PoliSync Centre for International Policy Engagement

It has been a privilege to play a founding role in the new Humanitarian Payments Council - launched this week in Barcelona - whose goal is to advise the United Nations and NGOs on blockchain for aid payments in fragile and vulnerable settings. The Forum for Innovation in Humanitarian Payments (https://lnkd.in/em6c9pFj) at PoliSync Centre for International Policy Engagement looks forward to contributing evidence-based research, multi-stakeholder engagement and capacity building to the work of the Council, led by Algorand Foundation, which also includes UNDP, World Food Programme, Circle, Mercy Corps, Worldpay and HesabPay.

📣 Sharing the news that I am starting a new phase in my career this week, with details of my new role to follow soon. 🌍 For the past decade I’ve had the enormous pleasure and privedge of working with some of the leading thinkers and doers in the #sanctions world. Along the way, I’ve made lifelong friends and never stopped learning from the remarkable expert community that spans cultures, sectors and academic disciplines. 🌟 Highlights have been running the Geneva International Sanctions Network with Thomas Biersteker, forming the multistakeholder AHSR project with George A. Lopez, Alistair Millar and Sophie Huve, to rethink the strategic future of sanctions with humanitarianism at its core and teaching/ supervising thesis or fantastic students at Geneva Graduate Institute and Sciences Po. Specialising in financial sector #derisking and #overcompliance in supply chains of essential goods in recent years has also allowed me to work closely with the EU, UN agencies, the World Bank, international NGOs (with special thanks to Norwegian Refugee Council), banks and governments, especially Switzerland, the UK, US, Mexico, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland and France. The (often under recognised) dedication and brilliance of dear colleagues in these organisations is both astounding and reassuring. 🤝 I have been handing over my existing research projects and stakeholder engagements - including in relation to sanctions, financial inclusion and #innovation in #digital #humanitarian #payments in #Syria, #Afghanistan and other #FCV settings - to an inspirational set of expert practitioners at PoliSync Centre for International Policy Engagement and can’t wait to see the outcomes of this work years to come. Working with Cecilia Cannon in building this unique, innovative and inclusive🇨🇭not for profit has been a remarkable and inspirational journey. 🙏 Immense gratitude to all my colleagues and friends for the invaluable support, inspiration and friendship you have shared with me over these last years. Keep in touch! ❤️

Thank you Cecilia Cannon and the whole PoliSync Centre for International Policy Engagement team for these wonderful, exhilarating and unbelievably rewarding two years. Co-founding PoliSync, and serving as its Policy Director, has been the highlight of my career so far and I will be forever grateful to my dear friend and colleague, Cecilia, for sharing this journey with me. Thank you too to the many experts, practitioners and social impact technology innovators who have joined us along the way from a range of UN agencies, IOs, NGOs and universities, as well as to the board members, who have shared with us their invaluable guidance and support. I am leaving PoliSync at a time of exciting growth, creativity and deepening strategic partnerships across International Geneva and worldwide. I can't wait to see what the future holds for this young, but bold and visionary organisation.

We at PoliSync Centre for International Policy Engagement extend our heartfelt best wishes to Dr. Erica Moret, our esteemed founding member and former Policy Director, as she embarks on her new career journey. Thank you, Erica, for your invaluable contributions in shaping PoliSync. Your dedication and vision have been instrumental to making PoliSync the successful organisation that is it today.  🙏👏 #PoliSync #Anniversary #NewBeginnings #Teamwork #Innovation #Grateful #Growth #StartUp #NotForProfit #Entrepreneurs #ThankYou

The end of June marks a bittersweet moment for us at PoliSync Centre for International Policy Engagement. Sweet because we’ve just celebrated our 2nd anniversary (as a legal entity). Bittersweet, because one of our founding members-Dr. Erica Moret-will leave our core team to take on an exciting new role in International Geneva—stay tuned for more details from her! Having Erica on our team for the past 2 years has been an incredible gift. As Co-founder and Policy Director, her trademark energy, expertise, network, and enthusiasm have been instrumental in shaping PoliSync. We will deeply miss her, but are so grateful for her contributions. As we’ve steered PoliSync through the first 2 wobbly years that all start-ups journey through, I’ve read countless stories about successful & unsuccessful entrepreneurs. One, painfully accurate analogy that struck a chord is that creating a start-up is like chewing on glass while staring into the abyss. As the founder of an organisation, your raison d’être is to solve challenges - the grand challenge(s) your organisation strives to address, and the day-to-day challenges that any infant organisation faces. As a founder, you need to get comfortable with solving problems, comfortable with being uncomfortable - i.e. chewing on glass. You also need to step into the unknown-the abyss-where grand dreams lead you on, but where you constantly face uncertainty, both for your own future and for your organization’s future (& rightly so, since you've yet to prove your worth and value as an organization). The question of whether you will succeed or collapse keeps you perpetually on your toes, with your heart in your throat and breath held, as you navigate these challenges and move forward into the unknown, towards your dreams. Many have reminded me that most new organisations collapse within their first 2 years of existence. Erica, thanks for sharing the first two years of this journey with me and the wider PoliSync team—for agreeing to chew on glass and stride forward into the abyss. Your courage, expertise, dedication, creativity, hard work and good fun have made these two years a delight. From the laughs and tears to the innovative ideas, projects and workshops, your impact on PoliSync has been profound. Thanks for helping us arrive safely at this crucial two-year mark, not just in survival mode, but thriving as we expand with new donors, projects, workshops, and a growing team of unique and dynamic experts. We love your work and we’ve no doubt that our paths will continue to cross, and that future collaborations might lie ahead as we continue to work in search of innovative solutions to address our most pressing global challenges. For now, I (and all of us at PoliSync) wish you all the best in your new role and echo the sentiments of our board members: Thank you, "ce n’est qu’un au revoir!" #PoliSync #Anniversary #NewBeginnings #Teamwork #Innovation #Grateful #Growth #StartUp #NotForProfit #Entrepreneurs #Thankyou

