The 69th CND, held in Vienna, presents new strategies for social innovation aimed at reforming drug policies and promoting sustainable development
As part of the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), a side event was held to explore the role of social innovation in transforming drug policies and its connection to the sustainable development agenda. The meeting, titled “From Policy to Practice: Social Innovation for Drug Policy Reform and Sustainable Development,” also served as a platform for the public launch of the Global Network for Innovation in Drug Policy and Sustainable Development (GDPIN).
New infrastructures for collective intelligence
During the session, it was emphasized that existing management systems are insufficient to address the multifaceted challenges currently faced by public drug policies, such as stigma and exclusion. In this context, Julia Martinez of ALC presented the K tool as a proposed framework for moving toward a more dynamic approach to drug policy management.
This new digital infrastructure is built on core social innovation capabilities such as mapping and active listening. Its main functions include:
-Full visualization: It allows for a comprehensive view of all efforts addressing drug-related issues and enables a segmented analysis of the narratives at play in a given area.
-Adaptive management: It provides information to respond to changes, fosters connections among stakeholders, and prevents the implementation of isolated projects.
-New measurement systems: It incorporates the cultural dimension of transformation processes (such as the values, needs, and social dynamics of a specific community or territory) to inform policy design, complementing traditional quantitative indicators.
The Experience of the Social Innovation Labs
In addition, ALC shared the experience of the Cali Social Innovation Lab, a two-year experimental initiative in the Sucre neighborhood carried out in partnership with Corporación Viviendo, the Colombian Ministry of Justice, and the COPOLAD III program. This initiative helped strengthen local practices and foster collective learning through public-private-social experimentation.
Building on this experience and the Quilichao Laboratory in Santander, the Colombian government has scaled this social innovation approach to nine regions across the country. Currently, the country is experimenting with the evolutionary evaluation approach in the design and implementation of its drug policies.