Join us on May 15th at 08:00 AM for a deep dive into grassroots R&D practices driving circular innovation! This event is an accelerator session at the World Circular Economy Forum 2025.

The UNDP Accelerator Labs will present lessons learned from five years of bottom-up circular economy R&D, where grassroots innovation tackles waste challenges head-on. Discover how communities are leading transformative change by weaving collaborative networks, incentivizing circular practices, and influencing policy. Explore real-world examples from Panama, Tanzania, and Guatemala, and learn how to scale community-powered solutions for a more sustainable future.

This session delves into the lessons learned from five years of bottom-up R&D in the circular economy, focusing on how grassroots innovation unlocks solutions and drives transformative change. We'll explore how to empower communities to lead circular transformations, bridge the gap between innovation, data and policy, and identify the success factors and challenges of bottom-up initiatives. This is crucial for the global transition to a circular economy as it showcases the power of community-led innovation and provides insights into scaling up solutions.

Featured UNDP Accelerator Labs case studies:

• Panama: Waste life cycle exploration and citizen science for data-driven decision-making.
• Tanzania: Waste-to-livelihoods initiatives, including tokenized waste pick-up and micro- loans for informal waste pickers.
• Guatemala: Democratizing circular economy investments through crowdsourcing, enabling everyday people to participate in circular projects.

These examples demonstrate the potential of bottom-up R&D to drive impactful change in diverse contexts. By sharing practical lessons and identifying opportunities for scaling community-led initiatives, this session offers insights for accelerating the global transition to a circular economy.

A detailed Agenda of the event programme and speakers will be shared by April 2025

How to join:
This session will be held online and in English. The link to join the online session will be sent to all registered participants closer to the event.

We are also exploring the possibility of a limited number of in-person spots. If you're interested in attending in person, please select the "In-Person" option during sign-up. We will share details about the location and other in-person logistics closer to the event date with those who choose this option.

RSVP Here

Who are the UNDP Accelerator Labs:

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Accelerator Labs is the world’s largest and fastest learning network on wicked sustainable development challenges. Co-built as a joint venture with the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany and the Qatar Fund for Development, along with Partners at Core for UNDP, the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security as action partner, and the Japan Cabinet, the Network covers 113 countries, and taps into local innovations to create actionable intelligence and reimagine sustainable development for the 21st century.

The Network has been awarded Apolitical’s Public Service Team of the Year in 2019, covered in the MIT Sloan Review (2020), analyzed as a Harvard Business School Case Study (2022) and depicted in “for Tomorrow,” a documentary on grassroots innovation, available on Amazon Prime.

Learn more at acceleratorlabs.undp.org or follow us at @UNDPAccLabs

For any question or clarification, please reach out directly to UNDP Accelerator Labs at accelerator.labs@undp.org