CASE STUDY 7: UNOSSC + UNDP | 2007 - 2016 Images
Expertise: Innovation, innovators, human development, South-South development, United Nations, policy and policy innovation, South-South cooperation, South-South trade, global trends, strategy, online content, global memes, Internet, mobile phones, information technology, global South, resilience strategies, crisis response.
Locations: London, UK and New York, U.S.A. 2007 to 2016
Consultant, Editor, Writer: David South
The first five issues of Southern Innovator magazine designed by Solveig Rolfsdottir.
A selection of infographics from Southern Innovator magazine. The magazine's design has been praised for being "beautiful".
Layouts from Southern Innovator magazine designed by Solveig Rolfsdottir. The design had to work across cultures while staying clean and simple to reach as wide an audience as possible.
Southern Innovator online. A website was launched in 2011 to coincide with the magazine's first issue and to archive stories from the magazine and the e-newsletter Development Challenges, South-South Solutions.
Southern Innovator magazine was an early champion of the power of the mobile world to reshape development. The magazine's first issue was called "a terrific tour de force of what is interesting, cutting edge and relevant in the global mobile/ICT space... "
Ads promoting Southern Innovator magazine explained its features and its mix of data and proven solutions.
Southern Innovator magazine reached around the world, becoming the world's first 21st century global innovator magazine.
Southern Innovator magazine was developed in collaboration with the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation in New York, with DSC's editorial office in London, UK and with a woman-run design studio in Reykjavik, Iceland from 2010 to 2011. The magazine intended to be as innovative as the people it covered. Throughout its development and production, it used the latest in information technology, while also seeking to be as green as possible. All the energy used for its design and layout came from 100% renewable resources (including geothermal energy) and the magazine was printed on paper from sustainable forest resources. Volunteers hold copies of Southern Innovator Issue 4 at the 2013 Global South-South Development Expo at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. 
The new Development Challenges, South-South Solutions e-newsletter template developed in 2011 by designer Solveig Rolfsdottir for the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC). The e-newsletter needed to be accessible to readers in low bandwidth countries with high data costs.
Rather than pay lip service to the UN's Global Compact, Southern Innovator put it into action: it was designed and laid out in Iceland using 100 per cent renewable energy by a woman-owned design studio.
Timeline
2007: David South Consulting begins work on the e-newsletter Development Challenges, South-South Solutions for the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation.
2008: Reader response experiment begins with crowd-powered news website NowPublic. Initial proposal for the development of book or magazine on innovation. Awarded grant for Cuba study tour by BSHF.
2009: Adjust e-newsletter content based on reader responses. Begin posting content on Twitter platform.
2010: Begin development of initial concepts for innovator magazine and assemble creative team with Icelandic graphic designer and illustrator Solveig Rolfsdottir.
2011: Attend Global South-South Development Expo in Rome, Italy. Launch first issue of Southern Innovator magazine on mobile phones and information technology. It is called “a terrific tour de force of what is interesting, cutting edge and relevant in the global mobile/ICT space…”. Launch www.southerninnovator.org website and social media including Twitter account @SouthSouth1.
2012: Attend Global South-South Development Expo in Vienna, Austria. Launch issues 2 (youth and entrepreneurship) and 3 (agribusiness and food security) of Southern Innovator magazine. Called a "Beautiful, inspiring magazine from UNDP on South-South innovation.”
2013: Attend Global South-South Development Expo in Nairobi, Kenya. Launch issue 4 of Southern Innovator magazine (cities and urbanization). Called “fantastic, great content and a beautiful design!” and “Always inspiring.”.
2014: Attend Global South-South Development Expo in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. Launch issue 5 of Southern Innovator magazine (waste and recycling). The Twitter account @SouthSouth1 called “ one of the best sources out there for news and info on #solutions to #SouthSouth challenges.” Final issues of e-newsletter Development Challenges, South-South Solutions published.
The magazine was promoted around the world at UN agency headquarters and United Nations and other events.
Testimonials
“The e-newsletter Development Challenges, South-South Solutions proved to be a timely and prescient resource on the fast-changing global South, tracking the rise of an innovator culture driven by the rapid adoption of mobile phones and information technology …
“In 2010, work began on the development of the world’s first magazine dedicated to the 21st-century innovator culture of the global South. My goal was to create a magazine that would reach across countries and cultures, meet the UN’s standards, and inspire action. Southern Innovator was the result. Mr. [David] South played a vital role in the magazine’s development from its early conception, through its various design prototypes, to its final global launch and distribution.
“Both the e-newsletter and magazine raised the profile of South-South cooperation and have been cited by readers for inspiring innovators, academics, policy makers and development practitioners in the United Nations and beyond.
“I highly recommend Mr. [David] South as a thoughtful, insightful, analytical, creative and very amicable person who has the unique ability to not only grasp complex problems but also to formulate a vision and strategy that gets things done. … ” Cosmas Gitta, Former Assistant Director, Policy and United Nations Affairs at United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) in UNDP
“I think you [David South] and the designer [Solveig Rolfsdottir] do great work and I enjoy Southern Innovator very much!” Ines Tofalo, Programme Specialist, United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation
Southern Innovator Issue 5
“@SouthSouth1 is one of the best sources out there for news and info on #solutions to #SouthSouth challenges.” Adam Rogers, Assistant Director, Regional Representative, Europe, United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC)
"Btw, I really enjoyed reading them, impressive work & a great resource. Looking forward to Issue 6. My best wishes to you & your team at SI.”
