TIPC’s Latin American and Caribbean Transformative Innovation Hub is a community of practice which includes the National Cancer Institute, Wyss Academy for Nature, the Centre for Science and Technology of Antioquia (CTA) and SENACYT of Panama. Each of the members is developing experiments focused on transforming practices in different socio-technical systems (e.g. forestry, sustainable agriculture and social innovation in health).
The hub has had a very successful (and busy) year. Throughout 2024, the hub has grown and strengthened its ties, promoting innovative initiatives that seek to generate impact in the region. Thanks to the active collaboration of our members and allies, they have made significant progress in the application of transformative innovation in different sectors. Here, they proudly present, which summarises the progress, achievements, and learnings achieved throughout 2024.
This report reflects the commitment and effort of institutions that have worked together under the methodology developed by the TIPC consortium. If you would like additional information about aspects covered in the report, these can be found on our Spanish-language hub pages.
These achievements span various events, courses, and participation from diverse institutions but key achievements to highlight include:
- Publications
The hub produced two main publications over the year:
- A report by TIPC researchers, outlining the results of a study on the twin transitions progress in Medellín in Colombia. It suggests routes for relevant institutions in the region to contribute to their maturation and enhance their transformative power in the city.
The ‘twin transitions’, which combine technologies associated with the green transition with digital transformation technologies, represent the focus of efforts to reduce harmful CO2 emissions and protect biodiversity. The convergence of these technologies is capable of “scaling” efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
English- and Spanish-language research briefs on the study can be found here.
- The second titled Explorando las “rutas” de transición del bosque en la Amazonía peruana hacia una teoría del cambio report explores transformative pathways for the Peruvian Amazon (‘Towards a theory of change’).
Written in collaboration with the Wyss Academy for Nature, it argues that, over the past 100 years, industrial scale logging, agriculture and non-energy production has locked the Amazon into a ‘system of deforestation’ which if left unchecked will hit a ‘tipping point’ beyond which wide-scale ecosystem collapse becomes inevitable with devastating consequences for people, biodiversity and the global climate.
It goes on to say that existing ‘system optimization’ pathways may not be sufficient to reverse this and it is necessary to construct new transformative pathways. These will involve profound changes in how the socio-ecological and socio-technical systems of the Amazon are managed, being rooted in a deep understanding of its different ecological realities and the livelihoods of local communities that live there.
To read more, you can access the full publication here as well as a Spanish- and an English-language Research Brief.
- The Transformative Innovation Course
The Latin American HUB of TIPC organised a series of webinars that consisted of six modules, each one addressing different aspects of transformative innovation such as policy, urban transformation, education, and communication. The modules were delivered between 4th July and 8th August 2024 with up to 147 attendees.
Module 1: focussed on transformative innovation policy and transformative scopes
Module 2: discussed urban transformation, challenges, and proposals
Module 3: addressed higher education and transformative change
Module 4: explored building new transformation routes
Module 5: covered designing transformative innovation calls
Module 6: focused on communicating transformative innovation to policy and practitioners
Following the course, a number of researchers and policy makers signed up to receive more information from the Latin America HUB and ongoing conversation are in place to implement some of the methods of transformative innovation.
- Intervention at the 16th Biodiversity COP in Cali Colombia.
Matias Ramirez of the University of Sussex (SPRU) and Oscar Romero of the University of Utrecht, both members of the Hub were delegates at the 16th Biodiversity COP in Cali Colombia 2024. They shared a platform with the vice-minister of environment of Peru and the Wyss Academy of Nature and spoke in detail about the need to construct a pathway of transformative change to reverse deforestation in the Amazon. See Matias Linkedin page for a more detailed blog.
- Conference
On 30th April 2024, the hub hosted a webinar with the title “Companies and Biodiversity: A relationship in transformation”. This webinar aimed to promote organisational transformation within the city of Medellín, to strengthen internal policies related to nature, and reevaluate competitive strategies to foster environmental care and biodiversity.
From 5-6 November 2024, the hub hosted a conference in Medellin, Colombia. The first day provided an opportunity to discuss the research on the ‘Twin Transitions’ in Medellín. This provided a much-needed space where the opportunities offered by the integration of digital and sustainable technologies in the transformation of the city were presented. There were interventions by prominent speakers who shared their perspectives and experiences, in addition to a dynamic discussion where the challenges and opportunities of the twin transitions in Medellín were discussed.
The second day was organised in the form of a forum, bringing together experts, leaders and academics to explore how digitalisation and sustainability can drive the city’s progress, promoting modern services, inclusive growth and environmental respect. Digital and Sustainable Transformation were highlighted as key to the integral development of Medellín. The forum provided a necessary space for exchanges on smart cities, sustainability and transformative innovation, marking a milestone in the future of Medellín.