Innovation in the public sector has a positive connotation and is regarded as an inherently good thing in many administrative contexts. But even when we acknowledge the act of doing something new is to be praised when it simplifies administrative processes, ensures better accountability for public resources and motivate employees, an important question remains. What is the impact of innovation on public sector change? Should we limit ourselves to measuring improvements in the machinery and...
How does your organisation know when it needs an innovative response to a problem? How does it learn what the problems are? How does it learn for innovation? We are seeking your input on our ‘alpha’ version of a study on identifying problems and learning for innovation in the public sector. Public sector organisations are dealing with large and varied changes in their operating environment. Many traditional practices are no longer delivering the results that...
The work of the public sector is changing quickly to respond to a more complex, interdependent and hard-to-predict world. Are we, and the organisations we work in or with, ready to fully understand that change and convert that new understanding into knowledge and innovations that improves the lives of citizens? We hope to hear from you about your experience to inform our work. In my last post I wrote about OECD efforts to develop a...
How do you know why, when and how you should use a particular tool to get the best results? I’m working on the development of an Innovation Toolkit for public servants and I want to hear from you about how you choose between methods, and what information you need when you are using a new approach. Why an innovation toolkit? The work of public servants is changing. Traditional methods no longer guarantee the same results...
Back in November 2014, at the launch of the Observatory of Public Sector Innovation, more than 400 policy makers, front line public servants, civil society organisations, and academics gathered at the OECD to celebrate government innovation—how we can do things differently to achieve positive results for individuals and society. At that event, the OECD made a call to action for governments to create the conditions to promote and enable public sector innovation. How did countries...
This blog was authored by guest blogger, Bruno Queiroz Cunha, Advisor, Special Advisory Unit for Management Modernization, Brazilian Ministry of Planning Innovation requires a certain amount of creativity and dynamic thinking, two qualities that come somewhat naturally in Brazil. The country’s recent Innovation Week was all about harnessing these attributes for positive change in the public sector. From November 30th and December 4th, several hundred participants embarked enthusiastically…
If you are trying to raise awareness of innovation – both the need for it, and ways of doing it – and trying to help public servants learn about the process of innovation, how might you proceed? In Australia, we established ‘Innovation Month’ – a month long series of events and activities about innovation targeted at public servants and interested stakeholders and partners. In 2015, Innovation Month had the theme of ‘Dream, Dare, Do’ and...
Today, the number of NEET (not in education, employment or training) youth in Surrey has more than halved from about 1000 to 429 from five years ago, with data showing that Surrey had achieved the lowest joint NEET proportion in England between November 2013 and January 2014. How this result has been achieved? By putting youth needs first we changed the logic of service delivery focusing away from packaging interventions to commissioning better outcomes for Surrey youth.
On 17 June this year, the International Meetings of Public Management (IMPM) will be held in Bercy in Paris with a theme that is new for France: ‘The third sector: towards collaborative public services’.
Satisfying society's current and future energy needs in a suitable manner is a pressing global challenge. Meeting the demand for energy is essential for economic and social development in the XXI Century, as well as to guarantee political and social stability.