United Nations Blockchain4Impact

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem.

A knowledge sharing series within the UN ecosystem on using blockchain to solve the Grand Challenges and creating tangible cross-sector partnerships

[GENERAL] Summarize your relevant experience.

Impact Hub Geneva is a lab for social innovation and entrepreneurship, with years of experience working with the UN. Geneva Innovation Movement is a cross-sector research and training platform, providing training in innovation and digital transformation for the UN and IOs. 

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

Why Geneva? 

Geneva is a very unique ecosystem hosting major UN agencies, international organizations (IOs), non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders engaged in driving the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), active in decision making and action when it comes to innovative technologies and their application across the globe. There is a critical mass of organisations working together to mobilise the capacity, skills, experience, ideas and motivation of Geneva-based actors towards realising the 2030 Agenda. However, knowledge on how blockchain can be used for this purpose is still limited among UN agencies and IOs.

Summary: A knowledge sharing series on the use of blockchain for impact directed at the UN and other International Organizations in Geneva to present and discuss possible uses of blockchain for impact.  

Blockchain and crypto are buzzwords that are often seen as risky and controversial within more traditional organizations such as certain UN agencies and international organizations. In this knowledge sharing series, we aim to demystify both the technology and its application through ecosystem experts and interaction with existing use cases. The tangible goals and outcomes would include 1) creating a network of blockchain and technology experts to share best practices and build a community; 2) bringing actors together across sectors to develop tangible blockchain solutions to the world's most pressing problems; 3) understanding how we can use blockchain inside large globally distributed organizations as a way to improve processes as well as bring in new sources of funding for innovation. 

The knowledge sharing series will be composed of 3 sessions following different formats: 

• Launch event: Blockchain for Solving the Grand Challenges

Launch of the knowledge sharing series in the form of an interactive panel discussion on the different applications of blockchain for impact presenting relevant examples from different use cases and UN organizations that are already applying blockchain. This event will be introducing what is blockchain, how it works, and what are its current main applications.

Contributors include: representatives from different chains, UN/IOs e.g. UNICEF, United Nations Environmental Program, United Nations Development Program, ITU, identified startups/initiatives in the sector.    

• Workshop 1: Blockchain and supply chains through the case of food systems

Interactive workshop on the challenges and best practices of blockchain for the management of supply chains on the example of food production systems. The food industry is responsible for 60% biodiversity loss and 30% of GhG emissions; the transparency provided by blockchain used for the tracking of supply chains could enhance sustainable production and consumption behaviors. Exploring partnership opportunities. 

Contributors include: representatives from different chains, UN Organizations e.g. Food and Agricultural Organization, World Food Programme (case of Fishcoin and Building Blocks), UNCTAD, identified Swiss startups/initiatives in the sector (e.g. xFarm traceability tool), Private sector start-up such as Sucafina’s Farmer Connect Initiative.    

• Workshop 2: Blockchain for inclusive finance and fundraising for social innovation 

Interactive workshop on the use of blockchains for innovative financing, such as the case of UNICEF’s crypto fund, and the use of NFTs for fundraising. How can we use blockchain to allow greater resilience and value creation? 

Contributors include: representatives from different chains, UNICEF and other UN entities, impact investors using blockchain, identified private sector startups/initiatives. 

Research and dissemination

The Geneva Innovation Movement and the University of Geneva will act as content providers conducting pre-event research on each topic and data collection through the event series including a survey about the participants’ interest in blockchain for impact and level of knowledge on the subject and interviews with a few experts and participants to inform the organization of future sessions more targeted to the UN and IOs’ needs.  

[IMPACT] Please describe how your proposed solution will address the Challenge that you have submitted it in.

The series will address the common challenges for all blockchain communities of lack of awareness and understanding. Connecting international stakeholders to different chains and introducing them to the blockchain community as a whole will increase interest in blockchain for impact while informing actors, mainly United Nations and International Organizations, - also involved in policy-making - about blockchain. The events and trainings will be done in a highly interactive format to ensure networking and connections among participants, supporting the creation of partnerships between international stakeholders, chains, and/or blockchain startups. 

To not limit the benefits of the series to the one-time participants, at the end of the knowledge sharing series a synthesis of findings will be issued to all attendees as well as to the Geneva Innovation Movement and Impact Hub Geneva’s networks. This initial series will support us in understanding where IOs are mostly lacking knowledge and requiring guidance in the use of blockchain for impact informing potential future more targeted activities. 

[IMPACT] What are the main risks that could prevent you from delivering the project successfully and please explain how you will mitigate each risk?

A challenge in the organization of events is ensuring a satisfactory level of participation. Especially when it comes to the UN and IOs, employees often have limited resources to dedicate to training. However, from our past experience and the number of emerging initiatives and articles on blockchain by IOs and NGOs we see a growing interest in the subject. Also, we aim at overcoming this challenge, firstly, through leveraging our own strategic networks for top-level speakers and experts to attract participants, and secondly, with proper planning and marketing of the event series ahead of time.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed plan, including timeline and key milestones for delivering your proposal.

