Sustainable development, at its core, is about enhancing people’s livelihoods. While the concept of sustainable development has evolved over the years with many promising efforts, putting it into practice remains a significant challenge.

Design thinking offers a pathway to achieving sustainable development through innovation. We must move beyond the traditional view of innovation as merely creating new technologies. Instead, we should embrace the innovation journey, where numerous solutions are waiting to be discovered. This journey begins with design thinking, where we break down problems to gain a deep understanding of what people are experiencing. From this understanding, we can identify effective change interventions. This approach strengthens pathways towards sustainable development by enhancing the adaptability of individuals within complex systems, leading to a more prosperous future.

Initiate design thinking presents a guiding framework for design thinking for sustainable development and includes various case studies that highlight the application of design thinking to sustainable development in the context of the SDGs.