GIZ Innovation Fund
The objective: increased effectiveness through innovation
Developing, implementing and rolling out innovative ideas for products, services and business models – that’s the objective of the GIZ Innovation Fund. Our aim with the company-wide ideas competition is to enhance our services and improve the impact of our projects, for example by using innovative digital applications.
GIZ issued its first annual call for ideas to everyone in the company around the world in 2017. The goal is to find innovative ideas for engaging with current topics. The topic for 2018/19 is: ‘How can digital data enhance GIZ’s service delivery and increase the impact of our projects?’
The method: creating a minimal viable product (MVP) in an accelerator programme
The global GIZ community and a jury select the six ideas with the greatest potential from all those submitted. The selected teams, made up of GIZ intrapreneurs and external partners such as start-ups and NGOs, turn their ideas into a tangible product or service in an accelerator programme. They receive financial support for this process and draw on user-centric methods such as design thinking.
The awards: prizes for the best products
After spending half a year on the development process, the six teams present their MVPs to the jury and GIZ’s Management Board, as well as to interested staff and external guests, at a final pitch event. Two winning teams are selected. They receive further methodological support and a budget to implement and roll out their innovative products or services within or outside GIZ.
The outcome: ideas generate results – an example
Of the 250 ideas that were submitted in the 2017 call for ideas (the topic was: ‘How can we use digital tools to increase the effectiveness of our projects and programmes?’), TheIntegrityApp emerged as one of the six finalists. TheIntegrityApp supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the public sector in the fight against corruption and the lack of transparency. A self-assessment function helps users identify internal weaknesses and areas in which transparency needs to be improved, while digital learning resources assist them in setting up their own compliance structures. The app was presented for the first time in November 2017 in Brazil and is now being used in four languages by around 1,000 companies across Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Want to know more?
You can download information on other successful ideas from the GIZ Innovation Fund (see below). A dynamic insight into the GIZ Innovation Fund is available on YouTube, and we regularly publish the latest news on LinkedIn.