Government faces increasing pressure to do more with fewer financial resources and, with challenges such as climate change and an ageing population, will require innovation in public services. Departments have started to implement some of the recommendations of the National Audit Office's 2006 report on innovation (HC 1447-I, session 2005-06, ISBN 9780102942330), but are still not maximising the opportunities to innovate. The majority of cases of innovation originate with senior management within departments. There is potential to encourage more innovation from front line staff and service users. At the front line, public servants can be reluctant to put forward ideas where they do not appreciate how innovation relates to the goals of the organisation and can resist change they feel is forced upon them. Other barriers include risk-averse attitudes within departments and a concentration on targets, budgets and high-profile national initiatives. Departments should develop strategies for encouraging and developing innovation. It is not possible to identify exactly how much central government spends on developing innovation, but estimates by the NAO suggest that departments have allocated at least £3 billion in the form of innovation budgets, and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills announced a further £2.5 billion to be spent encouraging and supporting innovation from 2008-9 to 2010-11. There are no measures in place to assess the impact of this expenditure. Government should make use of the survey work done by the NAO for this report and develop it further to determine how effective this expenditure is.

Innovation in government requires departments to take well managed risks and to develop new ideas where more traditional ways of working are not able to deliver real change. This is a companion volume to the main report (HCP 1447-I, ISBN 0102942331), prepared by the Public Policy Group of the London School of Economics on behalf of the National Audit Office, which assesses the progress to date in developing innovative solutions to improving government productivity and effectiveness. This volume contains detailed findings from the research relating to the following headings: why innovation is important; the main types innovations nominated by departments and agencies; costs and timescales of innovations; key influences on origins and development of innovations; the main barriers to change and the impact of innovations.

While innovation has long been a major topic of research and scholarly interest for the private sector, it is still an emerging theme in the field of public management. While ‘results-oriented’ public management may be here to stay, scholars and practitioners are now shifting their attention to the process of management and to how the public sector can create ‘value’. One of the urgent needs addressed by this book is a better specification of the institutional and political requirements for sustaining a robust vision of public innovation, through the key dimensions of collaboration, creative problem-solving, and design. This book brings together empirical studies drawn from Europe, the USA and the antipodes to show how these dimensions are important features of public sector innovation in many Western democracies with different conditions and traditions. This volume provides insights for practitioners who are interested in developing an innovation strategy for their city, agency, or administration and will be essential reading for scholars, practitioners and students in the field of public policy and public administration.

Public sector innovation does not happen by itself: problems need to be identified, and ideas translated into projects that can be tested, implemented and shared. This report looks at how governments can create an environment that fosters innovation.

The formation of a coalition government, at a time of economic crisis, is likely to prove a watershed for criminal justice. Following a review of the achievements and disappointments in criminal justice over the last thirty years, 'Where next for criminal justice?' aims to stimulate fresh thinking in criminal justice by considering the policies which need to be adopted, how they should be formed, and the principles and values which should be adopted.

Managing for results is increasingly important for the success of public organizations. Performance and Innovation in the Public Sector is a comprehensive textbook that examines a broad range of performance strategies. Today’s public managers require a broad toolkit and a deep, current understanding of the following: performance management, digital government, collaboration, strategic planning, innovation, lean government, and managing people for performance. This book provides a thorough overview of broad paradigms and their emergence, practical strategies along with examples and up-to-date applications, and an appreciation for the diverse contexts of public organizations resulting in varied and tailored improvements. Each chapter assists students in applying each tool at work. Performance and Innovation in the Public Sector provides a balance of scholarship and practice, offers flexibility for instructors, and is written in an accessible style that students and professionals appreciate. This revised, much-anticipated third edition includes an increased emphasis on improving governance and innovation, as well as up-to-date examples that demonstrate best practices for performance in diverse public sector settings.

This report presents an overview of country initiatives concerning efficient, effective public services and open and innovative government. It focuses on four core issues: delivery of public services in times of fiscal consolidation; a more ...

Despite a centralized formal structure, Chinese politics and policy-making have long been marked by substantial degrees of regional and local variation and experimentation. These trends have, if anything, intensified as China’s reform matures. Though often remarked upon, the politicsof policy formation, diffusion, and implementation at the subnational level have not previously been comprehensively described, let alone satisfactorily explained. Based on extensive fieldwork, this book explores how policies diffuse across China today, the mechanisms through which local governments actually arrive at specific solutions, and the implications for China’s political development and stability in the years ahead. The chapters examine how local-level institutions solve governance challenges, such as rural development, enterprise reform, and social service provision. Focusing on diverse policy areas that include land use, state-owned enterprise reform, and house churches, the contributors all address the same overarching question: how do local policymakers innovate in each issue area to address a governance challenges and how, if at all, do these innovations diffuse into national politics. As a study of local governance in China today, this book will appeal to both students and scholars of Chinese politics, comparative politics, governance and development studies, and also to policy-makers interested in authoritarianism and governance.

This book aims at a comprehensive discussion of economic space for social innovation, addressing especially marginalized groups and the long-term projects, programmes, and policies that have emerged and evolved within and across European states for more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable societies.

In a time of unprecedented turbulence, how can public sector organisations increase their ability to find innovative solutions to society's problems? Leading public sector innovation shows how government agencies can use co-creation to overcome barriers and deliver more value, at lower cost, to citizens and business. Through inspiring global case studies and practical examples, the book addresses the key triggers of public sector innovation. It shares new tools for citizen involvement through design thinking and ethnographic research, and pinpoints the leadership roles needed to drive innovation at all levels of government. Leading public sector innovation is essential reading for public managers and staff, social innovators, business partners, researchers, consultants and others with a stake in the public sector of tomorrow. This is an excellent book, setting out a clear framework within which the practical issues involved in public sector innovation are explored, using insights drawn from extensive practical experience of implementing and supporting it. It draws on an impressive range of research and relevant wider experience in both public and private sectors and is written in a clear and persuasive style. The book offers an excellent synthesis of principles, practices and tools to enable real traction on the innovation management problem - and it ought to find a place on any manager's bookshelf. John Bessant, Director of Research and Knowledge Transfer and Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of Exeter Business School