David South Consulting has over 20 years of experience in international development and health, including work with the UN in Mongolia, Ukraine, South Africa, and Turkmenistan. It has influenced the UN to embrace innovation and South-South cooperation, including launching the Southern Innovator magazine in 2007. Key impacts include developing an award-winning child health portal for Great Ormond Street Hospital in London and advising senior UN officials on transforming approaches to development. The consulting emphasizes the role of design and innovation in improving health and human development.

1. David South Consulting (davidsouthconsulting.com) brings together two decades’ experience in health and international develop-
ment. It includes groundbreaking work in Mongolia for the United Nations during its late 1990s transition and economic and social
crisis (called a role model for the wider UN), as well as work in UN missions around the world (Ukraine, South Africa and Turkmen-
istan), and consulting for various international agencies (World Bank, UNDP, Harvard Institute for International Development,
USAID, NHS, UNICEF). Since 2007, this has included work guiding the United Nation’s embracing of South-South solutions as a
development paradigm (southerninnovator.org), while influencing the UN development programme’s (UNDP) Strategic Plan
to include innovation as a new problem-solving tool. The magazine Southern Innovator has been the flagship brand to do this.
A common thread has been the ability to collaborate with global professionals to supercharge their work and impact. This
includes pioneering and award-winning work with the UK’s top children’s hospital and child health research institute; and twice
working with senior UN officials on transforming how the UN views its work, championing innovative approaches. In 2001, the UN
was awarded the Nobel Prize for “their work for a better organized and more peaceful world”. Communications achievements, as
done in Mongolia from 1997 to 1999, were cited as integral to this success. Another thread has been the ability to take a complex
brief and deliver concrete actions and results that inspire others and lead the way forward.
David South Consulting has, over time, built up substantial experience in placing design at the heart of health and human devel-
opment and believes this is the secret to a greater chance of success in a turbulent, 21st-century world.
Designing Change for Health and Human Development
Southern
Innovator
United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, United Nations Development Programme
A magazine celebrating South-South innovation
ISSUE 05 2014 www.southerninnovator.org
Empowered lives.
Resilient nations.
Cradle-to-cradle Pen
Solution
Designing for a New Africa
Zero-waste
Solutions
IN THIS ISSUE:
Waste &
Improving Human Development with Finite Resources
Recycling Issue
WASTE
RECYCLING
Building Green Businesses That Work: From Fashion to Fuel to Farms
KEYDATA
Facts and Figures
STATE OF PLAY
Mobiles Transforming Green Solutions: A How-to Guide Pages 26-27
98%
Recyclable
Turning Waste into Wealth in the 21st Century
United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, United Nations Development Programme
A magazine celebrating South-South innovation
ISSUE 04 2013 www.southerninnovator.org
Empowered lives.
Resilient nations.
Cities &
The Global South's Increasing Urbanization: Challenges to City Living
Urbanization Issue
KEY DATA
Facts and Figures
STATE OF PLAY
Solutions for Planned and Unplanned Cities
URBANIZATION
Making Urban Environments Liveable
CITIES
Great Housing Solutions and Building Technologies
Source: McKinsey
Global Institute
Sao
Paul
o
Bue
nos
Air
es
Tianjin
ACCRA
Ban
gko
k
LAGOS
Xian
Do
ha
Beijing
Wu
ha
n
Shanghai
Add
is
Aba
ba
Innovative
Home Designs
Smart Cities Up Close
Urbanization
Trends
IN THIS ISSUE:
Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, United Nations Development Programme
YOUTH
How to Engage for a Brighter Future
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Great Ideas for Pro-poor Businesses
KEY DATA
Facts and Figures
STATE OF PLAY
Best Policies and the “Demographic Dividend”
Youth&
A magazine celebrating South-South innovation
ISSUE 02 SPRING 2012 www.southerninnovator.org
How youth and entrepreneurship can help in the push to meet the MDGs
Entrepreneurship Issue
Empowered lives.
Resilient nations.
David South Consulting
1997 to 2014
People are the real wealth of a nation.”
UNDP Human Development Report 1990
“
Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, United Nations Development Programme
MOBILE PHONES
Apps to innovations to pioneers
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Digital decade delivers huge changes
KEY DATA
Facts and figures
STATE OF PLAY
What is going on across the South?
Mobile Phones &
Information Technology Issue
How these tech tools can aid in the push to meet the MDGs
A magazine celebrating South-South innovation
ISSUE 01 MAY 2011 www.southerninnovator.org
David
South
Consulting
davidsouthconsulting.com
hsquareddevelopment.com
Human development: Definition
Human development is defined as the process of enlarging people’s freedoms and opportunities and improving their well-being. Human development is
about the real freedom ordinary people have to decide who to be, what to do, and how to live.
