The Network

Find out more about what we stand for,
who is involved and what our members say about the network

Get to know us

The community of practice offers a dedicated space embracing the collaborative spirit of innovation within mission-driven organisations (such as INGOs and UN agencies). Involved in the network are (1) innovation leaders heading or steering an innovation team in their organisation and (2) staff working in those innovation teams.

These teams range in size and placement in their organisational structure, but they share a common mission to create innovation culture and capacity, infuse innovative methodologies into program design, pioneer new solutions through research and iteration and spearhead innovation funds and challenges. This network stands as a testament to the power of collaboration in propelling meaningful change and driving innovation's role in creating and scaling social and environmental impact.

Some of our members

August Ritter

Member of the Founding Steering Group of the IFI Network
Managing Director
The Nature Conservancy
Anne Merkle

Member of the Founding Steering Group of the IFI Network

Convenor & Chair of Steering Committee
Julie Michel

Member of the Founding Steering Group of the IFI Network
Director of Innovation
Amnesty International USA
Christian Graham

Member of the Founding Steering Group of the IFI Network
Experiments Team Co-Lead
Friends of the Earth
Anita Sundari Akella

Member of the Founding Steering Group of the IFI Network
Director, Impact at Scale
CARE USA
Claudia Ricaurte

Network Coordinator
Innovation for Impact Network
Ashleigh McGovern

VP, Innovation
Conservation International
Anne Partridge

Innovation Fund Lead
IRC - International Rescue Committee
Claudia Geluk

Fundraising & Innovation Officer
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency
Diana Ruano

Head of Private Fundraising, Innovation and Capacity Building
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency
Dr. Laté Lawson-Lartego

Chief Innovation Officer
Oxfam
Emma-Lee Knape

Head of Innovation Hub for Eastern Africa
UN World Food Programme
Florian Pomper

Head of Innovation
Caritas Vienna/Caritas Europa
Gift Ntuli

Innovation Specialist
UNDP - United Nations Development Programme
Jen Chin

Director of Innovation
The Nature Conservancy
Johanna Jochim

Manager
UN Innovation Network
Kevin Green

Vice President
Rare, Center for Behavior & the Environment
Maria Berenguer

Head of Youth & ICT4D
SOS Children's Villages International
Mariana Prieto

Director Conservation Design
CI - Conservation International
Mitchell Sava

Vice President of EduLab
National Geographic
Morten Högnesen

Head of Program Innovation and Business Engagement
DRC - Danish refugee council
Munir Ahmad

Global Innovaton Lead
Aga Khan Foundation
Peter Konijn

Head of Knowledge & Innovation
Wetlands International
Pierre Gallien

Director of Innovation, Impact & Information
Humanity & Inclusion
Prabhash Upadhyaya

Senior Programme Adviser Innovation
UNICEF UK
Rachel Busse

Insight Guide
Alight
Raquel Orellana

Director of Co-Creation
Alight
Rasha Toghlby

Innovation Advisor
ICRC - International Committee of the Red Cross
Ruth Blackshaw

Lead, Innovation Culture & Fellowship
UN Innovation Network
Samin Nower Kashmy

Head of Innovation
BRAC
Sandra Raad

Head of WFP Innovation Network
UN World Food Programme
Sarayu Agarwal

Global Innovation and Design Advisor
Aga Khan Foundation
Steve Dixon

Global MEAL Advisor
IMC - International Medical Corps
Subodh Kumar

Senior Vice President - Innovation, Data4Good and Theology
Food for the Hungry
Vanessa Ceia

Global Innovation Lead, Agile
Oxfam

Our Manifesto

We are:

Drivers of innovation representing some of the worlds largest INGOs & UN agencies
An inclusive community of innovation practitioners
Working in the social - humanitarian - conservation - space designing the future of NGOs.
An innovative force for social good
Fearless & disruptive

We believe:

The world is changing and we are running out of time
Today's challenges are complex and cross cutting requiring innovative solutions within the NGOs
Bureaucracy and fear of change stand in the way of real impact
Fear of failure and reputation loss paralyzes NGOs and prevents real innovation
Not-for-profits must evolve from legacy to futures thinking, from silos to systems thinking, from compliance to impact

Thus

NGOS are not fully leveraging their potential to solve the challenges of the world

But

Change is possible
NGOs have the potential for transformational impact and that deep know how resides within our collective group to unleash this potential

We will:

Inside our organisations:

Normalise experimentation, human centered design, futures thinking and other innovation practices
Change systems and beliefs from within, where success and mindful failure are equal
Disrupt the status quo by positioning innovation at the center of NGO work
Foster impactful innovation

As a community of practice: