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Seeking collaborators: Join us for workshops on innovation through collaboration across borders and jurisdictions

Written by | 10 May 2021

In previous years, OPSI and our project partners at the UAE Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation (MBRCGI) developed reports on global trends in public sector innovation. A focus on trends inherently focuses on what governments are already doing. This year, we’re doing things a bit differently and looking at what governments need to be doing more.  Namely, we’re focusing on innovation through cross-border and cross-jurisdictional collaboration. As the COVID-19 crisis has shown over the last year, major challenges do not remain within jurisdictional borders and silos, and neither should the approaches to address them. Yet, much of the public sector innovation we see involves inward-focused approaches. How can we break this paradigm? Why is collaborating across borders and jurisdictions not happening more often? Why is it so challenging?

To better understanding this, we at OPSI and the MBRCGI are exploring the topic in a few ways.

First, we are currently holding an open Call for Innovations on innovation through cross-border collaboration. Through this call, we are trying understand existing projects that involve governments from different jurisdictions working together in new ways to solve common challenges, or collaborating to achieve new types of policies and services. This, along with research, will help us to understand a baseline of what is already taking place. Have you been involved in projects like this? We encourage you to submit a case by 21 May. As a note, The call is not limited to only international collaboration – we also welcome cases on multiple cities and regions coming together to innovate, even from within the same country.

Second, we will be holding a series of virtual global workshops to bring together experts and practitioners to better understand what needs to be done to better promote and facilitate this type of innovation. Through these workshops, participants will work together to:

  • Identify pain points and what makes this type of collaboration challenging.
  • Generate visions for optimal futures enabled by cross-border collaboration.
  • Develop recommendations and action steps on what is needed to achieve these visions.

We will be holding the workshops on the following dates:

  • Thursday, 3 June, 15h30-18h00 CET.
  • Monday, 7 June, 9h00-11h30 CET.
  • Thursday, 10 June, 10h00-12h30 CET.

Based on our research, the Call for Innovations, and workshops, we will launch a series of reports, digital stories and global dialogue sessions on innovating through cross-border collaboration in order to achieve global challenges. We aim to provide actionable advice and recommendations based on the real-world experiences and insights.

Interested in joining us for a workshop? Please indicate your interest using the form below by 25 May. All participants and their organisations will be recognised as contributors to the work on the forthcoming project website.

Express your interest in participating



    YesNo

    It went smoothly and was an overall positive experience.It was challenging or difficult, but we had positive outcomes.We struggled and were not able to achieve our goals.Not applicable (if previous response is No)


    Thursday, 10 June, 10h00-12h30 CET.


    SustainabilityMobilitySocial opportunity and equityData sharing and interoperable systemsResponding to cross-border threats and risksCo-creation of ground-up ideas and solutionsArchitecture and governance for collaborationCollaborative policy making


    YesNo