Source: Measure of America (measureofamerica.org)
UNDP Mongolia Development Portal:
www.flickr.com/photos/15195144@N06/
sets/72157614998506453/detail/
GOSH Child He alth Portal:
www.tinyurl.com/m3jmnfu
Southern Innovator:
www.southerninnovator.org
Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, United Nations Development Programme
A magazine celebrating South-South innovation
ISSUE 03 2012 www.southerninnovator.org
Empowered lives.
Resilient nations.
Agribusiness &
How agribusiness and food security can help in the push to meet the MDGs
Food Security Issue
AGRIBUSINESS
Agribusiness Models and Success Stories
FOOD SECURITY
From Crisis Strategies to Small-scale Farming Innovators
KEY DATA
Facts and Figures
STATE OF PLAY
Making the 21st Century Farm: A How-to Guide
Summary of Impact
Summary of Impact
David South:
www.davidsouthconsulting.com
GOSH Child
Health Portal

2. 2007-2014 Global South Innovators + Solutions.
2
1997-1999
2000-2001
2001-2003
2004-2006
2007-2014
Consulting with UN missions in Mongolia,
South Africa and Turkmenistan.
GOSH Child Health Portal.
Winner of 2003 Childnet Award; called
one of the “three most admired websites
in the UK public and voluntary sectors.”
UN Office for South-South Cooperation.
Championing innovation in the global South
through two media: e-newsletter Development
Challenges, South-South Solutions and
magazine Southern Innovator.
Advising UN mission in Ukraine.
UNDP Mongolia Communications Office.
Called a role model for the UN.
2
1
1
3
London
1997-1999 UNDP Mongolia
Communications Office.
Timeline:
High Impact Health and Human
Development: 1997 to 2014
•Influentialstories
•Cleargraphicdesign
•Sharingandconnectingonline
3
2001-2003 GOSH Child
Health Portal.
Ulaanbaatar
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Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, United Nations Development Programme
YOUTH
How to Engage for a Brighter Future
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Great Ideas for Pro-poor Businesses
KEY DATA
Facts and Figures
STATE OF PLAY
Best Policies and the “Demographic Dividend”
Youth&
A magazine celebrating South-South innovation
ISSUE 02 SPRING 2012 www.southerninnovator.org
How youth and entrepreneurship can help in the push to meet the MDGs
Entrepreneurship Issue
Empowered lives.
Resilient nations.
Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, United Nations Development Programme
MOBILE PHONES
Apps to innovations to pioneers
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Digital decade delivers huge changes
KEY DATA
Facts and figures
STATE OF PLAY
What is going on across the South?
Mobile Phones &
Information Technology Issue
How these tech tools can aid in the push to meet the MDGs
A magazine celebrating South-South innovation
ISSUE 01 MAY 2011 www.southerninnovator.org
United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, United Nations Development Programme
A magazine celebrating South-South innovation
ISSUE 05 2014 www.southerninnovator.org
Empowered lives.
Resilient nations.
Cradle-to-cradle Pen
Solution
Designing for a New Africa
Zero-waste
Solutions
IN THIS ISSUE:
Waste &
Improving Human Development with Finite Resources
Recycling Issue
WASTE
RECYCLING
Building Green Businesses That Work: From Fashion to Fuel to Farms
KEYDATA
Facts and Figures
STATE OF PLAY
Mobiles Transforming Green Solutions: A How-to GuidePages 26-27
98%
Recyclable
Turning Waste into Wealth in the 21st Century
United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation, United Nations Development Programme
A magazine celebrating South-South innovation
ISSUE 04 2013 www.southerninnovator.org
Empowered lives.
Resilient nations.
Cities &
The Global South's Increasing Urbanization: Challenges to City Living
Urbanization Issue
KEY DATA
Facts and Figures
STATE OF PLAY
Solutions for Planned and Unplanned Cities
URBANIZATION
Making Urban Environments Liveable
CITIES
Great Housing Solutions and Building Technologies
Source: McKinsey
Global Institute
Sao
Paulo
Buenos
Aires
Tianjin
ACCRA
Bangkok
LAGOS
Xian
Doha
Beijing
Wuhan
Shanghai
Addis
Ababa
Innovative
Home Designs
Smart Cities Up Close
Urbanization
Trends
IN THIS ISSUE:
Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, United Nations Development Programme
A magazine celebrating South-South innovation
ISSUE 03 2012 www.southerninnovator.org
Empowered lives.
