Re-inventing Sri Lanka’s first Social Innovation Lab
The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Hon. Dinesh Gunawardena convened a meeting yesterday with the co-chairs of the Citra Social Innovation Lab Governance Board, Mr. Anura Dissanayake, Secretary to the Prime Minister, and Ms. Azusa Kubota, Resident Representative, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka, together with Hon. Shehan Semasinghe, State Minister of Finance, Hon. Kanaka Herath, State Minister of Technology, Dr. Dharmasri Kumaratunga, Secretary, Ministry of Technology, Mr. M. L. Gammampila, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Public Administration, and representatives from the Ministries of Education, Finance and Planning, Public Administration, and Technology on operationalizing Citra 3.0. Staying agile, relevant and fit-for-purpose is essential for the successful operation of any innovation facility, and the Citra Social Innovation Lab, South Asia and Sri Lanka’s first social innovation lab, has already reinvented itself twice in its five years of operation, and is currently undergoing its third iteration, with a view to becoming a transformational public sector innovation lab.
Further to the findings of an independent review conducted in 2023, during the next five years of a transitional period towards the public sector innovation lab, it was agreed upon that Citra will continue to be anchored at the Prime Minister’s Office as a joint initiative with UNDP to leverage its global expertise and knowledge base, and will operate closely with four lead ministries – the Ministries of Education, Finance and Planning, Public Administration, and Technology. The Lab will focus on three workstreams – namely, systems transformation, public sector innovation and policy coherence – and will operate through four key enablers – digital, data, innovation, and service design.
Citra Lab, a joint initiative between the Government and UNDP Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka’s first Social Innovation Lab, was established in 2018 through a Cabinet memo. In 2022, following a review, through a further Cabinet memo, the Lab was anchored under the Prime Minister’s Office. Citra is a part of UNDP supported global innovation facilities, working closely with diverse innovation facilities across the world.
