13 Fellows from 10 different African countries in 8 institutions of the African Union to build a culture of digital innovation: the AU Digital and Innovation Fellowship is the first supranational initiative to make administrative processes in the African Union more user-centred and effective. The challenge: 12 months to integrate innovation into the African Unions processes and products. The results: 11 products in diverse AU institutions and units. And that is just the start!
Innovation Summary
Innovation Overview
The African Union, with its diverse structures and organs, stands as a well recognised supranational institution tasked with catalyzing political and socio-economic integration across the continent. However, navigating the complexities of decision-making within this expansive bureaucracy, formed by officials from all 55 Member States, proves to be a labyrinth of administrative hurdles. Public officials operating within the African Union find themselves in a predicament — they lack ready access to institutional expertise in the realm of digital solutions and innovative methodologies that could streamline processes. The challenge lies in the limited exposure to the dynamic digital and innovation ecosystem, hindering the exploration of cutting-edge approaches to enhance efficiency. Consequently, the institutional performance of the AU is perceived as protracted and inefficient. Meanwhile, the African continent's digital and innovation landscape is flourishing, boasting over 300 Innovation Hubs and a plethora of highly skilled digital experts actively driving digital transformation in the private sector. The missing link, however, lies in the absence of systematic connections between the public sector and the vibrant African innovation ecosystem. Bridging this gap is essential for unlocking the full potential of a more agile and innovative African Union.
The creative approach to this challenge involves disrupting the entrenched administrative norms of the African Union by infusing youthful African innovators into its core. Enter the AU Digital and Innovation Fellowship, a unique programme designed to inject youthful innovation talent into the traditionally hierarchical structure of the African Union. This 12-month fellowship initiative strategically deploys digital and innovation talents as resident fellows to address specific identified needs. These forward-thinking fellows, armed with creativity and tech prowess, tackle challenges through co-creation, design, and implementation of tailor-made tech solutions. The Fellowship establishes connections between typically disparate entities: seasoned public officials within this supranational organization and the often youthful innovators.
The approach was tested successfully in a first cohort that ran from 2022-2023. The 2nd cohort of the Fellowship will start in 2024. The Fellowship benefits AU officials working in a complex environment. At the same time it builds the innovation expertise on the African continent - the key driving force for digital transformation.
Innovation Description
What Makes Your Project Innovative?
The innovation of this initiative lies in shaking up conventional institutional processes, fostering the uptake of fresh project implementation methods, and sparking the generation of innovative ideas that not only enhance the overall functionality of the African Union but also fortify the internal capabilities of its personnel. The Fellowship not only addresses challenges but also challenges the very culture of the organisation by demonstrating alternative and effective approaches to getting things done.
Previously, mostly consultants were brought into the institution to develop high-tech sophisticated solutions. They came in and out, not fully understanding organisational culture and opportunities for adaptation. Often, this resulted in solutions with limited to no uptake from officials. The Fellowships is different: it is slower, more focused on understanding the AU system and finding solutions that really match.
What is the current status of your innovation?
The first cohort of the AU Digital and Innovation Fellowship is concluded. We are currently in the planning phase for the 2nd cohort . These are the timelines of the Fellowship so far:
- Call for applications for 1st cohort of AU Digital and Innovation Fellowship: September 2021
- Start of Fellowship Cohort 1: March 2022
- End of Fellowship Cohort 1: January 2023 and August 2023
- Kick-start Fellowship Cohort 2.0.: March 2024
- Deployment of Fellows: June 2024
Innovation Development
Collaborations & Partnerships
The key player is the African Union Women, Gender and Youth Directorate which took on the visionary leadership to steer the Fellowship Programme. The GIZ Programme DataCipation supports the implementation. Afrilabs – a network organisation for over 300 African innovation hubs - facilitates access to the digital innovation ecosystem. Together, we connect unique strengths: comprehensive knowledge about public sector operations of the AU, access to innovators and GIZ as a broker.
Users, Stakeholders & Beneficiaries
AU officials benefit from the transfer of knowledge and expertise through the Fellows and the developed digital innovation.
Fellows benefit from getting direct access to AU policy-makers, a better understanding of public sector and building their career path.
Innovation Reflections
Results, Outcomes & Impacts
Firstly, it created 13 tangible products that reshaped the landscape of AU administration and its engagement with African citizens. To give some examples: a data-driven dashboard in the Office of the Director General, changing the overview of departmental performance; or a citizen-friendly chatbot providing instant answers to queries about the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. Secondly, the Fellowship not only enriched the skill set of AU officials but nurtured 13 young minds, offering them insights into the workings of the AU. Thirdly, the Fellowship catalyzed a paradigm shift in the perception of the innovation ecosystem. The AU embarked on a transformative journey, slowly changing its understanding and approach to collaboration.
Challenges and Failures
During the implementation of the first cohort of the Fellowship the following challenges were experienced:
- Limited ownership on side of host units due to insufficient onboarding into roles and responsibilities during Fellowship
- In selected cases, focus on building new digital solutions instead of working with existing IT infrastructure and systems of the AU resulting in limited sustainability of solutions due to low maintenance
- Overall, slow process in terms of product development due to complex nature and decision-making process of African Union
In response to these challenges, Afrilabs ensured closer mentoring of the Fellows. Some of the challenges were not resolved yet integrated into an adapted design for the 2nd cohort.
Conditions for Success
The following success factor are crucial for the AU Digital and Innovation Fellowship:
- Political ownership of the AU through support of the Director General for initiative
- Comprehensive onboarding phase with Fellow and dedicated Focal person in host unit to unpack roles and responsibilities
- Close collaboration with internal IT service provider of AU to ensure coherence with IT infrastructure and systems of AU
- Facilitation of peer-to-peer exchange amongst Fellows to exchange and discuss strategies
- Provision of expert mentors for Fellows to assist during development process
Replication
The Fellowship was inspired by the German-Fellowship model "Work4Germany". In that sense it was already scaled: for the first time on a supranational level. Currently, the focus is on working on the 2nd cohort of the Fellowship with the AU. We see a great potential to scale it across different Member States of the African Union i.e. deploy Fellows in national Ministries on the African continent. The model is tested, budget figures for running it are available. It is ready for interested partner to join and scale!
Lessons Learned
The first implementation of the Fellowship was a pilot. All key partners (AU, GIZ, Afrilabs) learned quite a bit. Some key points to share are:
- Ensure adequate mentoring and peer-to-peer exchange for Fellows
- Be realistic with timelines and deliverables considering the pace in large bureaucracies
- Ensure a good matching of Fellows and respective host units
- Be clear in terms of expectation: Initially the Fellowship was named as "Tech Fellowship", we intentionally want to move towards a broader understanding of innovation in processes and thus rephrased it into "Digital Innovation Fellowship"
Supporting Videos
Status:
- Implementation - making the innovation happen
- Evaluation - understanding whether the innovative initiative has delivered what was needed
- Diffusing Lessons - using what was learnt to inform other projects and understanding how the innovation can be applied in other ways
Innovation provided by:
Date Published:
22 July 2024