MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Accelerating Innovation Through a Network of Ecosystems

A United Nations agency with a sweeping mission and sprawling global presence may not appear to be the most likely place where companies can learn new techniques for accelerating innovation — but appearances can be deceiving. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), an organization of 17,000 employees spanning 170 countries, focuses on solving the world’s most complex problems — ending poverty, ensuring healthy lives and well-being, providing affordable and clean energy, reducing inequalities, and more — through local, regional, and global initiatives and an annual budget of $5 billion. In our exploratory research, we have found that this organization is making exceptionally progressive innovation moves both at its headquarters and in the field by building and sustaining one of the world’s largest networks of accelerator labs — 60 of them, serving 78 countries.

That’s why the agency provides such an instructive example for businesses. Usually, managers think about building an ecosystem for innovation, and most research-based advice focuses on challenges and opportunities that arise in that setting.[4] But UNDP has gone much further, creating a large network of ecosystems that revolve around its labs, and building connections with local partners while also helping the labs coordinate with one another. In short, it’s solving the acceleration problem with a portfolio mindset, employing the power of the collective, and it’s doing so at an unprecedented scale.

About the Author

Elizabeth J. Altman (@lizaltman) is an assistant professor of management at the Manning School of Business at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Frank Nagle (@frank_nagle) is an assistant professor of business administration in the Strategy unit at Harvard Business School in Boston.

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