1. Innovation Ecosystems Fellowship Overview

2. What are we trying to build?
A team-based fellowship program preparing leaders to catalyze and grow local innovation ecosystems based on values of inclusive design and co-creation that address local development challenges

3. Why this approach?
The challenge: Local innovation ecosystems are not providing the resources that grassroots innovators need to succeed in advancing their solutions to address global development challenges. The opportunity: Local ecosystem entrepreneurs (such as founders of maker spaces and accelerators) are more and more abundant, and eager to help their innovation ecosystem thrive by supporting grassroots innovators to create social impact.

4. Who are the prospective fellows & teams?
Individual fellows are young, dynamic, and driven ecosystem entrepreneurs who are currently working on early-stage projects or ventures that advance their local innovation ecosystem
Some examples of “ecosystem entrepreneurs” include individuals who lead a maker space, a design education initiative, an accelerator or incubator, or a collaboration platform
Fellows will become part of a team with 3-4 other co-located fellows (e.g. a team in Nairobi, Guatemala City, or Bangalore)
There will be 3-4 total teams in each fellowship class or cohort, creating the opportunity for different innovation ecosystems to learn from one another.

5. How will it work?
Fellows will apply individually or as part of a team for a specific location. A selection committee will identify promising candidates, and create 3-4 teams across the applicants.
Once fellows are selected, a kick-off convening will be held in one of the team’s local innovation ecosystems (e.g. Bangalore, India). The kick- off convening will focus on the basics of building innovation ecosystems, and will provide time for team-building within and across the different teams. Teams will also have an opportunity to immerse and learn from the ecosystem they are visiting.
At the kick-off convening, each team will engage in a design challenge to create actionable roadmap for an initiative that helps their innovation ecosystem thrive over the course of the year. This collaboration could include initiatives such as creating an inclusive small business advocacy group or a STEM and design education initiative in primary schools. This plan will also include a proposed budget.

6. How will it work? (continued)
Team collaboration grants will be administered based on the feasibility and financial needs of each team’s proposed plan. Grant sizes may range from $20,000 - $50,000 depending on the team’s scope.
Based on each team’s specific needs, the fellowship manager will identify and connect the team to 2-3 tailored mentors that can help guide the team in their work.
Each team will have a monthly check-in with the fellowship manager to take stock of progress, challenges, and lessons learned.

7. How will it work? (continued)
A mid-point convening will be organized in a second local innovation ecosystem (e.g. Nairobi, Kenya). This convening will be focused on taking stock of the teams’ progress thus far, and collaboratively identifying approaches to addressing challenges that have become clear over the course of six months. It will also be an opportunity for the fellows to gain additional leadership and social impact skills (from monitoring and evaluation to marketing and finance).
Monthly check-ins with the fellowship manager and mentors will continue.

8. How will it work? (continued)
At the close of the fellowship, teams will gather in a third and final local innovation ecosystem for a closing convening. This convening’s purpose will be two-fold: 1) to celebrate and share lessons learned from the various teams, and to explore means of future collaboration; and 2) for the first cohort of fellows to meet (and in some cases, teach) the newly-selected second cohort of fellows)
Over the next year, D-Lab will continue to provide non- monetary support to the first cohort of fellows by arranging virtual check-ins, ensuring ongoing mentorship, and making connections to key stakeholders that can move the teams’ projects forward.

9. How will we measure success?
Our measurement efforts will take place at three levels: FELLOWS: Fellows' goals, satisfaction, takeaways, and learning INITIATIVES: Their initiatives' reach, employment, outside investment, and other custom indicators based on the nature of those initiatives  ECOSYSTEMS: Fellows’ influence on (1) new innovation activity in their communities, and (2) adoption of a collaborative design approach by local, regional and global actors

10. Theory of change

11. How will we measure success? (continued)
Once each team has created an action plan (during the kick-off convening), they will work with D-Lab’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning team to create a theory of change for their work as well as a monitoring and evaluation plan with specialized indicators. Additionally, we will track a select set of universal outcomes for all teams, such as number of local innovators supported, number of new program or policy changes due to the fellowship, etc. We will also create a pre-, mid-, and post-survey for all fellows to assess their learning objectives and progress toward those objectives over time. Finally, we will continue to seek user feedback on how to iterate and improve the fellowship over time with input from the fellows themselves.

12. #1 Pilot, plan & improve (March-Oct. 17)
An Action Plan: Four Steps
#1 Pilot, plan & improve (March-Oct. 17)
#2 Launch & select cohort (Oct.-Dec. 17)
#3 Convene, train & support (2018)
#4 Evaluate, reflect & iterate (Ongoing)

13. #1 Pilot, plan & improve (March-Oct. 17)
Learning pilot in Australia
Team planning and curriculum development retreat
Identify key partners (institutions & individuals)
Define and fundraise for program budget
Define cohort selection criteria
Create application and selection process
Create on-boarding process
Outline learning objectives
Define and create pool of cohort resources
Staff the program

14. #2 Launch & select cohort (Oct-Dec 2017)
Application goes live (October)
Advertise and collect applications (November)
Develop and curate cohort curriculum
Review applications & selection process
Announce & celebrate our fellows (December)
Connect fellows over digital collaboration platforms

15. #3 Implement (2018) #3 Implement (Jan-Dec 2018)
Kick-off, mid-point, and closing convenings
Provide access to resources (financial, mentorship, other) & tailored support
Provide access to digital collaboration platforms so teams can collaborate virtually across the globe
Administer and monitor team grants (average $50,000 each)
Monthly check-ins, reporting, and communication with teams
Storytelling & marketing of team journeys

16. #4 Reflect & evaluate (ongoing)
#4 Evaluate, reflect & iterate (Ongoing)
#4 Reflect & evaluate (ongoing)
Define program theory of change, set success metrics
Define reporting structure
Monitor progress & collect data and stories
Publish program learnings output
Iterate on theory of change & metrics for year two
Update application process & launch applications for year two

17. Annual estimated budget
Kick-Off Convening: $25,000
Collaboration Grants: between $20,000-$50,000 / team / year
Mid-Point Convening: $25,000
Supplies, platforms & materials: $25,000
Staffing: $175,000 / year
Program management (100% LOE)
Curriculum development support (33% LOE)
M&E, communications and administration (10% LOE each)
Closing Convening: $35,000 (together w/ second year fellows)
ANNUAL TOTAL: $345, ,000*
*Depending on number of teams, and size of grants