Welcome to a world where projects on development are not only moonshots but are also incrementally achievable, where partnerships with government partners are more efficient, effective, economical and impactful. A world where relationships, collective intelligence, the use of data, digital technologies and foresight is harnessed to drive progress.  Where innovation is fuelled by collaboration. This is the world UNDP is aspiring to build, and it starts with learning from each other.

Recently, I had the privilege of joining a five - day mission in June at the invitation of UNDP Montenegro as part of a reciprocated exchange visit to learn from the innovative projects brokered by the work of the UNDP Namibia Accelerator Lab and the UNDP Digital Advocates Network to explore the power of collaboration and the use of digitalisation in strengthening governance, transparency and developing public administrative capabilities. The experience was nothing short of inspiring, and I'm excited to share the insights and takeaways with you.

The Power of Learning

The first few meetings with the colleagues from UNDP Montenegro focussed on understanding and learning from their priorities derived from their Country Programme Document which were on Inclusive Green Growth, Gender, Environment and related to governance, a fascinating discussion on the Namibian Pocket Guide 2.0.  This is a digital tool that has revolutionised the induction and onboarding of public servants in Namibia. I was privileged to share the journey, highlighting the successes and challenges we faced together. This was followed by a presentation on digitalisation, showcasing the innovative ways UNDP is collaborating with the Namibian government by taking a revolutionary first step in implementing the  Model Governance Framework for Digital Legal Identity to bolster digital public infrastructure at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security.

As we delved deeper into the discussion, it became clear that the key to success lies in collaboration and knowledge sharing. By learning from each other's experiences, we can scale innovative approaches and solutions, making a greater impact in the world.

The Importance of Digitalisation to achieve development outcomes

Digitalisation is no longer a buzzword; it is a reality that is transforming the way we work, and I have written about this is a previous blog about how the use of the Talent Development Unit’s digital and talent marketplace, Fuel 50 provided an opportunity for UNDP Namibia to leverage internal UNDP expertise drawn from within the Country Office, Montenegro, New York, Bosnia and Herzegovina to collaborate as part of a hybrid-virtual development assignment programme (VDAP), on the design of the Pocket Guide for the public service. From using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to prototyping a Pocket-Bot to answer questions on legislation, staff rules and policies, to crowdsourcing content to develop micro-learning modules with and from public servants,  digitalisation can open doors and share learning while increasing transparency and accountability. The Namibian experience with digitalisation as an enabler to promote better learning and development outcomes, disseminate public sector information to both public servants and citizens was seen as a case worth replicating in the Montenegrin public service through UNDP Montenegro’s projects on governance and digitalisation.

Scaling Solutions: The Pocket Guide 2.0

The Pocket Guide 2.0 project has been a game-changer in Namibia, and it is exciting to think about scaling this success to other countries, and in this case, to Montenegro. By sharing best practices and lessons learned, we can accelerate the adoption of innovative approaches such as the use of collective intelligence, advancing digital public infrastructure and through the use of open source tools and solutions.