UNDP Kazakhstan Accelerator Lab

Developing a portfolio of experiments to improve air quality in cities, introducing innovative methods to address gender-based violence, and mainstreaming sensemaking for a systemic change.

The UNDP Kazakhstan Accelerator Lab’s flagship project has been leading an urban transformation agenda for Almaty City within the City Experiment Fund project. The team, together with its global partners, is developing a portfolio of experiments to improve air quality in Almaty. This is done by bringing strategic innovation that enables moving away from single interventions towards a holistic portfolio design and urban transformation.

The Lab has been introducing cutting edge methodologies to the work of the UNDP country office and a larger ecosystem. An example of such methodology is a portfolio sensemaking workshop the team ran together with the Istanbul Regional Hub. The result of the exercise has been the creation of new linkages between existing projects, shared learnings and inspiration for new projects.

The team is testing innovative methods to raise awareness and identify local solutions in the area of gender-based violence within a regional Spotlight Initiative, funded by the European Union. The team is engaging with other countries to organize an Edu-Hackathon that will not only inspire solutions, but also share data and expertise on this important topic.