Americans today recognize and celebrate leadership genius in the management of private companies. At the same time, the American public remains deeply skeptical of government's ability to address real economic and social challenges. The contributors to this timely and important volume increase our understanding of the potential incentives for and barriers to creative problem-solving in the public sector. Drawing on case studies of state and local government, as well as theoretical literature on private sector management, these scholars reveal both the problems and the possibilities in governmental decision-making.
Sandford Borins addresses the enduring significance of innovation in government as practiced by public servants, analyzed by scholars, discussed by media, documented by awards, and experienced by the public. In The Persistence of Innovation in Government, he maps the changing landscape of American public sector innovation in the twenty-first century, largely by addressing three key questions: • Who innovates? • When, why, and how do they do it? • What are the persistent obstacles and the proven methods for overcoming them? Probing both the process and the content of innovation in the public sector, Borins identifies major shifts and important continuities. His examination of public innovation combines several elements: his analysis of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Innovations in American Government Awards program; significant new research on government performance; and a fresh look at the findings of his earlier, highly praised book Innovating with Integrity: How Local Heroes Are Transforming American Government. He also offers a thematic survey of the field’s burgeoning literature, with a particular focus on international comparison.
Most of the policy discussion about stimulating innovation has focused on the federal level. This study focuses on the significant activity at the state level, with the goal of improving the public's understanding of key policy strategies and exemplary practices. Based on a series of workshops and conferences that brought together policymakers along with leaders of industry and academia in a select number of states, the study highlights a rich variety of policy initiatives underway at the state and regional level to foster knowledge based growth and employment. Perhaps what distinguishes this effort at the state level is most of all the high degree of pragmatism. Operating out of necessity, innovation policies at the state level often involve taking advantage of existing resources and recombining them in new ways, forging innovative partnerships among universities, industry and government organizations, growing the skill base, and investing in the infrastructure to develop new technologies and new industries. Many of these initiatives are being guided by leaders from the private sector and universities. The objective of Best Practices in State and Regional Innovation Initiatives: Competing in the 21st Century is not to do an empirical review of the inputs and outputs of various state programs. Nor is it to evaluate which programs are superior. Indeed, some of the notable successes, such as the Albany nanotechnology cluster, represent a leap of leadership, investment, and sustained commitment that has had remarkable results in an industry that is actively pursued by many countries. The study's goal is to illustrate the approaches taken by a variety of highly diverse states as they confront the increasing challenges of global competition for the industries and jobs of today and tomorrow.
State-controlled economies such as China are building robust industries at stunning speed and siphoning off jobs from the West. This book addresses the crucial issue of state planning vs. free enterprise and examines specific problems surrounding entrepreneurship in the global economy through nine case histories of entrepreneurial companies.
Americans today recognize and celebrate leadership genius in the management of private companies. At the same time, the American public remains deeply skeptical of government's ability to address real economic and social challenges. The contributors to this timely and important volume increase our understanding of the potential incentives for and barriers to creative problem-solving in the public sector. Drawing on case studies of state and local government, as well as theoretical literature on private sector management, these scholars reveal both the problems and the possibilities in governmental decision-making.
A Triple Helix of university-industry-government interactions is the key to innovation in increasingly knowledge-based societies. As the creation, dissemination, and utilization of knowledge moves from the periphery to the center of industrial production and governance, the concept of innovation, in product and process, is itself being transformed. In its place is a new sense of 'innovation in innovation' - the restructuring and enhancement of the organizational arrangements and incentives that foster innovation. This triple helix intersection of relatively independent institutional spheres generates hybrid organizations such as technology transfer offices in universities, firms, and government research labs and business and financial support institutions such as angel networks and venture capital for new technology-based firms that are increasingly developing around the world. The Triple Helix describes this new innovation model and assists students, researchers, and policymakers in addressing such questions as: How do we enhance the role of universities in regional economic and social development? How can governments, at all levels, encourage citizens to take an active role in promoting innovation in innovation and, conversely, how can citizens so encourage their governments? How can firms collaborate with each other and with universities and government to become more innovative? What are the key elements and challenges to reaching these goals?
Recognizing that a capacity to innovate and commercialize new high-technology products is increasingly a key for the economic growth in the environment of tighter environmental and resource constraints, governments around the world have taken active steps to strengthen their national innovation systems. These steps underscore the belief of these governments that the rising costs and risks associated with new potentially high-payoff technologies, their spillover or externality-generating effects and the growing global competition, require national R&D programs to support the innovations by new and existing high-technology firms within their borders. The National Research Council's Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP) has embarked on a study of selected foreign innovation programs in comparison with major U.S. programs. The "21st Century Innovation Systems for the United States and Japan: Lessons from a Decade of Change" symposium reviewed government programs and initiatives to support the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises, government-university- industry collaboration and consortia, and the impact of the intellectual property regime on innovation. This book brings together the papers presented at the conference and provides a historical context of the issues discussed at the symposium.
