Giving Compass' Take:

• UNLEASH is a sustainable development goals innovation lab that hosts young leaders who split up into teams and tackle the world's development issues and then present their solutions to a team of experts. 

• How will innovation in development affect other industries? What lessons can we learn from the tech world about innovation that can be applied to global aid?

• Learn about the need for innovation across all sectors due to things like climate change, technological changes, employment opportunities and workforce shifts-- which all contribute to the changing economy. 

It’s day two of the annual Sustainable Development Goals innovation lab UNLEASH, and the six innovators from across the globe making up team “Shanka” seem confident with the progress they’ve made on how to boost social and emotional learning for children. But by early next morning, the bravado has seeped out and tired eyes look up from a table littered with hastily scribbled ideas. Just days away from pitching their final idea to a panel of experts, they have more questions than answers.

The carefully selected millennial thought leaders gathered in classrooms and halls at various university campuses across Singapore, aiming to address some of the biggest global problems. In just five days, 170 teams of former strangers worked to define their own unique problem related to the SDGs — and come up with a viable solution.

Working under a time crunch and governed by a precise methodology, participants in self-directed groups presented their progress to facilitators to pass through “gates” to the next stage of innovation. It’s a unique model, not only because it brings young talents together from around the world, but also because the ultimate goal is not necessarily the ideas or products pitched on the final day of the event.

The innovation process is broken up into five stages, managed by facilitators from partners such as Dalberg, Deloitte, the United Nations Development Programme and expert consultants in this year’s eight focus areas: Zero hunger, education, health, water, energy, cities and communities, responsible supply chains, and climate action. A thick deck of activity cards prompts participants through problem framing, ideation, prototyping, testing, and implementing.

Read the full article about SDG innovation by Kelli Rogers at Devex International Development