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This blog post is part of a series on public sector innovation skills and applied capabilities, focusing on the conceptualisation of public sector innovation skills and applied capabilities, the practical pathways for development within the constraints of public administrations, and the connection between innovation skills and meaningful public sector transformation and impact on strategic goals and policy priorities. These are longstanding questions for the OECD Observatory of Public Sector…

Systemic challenges like climate change, sustainable agriculture, and a future-proof and digital economy require governments to go beyond traditional approaches. At RVO, the Netherlands Entreprise Agency, we’ve embraced transition management and mission portfolio management to guide our role in these dynamic transitions. Our journey in operationalising these approaches has shown us that addressing complex societal challenges requires more than predefined frameworks or traditional approaches.…

Innovation labs often help accelerate innovation and change in government. They create the space for new ideas to take root and grow, supporting stakeholders to identify and tackle the root cause of problems, not just treat the symptoms. Their approach usually tries to support the development of new policies, services, process or product innovations and demonstrates the impact of working in new ways (e.g. responsive services, improved access, cost and time savings). Through work with...

This post was co-authored by the experts from the OECD Mission Action Lab, a joint initiative of the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation, the OECD Directorate of Public Governance, and the OECD Development Co-operation Directorate. In our work at the OECD Mission Action Lab, we frequently encounter a crucial question from policymakers: when is a mission an appropriate policy response? This a fair but difficult question to answer. Indeed, when well designed and...

Are you passionate about the potential of emerging technologies for democracy? Do you want to co-create innovative solutions that address real-world challenges in civic participation? We are looking for developers, designers, researchers, or technologists to join public sector teams to jointly create solutions to civic participation challenges in our co-creation bootcamp in Lisbon from 26 to 27 February 2025. Regardless of your sector – including whether it be academia, a start-up or a civil…

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…