Public Innovation  

Public innovation, or public sector innovation, concerns ways of improving performance and outcome through innovations within the public sector, for example in healthcare, social welfare or criminal justice.

An initiative that exemplifies public innovation with a social angle can be taken from the Belgian Federal Police, who hired blind people to get more out of their wiretap recordings in criminal investigations.

The UK business school for government National School of Government, together with the Young Foundation and NESTA also set up a Public Innovation Conference. “The aim was to generate an awareness of public service innovations and to discuss the role of government in diffusing innovative practice.” The same trio has also drawn up a case study report on the subject “Creating the Conditions for Public Innovation” in the year 2007.

Hip-Hop and the Danish Ministry of Taxation

“What is the most important essentials / conclusions of our conversation? The creative process is long…innovation takes time (contrary to the romantic vision of “the lightning bolt strikes and innovation happens”). The creative process is based on the multitude of micro-innovations that occur in everyday life. From the micro-innovations, a new culture grows.

The producers or creative catalysts are needed to collect or catch the innovations and bring them into the world. The innovative process requires time/patience, an open environment where ideas can be safely expressed and enough resources to allow the innovative process to grow.

Strong leadership and recognition are basic requirements for fertilizing the ground for innovation.

Keepin’ it real – we deal with real people acting in the real world.”

The text above is taken from a debate around the question “What can we learn from hip-hop – keeping it real” among Danish officials from the Ministry of Taxation, at a workshop on public sector innovation in 2007.