Some people say that a government has to stay far away from innovation, since they don't understand it and should leave it up to business. But governments also have to look at processes, organisations, services to citizens (information, accountability, communication, and other public services) and find new ways to improve them, hence they need to innovate. On the other hand, a government has to be reliable and has limited space for failure. Therefore it is very risky to try something new. A solution can be the 'safe-fail' method of trying in a small area, where the costs and consequence of failing are limited.
An interesting example is the open data initiative. Although it is currently facing tough times because of budget cuts and the trouble is faces in really making a change, it is interesting to see it in a larger trend of increasing transparency and giving more power to the citizens.
A recent article (in Dutch) stresses the role of innovation for governments. Unfortunately the title is very hopeful, but the article is very weak without news, arguments or useful insights.
No comments:
Post a Comment