"... great magazine, nice design.”
Southern Innovator Issue 4
"I liked your latest Southern innovator! Always inspiring." Joana Breidenbach, betterplace.org, Berlin, Germany
"The magazine looks fantastic, great content and a beautiful design!"
Southern Innovator Issue 2
"Thank you David - Your insight into the issues facing us a[s] [a] "global Village" is made real in the detail of your article - 10 out of 10 from the moladi team." Moladi, South Africa (http://www.moladi.net/index.htm)
Southern Innovator Issue 1
"What a tremendous magazine your team has produced! It's a terrific tour de force of what is interesting, cutting edge and relevant in the global mobile/ICT space... Really looking forward to what you produce in issues #2 and #3. This is great, engaging, relevant and topical stuff." Rose Shuman, Founder & CEO, Open Mind and Question Box
"Looks great. Congratulations. It’s Brill’s Content for the 21st century!" Conan Tobias, Managing Editor, Canadian Business
What they are saying about SI on Twitter: From @CapacityPlus Nice job RT @ActevisCGroup: RT @UNDP: Great looking informative @SouthSouth1 mag on South-South Innovation; @UNDP Great looking informative @SouthSouth1 mag on South-South Innovation; @JeannineLemaire Graphically beautiful & informative @UNDP Southern Innovator mag on South-South Innov.
And on Pinterest:
Peggy Lee • 1 year ago
"Beautiful, inspiring magazine from UNDP on South-South innovation. Heart is pumping adrenaline and admiration just reading it”
Citations
Autonomous Systems in the Intelligence Community: Many Possibilities and Challenges by Jenny R. Holzer, PhD, and Franklin L. Moses, PhD, Studies in Intelligence Vol 59, No. 1 (Extracts, March 2015)
Beyond Gated Communities edited by Samer Bagaeen and Ola Uduku (Routledge: 2015)
Chile in Transition: Prospects and Challenges for Latin America's Forerunner of Development by Roland Benedikter and Katja Siepmann (Springer: 2015)
Decoding the Brand DNA: A Design Methodology Applied to Favela Fashion by Magali Olhats, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina Florianopolis, 2012
Edible Insects and the Future of Food: A Foresight Scenario Exercise on Entomophagy and Global Food Security by Dominic Glover and Alexandra Sexton, Institute of Development Studies, King’s College London, Evidence Report No 149, September 2015
High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation Seventeenth Session: Framework of operational guidelines on United Nations support to South-South and triangular cooperation: Note by the Secretary-General, 22-25 May 2012, New York
Innovation Africa: Emerging Hubs of Excellence edited by Olugbenga Adesida, Geci Karuri-Sebina and João Resende-Santos (Emerald Group Publishing: 2016)
New Directions in Children's and Adolescents' Information Behavior Research edited by Dania Bilal and Jamshid Beheshti (Emerald Group Publishing: 2014)
Propagating Gender Struggles Through Nollywood: Towards a Transformative Approach by Nita Byack George Iruobe, Geonita Initiative for Women and Child Development, 17 July 2015
Recasting 'truisms' of low carbon technology cooperation through innovation systems: insights from the developing world by Alexandra Mallett, Innovation and Development, 5:2, 297-311, DOI: 10.1080/2157930X.2015.1049851, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2015
A Sociological Approach to Health Determinants by Toni Schofield (Cambridge University Press: 2015)
Strategic Framework of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, 2014-2017, Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations Office for Project Services, 27 to 31 January 2014, New York
Wearing Your Map on Your Sleeve: Practices of Identification in the Creation and Consumption of Philippine Map T-shirts by Pamela Gloria Cajilig, paper presented at the 6th Global Conference (2014): Fashion: Exploring Critical Issues, Mansfield College, Oxford, United Kingdom, 15th to 18th September 2014
Youth Empowered as Catalysts for Sustainable Human Development: UNDP Youth Strategy 2014-2017, United Nations Development Programme, Bureau for Development Policy
Southern Innovator's first phase included an online reader test using the NowPublic platform.
The Southern Innovator Summary of Impact. It briefly explains the methodology behind the magazine and its brand.
The David South Consulting Summary of Impact provides a snapshot of global achievements and a flavour of the design vision behind DSC. Having worked with high achieving clients around the world facing and surmounting daunting challenges, including senior United Nations officials and healthcare leaders, DSC can offer a rich experience to the right client. 
Ideas to action: Senior Partner David South joined a panel discussion in Dhaka, Bangladesh on public service innovation in December 2017. It was very exciting to see many of the things we had been promoting all these years (good design, effective digital communications, serving the public) were all on full display at the Workshop run by the dynamic a2i team in Bangladesh.
© David South Consulting 2017