23 September 2014: With 15 months left to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), an MDG Countdown event on the margins of the 69th UN General Assembly sought to encourage momentum. Focusing on the theme ‘Innovating for Impact,’ the event was hosted by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID), on 23 September 2014, in New York, US.

The event showcased continued international dedication to achieving the MDGs. Speakers also focused on the need for a new development model to achieve the current agenda and spur progress for priorities that will follow the MDGs. Participants emphasized, in particular, the need for science, technology, and innovation to spur progress, and new partnerships to improve development effectiveness.

The event also featured the launch of the Global Innovation Fund (GIF), with US$200 million invested by the Governments of US, UK, Sweden and Australia, in partnership with the Omidyar Network. GIF will seek to invest in social innovation projects in developing countries through venture capital techniques that support initiatives with the potential to scale up. It will operate as a non-profit innovation fund and seek inputs from various actors, both public and private.

Rajiv Shah, USAID Adminstrator, said GIF aims to invest in “cutting-edge solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges,” and highlighted the need for more resources to be mobilized to support social innovations in developing countries. Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Director-General of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), said, “The Global Innovation Fund is in itself innovative since the approach is broad, which gives it a possibility to open up for ideas in any sector and issues – like gender equality and human rights.” [MDG Countdown 2014 Event] [USAID Press Release on GIF Launch] [Global Innovation Fund] [IISD RS Sources]