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The great transformation

Working with radical uncertainty in a planetary crisis

Twenty first century problems cannot be tackled with 20th century institutions.

There’s a growing gap between the interconnected, structural, and increasingly unpredictable and complex challenges we are facing, and the way that government and development planning is carried out.

The climate emergency, the lack of trust in institutions, growing levels of inequality, particularly for women, highlight the need for new forms of understanding and acting. Yet we’re still working from the old playbook.

“You don’t speak for me.”

Governments know that fundamental and far-reaching change is vital, but many are struggling with how to do it—and it’s putting democracies at risk. Citizens’ trust in institutions is eroding.

Technological “quick fixes” are not the answer – smart cities won’t “solve” urban issues nor will contact tracing apps “solve” COVID-19. At best they will accrue superficial gains that exclude the most vulnerable, and our future MUST be inclusive.

Move fast and don’t break things

The pandemic didn’t just give permission for change, it exposed the underlying weaknesses in our societies and emphasized the grave cost of continuing with traditional problem solving. It also showed we can change fast, if we have to. UNDP is committed to helping governments and partners to adapt and be resilient in a complex and uncertain world where the future cannot be projected from what happened in the past. We do so from a position of humility, knowing well that we don’t have all the answers.

The complex “how” of great transformations

We need nothing short of institutional renewal—a holistic approach to human development to tackle the pressure of short termism, move away for single point solution, create the space to address structural issues, support innovative policies that work for all, and build the institutional will for ongoing adaptation in a fast-changing world.

UNDP’s role as the Sustainable Development Goal integrator means we are uniquely positioned to do it.

We also recognize that complex transformations require broad coalitions of decision makers, thought leaders, private sector partners, civil society and “unusual suspects”. We are willing and open to engage with those who share a similar desire for great transformations.

And we acknowledge that our ability to unlock new futures is contingent on re-assessing the past and coming to terms with paradigms that perpetuate structural inequalities, rethinking the colonial roots of the development project.

Looking for answers in all the new places

We know that changemakers are everywhere and those that are closer to a problem can point us to new ways forward better than an expert flown in from far away. UNDP’s 91 Accelerator Labs are a unique network that accelerate learning on what works and what doesn’t in sustainable development. They do so by identifying local innovators, tapping into their expertise and creating actionable insights across the globe. In 2020 alone, the Labs documented more than 1,700 grassroots-led solutions covering all 17 SDGs.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, they enabled governments to respond more effectively to citizens’ needs; from using non-traditional data to help inform responses in the Philippines and Bosnia and Herzegovina, to harnessing mobile money in Kenya and Uganda and using gamification to counter misinformation in India, Morocco, Timor-Leste and Cabo Verde.

Seeding great transformations

Ultimately, we understand that great transformations require rethinking the basis of society’s foundational relationships - with nature, economy, technology, future and ourselves. We made this the focus of our recent corporate R&D event, Istanbul Innovation Days.

Our Innovation Facility, supported by the Danish government, is supporting nine “deep demonstrations” around the world to explore what great transformations look like on the ground: whether it is changing the trajectory of an entire sector (such as, for example, tourism in the Dominican Republic) or shifting the needle on complex issues such as trust in institutions (for example, in Tunisia).

Our new Mayors for Growth project, supported by the EU, will support 300 cities as they embark on strategic planning in uncertainty. Some will take on an ambitious trajectory to system transformation post-COVID using portfolios and fully embracing sustainability. In five cities in Europe and Central Asia, with support from Slovak Ministry of Finance, under the City Experiment Fund we are designing solutions to urban issues such as brain drain or outdated economic models.

In Angola, we are delving into the complexity of informal markets to better help the majority of the country’s workforce that depend on them for a living.

In the south of Thailand, we are working to transform post COVID local food systems, unlocking new possibilities for economic growth and building social cohesion.

In Bhutan, we are unlocking new perspectives to address youth unemployment.

Humble leadership

The World Uncertainty Index is at an all-time high. We don’t know how to effectively deal with the compounding and intertwined effects of climate change and inequality or grasp the cascading risks triggered by COVID-19. What is increasingly clear is that the old linear ways, and over reliance on quick tech fixes don’t work. We need new policies grounded in humility that acknowledge that radical uncertainty is now our reality and that it can only be tackled with deep and wide-ranging systemic change.

And we need to prove that they can deliver transformative results for the most vulnerable. We are keen to work with partners who share the same vision.

Footnotes

Photos from top to bottom: Mathias P.R. Reding from Pexels; UNDP Bangladesh/Fahad Kaizer; UNDP Kyrgyzstan; UNDP Kyrgyzstan; UNDP Angola/Cynthia R. Matonhodze

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FootNotes

Photos from top to bottom: Mathias P.R. Reding from Pexels; UNDP Bangladesh/Fahad Kaizer; UNDP Kyrgyzstan; UNDP Kyrgyzstan; UNDP Angola/Cynthia R. Matonhodze

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The great transformation

Working with radical uncertainty in a planetary crisis

FootNotes

Trois communautés côtières mexicaines œuvrent en faveur d’un tourisme durable et communautaire

Un recorrido por tres costas mexicanas que avanzan hacia un turismo sostenible y comunitario

Tour three Mexican coastal communities working towards sustainable, community-based tourism

Tras casi tres años de guerra, el pueblo del Sudán sigue con la esperanza de reconstruir su vida

À bientôt 3 ans de guerre, le peuple soudanais a hâte de se reconstruire

As the war approaches the 3-year mark, Sudan's people can't wait to rebuild their lives