Enabling Resilient Communities
Developed by International Connector, Innovative Resilience brings technology solutions and training to emerging markets and underserved communities.
Our work is guided by the SDGs. We bring technology, connectivity and innovation to provide economic development and opportunities for communities to enter the digital age.
Our Model
Based on the World Bank 2016 Development Report, there is deep and clear understanding that technology is not enough. There are social and practical hands-on elements to introducing new technologies to communities. Through our people-focused engagement, we have developed a working model that creates long-term adoption and sustainability.
Community Participatory Model:
Empowering a Local Voice
Before any program is designed, we run community empowerment workshops based on a curriculum that combines entrepreneurial tools with leadership empowerment strategies. The workshops to develop a voice for the community and insight into understanding their needs and their vision for the future. Community members develop an “ownership” in the project through these initial steps creating long-term support in its success.
Living Learning Lab
Each location has different resources available, different needs and different goals. Our model is customized based on the outcomes from the community engagement workshops and local partnerships. Even within a region such as Puerto Rico, the Innovative Resilience program is different per community.
Eco-system of Collaborative Partnerships
Within any community, we identify a local anchor institution for partnership and collaboration. In the case of Puerto Rico, we partnered with public health which provided locations and local trusted partner within the communities we serve.
Our models is focused on collaboration as no one organization can achieve all the outcomes by themselves. As a result, Innovative Resilience has made a strategic goal to develop collaborative partnerships and relationships. In addition, we analyze locations and opportunities based on the best way to maximize impact.
Stakeholder Engagement
At every stage, local empowerment, inclusion and trust needs to be maintained. The community voice is kept front and center in the conversation while we connect the dots and bridge the conversations to corporations who can help provide resources and technology to support the communities. Working together, we can further problem-solve to expand the impact locally.
Empowerment Upon Entry
One of our signatures is to create a welcoming interactive experience from the moment anyone walks into the space. Along the walls of the innovation hub are three interactive questions:
What are the talents of the people in your community?
What are the remarkable aspects and qualities of your community?
What is your community lacking?
Through intentional interactive action with the different community members visiting the hub, we are able to identify specifics in community’s plans and ideas of empowerment, that are lacking resources to help drive those ideas to their full potential.
Engaging Women
Gender equality is an important issue that we foster in our hubs. Our partner, Women’s Campaign International, supports leadership and skill development among women and girls.
Specifically, Innovative Resilience provides:
Viable Employment - Our hubs hire local women as facilitators for the space creating viable employment and a leadership role within the community.
Empowerment Workshops - With partners, we run a series of leadership workshops aimed at empowering local women. As an example, Girls’ Voices training program is run virtually through our connectivity for groups of local teenaged girls teaching them the basics of digital storytelling.
Female Entrepreneurship - We provide business mentorship for female entrepreneurs and have helped numerous women apply for funding, work to develop their ideas and/or expand their current business.