UNDP The Gambia, through its Accelerator Lab, is seeking the services of an engineering firm to design and build a community recreational park with a skatepark and outdoor gym facility. The emergence of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2016 marked a new global ambition and roadmap for rapid and sustained poverty reduction and advancement of human wellbeing worldwide. As such, the attainment of the goals requires concerted efforts from different stakeholders from local, national, and global levels. Notably, since the enactment of the SDGs, the international development community has been increasingly supporting country-level initiatives that advance the attainment of the goals. As we make progress towards Agenda 2030, it is becoming increasingly evident that local participation is not only beneficial for evidence-based policy formulation but relevant for sustainable development in all its dimensions – social, economic, political and environmental. Against this backdrop, the UNDP Accelerator Lab The Gambia (AcclabGM) aims to exploit SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-being in an effort to create a more active and engaged, healthy, and happier society.

For instance, The Gambia ranks 113 out of 153 countries on the World Happiness Report (2017-2020). Equally, many other developing nations perform very low on the happiness report. Arguably, such low GNH could be attributed to lot of factors, however outdoor recreational activities have been proven to have a positive correlation with the happiness level of societies. Given AcclabGM’s role as the innovation hub of the UNDP Country Office, it aims to design programs that increases the happiness level of Gambians through the establishment of community recreational centers/facilities, with Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) being its pilot project. In line with KMC’s vision of modernizing its administrative area, the Lab will partner with the municipality in achieving this ambition.