𝐁𝐡𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐛 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐨 𝐓𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬

…𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑼𝑵𝑫𝑷, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒃 𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒂-𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏, 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆-𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

By Yeshi Dolma

The Royal Government of Bhutan, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), launched the Bhutan Innovation Lab (BILB) on July 10, 2025. Housed directly under the Office of the Prime Minister, the Lab is a formal institutional platform designed to address some of the country’s most complex development challenges through systems thinking, experimentation, and citizen engagement.

Unlike temporary pilot initiatives, the Bhutan Innovation Lab is integrated into the heart of government. Its stated mission is to develop agile, data-informed, and inclusive solutions to improve public service delivery and support Bhutan’s broader transformation goals outlined in the 13th Five-Year Plan and the 21st Century Economic Roadmap.
Mohammad Younus, UNDP Resident Representative in Bhutan, said the Lab represents more than a symbolic commitment. “The Bhutan Innovation Lab is more than a launch- it’s a powerful expression of Bhutan’s readiness to lead with innovation. As traditional policies struggle to keep pace with global change, this Lab provides a platform for agile, inclusive governance aligned with Bhutan’s 21st Century Economic Roadmap.”

Among the Lab’s early interventions was an in-depth assessment of persistent inefficiencies at Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital. Overcrowded waiting rooms, delayed appointments, and public frustration initially pointed to basic service gaps. However, a systems-level review by the Lab uncovered more complex issues, such as limited coordination in patient flow, underutilization of community health centers, and weaknesses in the referral network.

To address these concerns, the Lab conducted a comprehensive mixed-method analysis. This included quantitative data, interviews with healthcare professionals and patients, perception surveys, benchmarking against international health systems, and collaborative workshops. The outcome was a blueprint of 44 targeted interventions that address the structural causes of the hospital’s challenges. These range from patient behavior and appointment booking patterns to health literacy improvements. The reform plan is now set for implementation by the National Medical Center later this year.

The Lab also undertook a detailed review of Bhutan’s tourism sector, a longstanding contributor to the national economy. Faced with evolving trends and changing visitor expectations, the Lab used 20 years of historical tourism data to build economic models projecting various tourist arrival scenarios through 2030. It also reviewed over 5,000 online tourist reviews and surveyed more than 2,000 international travelers to construct tourist yield profiles and evaluate the policy implications of different development paths.

Findings from this exercise suggest that Bhutan can achieve a 10 percent contribution to GDP from tourism with fewer than 300,000 annual visitors-if the country targets high-yield tourist segments. Without this focus, Bhutan would need to attract more than 500,000 tourists each year to meet the same revenue targets, increasing pressure on cultural and environmental resources.

The analysis further highlighted Bhutan’s comparatively high tourism dollar retention rate. According to the Lab’s findings, up to 70 percent of each dollar spent by a tourist remains within the country, exceeding global averages. This is attributed to cultural and community-based experiences such as traditional weaving workshops, culinary classes, and immersive heritage programs.

“The work done on tourism alone was estimated by external consultants to be worth nearly a million dollars,” said Mohammad Younus. “But the Lab achieved this with less than 3 percent of that cost. That speaks to Bhutan’s extraordinary efficiency and innovation culture.”

The Bhutan Innovation Lab is also part of a broader global network of UNDP-supported innovation hubs launched in 2019. As of 2025, the network includes 91 labs across 115 countries. These labs support governments in exploring new methods of policymaking based on experimentation, systems design, and real-time learning.

Other countries have adopted similar approaches. In Thailand, the innovation lab helped create fire barriers in local communities and launched a civic engagement platform. In Mongolia, the lab supported initiatives to improve website accessibility for persons with disabilities and led smart city pilot projects. In Cambodia, it supported youth-led startups focused on sustainable urban mobility. In Kenya, the lab backed over 70 technology-driven startups during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Latin America, citizen-led projects in Argentina and Mexico developed digital tools to monitor air quality and track public budgets.

What sets Bhutan’s Lab apart is its institutional placement and values-based foundation. While innovation labs elsewhere often operate as external think tanks or temporary teams, Bhutan has placed its Lab within the highest level of government under the Prime Minister’s Office. Its mandate reflects the principles of Gross National Happiness, aiming not only for efficiency and economic development but also for long-term sustainability and public well-being.
The Lab is currently developing machine learning tools to evaluate tourism carrying capacity and intends to expand its work into agriculture, education, and climate adaptation. It is also exploring partnerships with civil society and private sector entities to co-design public services that are more responsive to citizen needs.

Speaking at the launch, Prime Minister Dasho Tshering Tobgay said, “Innovation is never easy. It is often risky, uncomfortable, and unpredictable. But the greatest risk we face today is the risk of doing nothing. If we are to transform, to lead, and to inspire, we must dare to innovate- boldly, deliberately, and with purpose.”
The Bhutan Innovation Lab is now positioned as a platform for long-term public sector transformation. Its approach is grounded in Bhutan’s national values, supported by global expertise, and driven by the needs of its citizens.