Planning for Scale

Many innovation efforts focus on finding new solutions to complex problems. But, equally important is the ability to grow the impact of ideas that are already working. As UN Entities continue to invest in innovation efforts, the ability to scale successful approaches increasingly preoccupies innovation efforts. And in many cases, innovators are learning that scaling successes can be equally, if not more difficult, than finding good solutions in the first place. The UN Innovation Network, in partnership with the UN Development Coordination Office (DCO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) hosted a webinar to explore approaches and success stories on how to take innovations to scale. What follows is a summary of the key ideas which were discussed and questions that Entities may want to consider when planning for scale.