There is an informative investigation by the UK National Audit Office entitled, Achieving Innovation in Central Government Organisations. It draws on evidence from specific innovation cases in the public sector to assess government productivity and effectiveness at innovation.
Among the findings are ‘Compared with leading commercial organisations, there is potential for departments to develop more innovation from suppliers and from service users. The majority of examples of innovation that central government organisations cited to us were based on ideas generated and developed within the organisation and often introduced by the senior management of the organisation.’
‘Fieldwork with frontline staff showed there were barriers for public servants, who are inhibited from developing innovations through to implementation by risk-averse attitudes and perceptions that national performance measures, targets, budgets and national initiatives leave little room for innovation. They will also resist change that is imposed without a clear understanding of how it relates to the organisation’s goals.’
‘There is confusion about the meaning and purpose of innovation among staff is a barrier to the generation of innovative ideas. For instance, staff told us there was scope for innovation to improve services, as well as to achieve cost savings, but needed to know that both were recognised as valid business objectives. Staff do not consider they have an incentive to voice innovative ideas and take on the risks associated with developing them.’
There is innovation in the public sector but it takes a long time to get implemented. There is plenty of advice in the report on how to improve things. There are many examples of successful public sector innovations including the Home Office’s IRIS border control system. IRIS is an innovation that results in registered passengers being processed more efficiently at uK airport borders. The solution is based on gates that scan individuals’ irises, which means that they do not have to interact with Immigration Officers.
The report says that ‘Common factors led to the successful development of the innovations we looked at, including support from senior leaders, good management of risks and data to measure success. For instance, the Flood Warnings Direct system and the IRIS Border Control project could demonstrate measurable benefits early enough to allow robust decisions about rolling them out. Piloting and testing can provide this evidence and permit unsuccessful innovations to be stopped early.’
‘Clearer messages from leaders about why innovation is needed and what they expect from staff would help overcome these barriers, but departments will also need to manage innovation more systematically.’
The report is a practical guide for government and non-government bodies on how to improve innovation.
Paul Sloane
Tags: audit, central, government, Innovation, NAO, office, public, sector, whitehall