Using low-tech innovation to reduce land pressure, improve dairy productivity, and enable herder–farmer cooperation in Nigeria,
Exploring whether drones could be used as a nimble, low-cost, and environmentally friendlier complement to traditional locust control.
A pilot to test whether electric vehicles could provide a more profitable (and cleaner) alternative for taxi drivers in Rwanda and Kenya.
Unlocking the potential of Kenya’s repair and reuse economy, through collective participatory methods, data, policy and investment pathways.
Working with TRANSFORM (a partnership between Unilever, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and EY) to uncover new insights into their potential grantees and partners in Kenya, particularly within the informal economy, which makes up a staggering 83% of Kenya’s workforce.
As the Covid-19 pandemic took its grip on the world in early 2020, global demand for oxygen surged. Pure oxygen in cylinders is expensive, and proved hard to find. Simple technology exists to turn ordinary air into medical-grade oxygen - but that technology is fragile, and manufacturers couldn’t see viable or profitable ways to build something tougher. By bringing people together to discuss the issues, we helped to pinpoint a crucial problem - and a simple solution, which saved thousands of lives.
As part of our work with the Africa Smart Towns Network of 11 cities across Africa (aka ASToN), Brink worked with the City of Matola in Mozambique on a project to increase tax income for the city council. Local officials were convinced that tax non-payment was because citizens were choosing to avoid paying taxes; but when they dug deeper, the team found very different reasons - and came up with creative new service ideas to experiment with.
Creating Hope in Conflict: A Humanitarian Grand Challenge is the first innovation challenge to focus on humanitarian crises caused by conflict. Launched in 2018, partners collectively contributed USD $38 million to enable humanitarian actors and agencies, local emergency responders, and the private sector to work alongside affected communities to respond more nimbly to complex humanitarian emergencies. This Humanitarian Grand Challenge identifies and scales innovations to help people affected by humanitarian crises caused by conflict.
In 2022 we partnered with Macmillan Cancer Support to evolve the way the organisation designs both for and with marginalised people living with cancer. In just five months we designed and tested a CoLab proposition that fundamentally shifted how Macmillan’s service design and innovation teams develop inclusive solutions.
Creating the environments for rapid, real world testing of new educational technologies that can deliver better learning outcomes for all children, including the most marginalised.
