There is sufficient evidence, drawn from surveys of innovation in the public sector and cognitive testing interviews with public sector managers, to develop a framework for measuring public sector innovation. Although many questions that are covered in the Oslo Manual guidelines for measuring innovation in the private sector can be applied with some modifications to the public sector, public sector innovation surveys need to meet policy needs that require collecting additional types of data.
Policy to support public sector innovation requires data on how public sector organizations innovate and how a strategic management approach to innovation can influence the types of innovations that are developed.
Both issues require innovations surveys to delve deeply into the innovation processes and strategies that are used by public sector managers. Implementation of the measurement framework proposed in this paper would open up opportunities for a new, policy-relevant research program on public sector innovation.
In their “Advancing innovation in the public sector: aligning innovation measurement with policy goals” article, A. Arundel (UNU-MERIT, University of Maastricht, the Netherlands), C. Bloch (The Tasmanian School of Business and Economics, University of Tasmania, Australia), and B. Ferguson (Danish Centre for Studies in Research and Research Policy (CFA), Aarhus University, Denmark)
- identify the relevance of the Oslo Manual to measuring public sector innovation;
- discuss the definition of innovation in the public sector;
- discuss the role of governance and management in public sector innovation;
- identify policy requirements for public sector innovation measurement; and
- provide a framework for measuring public sector innovation to assist policy needs.
You may download the full article here.