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Embracing Innovation in Government
Report

Embracing Innovation in Government

Global Trends 2019

OECD, 2019 more...

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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Innovative
  • Concrete Examples
  • Engaging

Recommendation

Innovation may have been slow to arrive in the public sector, but today’s pioneers are demonstrating how new technological tools could enhance participation, improve service delivery, aid decision making, and support justice and fairness. This 2019 report reveals major trends and details a number of initiatives at the leading edge of public sector innovation.

Summary

Advances in digital technology offer opportunities for governments.

Governments haven’t yet seized on the potential of digital change. Yet ambitious goals such as the United Nations’ Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are calling on governments to innovate. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) – through its Observatory for Public Sector Innovation (OPSI) – and the United Arab Emirates Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation (MBRCGI) make tools and resources available to support public sector innovators. Together, they have studied the current state of government innovation by evaluating 542 innovations from 84 countries. They identified three major trends in public sector innovation.

The first of three major trends in public sector innovation is “making the invisible visible” – helping government officials see through the eyes of citizens.

Governments are using behavioral insights, gamification, immersive technology, citizen science and positive deviance to discover how citizens think and feel, surface previously unseen solutions, and engage people in public sector projects. They are also ...

About the Author

With 36 member countries, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development aims to stimulate economic progress and world trade. Its Observatory of Public Sector Innovation collects and analyzes examples and shared experiences of public sector innovation to provide practical advice to countries on how to make innovation work.