About Nesta

Nesta is an innovation foundation. For us, innovation means turning bold ideas into reality and changing lives for the better. We use our expertise, skills and funding in areas where there are big challenges facing society.

Innovation for International Development

Experiences, insights and practical advice from more than 20 leading practitioners in innovation for international development, brought together in one collection.

Experiences, insights and practical advice from more than 20 leading practitioners in innovation for international development, brought together in one collection.

Innovation in International Development is organised around four interconnected themes:

  1. How to fund innovation
  2. How to organise for innovation
  3. How to harness new partnerships and collaborations
  4. How to scale innovations and change systems

Drawing on the persomal experiences of leaders within multilateral organisations, bilateral donors, NGOs, companies and foundations, this collection offers a helpful introduction for those new to innovation in development, as well as insights and advice for experienced practitioners. 

The coverage is vast: whether you are looking for tips on how to set up an innovation team or design a new organisational strategy; whether you are curious about how to incentivise innovation and make markets work for aid, or rather want to ensure that your new partnership is more likely to succeed; or even if you are a funder struggling to work out how to select the best ideas, or to balance the need for evidence on what works with the need for urgent action, we hope you will find powerful and personal insights to help guide your next steps.

The collection is edited by Ben Ramalingam of the Institute for Development Studies and Kirsten Bound of Nesta and includes contributions from:

  • Dave Ferguson (Centre for Development Innovation, USAID)

  • Steven Buchsbaum (The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation)

  • Chris Fabian (UNICEF)
 and Mariana Amatullo (DesignMatters at the ArtCentre
  • Dennis Whittle and Britt Lake (GlobalGiving)

  • Per Heggenes (IKEA Foundation) and Johan Karlsson (Better Shelter)

  • Toby Eccles (Social Finance)

  • Sarah Dunn (Children’s Investment Fund Foundation)

  • Aleem Walji (World Bank and Aga Khan Foundation)

  • Jonathan Wong (DFID and UN)

  • Ravi Gurumurthy and Jeannie Annan (International Rescue Committee)

  • Lauren Franzel and Alan Brooks (Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance)

  • Paul Harvey (High Level Panel on Humanitarian Cash Transfers)

  • David Veldeman, Marpe Tanaka, Andreas Larsson, Ana Laura Rodrigues Santos (Médecins Sans Frontières Sweden Innovation Unit)

  • Ken Banks (Kiwanja) & Ben Ramalingam (Institute of Development Studies)

  • Kim Scriven and Menka Sanghvi (Elhra’s Humanitarian Innovation Fund)

  • Geoff Mulgan (Nesta)


Authors

Kirsten Bound

Kirsten Bound

Kirsten Bound

Executive Director of Research, Analysis and Policy

Kirsten was an Executive Director at Nesta and led Nesta’s Research, Analysis and Policy team.

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Ben Ramalingam

Ben Ramalingam is a researcher, advisor and author specialising in international development and humanitarian issues. Ben's recent book, 'Aid on the Edge of Chaos', explores how comple…