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Please be aware that the content herein has not been peer reviewed. It consists of personal reflections, insights, and learnings of the contributor(s). It may not be exhaustive, nor does it aim to be authoritative knowledge.
Title
Please provide a name for your action learning plan.
Sustaining the results of experiments, keeping focus on socio-humanitarian nexus, continuing the support of green growth as a way out from multilayered crisis
Challenge statement
Challenge type: If you are working on multiple challenges, please indicate if this is your "big bet" or "exploratory" challenge.
Please note: we ask you to only submit a maximum of 3 challenges - 1x Big Bet, 2x Exploratory. Each challenge must be submitted individually.
BIG BET
Challenge statement: What is your challenge? (Please answer in specific terms: "Our challenge is that...”.)
Our challenge is to support the country in its efforts to minimize loss of human potential and keep socio-humanitarian nexus as a way out from multilayered crisis
Background: What is the history of your challenge? What is causing or driving it? Who is involved? How does the current situation look like? What undesired effects does it produce?
The Government requested UNDP to support the conceptualization the Strategy of the Circular Economy Development until 2035, and, in addition, to support the criteria of identification of green and circular projects, ESG agenda and green financing. The onset of the military conflict in Ukraine and restrictive measures against the Russian Federation pose a significant challenge for Belarusian economy and sustaining livelihoods and wellbeing of people. Seeking refuge from the military conflict, thousands of Ukrainians have crossed the border with Belarus. UNDP continues to develop durable solutions for displacement crisis while also integrating green consideration in its response. The developed with Lab's participation crisis offers requires further Lab's efforts in updating and adaptation to ensure targeted UNDP response in the development-humanitarian nexus: strengthening the national capacities and addressing mid-to longer-term socio-economic challenges caused by the crisis – access to services, integration, livelihoods and employment opportunities.
Quantitative evidence: What (official) data sources do you have on this challenge that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge? You can add text, a link, or a picture.
Budget. The state budget was approved in the first reading. Both the head of the Ministry of Finance and deputies emphasized the social orientation of the budget. It is planned to allocate 44.8% of the consolidated budget to the social sector.
Macroeconomic. Belstat confirmed the slowdown of inflation in November 2022 to 13.3% year-on-year.
Logistics. Belarus continues to be an open country for visa-free border crossing for EU countries. Border committee reported that 8.4% of the population of Lithuania and 5.7% of Latvia visited Belarus in 2022.
In general, during the visa-free period (since April 15, 2022), more than 362,300 residents of neighboring Lithuania, Poland and Latvia visited the country.
Refugees/Migrants. more than 15,500 Ukrainians are registered with the national authorities and more than 1800 applied for refugee status.
The social situation will remain tense as the economy won't recover in full in 2023 after the fall of GDP -4,7%.
The official forecast for 2023 is contained in the Draft Budget for 2023:
- GDP increase by 3.8% to the level of 2022, however, Eurasian Development Bank forecasts GDP growth only on 0,3% due to inability to import industrial equipment
- industrial production increase by 2.4% to the level of 2022,
- household incomes increase by 4,1%
- investment increase on 22,3%
- export increase on 5,5%
- the draft budget is drawn up with a deficit in the range of 3 - 4 billion rubles. Source of coverage – external borrowings (sovereign bonds or loans).
So, the tense situation with workplaces for Belarusians is also complicated by the influx of migrants. In this situation the Government introduces the circular economy, hoping that the circular economy among other things will create new jobs.
Qualitative evidence: What weak signals have you recently spotted that characterizes its urgency? Please provide qualitative information that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge. You can add text, a link, or a picture.
The circular economy is considered as one of the most important priorities in the National Strategy for Sustainable Development of the Republic of Belarus until 2035. This opens new opportunities for increasing the competitiveness of traditional sectors of the economy and preserving a favourable environment as well as actualizing the issue of the readiness of the Belarusian business for circular transformation.
