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On this page you find WWF's innovation approach, covering both the enabling conditions for innovation and innovative problem-solving. Dive into the topics most relevant to you!

The approach was co-created by a working group across the network to provide guidance towards a truly innovative WWF.

TABLE OF CONTENT
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1| INNOVATION BASICS

Here is a brief overview of some key elements around innovation for WWF to unite us around a joint language.

| The overall vision for Innovation@WWF

Innovation tools, mindsets, and culture are embedded in the way of working, current projects, processes, and our collaboration. Innovative idea development and implementation are focused on clear strategic areas and reflected in staff's KPIs instead of the additional and occasional approach we currently have innovation is fully integrated and leveraged to achieve WWF's conservation goals. The actual innovation work will be driven by the communities and offices across WWF.

| The definition of Innovation@WWF

*This definition was generated by WWF's Innovation Community originally in 2016 in the first innovation gathering held in Zurich and since has been updated by the innovation pillars.

| Innovation variations

DISRUPTIVE OR INCREMENTAL INNOVATION

Innovations can vary in the level of change they aim to create. Incremental innovation refers to a small, modular change that takes place slowly over time. Disruptive innovation refers to introducing new technologies, new capabilities, or new ways of working) leading to a change that is so powerful and different that it requires others in the field to follow suit or be left behind.

INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL INNOVATION

Innovative solutions and ideas can come from inside and outside of WWF. Many problems are already solved and there is no need to reinvent the wheel. When thinking about wanting to solve a problem it is essential to look at other WWF offices and outside of WWF. Are there existing solutions to support instead of starting afresh? When supporting external innovation it is important to explore how WWF can add the most value (reputation, network, funding).

DAILY INNOVATION | STRUCTURED INNOVATION PROCESS

We can and should think innovatively in our day-to-day using the innovation skills, tools, and mindset in current projects regardless of the theme and which role one is in. Structured innovation processes connect daily efforts with broader goals, using methodologies like Design Thinking and Agile. These frameworks guide problem identification, solution testing, and scaling, ensuring innovation is integrated into our workflow. Regular workshops and resources support consistent application, fostering an environment where innovative ideas thrive and contribute to conservation goals.

SOLVING THE PROBLEM | CALLING FOR SOLUTIONS

A WWF office has identified a problem that needs addressing. There are two options 1) putting together an innovation design team to start the process of developing a solution or 2) identifying existing solutions that could be supported from inside or outside of WWF. Before deciding to invest time and energy into developing a new solution, a research to explore what solutions exist already and could be supported should be done first.

| Innovation in uncertain times

EXAMPLE OF "REGENERATE AUSTRALIA"

The fires in Australia are one example of an environmental threat that completely put WWF Australia in the position of needing to react within days, have new ideas to the immediate challenges, and test if those can actually have an impact. Moving away from their original strategy to a new program "Regenerate Australia".

"In the days and months that followed the catastrophic bushfires, your generosity enabled us to rapidly commit $8 million to some 40 projects that provided immediate emergency treatment for wildlife and communities on the frontline. But even before all the fires had been safely extinguished, another crisis - COVID-19 - hit our shores.

This global pandemic could easily have overshadowed the bushfires completely. However, with our country in lockdown, WWF-Australia took the opportunity to both learn lessons from the bushfire crisis and design a blueprint for recovery. Throughout the winter, we undertook a listening project with fire-affected and Indigenous communities and heard first-hand accounts about what it was like during those terrifying months. Many people shared their stories of heartbreaking loss, their fears, but also their desires for a secure future."

EXAMPLE OF WWF MYANMAR

WWF Myanmar used Design Thinking with 20 staff from their office to react to the military coup and explore how to continue their work with two key questions in mind:

The first is a challenge around community engagement. With the high risk of fieldwork at the moment, many of us are facing difficulty in interacting with CSO partners and conducting capacity-building work in communities without a physical presence and with limitations to working online. We will attempt to find an innovative way to work around this problem.

The second is about figuring out how we can link WWF’s conservation work to the ongoing humanitarian efforts in response to the pandemic & coup. This involves formulating clear connections between conservation & humanitarian work and finding ways to green the humanitarian response.

| Our research base in Innovation

When looking at the innovation culture in NGOs key elements have been identified by research to be essential. The innovation approach is WWF's response to this framework while bringing it into the WWF reality, connecting it with our challenges and our strengths. The main ingredients for healthy innovation culture in NGOs identified in the research done by the Bridgespan Group that guided WWF in this process are:

Catalytic leadership that empowers staff to solve problems that matter.
A curious culture, where staff look beyond their day-to-day obligations, question assumptions, and constructively challenge each other’s thinking as well as the status quo.
Diverse teams with different backgrounds, experiences, attitudes, and capabilities—the feedstock for growing an organization’s capacity to generate breakthrough ideas.
Porous boundaries that let information and insights flow into the organization from outside voices (including beneficiaries) and across the organization itself.
Idea pathways that provide structure and processes for identifying, testing, and transforming promising concepts into needle-moving solutions.
The ready resources—funding, time, training, and tools— are vital to supporting innovation work.

*The Bridgespan Group, with support from The Rockefeller Foundation, surveyed 145 nonprofit leaders on their organizations’ capacity to innovate, which we define as a break from practice, large or small, that leads to significant positive social impact. For the large majority of this group, innovation is more than just a catchall slogan—it’s an urgent imperative to which 80 percent of them aspire. The problem is, just 40 percent of these would-be innovators say their organizations are set up to do so. This gap worries us because most respondents say that if they don’t come up with fresh solutions to the social sector’s myriad challenges they won’t achieve the large-scale impact they seek.

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