As Head of Nido, I am constantly looking to stimulate civil servants to innovate faster and smarter. I thrive on calculated risks, ones that we have dissected and are thoroughly understood. Unforeseen mishaps are not my cup of tea. This inclination can be traced back to my previous role as an Internal Control Manager (risk manager). This experience provided invaluable insights into how an organisation structures its aspirations and operations. The public sector is traditionally...
Global: Innovation Management
This resource is a guide to amplify global health impact from the perspective of a development organisation. It builds on the successes of USAID's work and lays out practical ways to identify opportunities to apply innovation to solve real problems using a portfolio approach. The resource has been co-developed with significant input from USAID colleagues across their health offices, and captures best practices and innovation opportunities, dispels myths and highlights examples of and resources…
Innovation portfolio management enables not only commercial actors but also public sector organisations to systematically manage and prioritise innovation activities according to concurrent and diverse purposes and priorities. It is a core component of a comprehensive approach to innovation management and a condition to assess the social return of investment across an entire portfolio. The OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OPSI) has worked in this space for a number of years. By…
We are on the lookout for game-changing, freely available toolkits that can ignite innovative thinking and drive progress in governments worldwide. As the hosts of OECD Toolkit Navigator, one of the world’s largest compendia of public sector innovation toolkits, we’re excited to collaborate with you to identify fresh, forward-thinking resources to support governments and public servants in the design and delivery of better policies and services. Five minutes – that’s all it…
Finland conducted its first public sector innovation barometer in the Central Government. The results are in and once again reaffirm that Finland gets many things right. 93% of organisations innovated during 2020-21. Innovation activities are motivated in particular by the needs of citizens and clients, productivity and new technologies. Drivers of innovation activities are also reflected in individual innovations and their effects. Innovation Barometer: what and why? The Innovation Barometer is…
Apple, Microsoft and Amazon. Three of the world’s tech giants, which have a larger market cap than many developed and developing nations GDP. And while opinion varies widely on the topics such powerful companies naturally bring about, one aspect is absolutely clear: these companies have learned to nurture and embrace innovation and innovative thinking. To whole-heartedly build it into its very foundations and culture. Yes, stability and education are important – I’m not taking…
“We create and re-create narratives throughout our lives to make sense of what happened, to process experience, to interpret and reinterpret our view of the world as life unfolds. I believe that beautiful and difficult process is what it is to be human.” Lauren Oakes For me, significant transitions in life prompt such introspection and recreation of narratives – to reflect on key moments that have shaped who I am and how I think. Recently,...
Do you know about real-world cases and examples of innovation management? OPSI would like to hear from you. We are starting work with Vinnova, Sweden’s Innovation Agency to explore what good innovation management looks like in practice. We will take a systematic approach to understanding the role, nature, barriers, and enablers of innovation in an organisation. This means considering innovation activities within a wider context of (e.g., leadership, culture, processes, capabilities) rather…
We are taking OPSI’s portfolio exploration and assessment support into the virtual realm. We are asking for 20-30 minutes of your time to share initial thoughts and feedback on our first draft of questions for exploring: The way your organisation’s innovation portfolio is oriented Your organisation’s overall portfolio management capability Following the set of questions, there is an example output based on hypothetical inputs. We…
OPSI is researching innovation portfolios as part of our European Commission Horizon 2020 work and we are developing a self-guided portfolio assessment tool for people to analyse and explore their own organisational innovation portfolio. We welcome your feedback. Hero-innovators are imaginary Does your organisations still believe in hero-innovators? Probably not. Based on our research and observations, in order for innovation to be impactful, organisations need a lot of distributed…