List of Tables and Figures; List of Acronyms; Acknowledgements; Introduction: Thinking Big Again; Chapter 1: From Crisis Ideology to the Division of Innovative Labour; Chapter 2: Technology, Innovation and Growth; Chapter 3: Risk-Taking State: From 'De-risking' to 'Bring It On!'; Chapter 4: The US Entrepreneurial State; Chapter 5: The State behind the iPhone; Chapter 6: Pushing vs. Nudging the Green Industrial Revolution; Chapter 7: Wind and Solar Power: Government Success Stories and Technology in Crisis; Chapter 8: Risks and Rewards: From Rotten Apples to Symbiotic Ecosystems; Chapter 9: So.
This is a timely and important contribution on innovation processes within the public sector. Departing from the myth of private equal to entrepreneurial, public equal to bureaucratic paralysis , it offers precious insights into public sector learning, entrepreneurship, of course inertias, and also the trade-offs involved in different management philosophies and performance evaluation methods. It is a rare example of political economy done right . Giovanni Dosi, Sant Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa Innovation and entrepreneurship have become the cornerstones for economic growth, jobs and competitiveness in the global economy. However, the burden for generating an innovative economy has fallen on the private sector. Scholars have been remarkably taciturn concerning the role for innovation and entrepreneurship in the public sector has remained strikingly invisible. No more. In Innovation in Public Sector Services, the authors assemble a team of leading international scholars in a path breaking study to identify the potential for the public sector in contributing to innovation and entrepreneurship. In particular, the volume introduces an insightful new analytical framework that lays the foundations for transforming a sleepy public sector into a dynamic, innovative and highly effective partner for leadership and change in the global era. Scholars, policy makers and business leaders who think that the public sector is condemned to being a hindrance to innovation and entrepreneurship rather than a leader championing change and competitiveness in a global economy would be well advised to read this important new book. David B. Audretsch, Indiana University, Bloomington, US and WHU, Germany This groundbreaking book provides new key insights and opens up an important research agenda. The book develops a new taxonomy of the different types of innovation found in public sector services, and investigates the key features and drivers of public sector entrepreneurship. The book contains new statistical studies and a set of six international case studies in health and social services. The research shows that public sector organisations are important innovators in their own right. Economic growth and social development depend on efficient public sector organisations that deliver high quality services, are effectively organised, and have excellent interactions with the private sector, NGOs and citizens. Public sector innovation is complex, invariably involving changes in services, organisational structures, and managerial practices. Essential to successful innovation are the policy entrepreneurs and service entrepreneurs who develop, organise and manage new innovations. This book provides key lessons for these public sector entrepreneurs. Innovation in Public Sector Services fills a fundamental gap; explaining the dynamics of innovation and entrepreneurship in public sector services and is of great importance for researchers, academics and students interested in innovation, entrepreneurship and strategy management. It provides a stimulating read for anyone working or interested in health and social services.
Can we solve big public problems anymore? Yes, we can. This provocative and inspiring book points the way. The huge challenges we face are daunting indeed: climate change, crumbling infrastructure, declining public education and social services. At the same time, we've come to accept the sad notion that government can't do new things or solve tough problems—it's too big, too slow, and mired in bureaucracy. Not so, says former public official, now Harvard Business School professor, Mitchell Weiss. The truth is, entrepreneurial spirit and savvy in government are growing, transforming the public sector's response to big problems at all levels. The key, Weiss argues, is a shift from a mindset of Probability Government—overly focused on safe solutions and mimicking so-called best practices—to Possibility Government. This means public leadership and management that's willing to boldly imagine new possibilities and to experiment. Weiss shares the three basic tenets of this new way of governing: Government that can imagine: Seeing problems as opportunities and involving citizens in designing solutions Government that can try new things: Testing and experimentation as a regular part of solving public problems Government that can scale: Harnessing platform techniques for innovation and growth The lessons unfold in the timely episodes Weiss has seen and studied: the US Special Operations Command prototyping of a hoverboard for chasing pirates; a heroin hackathon in opioid-ravaged Cincinnati; a series of experiments in Singapore to rein in Covid-19; among many others. At a crucial moment in the evolution of government's role in our society, We the Possibility provides inspiration and a positive model, along with crucial guardrails, to help shape progress for generations to come.
