Designing & Delivering Impactful Island Innovation Programmes @ GSIS 2026
Designing & Delivering Impactful Island Innovation Programmes A Collaborative Design Lab · Side Event at GSIS 2026
📅 Wednesday, 22 April 2026 ⏰ 9:45 – 11:45 AM 📍 Global Sustainable Islands Summit · Gran Canaria, Spain
Many islands invest heavily in innovation programmes — incubators, accelerators, ecosystem initiatives — as part of broader sustainable development strategies. They're expected to drive economic diversification, build climate resilience, and support social inclusion.
Yet many struggle to translate that investment into lasting impact. Why?
This session brings together funders, policymakers, programme leaders, ecosystem builders, and entrepreneurs for an honest, cross-sector conversation about what makes these initiatives succeed — and what causes them to fall short.
This is not a standard panel. It's a working session: part fireside dialogue, part collaborative design lab, with structured workshops and live synthesis throughout.
What to expect
🛠️ Collaborative Design Lab — facilitated roundtables where you contribute your own experience and expertise
📄 Co-created white paper — your contributions directly inform a published paper shared with the European Commission in response to the call for input on the EU islands policy.
🔥 Multi-stakeholder fireside dialogue — real talk across sectors on programme design, funding structures, governance, and ecosystem alignment
⚡ Live insight capture — interactive polling and real-time synthesis
Featured Voices
Ashaki Goodwin · Director of Government Affairs, PVBLIC Foundation
Andreia Rosa Collard · Director of Competitivity, Innovation and Sustainability, Government of Madeira
Alessandro Silvestri · Managing Partner, MALTAccelerate
Facilitated by
Gabriela Matic · Co-Founder & Director, Metta
Wil Benton · Co-Founder & Director, Metta
Gabriella G. Hernandez · Head of Comms & Sustainability, Metta
This session is for you if you...
Design, deliver, fund, or evaluate innovation and entrepreneurship programmes
Work in island government, development, or ecosystem building
Are an entrepreneur or social enterprise leader in an island context
Want to learn how to plan or launch your own programme
Are simply passionate about what sustainable island development can look like
Organised by Metta in partnership with Island Innovation. Places are limited - register to secure your spot today!
IMPORTANT:
To participate in this activity, you must be a registered attendee for the Global Sustainable Islands Summit.
You can use our code GSIS2026-PARTNER-SP to get 20% off your ticket when you register. Register here:
https://www.islandinnovation.co/events/global-sustainable-islands-summit-2026/