It is generally accepted that innovation is at the heart of economic growth and prosperity and potential benefit of public sector innovation is large.
Innovation doesn’t have to be “new to the world.”
Some of the best innovations are where existing processes or technologies are adapted to meet a new need. Innovation at its finest is when seemingly unconnected things are joined together to make a really impactful solution.
Society is changing. Exponential technology and data growth has also changed every aspect of our lives.
These are not “bad” things, in fact, they present the opportunity to hugely advance public services. But if the public service doesn’t innovate to stay ahead of these changes, then it doesn’t just miss the opportunities, it ends up facing major risks and bigger challenges.
Innovation in government is required just to keep up with the pace of change – and especially to stay ahead of it.
Innovation provides a way to be more responsive to change, and to respond to the future rather than the past.
Nowadays, citizens are becoming more powerful and expect a seamless experience, personalisation and innovation. Citizens expect their government to offer answers to their concerns and to meet their expectations.
Most significantly, citizens expect their governments to listen and engage with them and to collaborate.
Public service organisations must be innovative if they are to meet expectations, reimagine the public’s experience of interacting with government, and ultimately to build trust.
Policy created in isolation from the public, or service models that feel bureaucratic, won’t cut it anymore.
Government and public services across the globe are recognising these factors and taking notice of the need to innovate.
Innovation in public service is something which really adds value to the lives of the citizen and new approaches to activating them as partners to shape the future together. It involves overcoming old structures and modes of thinking and embracing new technologies and ideas.