In the Regional Refugee Response Plan 2022, UNDP focuses on supporting livelihoods and building resilience. Refugee skills mapping, economic empowerment for women, job-matching, digital literacy, reskilling and upskilling to fit the local market needs could create economic opportunities for refugees and host communities.
Value proposition: What added value or unique value proposition is your Accelerator Lab bringing to solving this challenge? Why is it your Lab that needs to work on this challenge and not other actors within UNDP, other stakeholders in the country respectively? Why is it worth investing resources to this challenge?
The Accelerator Lab in Belarus will support the preparation and co-creation of the National Strategy for Circular Economy Development to 2035, will provide interventions focused on circular skills development to promote new jobs, and will promote inclusivity to LNOB, including refugees/migrants and PWDs.
Short “tweet” summary: We would like to tweet what you are working on, can you summarize your challenge in a maximum of 280 characters?
The Accelerator Lab in Belarus will support the preparation and co-creation of the National Strategy for Circular Economy Development to 2035, will provide interventions focused on circular skills development to promote new jobs, and will promote inclusivity to LNOB, including refugees/migrants and PWDs.
Partners
Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.
Please state the name of the Parter:
Red Cross Belarus
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Housing and Municipal Services, State Committee for Science and Technology, National Academy of Sciences
What sector does our partner belong to?
Civil Society
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
The Red Cross is the major partner inworking with refugees on social services, and with migrants on their social integration into workplaces in Belarus.
The implementation of the AccLab experiments is carried out with the support and active participation of pilot city departments of housing and communal services (Polotsk, Novopolotsk, Pinsk, Novogrudok, Korma).
The partners will take the inputs for policy making, and will ensure a framework for development, ensure availability of resources and resource flows to business, and will provide technologies for circular transformation of businesses
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
No
Learning questions
Learning question: What is your learning question for this challenge? What do you need to know or understand to work on your challenge statement?
How to demonstrate the value of an inclusive and circular economy for people? Is there a green response to the displacement crisis? What is the entry point for UNDP further engagement? What are the durable solutions that will support the socio-economic integration of multiple vulnerable groups affected by the multidimensional crisis?
To what stage(s) in the learning cycle does your learning question relate?
Explore, Test
Usage of methods: Relating to your choice above, how will you use your methods & tools for this learning question? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
Collective intelligence - collect persuasive data about raw/secondary materials flow on enterprises; Design thinking - collectively formulate priority directions of the circular economy; Horizon Scanning - range the actions in time to focus on most necessary priority actions first; System Thinking - LNOB, ensure gender mainstreaming.
Existing data gaps: Relating to your choice above, what existing gaps in data or information do these new sources of data addressing? What value do these add in answering your learning question?
Surveys - What kind of business models are best available practices for SMEs? Qualitative interviews - How many circular products can be created? Focus group - What are the most circular sectors of economy? Ecosystem mapping - Which actions of which ministries are most effectively support the circular producers and exporters? Research - Which data helps to sense the requirements of vulnerable groups hidden by unavailable official statistics? Sensor & Sensor network data - what is the speed of fulfilling the containers and when is the perfect time to transport waste (and to optimize waste logistics), what is the optimum for water and heating use in small cities.
Closing
Early leads to grow: Think about the possible grow phase for this challenge - who might benefit from your work on this challenge or who might be the champions in your country that you should inform or collaborate with early on to help you grow this challenge?
Business and trade enterprises that will minimize the import of primary materials, apply substitutive technologies of secondary raw materials use and packaging reprocessing. Financial institutions that will acquire transparent criteria for green projects to be properly identified and financed without "greenwashing". Based on the results of the experiments, MTS - one of the largest mobile operators in the country - is ready to take on a leading role in organizing centralized actions to stimulate responsible consumption, as well as expanding the solid waste management network, with the support of the Ministry of Communications of the Ministry of Housing and Public Utilities.
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8Decent work and economic growth
11Sustainable cities and communities
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