leading for innovation in local government

Creativity in local government:

Leadership for innovation

Joan Munro April 2015

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

Innovation = New + Relevant

New ways of saving

money

New ways of

delivering

New organisational arrangements

New ways of improving democracy©Accelerating Innovation in Local

Government Research Project

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

Solar powered litter bin

Turning waste into energy

Council owned private company

Integrating health & social care

Vertical pier

GPS watches for people with

dementia

Examples of local government innovations

Simplified innovation process

Investigate issues to fullyunderstand problems & opportunities

Generate & consider many potential creative solutions

Select, prototype, test & develop most promising potential solutions

Execute

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

How can local government leaders achieve more major innovations, more quickly?

What’s shared?What’s different?What’s missing?

Chief Executives’ Perspectives

Leading Councillors’ Perspectives

Middle Managers’

Perspectives

Frontline Employees’ Perspectives

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

FIVE KEY ACTIONS

UNIVERSALLY AGREED

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Agreeing a clear

strategic direction & innovation priorities

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

Leading for innovation

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Particularly convincingly communicating the need

for innovations

Fostering an organisational culture that encourages innovation

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

Devoting sufficient time & resources to priority innovations

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

FutureGov photo

Building effective cross-council working on major innovations

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES

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Turning rhetoric into reality

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Many middle managers & frontline employees said

that their leaders needed to put the 5 key actions into practice more effectively

Communicating, face to face

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

Many middle managers & frontline employees said it

was vital that leaders communicate in person

Involving & listening to managers & employees

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

Many middle managers & employees felt that consultations on proposed innovations were

often tokenistic & too late

Ensuring corporate services help to deliver innovations

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

In some councils, middle managers felt that their corporate services block

innovation

Providing technology expertise

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

In some councils, middle managers felt that the

necessary digital expertise was not

available

Using effective,

disciplined, delivery

mechanisms

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

Many chief executives felt programme &

project management helped to ensure

delivery

Persisting until innovations are achieved ©Accelerating Innovation in Local

Government Research Project

Many middle managers & employees felt that their

leaders did not maintain their interest for long enough

Areas needing attention?

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

Involving residents more?

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

Looking more widely for inspiration?

Focusing more on partnerships & on commissioning for innovation?

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

Developing more

innovation expertise?

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

“Ideas are a dime a dozen. What’s more important is the execution: the alignment of the right ideas,

the right team, the right development process, the right leadership, the right level of risk

management, the right target, the right time to market and so on.”

Jones and Samlionis, IDEO

THE LOCAL COUNCILS’ INNOVATION FRAMEWORK

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

Distils the findings from the research

Can be used by leaders individually or in groups to

review what they might do to achieve more major

innovations

Citizen & Service user

Focus

Culture promotes innovation

Effective delivery

mechanisms for innovation

Cross boundary

innovations

Strategic approach to innovation

Leaders & managers lead for

innovation

Clear political vision & priorities

Employees skilled &

motivated for innovation

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project

Resources & contact details

Local Councils’ Innovation Framework: http://tinyurl.com/LGIF2014

Local Councils’ Innovation Framework Self-Assessment tool: http://bit.ly/1SSk2qP

Summary of research findings: http://tinyurl.com/LGinnLF814

Presentations on innovation:http://www.slideshare.net/joanmunro

joan.munro@btopenworld.comTel: 0779 2952 498@JoanMICL

©Accelerating Innovation in Local Government Research Project