Scaling Innovation to Achieve the SDGs: Part II

This workshop is the sequel to Harnessing Innovation to Achieve the SDGs (Part I), which

introduced students to the role of entrepreneurial thinking and innovation ecosystems in

tackling sustainability challenges.

While Part I focused on the design and launch of sustainable innovations—be they

technological, policy-based, or financial—Part II shifts focus to what happens after the

launch: How do innovations scale? Why do some achieve broad adoption while others

stall, despite early promise?

Scaling is not simply a matter of replication. It requires a robust interplay between policy,

capital, stakeholder alignment, and timing. It also requires adaptation to evolving

market, social, and regulatory conditions. This workshop investigates that critical

juncture—where pilot becomes policy, where startup becomes system, and where early

wins either grow into transformative change or fade away.

Course Focus

Using two global case studies—plastic pollution and ocean health—this course

examines the enabling (and disabling) conditions for scaling innovation. Through real-world

examples, students will explore:

• What makes a sustainable innovation scalable?

• Which policies, incentive structures, and stakeholder coalitions support scale?

• What threats or bottlenecks commonly arise—and how do innovators pivot?

• How can tools from Silicon Valley’s innovation playbook—lean launch, agile

adaptation, iteration—be applied in sustainability contexts?

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the workshop, students will be able to:

• Analyze both successful and failed attempts to scale sustainability innovations in

the public and private sectors.

• Identify policy levers that support or hinder scaling, including regulatory

frameworks, subsidies, procurement strategies, and standards.

• Apply entrepreneurial tools such as risk mapping, scaling frameworks, and

systems thinking to assess innovation maturity.

• Develop a strategic roadmap to support replication, adaptation, and scaling of an

existing or proposed innovation.