Investing in Social Innovation and Technology in Tanzania

Investing in Social Innovation and Technology in Tanzania • CUSTOMISING APPROACHES TO ENABLE INNOVATIONS
Eliguard Dawson,
Country Director, DOT
Tanzania with Joseph
Manirakiza, Deputy
Team Leader, HDIF.
HDIF
PMs and TAs have found several instances in which
management and leadership skills needed seasoned
guidance and perspective in effectively motivating
and coaching the teams involved in all aspects of
their model. Moreover, a relationship management
approach provides flexibility in grant timeline to
allow for the right adaptations to be made well
rather than contributing to the stress of compliance
to the business plan.
2.2 Recommendation
Invest IN and encourage
collaborative partnerships
Cross-sector collaborative partnerships can bring
together diverse expertise across disciplines to
meet a common goal. Identifying and engaging
the right partners is critical to achieving long-term
sustainable change.
HDIF has found that all of its most successful
innovations are driven by purposeful partnerships
that leverage core competencies and advantages
of the partners. Due in part to the early stage of
the innovation ecosystem in Tanzania, innovations
need a cluster of institutions and leaders to have
the capacity, patience, and resources to navigate
the route to scale.
The best performing HDIF grantees have clearly
defined partnerships governed by agreements or
other formal arrangements with roles that align
with each partners’ strengths. In contrast, many of
the grantees who worked alone, with no partners,
were not successful, closed early, or experienced
significant challenges in scaling their model.
2.2.1 Design flexible mechanisms that
support programme adaptation
The ability for a complex programme like HDIF to
adapt is based on in-depth learning and insights
combined with donor and implementing partner
willingness, support, and investment to make
changes that are sometimes significant. Flexibility is
also built into HDIF’s log frame, a living document
that is reviewed openly and critically on an annual
basis but without too much rigidity in the review
cycle. This has empowered HDIF to implement any
required changes quickly. The targets in the logframe
Sustainability
can be social,
economic, or
environmental.
Sustainability
is the ability to
continue a defined
behaviour or
activity indefinitely.
In a development
context,
sustainability
usually means
the ability of an
organisation to
sustain its activities
independently by
reliably generating
the necessary cash
flow.
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