All-Hands-on-Deck – Ideating, Innovating and Scaling Climate Adaptation Solutions Beyond the Siloes of ‘For-Profit’ and ‘Not-for-Profit’

photo credit: Nkafu Policy Insitute

The Magnitude of Climate Risk and Actual Damage and Harm Demand ‘New’ Responses that Address Unprecedented Scale and Complexity – It Needs New Collaborations and New Ideas! By Whom and How?

Who can we rely on? Who has the potential to ideate, innovate and scale? What are the key incentives?  Can we learn from market-oriented innovation to ‘generate’ social innovations?

For most of the 20th century, the private sector was seen as the main driver of innovation in society, developing new solutions to ‘fix’ social and environmental issues. Market-driven innovation processes have proven to effectively bring about new technologies, services and products. But as threats from climate change increase, can we rely on the private sector alone to help society adapt to climate change? How should businesses and companies be held accountable for the impacts of their outcomes on equity, or ecosystems?

Climate adaptation also requires shifts in social systems, ensuring social well-being and equitable outcomes for vulnerable and often marginalised people. New ideas in this sphere have been labeled ‘social innovations’, often arising from unmet social needs, and often aggravated by pressures caused by climate impacts.

Social innovations are brought about by public and communal actors: the public sector, civil society, NGOs, faith-based organizations and others who promote and deliver social services. What can these actors learn from the private sector about ideation and innovation?

Given the scale of the climate adaptation challenge, working in ‘for-profit’ and ‘not-for-profit’ siloes may not be enough. Initiatives such as innovation labs and hubs, innovation learning initiatives, blended finance solutions or public-private partnerships are only initial processes and spaces where a greater diversity of actors collaborate, cooperate and learn from each other and together. Adapting to climate change is a challenge that requires stakeholders across society to reevaluate how they collaborate.

PlanAdapt has partnered with TMG Research and the University of Nairobi to co-host a dialogue (supported by the German Ministry of Development Cooperation) of relevant actors and stakeholders (in early November 2024) to explore the status of approaches and initiatives in Eastern Africa that aim to ideate, innovate and to scale effective and equitable climate adaptation solutions.

The event will help to advance approaches in the following areas of CCA-related innovation approaches:

    1. Relationship CCA – ‘Social’ Innovation: How do climate adaptation and innovation fit together? What makes innovation for climate adaptation different to innovation in view of other societal challenges, other sectors or in other contexts? (see also Ziervogel et al. 2024, Thematic Evaluation of the Fund’s Approach to Support Innovation for Climate Change Adaptation (2023);  World Economic Forum (2023): Grassroots to Boardrooms: Social Innovation Partnerships for Climate Adaptation)
    2. Market-Oriented, Business-Driven Innovation: What are the technologies, products and services that have been brought to Eastern African markets that have positive adaptation outcomes? Are they accessible, affordable etc. by the ‘climate vulnerable parts of the population’? (How) Have they made it to scale; how is positive adaptation impact measured; and what can be learnt from these experiences (e.g. risk of maladaptation)? Some business innovation solutions are more equitable than others, why?  (see also: Climate Adaptation Innovation Accelerator Programme (WFP) – Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA);  The Adaptation Innovation Marketplace; AU Climate Action Innovation Hub; GIZ Accelerator Program for Climate Change Innovations and PriVaBoo (GIZ’s Private Adaptation Investment Bootcamp); Kenya Climate Innovation Center; Adaptation & Resilience Impact: A Measurement Framework for Investors
    3. New and Other Innovators for CCA and Ideation Processes and Spaces: Where & who are the ‘powerhouses’ for ideation for CCA in East African societies? Who are these innovators? What are the incentives? What does the landscape of social innovations/ social entrepreneurship (i.e. actors, initiatives) that focuses on climate adaptation look like in Eastern Africa? Where do these actors meet (innovation labs, impact hubs, etc.)?  (see also: Klingler-Vidra et al. (2022): Inclusive Innovation; Chirambo (2020): Can Social Innovation Address Africa’s Twin Development Challenges of Climate Change Vulnerability and Forced Migrations?; Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship;  Design for Climate Solutions (D4CS) Programme)
    4. Scaling Pathways: What are (potential) scaling pathways, financial and non-financial? What are the experiences & good practices in the region? How to shape better pilots that enable scaling? How to overcome the ‘pilotitis’? How to select the right ‘candidates’ for scaling? What needs to be measured to inform the selection? How to mobilise significant levels of finance to scale?  (see also: Thematic Evaluation of the Fund’s Approach to Support Innovation for Climate Change Adaptation; Green Climate Fund, 2021: Accelerating and Scaling Up Climate Innovation; AF-TERG Thematic Evaluation of Scalability Concepts and Practice at the Adaptation Fund.
    5. Diversity, Collaboration and Cooperation – Innovation Ecosystems, Roles of Government and External Funders/ Supporters: How can governments (a) build innovation ecosystems; (b) conducive conditions for (social) innovators and (c) provide enabling (institutional) infrastructure? What is the role of citizens, and their autonomous ‘solutions’ to adapt to climate change? What can (development) funders do to support? How to harness collective autonomous adaptation towards adaptation innovation? (see also: OECD: Building Local Ecosystems for Social Innovation)

Read more about related PlanAdapt initiatives:

In addition, we are running a kind of ideation and incubator space for adaptation solutions as part of our Climate Co-Adaptation Lab.