Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS PUBLIC INNOVATION AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
This chapter is the introduction to the whole book, so it has three aims:
- Why this book is needed
- What it will cover
- Key initial concepts in understanding innovation
Why the book is needed
There have been several important strides taken in understanding public innovation in the last 15 years. First, public innovation has received a major policy boost from global governments across the world, with "innovation" claimed to be a major mechanism to boost the quality and legitimacy of public services: it is "the word that would be king" (Osborne and Brown, 2011). This means that academics and managers around the world are trying to work out how to bring about innovation and work out whether or not this creates improvement. Recent research can help on those questions.
Second, public innovation has, arguably, come of age as a discipline (or a cluster of disciplines) with a strong community of researchers and practitioners who recognise that there are distinctive features of public innovation. Public innovation research and practice is no longer the poor cousin of private sector innovation. For quite some time, ideas and evidence from the private sector was dominant in the understanding of public innovation and the key concepts were "translated" or adapted to public organizations and settings. Often, this had been an unfavourable comparison. More recently however, the increased amount of research has enabled the reframing of innovation so that the distinctive aspects of public innovation are clear - for example, the focus being on societal rather than organizational benefits, the role of politicians and citizens in creating and being impacted by innovation and much more.
Third, in the last two decades, digitalisation has been a major force, some would say the fourth technological revolution. Goods, services, organizing, relationships, democracy and much more have been shaped by our working with and through technology. In terms of innovation, this not only influences what innovations occur but also how they occur. Open innovation has become easier to encourage and use, so the shift from top-down organizational mandates from innovation from, say a policy unit or an R and D lab to "harvesting" ideas from stakeholders is a substantial paradigm shift affecting all sectors.
Fourth, and finally, at least for this introduction, are changes in societies themselves. A more globalised world has led to changes in concepts of community, society, democracy and much more. People share ideas with people on the other side of the globe as much as with their geographical neighbours. Innovations, and fashions in innovation move around the globe quickly, so that diffusion of innovation becomes as important as the creation of innovation. The sense of the public has shifted. This has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic which started in 2020 - a sense of being part of an inter-connected world. Many public services report high levels of innovation to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, so this provides a rich area to explore.
Several developments such as globalisation, digitalization, refugees and coronavirus have created a more chaotic, volatile and disrupted context for public innovation. New strategies are needed drawing on social resources, perhaps bricolage and other robust strategies become important.
For all these reasons, there is a gap for a book like this, which surveys public innovation, paying attention to both words - not just the word 'innovation' but also the word 'public'.
What
Synopsis
Public innovation is distinctive from private sector innovation by being set in a political system rather than a market. The roles of citizens and elected politicians as well as public servants and other stakeholders are frequently relevant. Public organizations can be creators, funders, orchestrators or sense-makers of innovations, which are carried out with the aim of benefitting society.
This book provides a comprehensive insight into the theory and practice of public innovation using a wide range of research evidence about the processes, drivers and barriers, stakeholders and outcomes of innovation. Using the lens of public value, the book offers a stimulating discussion of how public innovation is valued and contested in current societies.
Valuing Public Innovation aims to help develop a deeper understanding of innovation and how to use that knowledge in practical ways. This is essential reading for academics and students in the fields of innovation, organisation studies, public administration and public policy, as well as for policymakers and practitioners.