UNHCR Innovation Fellowship 2026 — Innovation Learning Program

Reach us on

Applications are open for UNHCR Innovation Fellowship 2026. The UNHCR Innovation Fellowship is an annual learning and capacity-building programme run by the UN Refugee Agency’s Innovation Service. It equips participants with innovation skills, tools, and methodologies to design, test, and embed new solutions to real challenges affecting refugees and displaced communities.

The UNHCR Innovation Fellowship is a year-long innovation learning experience where participants dive deep into practical problem solving, ideation, prototyping, and experimentation. Fellows apply innovation frameworks and methods to real operational challenges they encounter in their work, with the goal of bringing more creative, effective approaches into UNHCR’s humanitarian operations.

The programme typically involves:

Online workshops and webinars
Peer collaboration and support networks
Innovation assignments and real project work
Mentoring from experienced innovation practitioners
Focus on embedding innovation approaches into everyday operations

Fellows are seen as ambassadors for innovation, helping spread innovation mindsets and practices within UNHCR and partner networks.

UNHCR Innovation Fellowship Programme Focus

The Innovation Fellowship emphasizes:

People-centred innovation that incorporates diverse perspectives
Experimentation as a structured process
Collaboration across teams and functions
Solutions that improve outcomes for displaced people in humanitarian settings

The skills and insights Fellows build are designed to be applied directly to operational practice and sustained beyond the formal fellowship period.

What Participants Gain

Participants in the Innovation Fellowship Programme gain:

Innovation Skills & Tools
- Learn structured methods for ideation, prototyping, testing, and iterative problem solving that can be applied to operational challenges.
Peer & Mentor Support
- Engage with a global community of innovation practitioners from within UNHCR and partner organisations, and receive guidance throughout your innovation project.
Practical Project Application
- Fellows advance real innovation projects tied to their everyday work — applying learning to challenges related to refugee protection, shelter, food security, inclusion, data use, and more.
Organizational Impact
- Fellows become catalysts for change within their teams and divisions, helping build a culture of innovation and human-centred problem solving.

Eligibility Criteria for UNHCR Innovation Fellowship

The Fellowship is open to UNHCR colleagues (whether you’re based at Headquarters or in Operations, in any region and at any level) and to members of partner organizations. This includes:

All UN agencies
NGOs and partner organizations of UN agencies

It is designed for anyone who wants to explore new ways of making progress in their work. You do not need to be an “innovator” by title or have prior experience with innovation methods. What matters most is your curiosity, openness to learning, and commitment to experimenting with new approaches within your current role. Please note that your manager needs to give their formal agreement for your participation in the learning journey.

Importantly, applicants do not need to apply with a fully formed idea, innovation project or solution. Fellows bring a challenge or area of curiosity and develop their projects throughout the Fellowship.