Innovation in American Government

Innovation in American Government PDF

Author: Alan Altshuler

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2010-12-01

Total Pages: 410

ISBN-13: 9780815715726

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Innovation does happen—even in government! Despite all the news about government scandals and failures, public officials are innovative. This book analyzes numerous examples of ingenious problem solving—in education in California, in the Department of Juvenile Justice in New York City, in government operations in Minnesota, in human service programs across the country. All organizations, both public and private, need innovation, but making innovation work in government is a greater challenge than doing so in business. This book identifies a number of dilemmas that complicate the process of innovating in American government. For example, there is the "trust dilemma": Innovation may be necessary to establish public faith in the ability of government agencies to perform, but before the public grants agencies a license to be truly innovative, it needs to be convinced that these same agencies have the ability to perform. The contributors to this book analyze a number of issues raised by the task of innovation, including: Who is responsible for innovating? How can innovative individuals and teams be held accountable? What kinds of organizational arrangements beget the most innovation? How can innovation be fostered in agencies devoted to routinization? How should innovative ideas be disseminated? And what exactly is an "innovation" anyway? The contributors gathered data for this book from winners and finalists in the Ford Foundation's Innovations Awards program, as well as from other innovators and innovations. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Babak J. Armajani, Michael Barzelay, W. Lance Bennett, Paul Berman, Richard F. Elmore, Robert M. Entman, Lee S. Friedman, Thomas N. Gilmore, Olivia Golden, James Krantz, Laurence E. Lynn Jr., Mark H. Moore, Beryl Nelson, Ellen Schall, Malcolm Sparrow, William Spelman, Deborah A. Stone, and Marc D. Zegans.

Innovating Government

Innovating Government PDF

Author: Simone van der Hof

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2011-04-20

Total Pages: 465

ISBN-13: 9067047317

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Governments radically change under the influence of technology. As a result, our lives in interaction with public sector bodies are easier. But the creation of an electronic government also makes us more vulnerable and dependent. Dependent not just on technology itself, but also on the organizations within government that apply technology, collect and use citizen-related information and often demand the citizens submit themselves to technological applications. This book analyzes the legal, ethical, policy and technological dimensions of innovating government. Authors from diverse backgrounds confront the reader with a variety of disciplinary perspectives on persistent themes, like privacy, biometrics, surveillance, e-democracy, electronic government, and identity management. Clearly, the use of technology by governments demands that choices are made. In the search for guiding principles therein, an in-depth understanding of the developments related to electronic government is necessary. This book contributes to this understanding. This book is valuable to academics and practitioners in a wide variety of fields such as public administration and ICT, sociology, political science, communications science, ethics and philosophy. It is also a useful tool for policymakers at the national and international level. Simone van der Hof is Associate Professor at TILT (Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society), Tilburg University, The Netherlands. Marga Groothuis is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law of Leiden University in the Netherlands. Specific to this book: Offers the reader a clear structure Enables the reader to see across disciplinary borders Offers an in-depth insight into new modes of government in various policy domains This is Volume 20 in the Information Technology and Law (IT&Law) Series

The Persistence of Innovation in Government

The Persistence of Innovation in Government PDF

Author: Sandford F. Borins

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press with Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation

Published: 2014-06-05

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 0815725604

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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.

Innovative State

Innovative State PDF

Author: Aneesh Chopra

Publisher: Grove Press

Published: 2016-06-14

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780802121349

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Aneesh Chopra, America's first Chief Technology Officer, tells the story of a new revolution in America. Over the course of our history, America has had a pioneering government matched to the challenges of the day. But over the past twenty years, as our economy and our society have been completely changed by technology, and the private sector has innovated, government has stalled, trapped in models that were designed for the America of the past. Aneesh Chopra, tasked with leading the charge for a more open, tech-savvy government, here shows how we can reshape our government and tackle our most vexing problems, from economic development to affordable healthcare.

State of Innovation

State of Innovation PDF

Author: Fred L. Block

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-11-17

Total Pages: 418

ISBN-13: 1317251423

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The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression has generated a fundamental re-evaluation of the free-market policies that have dominated American politics for three decades. State of Innovation brings together critical essays looking at the 'innovation industry' in the context of the current crisis. The book shows how government programs and policies have underpinned technological innovation in the US economy over the last four decades, despite the strength of 'free market' political rhetoric. The contributors provide new insights into where innovations come from and how governments can support a dynamic innovation economy as the US recovers from a profound economic crisis. State of Innovation outlines a 21st century policy paradigm that will foster cutting-edge innovation which remains accountable to the public.

