UNDP Paraguay Accelerator Lab

Our mission is to accelerate economic formalization, participatory governance and the accumulation of innovation capacity across sectors in Paraguay.

As an agile, mission-oriented research, development and innovation unit, we are linking UNDP with its partners in the public, private and civil society sectors to accelerate learning for sustainable development. Focused on the intersection of informality, citizen’s participation and innovation policy, our experimentation portfolio generates evidence on inclusive recycling; on formalization of employment in the construction, domestic work and apparel industries; on the relationship between social capital, trust, collective action and vulnerability; on positive deviance in public-sector management and on private and social innovation in the areas of food security and flexible specialization in Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) manufacturing. Our approach encompasses tactical and strategic interventions, helping to develop local solutions while mobilizing institutions from within. We address these challenges through design and participatory-action research, with a multidisciplinary team that mobilizes knowledge and allies across sectors, facilitating collective intelligence, participatory design and impact evaluation, using the best theoretical and methodological tools available for policy and program design.