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Digital innovation – and its impacts on individuals, organisations, and wider society – is a key research interest of mine (my PhD looks at the best practice use of technology for stakeholder engagement), so I enthusiastically scribbled down a lot of notes at this conference. Here we are over 3 months later, and I have gone back to these notes and typed them up as thematic blog posts to share with those who have similar interests.
Inspired by the themes discussed by the inspiring speakers and panellists at the 4th Public Sector Innovation conference*, the following 4-part blog post series explores some key considerations for the future of digital innovation. Click the links below:
Introduction: What's the future of digital innovation? (this post)
Theme 1: We need to take care of the future through responsible innovation. (link here)
Theme 2: We need to break down organisational silos and promote joined-up thinking (link here)
Theme 3: Digital transformation requires organisational culture change (link here).
Theme 4: The COVID-19 pandemic has helped us to rethink what is possible for digital innovation (to be posted 31.05.2022).
What is digital innovation?
Innovation in the public sector broadly refers to significant improvements to public administration and/or services (OECD, 2016). According to the OECD, it can be defined as ‘the implementation by a public sector organisation of new or significantly improved processes, methods, or services aimed at improving a public sector unit’s operations or outcomes’. These improvements include the services that the government has a responsibility to provide, including those delivered by third parties, such as the services provided by UK Government Departments, agencies, and public bodies.
Technology is continuously transforming
the way that members of the public and other stakeholders interact with their
governments and public sector organisations. For example, large amounts of
information can be rapidly consumed and broadcasted online via websites and
social media. This has (in part) led to higher
expectations and more complex demands on public services, which - combined
with evolving social, environmental, and economic pressures – has required more
innovative approaches to tackling issues and providing public services.
Broadly, digital innovation refers to the application of digital technology to existing problems to innovate new products or services. This can include the development of a new digital strategy in an existing context, the adoption and implementation of a new software tool or platform, or the shift from an analogue to a digital process.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation in public service delivery in the UK and beyond, with many organisations describing a rapid ‘reshaping’, ‘digital explosion’ or ‘reset’ with increased opportunities for innovation. This digital transformation is complex, however, with academic research describing the pandemic as a ‘triple edged sword‘ with productive, disruptive, and destructive consequences across different sectors.
This post introduces four four short blog posts which explore some key considerations for the future of digital innovation: 1) responsible innovation (23.05.2022); 2) breaking down organisational silos (24.05.2022); 3) culture change and digital transformation (25.05.2022); 4) learning from the COVID-19 pandemic (26.05.2022).
*While these posts are inspired by the discussions at this conference, they are my personal interpretation of key themes and are not necessarily reflective of the event as a whole. I have also supported the points made by referencing additional sources and added my own reflections.