Resilient nations.
Agribusiness &
How agribusiness and food security can help in the push to meet the MDGs
Food Security Issue
AGRIBUSINESS
Agribusiness Models and Success Stories
FOOD SECURITY
From Crisis Strategies to Small-scale Farming Innovators
KEY DATA
Facts and Figures
STATE OF PLAY
Making the 21st Century Farm: A How-to Guide
DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES,
SOUTH-SOUTH SOLUTIONS
E-newsletter of the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation in UNDP
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February 2012
www.southerninnovator.org
In this issue:
African Afro Beats Leads New
Music Wave to Europe
Venture Capital Surge in Africa to
Help Businesses
Business Leads on Tackling
Violence in Mexican City
Africa’s Tourism Sector Can Learn
from Asian Experience
Designed in China to Rival ‘Made
in China’
1. African Afro Beats Leads New Music
Wave to Europe
A surge in interest in African music in Britain is creating new
economic opportunities for the continent’s musicians. The new
sound heating up the U.K. music scene is “Afro Beats” - a high
energy hybrid that mixes Western rap influences with Ghanaian
and Nigerian popular music.
Afro Beats draws its inspiration from the “Afrobeat” sound
popularized in the 1970s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrobeat).
Afrobeat recordings from that time are still making money as
long-forgotten tunes are re-packaged by so-called ‘crate divers’
- enterprising people who rummage through old vinyl record
collections and re-brand scenes and sounds.
This is part of the global creative economy, which is thriving
despite the recent years of economic turmoil. Musicians
offer many lessons for businesses in the South, both in their
adaptability to new conditions and their resourcefulness in
experimenting with new business models to earn an income.
Afrobeat stars and pioneers like Nigeria’s Fela Kuti (http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fela_Kuti) have been popular outside
Africa for many decades. But Afro Beats - a new name with
the addition of the crucial letter “s” - is being declared as the
beginning of a new phase in taking African music global.
As the digital music revolution has rocked the global music
business, artists have had to adapt and change their business
models. For all but a very few “big names,” it is no longer possible
to build a career on royalties from recordings and hits. Stars
and novices alike must battle with music pirates, who sell CDs
and downloads of other people’s tunes and keep the money for
themselves. Legitimate income often comes in micropayments
from large music platforms like iTunes as people pay to download
an individual song or mix and match tunes they like from an
artist’s catalogue, rather than buying a whole album as they
would in the past.
Clever musicians have turned to building their brand, using
live performances and the ability to sell other services and
merchandise to make a living. They create their own web
platforms, or mobile phone apps (applications), and do the
marketing and distribution on their own to build a loyal fan base.
Others are creating their own mobile radio stations by distributing
CDs to the ubiquitous taxi mini buses that are the main means of
transport in most African cities.
But some things remain the same as in the past, such as the
importance of having a champion, such as a radio DJ (disc jockey),
who acts as a “taste maker,” discovering new acts and telling their
audience about them.
The DJ most associated with pushing the Afro Beats sound and
scene is London-based DJ Abrantee (http://www.facebook.com/
djabrantee).
“I’ve been playing this music to three or four thousand people
at African events in the U.K. for years,” DJ Abrantee told The
Guardian. “For years we’ve had amazing hiplife, highlife,
Nigerbeats, juju music, and I thought: you know what, let’s put it
all back together as one thing again, and call it Afro Beats, as an
umbrella term. Afrobeat, the 60s music, was more instrumental -
this Afro Beats sound is different, it’s inter-twined with things like
hip-hop and funky house, and there’s more of a young feel to it.”
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Cable and Wireless Childnet
Award (2003): Called Children
First “an outstanding example
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mation on issues relating to
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ORGANIZATIONS INFLUENCED
Services
David
South
Consulting
davidsouthconsulting.com
hsquareddevelopment.com
Dates: 1997 to 2014
davidsouthconsulting.com
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• Innovation
• Strategy
• Project management
• Content
• Troubleshooting, crisis, resilience
NHS (National Health
Service)
Budget (2002-2003):
US $100bn (£65.4bn)
Source: The Guardian
UNDP (United Nations
Development Programme)
Budget (2014): US$5bn
(6,400 staff)
Source: IPS, UN System Human
Resources Statistics
UNDP Mongolia
Budget for Partnership for
Progress: US$27.5m
Source: Partnership for Progress
Budgets
US$5bn
US$27.5m
US$100bn