?
Local innovation ecosystems exist but need stronger connections between community-led and globally developed solutions. There is increasing investment in grassroots innovation, yet scaling remains a challenge due to funding structures, compliance burdens, and lack of visibility for local solutions.
Scaling should not only mean expansion but also deepening impact within communities. Community innovators often see scaling as strengthening local capacity, sustainability, and cultural sovereignty, rather than simply reaching more locations.
Trust-building is critical in innovation ecosystems, especially in conflict and crisis settings. Local actors, businesses, and NGOs often operate in silos due to competition, political factors, or lack of coordination. Strengthening collaboration, transparency, and knowledge-sharing can lead to better adoption of solutions.
Rigid humanitarian systems and procurement processes block local solutions. Many local innovators struggle to transition from grant funding to sustainable revenue models due to complex donor requirements, short-term funding cycles, and exclusion from humanitarian procurement. Reforming procurement to prioritize impact-based, open-market engagement would help.
Tailored support is needed beyond funding. Innovators face logistical, regulatory, and technical barriers that require mentorship, business development, and advocacy alongside financial investment. Language barriers, operational constraints in conflict zones, and bureaucratic hurdles limit access to resources.
Innovation in conflict settings faces unique challenges. Economic restrictions, security risks, misinformation, and systemic barriers make it harder for local actors to implement and scale their solutions. Greater flexibility in funding and compliance requirements could enable faster adaptation and crisis response.
There is untapped potential in engaging the private sector and academia to support humanitarian innovation. Many local innovation hubs already exist but operate in isolation. Mapping and strengthening innovation networks at community, national, and global levels could unlock new partnerships and funding opportunities.
