The UN Development Programme (UNDP) launched the Accelerator Labs in Cambodia at The Factory Phnom Penh on Monday. Hean Ransey
In a bid to find solutions to the world’s biggest challenges, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) on Monday launched the Accelerator Labs in Cambodia.
The initiative was launched at The Factory Phnom Penh in a ceremony attended by more than 200 people from the public, private, and non-profit sectors.
UNDP Accelerator Labs aims to solve some of the biggest challenges facing the world today by introducing a new way of working in development.
With 60 teams across the globe, the aim is to create the largest and fastest global learning network on development challenges, the UNDP said in a press release.
Accelerator Labs re-imagines the current development approach by combining grassroots innovation with new sources of real-time data and experimentation to explore solutions to problems such as poverty, unemployment, and climate change.
“The UNDP is finding new partners and investments to expand its programme and to test and expand the scope of solutions that can help all of us to achieve the sustainable development goal [SDGs],”the UNDP said in a statement.
UNDP representative in Cambodia Nick Beresford urged Cambodians to work hard, innovate and take risks to help the Kingdom achieve the SDGs by 2030.
He said the Accelerator Labs in Cambodia and 59 other countries represent a new approach to finding solutions to challenges in the development sector.
Beresford told The Post that the UNDP Accelerator Labs in Cambodia will run on a budget of $700,000 for the next two to three years.
“We all want to see a transformation. We want to see that services to the Royal Government and the people of Cambodia are delivered faster and more efficiently.
“This can only be done by experimenting and taking on more risks and trying new things. I think the UN has a responsibility to make these connections and to support the government to make these services work,” he said.
Ministry of Civil Service secretary of state Youk Bunna said the government is working to improve public services through technology and innovation.
“I think we can achieve our vision of becoming a high-income country by 2050. To this end, we are asking all ministries and institutions to adopt advanced technology in their operations to improve the services to the public,” he said.
