Will Gamify Those Processes. The Art of Innovation in the Public Sector

Abstract

The Art of Innovation model posits that it is possible to make uncreative organizations creative and creative organizations more so. To succeed, leaders must work on a set of innovation drivers to develop the SOURCES of creativity (Talent, Energy, Method); establish a STRUCTURE for innovation (Individual, Team, Target, System) and shape a CULTURE that promotes innovation (Ideas, Freedom, Engagement, Humor, Risk) [1]. This approach is as valid for public as it is for private organizations. There are however some differences between private and public sector. First, while innovation has clear value-adding potential for the public sector, there is no competitive impetus to innovate and the temptation to leave things as they are is larger. Second, certain innovation drivers when implemented in the public sector may require a different approach from the private sector. Target, for example asks where the organization is situated on the innovation "continuum" and ideas such as radical innovation and differentiation may be quite alien to the public sector. This should not however stop government from pursuing continuous improvement and assigning innovation objectives clearly to each and every department, team and individual. Freedom too is often stifled by outdated regulations or legislation that may be hard to change. And Risk, while always controversial, is more so in government where civil servants are often criticized by their (changing) political bosses obliging them to resort to unproductive risk avoidance.

Citation

Michaelides, D. (2011), "Will Gamify Those Processes. The Art of Innovation in the Public Sector", International Journal of Innovation Science, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 117-126. https://doi.org/10.1260/1757-2223.3.3.117