“We cannot effectively address problems as they are if institutions don’t reflect the world as it is. Instead of solving problems, they risk becoming part of the problem.” – António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General
A new architecture for public institutions
Institutions for a world in flux
Institutions are having a moment of reckoning.
The world is at a critical moment. Convergence of crises – political, ecological, social and economic – place great pressure on governments and societies. Existing institutions, largely designed when the world was a very different place, are struggling to provide adequate responses. This is particularly true of new pressures of insecurity – from disruption to supply chains and securitization of societies, threats of new pandemics, war and conflict, misinformation and cybersecurity – to name a few. The 2023/24 Human Development Report calls for a rethinking of institutions to make them more people-centred, inclusive and future-oriented.
It follows that new risks, and a changing nature of old ones (where policy issues are more interconnected, compounding one another in ways that are difficult to predict and that straddle sectors and disciplines), will often require new institutions too – and that a period of profound transitions is bound to need institutions suited to navigating new challenges. Without renewing the current stock of institutions capable of harnessing collective intelligence, driving seamless collaboration across different constituents and enabling greater agility in face of constant changes, the world runs a risk of retreat into more siloed self protection and growing inequality.
UNDP’s Istanbul Innovation Days 2025 is a platform that spotlights the real-world signals and efforts to evolve new institutional forms to better handle problems that today vex societies globally. Governments around the world are creating new institutions to handle transversal issues that cut across mainstream sectors – from time use policies (Buenos Aires, Barcelona) and mission-oriented ministries pursuing low carbon transitions to well-being economies and departments of loneliness and care. Policy innovations are also increasingly integrating non-human intelligence and multi-species collaboration — using nature-based insights for managing resources, detecting early disaster signals and rethinking justice systems.
At IID, we showcase these emerging models, demonstrating that institutional innovation is not just possible — it is already under way. We are committed to serving as a global platform for institutional innovation with a mission to help countries design and evolve new forms that are not only resilient but can thrive in fast changing contexts.
We believe that building on signals of change from the field that IID will surface and combining them with distributed efforts that we too at UNDP have invested in can accelerate this transformation and design of the next generation of institutions.
The power of shared intelligence
Governments today are compelled to orchestrate intelligence to tackle fast moving policy issues- from education to health, from rethinking food systems to addressing systemic inequality. In this ‘new normal’ intelligence is not something processed ‘behind closed doors’ but shared for the pursuit of collective public goods. Despite unprecedented access to data, expertise, and citizen insights, many struggle to turn knowledge into action. The future of governance lies in integrating diverse intelligence — from AI to lived experiences — to drive smarter, more adaptive decision-making.
Smarter together
The UNDP Accelerator Labs report Collective Intelligence for Sustainable Development: Getting Smarter Together sets out how governments and other organizations involved in development are mobilizing shared intelligence to speed up progress on the SDGs. Case studies document practical methods and practices, capturing patterns in their application and impact.
Getting Smarter Together
Horizon scanning
To remain relevant and fit for their purpose, organizations must be agile — continually learning and adapting to changes in their operating environments. UNDP’s Signals Spotlight highlights some emerging factors and trends that may be significant to our work in the next 3 to 10 years. The 2024 Spotlight incorporates insights from a network of more than 300 UNDP horizon scanners to reveal the infinite variety of possible futures ahead. It allows for design of speculative futures like Blue Marble that can expand the realm of possibilities for decision makers to engage with complex issues of today.
Signals Spotlight 2024
Breaking silos: The mesh approach
The next generation of public institutions must break silos and build connective tissue — linking government, civil society and the private sector to tackle cross-cutting challenges like care, time, heat and air pollution. Traditional structures are too rigid for complex problem-solving. Instead, mesh approaches — where resources, expertise and decision-making span sectors and governance levels—enable whole-of-government, whole-of-society solutions that drive systemic change.
Getting institutions unstuck
Development institutions can get stuck in traditional methods and practices not suited to address the compound challenges we face today. UNDP’s Strategic Innovation Unit is shaking up the status quo. See how our system and portfolio approach helps decision makers get unstuck when navigating complexity – from financing real change to making tourism sustainable and reimagining the future of work.
Unstuck Systems
Digital native institutions
Digital technologies open the door to more just and inclusive institutions. Digital public infrastructure (DPI) provides a foundation for transforming governance, streamlining services and fostering trust. Examples like Aadhaar and UIDAI show how DPI can reduce inefficiencies and expand access, but its true value lies in setting shared standards that enable systemic innovation. By creating secure, interoperable platforms, DPI empowers governments and citizens to co-design more transparent, resilient and equitable public systems.
DPI for everyone
UNDP, as the leading development agency within the United Nations, is well-placed to support this transformation. With a presence in 170 countries and a global network of 22,000 experts, we work with governments, businesses and civil society to implement DPI that is safe, inclusive and effective. Our focus is on ensuring that expertise and resources reach where they are needed most, so that DPI serves everyone.
Digital public infrastructure
Deep listening
Institutions must evolve from rigid structures into adaptive, participatory ecosystems —empowering citizens as co-creators of decisions and services. In an era of deep uncertainty, those that fail to listen, learn and adapt will struggle to remain relevant. Tapping into grassroots insights and lived experiences is no longer optional; it is essential for designing solutions that are responsive, trusted and impactful. By embracing open, networked governance, institutions can move beyond top-down decision-making to create more inclusive, dynamic and resilient societies — where people are not just beneficiaries, but active architects of their own future.
Guide to community engagement
UNDP has developed a toolkit for engaging residents in urban transformation. This guide helps cities tackle complex challenges by involving communities in decision-making. It offers practical tools for listening, mapping ecosystems, and collaborating with diverse groups to co-create urban solutions. With step-by-step instructions, it supports municipalities in making community engagement a core part of their work.
Co-creating Urban Transformation
We shape our public institutions, and they in turn shape us
The 2024 Nobel Prize for Economics was awarded to three scholars whose work highlights the crucial role of institutions in shaping our world. Looking at the world today, we might see a lengthy list of challenges, but also we can see what scholar Yuen Yuen Ang calls ‘polytunity’ – a multitude of opportunities in face of polycrisis. How to take advantage of this politunity depends largely on the institutions we create. The good news is that, as IID showcases, solutions are already beginning to emerge.
At UNDP we want to help countries design, test and scale institutions that are not only resilient but visionary – fit for today’s complexities and tomorrow’s challenges. This is a time to put in place the next generation of public institutions that can help societies navigate the many pressures we now face – and illuminate pathways to a more secure and prosperous future.
“Institutions must be redesigned to connect rather than divide, breaking free from outdated structures to embrace new forms of governance, participation and collective intelligence. UNDP is dedicated to working alongside global partners to shape the next generation of institutions, ready to effectively respond to complexities.” – Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator
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