The Frontiers of Inclusive Innovation Policy Forum was organized by ESCAP in collaboration with Digital Pathways at Oxford, the Inclusive Business Action Network (iBAN), the Honey Bee Network, and the Gujarat Grassroots Innovations Augmentation Network (GIAN). It gathered policymakers, experts and practitioners in digital transformation, inclusive innovation, and governance to explore best practices, remaining challenges, and further opportunities to promote inclusive technology and innovation policies.

This document provides an overview of the Frontiers of Inclusive Innovation Policy Forum. It contains an account of the forum with highlights from the policy exchanges, examples of good practices, key opportunity areas identified, and a collection of requests for support to promote inclusive innovation in policymaking. 
 

About the Forum

The forum’s purpose was to share and explore possible technology and innovation policies that champion inclusion and offer pathways that benefit society, the environment, and the bottom of the economic pyramid. The forum explored technology and innovation policies that have more inclusive outcomes through a series of policy discussions. The discussions focused on good practices and lessons learned in promoting inclusive technology and innovation policies, as well as opportunities to expand the frontiers of inclusive innovation.

Moreover, ESCAP’s new report on Frontiers of Inclusive Innovation: Formulating technology and innovation policies that leave no one behind was also launched during the forum. This report explores how inclusivity was addressed in several innovation policies: national science, technology, and innovation (STI) policies; digital economy strategies; initiatives supporting grassroots innovations; and policies promoting inclusive business. The analysis provided in the report was based on the experience of ESCAP and on the insights of stakeholders engaged in these policy formulation processes.

Watch the highlights of the forum below: