The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will formally launch its innovation hub in early 2015, Devex has learned.
The hub is a pillar of Australia’s new foreign aid paradigm announced in June by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. With 140 million Australian dollars ($122.2 million) in total funding, it is designed to pilot breakthrough global development solutions.
DFAT officials are now discussing how it can help foster a culture of innovation within the organization, Mark Taylor, DFAT regional sector specialist for rural and private sector development in Southeast Asia, noted Friday at the Asia-Pacific Regional Innovation Summit organized by the United Nations Development Program in Bangkok.
Those conversations, he explained, point to the need for senior management to take a leading role and to recognize and reward those who are innovating and taking risks that come with the process.
“[We have to make] sure those that our ears and feet on the ground and closest toward where solutions and partnerships have often been made actually implement and carry [the change] out,” Taylor added.
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