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Innovation Labs
UNHCR's Innovation Labs apply principles of human-centered design and prototyping to address complex refugee challenges.
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Blog
New publication: Innovation Quarterly | Issue 2
By UNHCR Innovation, September 8, 2016
Blog
Facilitating innovation at the Assosa sub-country office
By Simeneh Gebeyehu, September 8, 2016
![Hamidi (34) picks up his family's UNHCR monthly cash assistance at the bank, with daughter Aya (7) and youngest son Mohamad (4) in tow. Hamidi, his wife Noufa (37) and their six children fled their home in the countryside near Aleppo, Syria in 2013, fearing for their lives. Hamidi comes from a poor family and the conflict in his homeland has only left his family more destitute and vulnerable. Today, they live in a tiny shelter near downtown Amman, surviving only through the support they receive from UNHCR and partners a far cry from their home in Syria, which had a beautiful garden with a pomegranate tree, jasmine flowers and grape vines. Hamidi is one of over 137,000 Syrian refugees benefitting from a UNHCR monthly cash assistance programme in Jordan, which provides a lifeline to families who have lost everything and now struggle to survive refugees in a foreign land. [The cash assistance] helps a lot, it covers half of my expenses. - Hamidi ; As of May 2016, Jordan hosts more than 650,000 registered Syrian refugees, of whom the vast majority live in urban areas. Years into their exile, these families have depleted their savings and are struggling to pay for the very basic life essentials, like rent, food and healthcare. UNHCR helps restore the dignity of families who have lost everything by supporting them to cover the cost of basic life essentials such as rent, food and healthcare. UNHCRs monthly assistance programme uses fraud-proof iris-scan technology to distribute cash funds through special ATM machines, without the need for a bankcard or PIN code.](https://webarchive.archive.unhcr.org/20160919082754im_/http://innovation.unhcr.org/wp-content/uploads/rsz_rf244122__ssr5344-638x250.jpg)
Blog
Using biometrics to bring assistance to refugees in Jordan
By UNHCR Innovation, August 30, 2016
Blog
Diffa, Niger: An ‘unexpectedly’, diverse communications eco-system
By Katie Drew, August 18, 2016
UNHCR Innovation partners with people inside and outside of UNHCR to innovate with and for refugees.
Innovation Projects
Innovation projects that focus on refugees' needs at each stage of the project design process are prototyped and tested in UNHCR operations worldwide.
Innovation Fellowship
Each year 20 UNHCR Innovation Fellows are trained, mentored, and supported as they address challenges unique to their operations.
Innovative Ideas
UNHCR's online crowdsourced ideas platform, UNHCR Ideas, generates ideas from refugee communities, UNHCR staff, and partners.