Practical Innovation in Government

Practical Innovation in Government PDF

Author: Alan G Robinson

Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Published: 2022-07-19

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 1523001801

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This book is a comprehensive guide to an exciting new approach that managers at any level can use to transform their corners of government. Whether people want more government or less, everyone wants an efficient government. Traditional thinking is that this requires a government to be run more like a business. But a government is not a business, and this approach merely replaces old problems with new ones. In their six-year, five-country study of seventy-seven government organizations-ranging from small departments to entire states-Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder found that the predominant private-sector approaches to improvement don't work well in the public sector, while practices that are rare in the private sector prove highly effective. The highest performers they studied had attained levels of efficiency that rivaled the best private-sector companies. Rather than management making the improvements, as is the norm in the private sector, these high-performers focused on front-line-driven improvement, where most of the change activity was led by supervisors and low-level managers who unleashed the creativity and ideas of their employees to improve their operations bit by bit every day. You'll discover how Denver's Department of Excise and Licenses reduced wait times from an hour and forty minutes to just seven minutes; how the Washington State Patrol garage tripled its productivity and became a national benchmark; how a K8 school in New Brunswick, Canada, boosted the percentage of students reading at the appropriate age level from 22 percent to 78 percent; and much more.

Innovation and Public Policy

Innovation and Public Policy PDF

Author: Austan Goolsbee

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2022-03-25

Total Pages: 259

ISBN-13: 022680545X

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A calculation of the social returns to innovation /Benjamin F. Jones and Lawrence H. Summers --Innovation and human capital policy /John Van Reenen --Immigration policy levers for US innovation and start-ups /Sari Pekkala Kerr and William R. Kerr --Scientific grant funding /Pierre Azoulay and Danielle Li --Tax policy for innovation /Bronwyn H. Hall --Taxation and innovation: what do we know? /Ufuk Akcigit and Stefanie Stantcheva --Government incentives for entrepreneurship /Josh Lerner.

Innovation in City Governments

Innovation in City Governments PDF

Author: Jenny M. Lewis

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-12-08

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 1317375459

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Innovation has become an important focus for governments around the world over the last decade, with greater pressure on governments to do more with less, and expanding community expectations. Some are now calling this ‘social innovation’ – innovation that is related to creating new services that have value for stakeholders (such as citizens) in terms of the social and political outcomes they produce. Innovation in City Governments: Structures, Networks, and Leadership establishes an analytical framework of innovation capacity based on three dimensions: Structure - national governance and traditions, the local socioeconomic context, and the municipal structure Networks – interpersonal connections inside and outside the organization Leadership – the qualities and capabilities of senior individuals within the organization. Each of these are analysed using data from a comparative EU research project in Copenhagen, Barcelona and Rotterdam. The book provides major new insights on how structures, networks and leadership in city governments shape the social innovation capacity of cities. It provides ground-breaking analyses of how governance structures and local socio-economic challenges, are related to the innovations introduced by these cities. The volume maps and analyses the social networks of the three cities and examines boundary spanning within and outside of the cities. It also examines what leadership qualities are important for innovation. Innovation in City Governments: Structures, Networks, and Leadership combines an original analytical approach with comparative empirical work, to generate a novel perspective on the social innovation capacity of cities and is critical reading for academics, students and policy makers alike in the fields of Public Management, Public Administration, Local Government, Policy, Innovation and Leadership.

Innovations in Government

Innovations in Government PDF

Author: Sandford F. Borins

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Published: 2009-12-01

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 0815710305

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A Brookings Institution Press and Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation publication The Innovations in American Government Awards Program began in 1985 with a grant from the Ford Foundation to the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard to conduct a program of awards for innovations in state and local government. The foundation's objective was ambitious and, in an era of "government is the problem" rhetoric, determinedly proactive. It sought to counter declining public confidence in government by highlighting innovative and effective programs. Over twenty years later, research, recognition, and replication are the source of the program's continuing influence and its vitality. What is the future of government innovation? How can innovation enhance the quality of life for citizens and strengthen democratic governance? Innovations in Government: Research, Recognition, and Replication answers these questions by presenting a comprehensive approach to advancing the practice and study of innovation in government. The authors discuss new research on innovation, explore the impact of several programs that recognize innovation, and consider challenges to the replication of innovations. Contributors include Eugene Bardach (University of California–Berkeley), Robert Behn (Harvard University), John D. Donahue (Harvard University), Marta Ferreira Santos Farah (Center for Public Administration and Government, Fundação Getulio Vargas), Archon Fung (Harvard University), Jean Hartley (University of Warwick), Steven Kelman (Harvard University), Gowher Rizvi (Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation, Harvard University), Peter Spink (Center for Public Administration and Government, Fundação Getulio Vargas), and Jonathan Walters (Governing).

Leading Public Sector Innovation

Leading Public Sector Innovation PDF

Author: Christian Bason

Publisher: Policy Press

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 1847426336

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In a time of unprecedented turbulence, how can public sector organisations increase their ability to find innovative solutions to society's problems? Leading Public Sector Innovation shows how government agencies can use co-creation to overcome barriers and deliver more value, at lower cost, to citizens and business. Through inspiring global case studies and practical examples, the book addresses the key triggers of public sector innovation. It shares new tools for citizen involvement through design thinking and ethnographic research, and pinpoints the leadership roles needed to drive innovation at all levels of government. Leading Public Sector Innovation is essential reading for public managers and staff, social innovators, business partners, researchers, consultants and others with a stake in the public sector of tomorrow.