DFAT innovation hub to open for business soon

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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