Kick-off meeting - Innovation Lab Nepal

Our Innovation Lab in Nepal is underway!

The Innovation Lab is a transformative research approach that integrates sustainability research into multi-stakeholder processes aiming to bring about systemic change. It promotes the development, validation and up-scaling of innovative solutions to strengthen the livelihoods of rural and peri-urban populations. In the Nepalese context, our work focuses mainly on two types of innovations: decentralised renewable energy solutions and sustainable landscape management practices.

The ambitious transformative aims of the Innovation Lab require the establishment of collaborations on an equal footing between people and organisations with both solid expertise in the targeted fields and profound knowledge and experience of the local context. Therefore, for the Innovation Lab Nepal, WISIONS is partnering with four strong organisations:

The idea of applying the Innovation Lab approach in Nepal emerged through a series of consultations and group sessions between the WISIONS team and representatives of all these organisations.

The Innovation Lab concept builds on the Urban Living Lab approach developed by the Wuppertal Institute and combines it with the long-term experience of the WISIONS initiative in promoting bottom-up energy transitions in the Global South. The Urban Living Lab is organised according to five pillars (the five “I”s): “Inform”, “Inspire”, “Initiate”, “Implement” and “Impact”. This approach has been successfully applied by the Wuppertal Institute to trigger innovations for shaping sustainable cities; for instance, in projects such as SOLUTIONSplus and SESA.

Building on WISIONS’ experience, the Innovation Lab concept complements the already tested approach in three main ways:

  1. It focuses on the specific sustainability challenges and opportunities facing communities in rural areas.
  2. It explicitly addresses the nexus between sustainable energy access, landscape management and livelihoods.
  3. It emphasises the experimental nature of interventions that aim to bring about system transformations.

Together with our partners, we are already working on the initial activities within the framework of our Innovation Lab.

Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook as we continue our exciting project work. Stay tuned!

You might also be interested in

Training Teachers for Climate Action: Second Round Completed

A second round of climate change training brought together technical school teachers from Chubut, Neuquén, and Mendoza. The sessions covered climate impacts, social consequences, carbon footprints, and climate justice, equipping teachers to inspire climate-conscious youth.

Online Learning and Excursions Promote Biogas Solutions in Latin America

In collaboration with our local partner organizations, we successfully launched an online learning platform and organized excursions to three countries in Latin America.