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This website was created by the OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OPSI), part of the OECD Public Governance Directorate (GOV).

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Fast forward and imagine the year 2035. For almost three decades, social media – also known as ‘persuasive technology’ – platforms, in that they attempt to influence users’ attitudes and behaviours, have dominated global markets. But now, the fall of established tech giants is in full swing. In this hypothetical near future, people and governments around the world demanded change after experiencing the negative effects of persuasive technologies. In this new world, governments in…
Last week, the OPSI hosted a Rules as Code meet-up for government and inter-governmental organisation (IGO) officials. The meet-up was the first of several that the OPSI intends to host in support of a growing movement in public administration inspired by the promise of Rules as Code (RaC). We at OPSI believe in the promise of RaC as an emergent approach, something we explored in our RaC primer. We think that this is something which...
Since late 2019, we have been working to answer the question “why hasn’t blockchain, and its underlying distributed ledger technology (DLT), made a bigger impact in the public sector?”. It has been over two years since OPSI published the report Blockchains Unchained: Blockchain Technology and its Use in the Public Sector, and over a year since the OECD Digital Government and Data Unit published the report State of the Art in the Use of Emerging...
“Everyone is afraid of making a mistake. Everyone is afraid of the consequence of error, but the greatest error is not to move. The greatest error is to be paralysed by the fear of failure.”– Dr Michael Ryan, WHO Executive Director, WHO Press Conference (13/03/2019) The stakes for innovation have never been higher, the risk of failing has never felt greater. Whenever an organisation innovates they are always taking a step into the unknown, with...
Announcement: Public consultation has now been extended to 15 September 2019.  Update: The final version of the AI primer has been published. As we mentioned in a blog a few months ago, OPSI has been working to develop a “primer” on AI to help public leaders and civil servants navigate the challenges and opportunities associated with the technology to understand how it may help them achieve their missions. Today, we are excited to launch a...
Welcoming your thoughts on our next AI primer Last year, the OPSI team launched the “Blockchains Unchained” report. This was the first working paper in a series intended to provide the public sector with an overview of the necessary knowledge about a specific emerging technology. The report also aims to help stakeholders understand the challenges and opportunities associated with the technology. To inform public servants and policymakers, OPSI not only draws from academic discussions but...
We are happy to announce that OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría launched OPSI’s report “Embracing Innovation in Government: Global Trends 2019” today at the World Government Summit! The event in Dubai is the largest annual gathering in the world focused on shaping the future of governments through innovation. The report is the result of a global innovation review conducted by OPSI in partnership with UAE’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation (MBRCGI). The review…
This blog was written by Nicolas Zahn, Former Consultant, Digital Government Team at the OECD At a recent OECD Conference, speakers from various backgrounds joined forces to discuss what role public policy plays in supporting the development and implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to benefit societies. Although we are standing at the beginning of a transformation, AI already has an impact on our everyday lives and hence complex questions arise from data governance over labour...
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Remembering Innovation Month

This guest blog was written by Rob Thomas Communications Officer, BizLab, Australian Department of Industry, Innovation and Science “It is the responsibility of every APS officer to explore the opportunities that are available to you through initiatives such as Innovation Month, the innovation labs and teams…” – Glenys Beauchamp – Secretary, Australian Department of Industry, Innovation and Science Was Innovation Month really last month? At time of writing it feels like…