Partnerships that Matter
Show notes
In Episode 5, Chris Hoffman is joined by Fran Baker (Director of Sustainability, Social Impact, and Innovation at Arm), Shane O’Connor (Innovation Manager, Emerging Tech, UNICEF Office of Innovation), and Hovig Etyemezian (Head of Innovation, UNHCR) to unpack what makes public–private partnerships actually work in humanitarian innovation.
This isn’t a “pilot story.” It’s a practical conversation about aligning incentives, building trust across sectors, and avoiding the trap of partnerships that look great on paper but don’t survive real operational constraints. The guests share how long-running collaborations stay effective: clear problem ownership, strong local feedback loops, shared learning, and designing solutions that can scale without forcing a single tech stack. You’ll also hear why co-creation beats “solution shipping,” how innovation teams move inside large institutions, and what it takes to deliver outcomes for communities—not just reports for donors.
What we cover:
- Partnership models that scale (beyond one-off pilots)
- Frontier tech, responsible innovation, and real-world constraints
- How UNICEF, UNHCR, and industry partners collaborate in practice
- Sustainable impact vs. “CSR theater”
Links:
- Arm + UNICEF partnership (Arm): https://newsroom.arm.com/blog/arm-unicef-partnership
- UNICEF Office of Innovation: https://www.unicef.org/innovation/
- Shane O’Connor (UNICEF Venture Fund profile): https://www.unicefventurefund.org/team/shane-oconnor
- Hovig Etyemezian bio (AI for Good): https://aiforgood.itu.int/speaker/hovig-etyemezian/
- Fran Baker: https://www.arm.com/company/sustainability
- UK4UNHCR: https://unrefugees.org.uk/learn-more/news/news-updates/unhcr-partners-with-arm-to-unleash-tech-to-help-transform-refugees-lives/
UNHCR Innovation: UNHCR Innovation Service
LinkedIn:
- Fran Baker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/franbaker1/
- Shane O’Connor: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-o-connor-b9600b4/
- Hovig Etyemezian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hovig-etyemezian-9b33994/
keywords: humanitarian partnerships, tech for good, UNICEF innovation, UNHCR innovation, Arm social impact, frontier technology, co-creation, digital public infrastructure.