Foresight & Innovation for #NextGenGov Champions
Citra Social Innovation Lab Leads Training on Essential Tools for Public Sector Excellence
Colombo, 16 July 2019: Similar to other countries in the region, Sri Lanka has experienced rising urbanization, technological innovation, deepening inequality, vulnerability to disasters and dramatic environmental risks. A new generation of government leaders is imperative in ensuring Sri Lanka can effectively respond to the challenges of our time.
The ‘Foresight & Innovation for #NextGenGov Champions’ programme responds to this need by equipping a new generation of public sector officials with the tools necessary to implement creative solutions to complex challenges in our country. Following the success of the pilot programme conducted in 2018, two capacity-building workshops for two more cohorts were launched this week with participants from over 35 public institutions in Sri Lanka along with international participants from Maldives, Bhutan, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Turkey, Gambia and Tanzania.
The programme is co-developed as a joint initiative between Citra Social Innovation Lab, the Presidential Secretariat, the Ministry of Public Administration, and the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA).
Speaking on the added value of the programme Minister of Public Administration and Disaster Management, Hon. Ranjith Madduma Bandara stated that “A strong and efficient public service is a crucial segment of the enforcement of policies for an effective nation. The Ministry of Public Administration and Disaster Management is pleased to have worked with Citra Social Innovation Lab and the Presidential Secretariat and SLIDA to codevelop a comprehensive programme on ‘Foresight and Innovation for Public Sector Excellence’, being conducted for the second time, having had a very successful pilot run. Building on the conversations around improving the efficiency of the public sector, this workshop will equip the selected officials with the tools required to approach challenges in an innovative way. We look forward to continuing our engagement with Citra to further strengthen the public sector of Sri Lanka.”
As Sri Lanka’s first social innovation lab, Citra is a proven leader in using foresight and innovation tools in prototyping and testing development solutions to ensure they are agile and holistic. As a joint initiative between the Ministry of Science, Technology & Research, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Citra facilitates creating an environment that is conducive to looking at problems from different perspectives, building capacities, and strengthening institutions.
Speaking on the programme, Minister of Science, Technology and Research, Hon. Sujeewa Senasinghe stated “Public sector officials are the backbone of any government and have a crucial role to play in ensuring countries achieve the targets they set for themselves. This year we’re happy to welcome over 55 public sector officials from Sri Lanka along with their counterparts from several other countries for the #NextGenGov programme. The 2019 cohort of this workshop is a testament to the global significance of these tools for public sector excellence.”
The 5-day residential workshops require participants to implement these tools in their offices and departments within a 3-month mentorship period and report back on their experiences. The continued engagement of the ‘#NextGenGov Champions’ will contribute towards a sustained, long-term integration of foresight and innovation for public sector excellence in Sri Lanka.
Citra partners with the Mount Lavinia Municipal Council to support Dengue Prevention and Control
Colombo, 7 September 2018 – Citra, Sri Lanka’s first Social Innovation Lab, recently entered into a partnership with the Mount Lavinia Municipal Council to develop a citizen-centered open source platform for dengue prevention and control.
Citra, a joint initiative between the Ministry of Science, Technology, Research, Skills Development, Vocational Training and Kandyan Heritage, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka, uses foresight and innovation tools to prototype and test development solutions to ensure they are agile and holistic. Its work is aligned to the national development priorities and works towards bringing in greater citizen engagement to the formulation of development solutions.
One such initiative is developing an open source platform aimed at preventing and controlling the spread of dengue, with technical expertise from the Department of Town and Country Planning, University of Moratuwa. The platform, once developed, will improve local government’s efficiency in identifying, managing and monitoring dengue. It will also have a citizen engagement feature and will allow communities to identify and notify relevant local government authorities of the prevalence and locations of potential mosquito breeding grounds for necessary action. The users can send the exact location along with a picture of the potential breeding ground, following which the application will automatically add the location to a website for local health officials to review.
The system provides a user-friendly, interactive web interface to process and analyze the data near real-time. This will help decisionmakers to predict and/or visualize potential risk-prone areas.
Speaking about this collaboration, the Municipal Commissioner of Dehiwala – Mount Lavinia, Mr. Dhammika Muthugala, stated “with the high prevalence of dengue in our communities, and especially with over 40% of the cases being reported from the Western Province, we need to find innovative initiatives if we are to effectively control and prevent dengue in the future. We believe engaging citizens to assist us in this regard is the most efficient way to curb the spread of dengue.”
A pilot of this application will be tested initially within the Ratmalana Ministry of Health division under the guidance and leadership of Dr Indika Ellawala, the Chief Medical Officer of the area.
This project is a part of City-i-LEAPS, an initiative implemented in partnership with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and UNDP’s Bangkok Regional Hub, which aims at collaborating with municipalities in countries around the region to develop and assist the implementation of innovative development solutions.
Speaking on the importance of this partnership, Mr Fadhil Bakeer Markar, Partnerships Analyst at the United Nations Development Programme, andLab Lead a.i. of Citra Social Innovation Lab, stated, “it is imperative that we collaborate with multiple partners if we are to overcome the issues facing our country, and as such, we are pleased to be partnering with the Mount Lavinia Municipal Council, along with our other partners, the University of Moratuwa and the Seoul Metropolitan Government through its City-i-LEAPS project”.