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Innovation Fund
Support Great Minds
As IISD staff and associates work in sustainable development fields we often come across new concepts, new ideas, new approaches to sustainability and the future we need to change. But as always, a dozen other commitments distract us from what could be the next brilliant wave of research and possibilities. IISD is encouraging our researchers to think beyond our own borders and, in the words of our Chairman Dan Gagnier, "Think big or go home." IISD established the Innovation Fund to enable just that. The fund was designed to be a small operating grant to crystallize new ideas and allow for the exploratory research necessary to implement a pilot project.
Innovation Fund projects
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IISD's Howard Mann and Henry (Hank) Venema are working to incorporate sustainable development principles in the OECD's water project in developing countries to ensure these principles play a vital role with respect to water services in poverty alleviation, social equity, the human right to water, and the relationship between watershed function, ecosystem services and human well-being.
IISD will initiate dialogue to address social investment as an alternative to funding by the private sector only, and will present a report to the World Water Forum in Istanbul in March 2009.
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In 2006, IISD's Graham Ashford developed a workshop with North Korean officials in Beijing, China. Its objectives were to assist the DPR Korea government officials in their understanding of strategic planning for sustainable development at the national and sub-national levels; to help DPRK monitor and assess environmental pressures and to strengthen their environmental cooperation with China and Canada.
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It is estimated that public expenditure by state authorities, local governments and public institutions account for approximately 16 per cent of national GDPs. Mark Halle, IISD's Director of the Trade and Investment program based in Geneva, proposes to conduct a critical analysis of the laws, guidelines and policies that promote sustainable procurement and assess their usefulness. This project will be done with a long-time partner of IISD, the TERI Institute in India.
As our Institute grows so does our thinking. The fund requires investment in order to continue supporting the development of these IISD ideas and to feed the critical innovation pipeline.
The Campaign Goal For The Innovation Fund is $1 million