12
buyers in the Netherlands. Yet another very good example of innovation in a nonprofit organization is Mercy Corp’s Social Venture Teams, which acts as an internal
incubation and acceleration lab. Its purpose is to develop innovations able to be
scalable into business in emerging markets. Chapter 6 by van der Velde et al. in this
volume delves into several, additional successful examples of innovation within the
nonprofit domain in developing countries.
The increasing relevance of innovation for nonprofit organizations is best
reflected by emerging rankings that highlight the most innovative nonprofit organizations.
7
For instance, the magazine Fast Company has added nonprofit organizations to the large number of sectors it ranks on innovation.
Does this extend to the public sector?
The need to innovate also reaches the public sector since government delivers, as
a monopoly, services to millions of citizens who sustain it with taxes. The public
sector represents the main economic force in many countries, particularly in emerging ones. As global standards of transparency, accountability, and value for money
become more stringent, governments are also increasingly pressured to innovate.
Public sector innovation in developing countries is even more pressing and relevant, since public sector expenditures represent a larger proportion of gross domestic products (GDP) in many such countries than in developed ones. Furthermore,
innovation in the agriculture and agrifood domains is particularly critical in developing countries, as their economic footprint is much larger than in developed ones.
For instance, agriculture, food, and related industries accounted for about 37% and
5% of total GDP in Ethiopia and the United States in 2017, respectively. In other
words, properly executed innovation in agriculture and agrifood systems has much
greater leverage, spillover power, and a larger ability to create additional value and
new jobs in developing countries than in developed ones.
While many governments are forced to adapt to a maelstrom of change, progress
is often ad hoc rather than reliable, reactive vs. deliberate, and sporadic instead of
systemic. The public sector has not yet ensured that innovation leads to consistent
and reliable options that can deliver better outcomes and greater impact.
OPSI,
8
the OECD Observatory for Public Sector Innovation, provides tools,
resources, and models for public sector innovators. These are important because
public-service institutions need to learn to innovate and to pay more attention to
social, technological, economic, and demographic shifts. It’s the only way to cater
to the increasing needs of their progressively empowered citizens.
What’s a good example of innovation in the public sector?
There are some encouraging examples from the public sector, though. One such
example is NESTA (https://www.nesta.org.uk/) in the United Kingdom,
9
which represents a remarkably successful example of developing innovation in the public
7 https://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2018/sectors/not-for-profit [verified
on October 11
th , 2019].
8 https://oecd-opsi.org/toolkit-navigator [verified on October 11
th , 2019].
9 NESTA was formerly the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, which
evolved into an independent organization in 2012.
H. Campos
buyers in the Netherlands. Yet another very good example of innovation in a nonprofit organization is Mercy Corp’s Social Venture Teams, which acts as an internal
incubation and acceleration lab. Its purpose is to develop innovations able to be
scalable into business in emerging markets. Chapter 6 by van der Velde et al. in this
volume delves into several, additional successful examples of innovation within the
nonprofit domain in developing countries.
The increasing relevance of innovation for nonprofit organizations is best
reflected by emerging rankings that highlight the most innovative nonprofit organizations.
7
For instance, the magazine Fast Company has added nonprofit organizations to the large number of sectors it ranks on innovation.
Does this extend to the public sector?
The need to innovate also reaches the public sector since government delivers, as
a monopoly, services to millions of citizens who sustain it with taxes. The public
sector represents the main economic force in many countries, particularly in emerging ones. As global standards of transparency, accountability, and value for money
become more stringent, governments are also increasingly pressured to innovate.
Public sector innovation in developing countries is even more pressing and relevant, since public sector expenditures represent a larger proportion of gross domestic products (GDP) in many such countries than in developed ones. Furthermore,
innovation in the agriculture and agrifood domains is particularly critical in developing countries, as their economic footprint is much larger than in developed ones.
For instance, agriculture, food, and related industries accounted for about 37% and
5% of total GDP in Ethiopia and the United States in 2017, respectively. In other
words, properly executed innovation in agriculture and agrifood systems has much
greater leverage, spillover power, and a larger ability to create additional value and
new jobs in developing countries than in developed ones.
While many governments are forced to adapt to a maelstrom of change, progress
is often ad hoc rather than reliable, reactive vs. deliberate, and sporadic instead of
systemic. The public sector has not yet ensured that innovation leads to consistent
and reliable options that can deliver better outcomes and greater impact.
OPSI,
8
the OECD Observatory for Public Sector Innovation, provides tools,
resources, and models for public sector innovators. These are important because
public-service institutions need to learn to innovate and to pay more attention to
social, technological, economic, and demographic shifts. It’s the only way to cater
to the increasing needs of their progressively empowered citizens.
What’s a good example of innovation in the public sector?
There are some encouraging examples from the public sector, though. One such
example is NESTA (https://www.nesta.org.uk/) in the United Kingdom,
9
which represents a remarkably successful example of developing innovation in the public
7 https://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2018/sectors/not-for-profit [verified
on October 11
th , 2019].
8 https://oecd-opsi.org/toolkit-navigator [verified on October 11
th , 2019].
9 NESTA was formerly the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, which
evolved into an independent organization in 2012.
H. Campos