Measuring public sector innovation

Public sector innovation can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government services and address challenging social problems. Several definitions of innovation in the public sector exist, but most are generally compatible and useful for measurement. Policy interest in measuring public sector innovation has been met through case studies and one-off surveys, but a shift to building systemic and strategic innovation capabilities in government will require regular data collection to support ad hoc project oriented innovation and long-term strategic innovation. Data are required on innovation activities, outputs, and outcomes at the system (the political arm of government), organizational (individual ministries or department) and team/work unit level. Surveys are appropriate for the organizational and team/work unit level, while case studies may be better suited for data collection at the system level. The chapter identifies convergence on several topics in innovation surveys and describes methods to obtain representative samples of public sector organizations.