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On the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples we look back at the DEPP Innovation Labs project in the Philippines. Enhancing Traditional Food Source Management is one of the 40 innovative solutions supported by Philippines TUKLAS Innovation Labs that help communities better prepare for disasters. The project is implemented by a consortium of four non-governmental organisations: Plan International Philippines, Action Against Hunger, CARE Philippines, and the Citizens' Disaster Response Center. It is part of the Disasters Emergencies Preparedness Programme (DEPP) Innovation Labs, a programme that is managed collaboratively by the Start Network and the Communications with Disaster Affected Communities (CDAC) Network.

Hugo Icu Peren, director de ASECSA y miembro del equipo de liderazgo del Hub de Guatemala, nos habla del nuevo documento de los Hubs destinado a catalizar una respuesta más local a las necesidades inmediatas de COVID-19 y a acelerar un cambio de paso duradero en la respuesta humanitaria.

Hugo Icu Peren, director of ASECSA and member of the Guatemala Hub leadership team, tells us about the Hubs' new paper aimed at catalysing a more local response to the immediate needs of COVID-19 and to accelerate a lasting step-change in humanitarian response.

As well as the innovations, the labs themselves needed to think about sustaining and/or scaling. Most grant funded programmes stop when the grant stops, but not those who have prepared for financial sustainability from the outset.

“Scaling requires building a complete and consistent system. All the pieces of a sustainable system must be in place for scale to work, this is in addition to the need for a valid pilot with evidence of value. The Scaling Canvas is a tool that can be used to help innovators measure the readiness for scaling looking at six different variables 1) the core innovation 2) adoption 3) team 4) plan 5) ecosystem 6) finances”

Launched in 2017, the DEPP Innovation Labs has supported community-centred innovation in humanitarian environments in Bangladesh, Jordan, Kenya and Philippines. On 31 July, the first phase of the pioneering program came to a close. So what did the DEPP Labs achieve?

The purpose of a journey map is to gain a holistic and shared understanding of a new or existing path (or process) followed by your target customers/ beneficiaries and your fellow staff who interact with a particular aspect of your work which needs attention.

DEPP Innovation Labs have pioneered scalable, sustainable innovation with, by and for disaster affected communities. Established in Bangladesh, Jordan, Kenya and the Philippines, all disaster-prone countries, the Labs sought to tackle specific challenges identified by communities at risk.

Start Fund's rapid response to the displacement of migrants in Guatemala and Mexico meant Cadena, Oxfam and World Vision received funding quickly to respond to the people's immediate needs including shelter, essential items and hygiene kits. Start Network's Senior MEAL Advisor, David Burt gives us his first-hand account of the crisis response on the ground.