Blog

On October 1, 2024, the OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OPSI) celebrated the conclusion of project LIMinal, a two-year initiative funded by the European Commission involving Lithuania, Italy, and Malta. This project focused on strengthening anticipatory innovation governance in these countries through the development of practical tools and resources, including a curriculum to foster futures-thinking and innovation capabilities among foresight practitioners, policymakers, and senior…

“It’s nice in principle, but where do we start?” In our collaboration with countries, this is a question we often encountered in relation to the application of the OECD Declaration on Public Sector Innovation. We learned that identifying the first step is often the hardest. In response, the OECD Innovation Playbook 1.0 was launched in 2022, offering public officials and managers a solid starting point to apply these principles effectively. Today, we’re excited to introduce...

Are you eager to work on innovative projects and push the boundaries of what’s possible in the public sector? The OECD’s Observatory of Public Sector Innovation is searching for multiple talented individuals to join our team for a six-month internship experience in Paris (with the possibility to extend to 12 months)!   The deadline for application is Sunday, 20 October, 2024, 23:59 CET (instructions below).   The OECD Internship Programme is designed to provide…

Who doesn’t like scaling? Innovators, governments, and international development organisations alike pursue, seek out or support innovative solutions. Common to all is the intent to scale to address societal problems, may they be big or small. Men and women across the globe innovate to better deal with everyday challenges and for many impact at scale means making a positive change in their community only, for others it might mean across the entire country or even...

In a recent collaboration to address unpredictability in government planning, the Maltese Ministry for Social Policy and Children’s Rights (MSPC) and the OECD embarked on an ‘Uncertainty Scan’, a three-step strategic foresight initiative designed to reveal unexamined assumptions and “ghost scenarios” that often go unnoticed in strategic planning. The initiative challenged and refined the understanding of uncertainties, assessed their impact in strategy and introduced a tool…

What is at the top of the minds of government officials working in public sector innovation? OPSI convenes a network of officials for the purpose of international exchange of practices, development of common guidance and principles among OECD Members, and identification of emerging topics faced by national governments in their innovation efforts. The OPSI National Contact Point meeting in April was one in a series of twice annual gatherings from national governments, represented by centres...