Innovation for the Public Good

We see innovation in action every day. Hybrid cars, smartphones, search engines, and ingenious medical devices have transformed our lives. But it’s hard to find equivalent innovations in the public sector. Too often, public-sector institutions stick with doing things the way they always have despite the urgent need to tackle problems such as persistent underachievement in our schools and homelessness on our streets.

This series will explore the potential of public-sector innovation by addressing several key questions. What does innovation in the public sector actually mean? Who is doing it well? And what should agency leaders do to promote innovation? Published every Wednesday, these columns are produced by CAP's Doing What Works team in partnership with the Bellwether Education Partners and the Young Foundation, as part of the "Innovation for the Public Good" series, which is funded by the Rockefeller Foundation.

New Weekly Column Explores Innovation in the Public Sector
What does innovation in the public sector actually mean? Who is doing it well? And what should agency leaders do to promote innovation? These are among the questions this series will answer. [Download PDF]

The Barriers to Innovation
Why does one of the world’s most innovative countries struggle with social sector innovation and solving pressing social problems such as obesity, homelessness, drug dependency, crime, education and healthcare? We think there are four key reasons. [Download PDF]

The Five Keys to Innovation
Vicki Sellick describes the five key elements to promoting a culture of innovation in government agencies: Leadership, financing, permeability, incentives and responsiveness, and good planning. [Download PDF]

The Importance of Leadership in Social Innovation
Jitinder Kohli discusses the role leaders must play to build an innovation culture in their agencies, encouraging calculated risk taking and challenging traditional approaches. [Download PDF]

Financing Tools for Social Innovation
Kristina Costa discusses three financing tools that can encourage public-sector innovation when more traditional funding streams may fall short. [Download PDF]

An Open Agency Culture Is Key to Innovation
Kristina Costa takes a tour of successful social innovations and discovers that a common ingredient they share is “permeability,” or the willingness to be open to new ideas, technologies, and collaborative opportunities. [Download PDF]

Incentives and Responsiveness
Vicki Sellick describes two ways government agencies can offer incentives to nurture innovations that meet the most pressing social challenges. [Download PDF]

Developing a Plan to Change Agency Culture
Jitinder Kohli describes how government agencies should develop comprehensive plans to promote and grow a culture of innovation. [Download PDF]

Taking the First Steps to Build an Innovation Culture
Jitinder Kohli describes the four initial steps that government agencies should take to promote innovation. [Download PDF]

Innovation for the Public Good: The Quiz
Trying to make your agency or organization more innovative? Confused about where to start? This diagnostic quiz will help you identify your agency’s strengths and weaknesses and offer advice on what to try next.