Catalysing and Scaling Innovation In Tanzania

CATALYSING AND SCALING Innovation in Tanzania: A review of approaches • Voices from the ecosystem
case study
Amplify
Amplify was a six-year partnership between
IDEO 22
and the UK Department for International
Development (DFID) to identify and support
innovative solutions to pressing development
challenges. Amplify sought to create a new
model for identifying early-stage innovative
solutions
to emergent challenges, supporting the
development of these ideas from idea to proof
of concept using human-centred design (HCD),
and testing new, more iterative ways of working
to inform innovative programmes at DFID. This
model was an open challenge model where all
ideas were posted publicly on the OpenIDEO 23
online platform.
Amplify ran from 2013 to 2019 and supported 46
grantees – comprising small to large NGOs, and
social enteprises across 19 countries worldwide
– with funding and design support to bring
their innovative ideas to life. 1.8 million people
had been reached through Amplify-incubated
products and services by the programme’s
completion in 2019.
Amplify was set up to explore how HCD and a
more open grant-making mechanism could
drive progress on key development issues and
to attract ideas from a more diverse set of actors.
The programme did this by:
Holding an open online challenge. The
OpenIDEO platform was an online platform
that encouraged participation from new
actors and, in particular, supported local
organisations to apply. The platform was
designed to support innovators to connect
and collaborate online. Through this online
platform, users could access HCD tools to
help refine their ideas, even if they were not
selected as a grantee.
Introducing a user-centred design
approach. Through a four-day bootcamp,
grantees learned the basics of HCD, including
methods to conduct user research and rapid
prototyping. With the support of HCD experts,
each grantee created a three-month research
and prototyping plan to test their idea.
Rapid prototyping. Each grantee received
US$10,000 to conduct user research and
prototype elements of their solutions in quick,
low-cost ways. The only metric of success for
this phase was learning – allowing grantees
the freedom to try new things and prove (or
disprove) their assumptions.
Pilot funding. Grantees received between
US$50,000 and US$200,000 to run a
12-month pilot of their solution, informed
by learnings from research and prototyping.
Throughout the pilot, grantees were
encouraged to continuously iterate, creating
solutions that were desirable, feasible, and
viable.
Above
Conducting
design research
with Challenge 2
winner, Kidogo,
to understand
how to structure
support for
“Mamapreneurs”,
women with
small businesses
providing
childcare and
early childhood
development
(ECD) support in
Kenya.
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www.ideo.org
23
www.openideo.
com/amplify
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