It has been an eventful week for summer schools across #Switzerland. On Wednesday, we were very happy to participate in the University of Geneva's Geneva Science-Policy Interface (GSPI) Summer Course on exploring the multifaceted Science-Policy Interface. 🌍 ☀   PoliSync Managing Director, Dr. Cecilia Cannon, was invited to lead a session on #KnowledgeTranslation, delving into how to effectively communicate and leverage research findings among policy actors and within policy processes. The participants eagerly engaged in discussions about stakeholder mapping tools and audience analysis techniques. They also explored best practices for establishing rigorous research standards when serving as consultants for international organisations and governments.   We were delighted to be presenting alongside additional science-policy experts Maxime Stauffer from the Simon Institute for Longterm Governance, Theres Paulsen from td-net | Network for Transdisciplinary Research, and Kali Taylor from SFG - Sustainable Finance Geneva.   Thanks for the invitation to participate GSPI, we love your work!   #SciencePolicy #KnowledgeTranslation #StakeholderMapping #PolicyProcesses #PolicyEngagement #StrategicCommunication #GlobalChallenges #GlobalGovernance #Geneva #HigherEducation #SummerSchool Geneva Summer Schools - UNIGE

🌟 Earlier this week, our very own Dr. Cecilia Cannon, Managing Director at PoliSync, was invited to participate in the 'Beyond the Lab Summer School: Addressing Global Challenges as Scientists' presented by EPFL in the picturesque Beatenberg area of Interlaken, Switzerland! 🏞️ Cecilia led a session on 'Science for International Cooperation,' sharing strategies to make research policy-relevant. Here are some of Cecilia's #keytakeaways: 1️⃣ Weigh-up your data & analysis: In our data-driven world, effective decision-making relies on clear and compelling data presentation. 2️⃣ Understand the policy cycle & access opportunities: Focus on understanding the political environment, policy discourse, how much formal access you have & the communication culture to map out your research's pathway into the policy cycle. 3️⃣ Clarify policy objectives: Stay focused on your goals—whether it’s identifying new issues, raising awareness, changing behaviour, or building capacity. 4️⃣ Know your audience: Ensure your policy research connects with your target audience. 5️⃣ Choose the right communication medium: Select the most effective format to reach your target audience. (Maybe consider a publication, digital toolkit, even a mobile app). 6️⃣ Visualise your data: Use data examples to make your key points memorable. 7️⃣ Storytelling: Engage your audience by weaving a compelling narrative around your policy analysis and proposals. Bravo, Cecilia! 👏 Other brilliant experts who shared insights on Science & Policymaking included: Dr. Anthony Patt on 'Problem-driven research' from ETH Zürich Dr. Dominique Foray on 'Innovation advising' from EPFL Dr. Dominic Roser on 'Ethics of innovation' from Université de Fribourg - Universität Freiburg Dr. Nicolas Schmid on 'Giving advice as a consultant' from INFRAS We extend a very special thank you to Sophia Johnson and Marie Jones from EPFL for organizing such an impactful, timely, and significant summer school. Your efforts made this event truly exceptional! #BeyondTheLab #SciencePolicy #GlobalChallenges #PolicyResearch #ScienceandPolicyMaking #Interlaken #EPFL #Interlaken

Policy Director Erica Moret and Sandra Uwantege Hart, Strategist of Inclusive Innovation & Humanitarian Action, will be participating in the Algorand Technologies flagship event, #Decipher, in Barcelona tomorrow! They will be featured on the panel discussing the future of #blockchain-based payments for cash assistance in #humanitarian crises.   Joining them on the panel will be Mercina Tillemann Perez from Circle, Suzana Maranhão Moreno Moreno from the World Food Programme, Nigel Pont from HesabPay, and Moderator Doro Unger-Lee from Algorand Foundation.   👏 Congratulations, Erica and Sandra! 🔗 Learn more about the panel: https://lnkd.in/eTmQjhqS

Our team is growing. We’re looking for an experienced, Geneva-based Stakeholder and Community Engagement Strategist to work on a variety of projects and activities at PoliSync Centre for International Policy Engagement. It's a 60% position for three months, with the possibility of a higher percentage long-term as we continue to grow. Details about the position and how to apply are in the link: https://lnkd.in/dC3eBKVC ⭐ If you know someone who might be interested/suitable, please share this with them, or tag them in the comments ⭐ #internationalaffairs #development #migration #humanitarianaid #sustainabledevelopment #advocacy #communityengagement #stakeholderengagement #partnerships #geneva #vacancy #hiring

As our projects grow at PoliSync Centre for International Policy Engagement, we’re looking for new team members to fill a range of positions across the next few months. Starting with a Fintech Innovation and Humanitarian Action consultant, part-time for 12 months. Details about the position and application process in this link: https://lnkd.in/eU6fvjSB If you know someone who might be interested/suitable, please share! ⭐ #humanitarian #fintech #humanitarianaction #financialinclusion #innovation