Project Roadmap: 

August- October 2022

• Pre-event research on the topics
• Finalization of event’s dates, venues, and identification of speakers and/or guests. These activities will begin at the end of August 2022 for the first event and take place throughout the project for the following events in a timely manner. 
• Creation of the survey to be submitted at the moment of registration
• Planning and preparation for interviews

October 2022 

• Launch event: Blockchain for Impact 

December 2022 

• Workshop 1: Blockchain and supply chains through the case of food systems

February 2023 

• Workshop 2: Blockchain for inclusive finance and fundraising for social innovation

February - March 2023:

• Closing of the survey 
• Analysis of survey results and interviews 
• Sharing of synthesis of findings within United Nations innovation networks

Main Deliverables and Outputs: 

• Organization of three sessions throughout seven months; 
• 20-30 participants at each session from UN and IOs, chain networks, and blockchain startups;
• A minimum of 60 survey respondents; 
• A minimum of 5 interviews with experts or participants;
• Sharing a synthesis of findings reaching at least 100 people. 

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown.

$10,500 Marketing and communication

Promotional materials incl. Graphic design, marketing, website, social media outreach, invitation campaigns, photography, dissemination of research and more.

$24,150 Research and academic expertise

Research, data collection, interviews, content development, synthesis of findings, training content development incl, expert speaker and UN user cases identification. 

$29,250 Training coordination and logistics

Events coordination and logistics, incl. speaker and participant coordination, venue, hosting, event facilitation, catering, setup, materials, all event logistics 

$6,100 Expert facilitation and moderation

Incl. speaker fees and travels

Total 70,000 $

*All costs have been decided on the basis of average fees, wages, and costs in Geneva, Switzerland

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide details of the people who will work on the project.

• Dr. Katherine Tatarinov

Dr. Katherine Tatarinov is Managing Director of the Geneva Innovation Movement Association, a cross-sector network that pools the expertise of its members to co-create knowledge and support organizations in their innovation journey. She is also Postdoctoral Scholar and Research Director of the Center for Innovation & Partnerships at the Geneva School for Economics and Management at the University of Geneva. Her research focuses on social innovation, digital transformation and managing the grand challenges. Katherine lectures at Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL).

• Santu Alexandra Boëthius 

Santu Boethius is the co-founder of Impact Hub Geneva and Impact Hub Lausanne, part of the leading community of social innovation and entrepreneurship in Switzerland and across the world. She initiated the global program Accelerate2030 in 2016 with her team and partners, and is driving the strategic development of the program. She has spoken at various fora such as the UN General Assembly, and the World Investment Forum and holds an MSc in political science from the London School of Economics.

• Iris Dieleman

Iris is a Operations & Projects Lead at Geneva Innovation Movement. Career Project Manager with extensive experience in managing Operations teams in the Financial Industry. Skilled at putting plans into action.

• Silvia Ecclesia

Silvia, originally from Italy, has recently finished her Master in International Affairs at the Geneva Graduate Institute with a focus on the ethics and social implications of digitalisation. She completed an internship in project management at ITU paired with experience as project manager of the Graduate Press, and organizer of TEDxIHEID. Since joining Impact Hub in March 2022, she supported the organization in conducting research and interviews for writing a feasibility study on social innovation to be published for dissemination.  

[FEASIBILITY] If you are funded, will you return to Catalyst in a later round for further funding? Please explain why / why not.

In the case of funding we will return to Catalyst in a later round for further funding to develop the project based on the insights from this first iteration e.g. with more in-depth, longer, or an higher number of sessions.

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or any member of your team working on any other proposals in this Fund9?

[FEASIBILITY] Are you or your team working on any other proposals from previous Funds?

[AUDITABILITY] Please describe what you will measure to track your project's progress, and how will you measure these?

The progress and development of the project will be measured by: 

• Three events organized over seven months 
• # of people reached through communication outreach
• # of expert from different chains represented
• # of participants to each knowledge sharing event 
• One synthesis of findings shared after the event series reaching # people 
• # of interviews 
• Level of satisfaction and skills gained expressed by participants in follow up survey

[AUDITABILITY] What does success for this project look like?

A successful project will include the organization of three sessions with the highest possible level of participation and level of interest in the following synthesis of findings. In an ideal scenario, this series will spark further connections and collaboration between the UN, IOs and chains, private sector and startups. Insights from the survey and interviews about UN and IOs interest in blockchain, will inform the potential to continue the project with more targeted sessions or longer, more in-depth training programs given additional funding.

[AUDITABILITY] Please provide information on whether this proposal is a continuation of a previously funded project in Catalyst or an entirely new one.

It is an entirely new proposal

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Rating

Through the engagement of a diversified range of United Nations entities and International Organizations we will indirectly address all SDGs sharing knowledge on the use of blockchain for each of them. 

SDG Goals

1 - End poverty in all its forms everywhere

2 - End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

5 - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

6 - Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

7 - Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

8 - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

9 - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

10 - Reduce inequality within and among countries

11 - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

12 - Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

13 - Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

14 - Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

15 - Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

16 - Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

17 - Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development