12 June 2026 | Nairobi, Kenya
Join us online as we explore “Rethinking the Future of Innovation: What It Takes for Systems to Deliver in the Global South.”
Mark your calendar for the 2026 PEP Policy Conference, taking place on 12 June 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya, and online as part of the 2026 PEP Annual Conference.
This year’s theme, “Rethinking the Future of Innovation: What It Takes for Systems to Deliver in the Global South,” places innovation at the centre of today’s development debate. As countries confront economic volatility, climate pressures, demographic change, and rapid technological transformation, innovation capacity is emerging as a decisive factor shaping resilience, job creation, productivity, and long-term growth.
The conference will examine innovation not simply as a matter of technology adoption, but as a broader development capability. Building effective innovation systems requires strong skills foundations, capable public institutions, coordinated policy frameworks, and inclusive participation. The day’s discussions will explore why innovation efforts often struggle to scale, what constrains delivery in practice, and which policy approaches show promise across diverse country contexts.
What to Expect
The one-day programme is designed as an action-oriented policy dialogue that moves from analysis to practical solutions. Participants will engage in:
- A framing keynote and high-level dialogue on innovation as a system-wide capability
- A policy panel examining barriers to scaling innovation in low-resource settings
- Interactive roundtable discussions identifying priority evidence gaps and policy levers
- A hands-on policy simulation translating research insights into real-world decision-making
- A closing synthesis outlining forward-looking policy considerations and research directions
The conference will bring together researchers, policymakers, and practitioners from across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, drawing on Southern-led evidence and comparative experience to shape a practical agenda for strengthening innovation ecosystems.
Programme Overview
From 9 a.m. EAT
Innovation Beyond Technology: Why Innovation Systems Struggle — and why it matters now
Innovation is often framed as a technology challenge, yet in the Global South it is skills, institutions, and delivery systems that most limit impact. This session will draw on Southern-led evidence to examine why innovation systems struggle to scale, and what policy reforms are needed to make them deliver.
Wonhyuk Lim (KDI School) will deliver the keynote presentation. A panel discussion on Why Innovation Systems Struggle to Scale with Chinasa T. Okolo, Tonny K. Omwansa, Mónica Salazar, and Muthoni Masinde will follow, before roundtable discussions on Making Innovation Work: From Evidence to Policy Action.
From 2:15 p.m. EAT
Innovation-in-Practice Simulation
This interactive session will translates the morning’s discussions into applied policy problem-solving. In small, mixed groups, participants will work through an innovation-policy scenario reflecting common constraints in low- and middle-income contexts, including limited fiscal space, institutional capacity gaps, coordination failures, and uneven access to evidence.
How to Participate
The full conference will be live-streamed on our YouTube channel, allowing our global community to follow the discussions in real time and engage with the ideas shaping the future of innovation policy in the Global South. Please note that to foster focused and interactive policy dialogue in-person participation is by invitation only.
Join our mailing list to receive updates about the livestream. To inquire about self-sponsored in-person participation contact info@pep-net.org.
Save the date to join us online for this important conversation.
