WHO WE ARE?
About the I-Lab
Since 2007 the Innovation Lab (I-Lab)* of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) promotes social innovation as a tool to improve equality in Latin America and the Caribbean. We believe that the solutions to the most important social challenges do not have to occuraccidentally and because favorable conditions align but can be the result of purposeful design. For this to happen, we use the social innovation approach to intentionally create bridges between worlds of problems and worlds of solutions.
Through the I-Lab we have developed a methodology where citizens define and prioritize their problems and are connected with actors that have the capacity, interest and resources to address them: governments, companies, universities and NGOs at regional and international level. We know that citizens possess unique knowledge about their problems, which is why we believe they have to move from the periphery to the center of the innovation process aiming to find solutions to their most pressing needs.
We operate at the crossroads of multiple sectors and promote joint efforts of various actors to identify (often invisible)problems, prioritize them, generate solutions and implement, evaluate and scale them.
Get to know more examples of how and with whom we work
*The I-Lab is an initiative promoted by the Competitiveness and Innovation Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which supports the strengthening of the science, technology and innovation systems in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Mission and Principles
Our mission is to promote the generation, implementation and dissemination of innovations with high social impact through a multidisciplinary and participative process.
Our principles are:
INCLUDE:There must be an existing social demand and social need by the communities and their participation in the process of generating a solution to this need must be assured
CONNECT:We promote the participation of actors from all sectors and disciplines in order to connect an existing problem with knowledge that can develop an innovative solution to it
ARTICULATE: We promote the use of technologies and other collaborative methodologies that facilitate the articulation of the offer and demand of problems and solutions and that democratize the innovation process
Our Team
The I-Lab is coordinated by the Competitiveness and Innovation Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The team is composed of professionals with different backgrounds and expertise from inside and outside the Bank.
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