We are unlikely to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 if we do not reimagine development. The Accelerator Labs are an answer to that; they are UNDP’s new way of view development with the bottom-up approach. 

In 2019, UNDP built the world’s largest and fastest learning network on the challenges of sustainable development. We started with 60 lab teams covering 78 countries and are now expanding to 91 labs covering 115 countries. We create actionable intelligence and test solutions with national partners. The Accelerator Labs are inspired by local solutions that are already working - whether they are grassroots innovations, an alternative policy solution or a business that is making the world a better place.

Learning is at the heart of Innovation-AccLab Guinea-Bissau. Our iterative methodology consists of four stages: sense, explore, test and grow. Each phase comes with key questions and results. Each phase is understood through our toolkits. 

Our toolkit includes: Collective intelligence, sensemaking, human centered design, systems thinking, design thinking, behavioural insights, innovation clinics, trends analysis, futures/ foresight frameworks, digital tech, prototyping, rapid control trials, policy experimentation, data analytics and more.

Together with our core partners, the State of Qatar and the Federal Republic of Germany, the network of Labs will work together with national and global partners to find radically new approaches that fit the complexity of current development challenges.

Who do we work with?

UNDP Guinea-Bissau Accelerator Lab will join hands with those who live and operate closest to the problem. We have the prospect that all the answers to development exist in Guinea-Bissau, and what we need to do is finding them. We will work directly with the end users, building on the experience of our team to explore, experiment and map solutions, all through collaboration with different stakeholders.

Our team includes a Head of Exploration, Head of Solution Mapping and Head of Experimentation. We are developing a portfolio of experiments on our frontier challenge on the provision of basic and quality public services, while continuing to find innovative solutions to development challenges in Guinea-Bissau.

If you would like to collaborate with us or have any queries, please email us at info.acclabgw@undp.org.

Meet the Team

Building a local network is critical for the Lab to disseminate and share their learnings. We are keen to hear from you. Attend our invitation to consultations and our Launch event to provide us feedback on how we can improve our protocols. Or, you can also simply write to any of our team members through info.acclabgw@undp.org.

 

 

Ana Djú

Head of Solutions Mapping

Accelerator Lab - Guinea-Bissau

Ana is the Co-founder of Djú&Có, that launched in 2018, a social enterprise that guides and supports the Afro-Lusophone community in the UK. Ana holds a Masters in African Politics from SOAS, University of London, and is an advocate for African self-determination and youth empowerment. Ana is also a One Young World Ambassador, making her part of one of the strongest youth-led networks of change.  

As Head of Solutions Mapping, Ana is responsible for building the bridge between the community and the Lab. This relationship will support the mapping of existing solutions and facilitate  co-creation of solutions to new challenges in the Guinea-Bissau context.

 

 

 

Victor Pereira 

Head of  Exploration

Accelerator Lab - Guinea-Bissau

Victor holds a Masters degree in Statistics applied in Health from the University of Lisbon and a Post-graduate in applied Statistics Health from the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Disease. With a background in traffic management in a transport and logistics company, his principal assignment was to apply mathematics to determine the most economical route to distribute products.

In the past seven years, Victor has worked for UNDP as Monitoring and Evaluation Analyst with the Global Fund project.

As Head of Exploration, Victor is beginning to discover and delve deep into a new type of data to support the decision making.

 

 

 

Isa Lopes Da Costa

Head of Experimentation

Accelerator Lab - Guinea-Bissau

Isa is an architect  focused on social and environmental issues in relation to the built environment. She works with participatory methods, co-creation and uses local craft skills and materials- to design and build in collaboration with local communities.  She holds a Master of Architecture and an MSc. from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.  As Head of Experimentation, Isa is collaborating with UNDP colleagues and stakeholders on the design of experiments to validate the hypotheses and test the effectiveness of identified prototypes. Experimentation is a fundamental aspect of the lab, as it is the only way to see what works and not.

Media

Guinea-Bissau Accelerator Lab mini documentary in English here, in Portuguese here.

Guinea-Bissau Accelerator Lab full launch video here.

Guinea-Bissau Accelerator Lab stakeholder workshop full video here.

Guinea-Bissau Accelerator Lab virtual stakeholder workshop full video here.

Guinea-Bissau Accelerator Lab blogs.