Compares the perspectives of chief executives, frontline employees, and local political leaders on what helps to accelerate innovation in local government. Based on research with English local councils.

1. Accelerating
Innovation in Local
Government:
Three Perspectives
Joan Munro

2. Innovation definition used
Innovations are changes to services, products,
organisational arrangements or democratic
approaches that are both:
› New to the council [organisation]
› Deliver additional value for service users &
citizens [customers & other stakeholders]
The innovation continuum goes from small scale
improvements to radical disruptive, game
changing, breakthrough changes

3. Local government examples
Vertical
pier
Contact
centres
Annual
magic
festival
Residents’
personal
computer links
New ways
of avoiding
potholesTele-
care
Council-
owned
private
company
Report
rubbish on
mobile
Inter-
agency
working
Shared
services
Pay on
mobile Community
run libraries
Community
volunteers
mentoring
unemployed
Publish
data for
open
use
Elected Youth
Council
Older
peoples’
mutual
support
‘circles’
‘Tell Us
Once’
Portable
traffic
lights
Social
enterprises
Private
sector
partnerships
Dementia
friendly
cafes
App for
touristsLocal
forums
Becoming
a bank
Child-
friendly city
Co-operative
Council

4. Research objectives
Aims
› Identify what local government leaders
might do to accelerate innovation
council-wide
› Disseminate and promote this learning to
local councils
› Further the research evidence on
leadership actions that help to achieve
innovation in public services

5. Research
› Interviews with 18 chief executives
› Three discussion groups of chief executives
› Development and testing of Local Councils’
Innovation Framework with councils
› 19 employee focus groups in six councils
› Discussion with LGA Improvement &
Innovation Board
› Politicians’ Masterclass on innovation
› Interviews with ten leading politicians (so far)
› Planning research with middle managers

6. Local Councils’ Innovation
Framework

7. CITIZEN & SERVICE USER FOCUS
› Politicians’ and chief
execs’ declared
central focus
However….
› Little in-depth research
on service users’ lives &
concerns
› Residents & service
users rarely involved in
developing innovations
› Few taking action to
unlock community
capacity for innovation

8. POLITICAL VISION & PRIORITIES
All agree need to:
› Look ahead & anticipate
issues
› Have clear, attainable,
long term ambitions &
objectives
› Take calculated, essential
risks
However….
› Few clear about the
priority areas for future
innovations

9. LEADERSHIP
All agree need for:
› Bold, united, determined top
team, focused on achieving
innovations
› Leaders to communicate
priorities & reasons for
innovation convincingly
› Leaders to listen to others
› Persistence
However employees stress…
› Communication should be
done personally
› Middle & frontline managers
need to pro-actively
encourage innovation

10. STRATEGIC APPROACH TO
INNOVATION All agree:
› Capacity/time to implement
innovations is a major issue
Few:
› Set aside specific resources for
innovation
› Recognise the need for training
& expertise in innovation
processes
› Protect innovation processes
from organisational norms
› Right kind of technology
expertise

11. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE
All agree:
› Fresh ideas should be
encouraged
› Intelligent failures should
be learnt from
However…
› Employees say there is
little time for reflection or
creative thinking
› Few recognise the
potential benefits of
learning from other
sectors or abroad

12. CROSS BOUNDARY WORKING
› All agree need to work
across internal silos &
with other councils
› Politicians & chief execs
major focus on external
partnership
However …
› Employees feel need
more practical actions
to build cross-council
links
› Few private sector
contracts appear to be
delivering innovations

13. EMPLOYEES
All agree need:
› Motivated, committed
employees
› To encourage employees
to contribute ideas
However employees say…
› They need to be genuinely
involved in innovation
processes from the start
› Little or poor feedback on
their ideas

14. DELIVERY
› Most innovative
councils have
corporate programme
& project management
approach
However…
› The biggest, most
expensive, services
appear to be achieving
less innovations
› Few systematically
learning from successes
& failures

15. Politicians set the
strategic context for
innovation
Senior & middle
managers lead for
innovation
Frontline managers &
employees are engaged
in key innovations
Effective innovation delivery
mechanisms
A Strategic
Approach to
Innovation in
Councils

16. Issues for council leaders
Deciding:
› How and where innovation should sit in
the organisation’s overall strategy
› Whether to use the word ‘innovation’
› When and where the conditions are right
for more major, radical innovations

17. Resources
› Local Councils’ Innovation Framework:
http://tinyurl.com/LGIF2014
› Framework Self-Assessment tool:
http://tinyurl.com/LGISA2014
› Summary of latest findings:
http://tinyurl.com/LGILF2014
› Presentations on innovation:
http://www.slideshare.net/joanmunro
©Accelerating Innovation in Local
Government Research Project