Ukraine as an international sustainable innovation sandbox
Ukraine is destroyed and must be reborn anew!
Prior to the war, Ukraine was lacking sustainability from economic, social, and environmental perspectives. Moreover, it was not regarded as a welcome and prepared candidate for EU membership. Furthermore, it was challenging to deem it as an ideal place to reside or an appealing investment destination. Ukraine cannot boast of its competitiveness and objectivity as a nation, along with robust democratic institutions, a thriving civil society, and a compelling export value proposition not solely reliant on commodities
Ukraine before the war
- #127in the rating of Economic Freedom Ukraine Heritage Foundation
- #85in Openness for business rating US News & World Report
- #116in Anticorruption rating Transparency International
- #87in Democracy index by The Economist
- #92in the World Happiness Report
- #57in the Global Innovation Index
The goal of "rebuilding" as a return to the pre-war state is not sufficiently ambitious to justify the current cost being borne by Ukraine.
Merely reverting to the pre-war state does not position Ukraine in the rightful place it deserves to be, nor aligns with the aspirations of both Ukrainians and the global community.
Merely reverting to the pre-war state does not position Ukraine in the rightful place it deserves to be, nor aligns with the aspirations of both Ukrainians and the global community.
Due to the significant damage to energy infrastructure surpassing 50%, complete destruction of entire cities, a contracted economy shrinking by 30%, and a national debt-to-GDP ratio of 100%, Ukraine emerges as a substantial nation with formidable demands for reconstruction and transformation. From an economic perspective, the country encounters affordability constraints, notably in attaining both environmental and social sustainability.
Ukraine can not do it alone and have to co-experiment with other countries!
"We are seeing true innovation on the battlefield: new combinations of technologies and concepts being developed and implemented, and the cycle from idea to prototype to a warfighter's hands collapsed to months, if not weeks"
- Bill LaPlante, the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer
- Bill LaPlante, the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer
Additionally, Ukraine can present international partners with the opportunity to leverage its reconstruction efforts as a platform for collaborative exploration of innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective solutions that can be promptly implemented in national recovery initiatives and further commercialized globally. Moreover, Ukrainians have consistently demonstrated their resilience, creativity, agility, and remarkable speed in innovation, earning them recognition in these domains.
"I used to work in the Defense Department, and I have almost never seen high quality military machine learning systems go from an idea in someone's head to a real system being used in the war in a matter of weeks. The value of the Ukrainian software systems is impressive, but the speed is astonishing."
- Gregory Allen,a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington DC
- Gregory Allen,a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington DC
Certain companies have progressed beyond mere recognition and have embarked on actual experimentation in Ukraine.
Other companies have moved to strategic collaboration and co-production.
Other companies have moved to strategic collaboration and co-production.
An exemplary illustration of sustainable innovation lies in the development of demining tractors. Numerous farmers in Ukraine find themselves unable to wait for government or other organizations to demine their fields, nor can they afford commercial demining services that employ expensive specialized machinery. Consequently, they have taken the initiative to construct their own demining machines, yielding remarkable results within a few months and at a fraction of the cost. These improvised machines are cleverly integrated into regular agricultural equipment, equipped with demining and remote control apparatus. The same phenomenon can be observed with agricultural drones being repurposed for demining purposes.
While affordability is a compelling aspect of this approach, its merits extend beyond cost considerations. The ability to repurpose and reuse tractors and agro-drone-based demining machines distinguishes them from single-purpose, million-dollar demining equipment, which cannot be repurposed for other civilian (agricultural) activities.
While affordability is a compelling aspect of this approach, its merits extend beyond cost considerations. The ability to repurpose and reuse tractors and agro-drone-based demining machines distinguishes them from single-purpose, million-dollar demining equipment, which cannot be repurposed for other civilian (agricultural) activities.
The efficacy of the sustainable innovation approach is exemplified by the case of the demining tractor. Investments made towards recovery, in this instance, the transformation of a tractor into a demining machine, are optimized through the rapid and cost-effective repurposing of the solution (converting the tractor into a smart demining machine).
The establishment of a Sustainable Innovations sandbox represents a strategic approach to leveraging Ukraine's distinct strengths in order to facilitate its sustainable and innovative reconstruction. Through collaborative experimentation between Ukrainian corporations, startups, and their international counterparts, shared values can be cultivated, benefiting all stakeholders involved.
Building innovation capability and capacity is a critical factor to rebuild and anew Ukraine!
According to the Joseph Schumpeter growth basic model - long-run growth results from innovations. Innovations result from entrepreneurial investments that are themselves motivated by the prospects of monopoly rents. New innovations replace old technologies. In other words, growth involves creative destruction.
Ukraine should strategically leverage the opportunity of reconstruction to cultivate innovation aimed at developing sustainable and cost-effective solutions. Moreover, this phase of reconstruction-focused innovation should establish enduring capacity and capabilities within Ukraine, facilitating the country's transition from recovery to sustained long-term economic growth and bolstering its global competitiveness.
Text author: Pavlo Ryzhii