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The Public Innovator’s Playbook: Nurturing bold ideas in government William D. Eggers and Shalabh Kumar Singh Deloitte Research Foreword by Stephen Goldsmith Harvard Kennedy School of Government About the Deloitte Member Firm Public Leadership Institute The Deloitte Member Firm Public Leadership Institute, a part of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu’s (DTT) public sector industry group, identifies, analyzes and explains the major issues facing governments today. The focus of the Institute is to help public leaders tackle their most complex policy and management challenges. Through the Institute, Deloitte member firm public sector industry practices deliver cutting edge thought-leadership, innovative solutions to issues facing governments and strategic policy development. With offices in Washington, DC, London and Sydney, the Institute delivers practical insights governments can use to improve their operations and deliver better value to their citizens. The Institute realizes these objectives through three major programs: • Thought leadership. In conjunction with Deloitte Research, a part of Deloitte Services LLP in the United States, Institute staff and Fellows pro- duce provocative books, studies and commentaries on the most pressing issues facing public leaders. • Public leaders’ forums. The Institute regularly brings together distin- guished current and former senior public officials, management experts and academics to discuss topical issues and share best practices. • Academic partnerships. The Institute works closely with the world’s lead- ing graduate schools of public policy and administration to co-sponsor forums and co-produce books and studies. About the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation The Roy and Lila Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation advances excellence in governance and strengthens democratic institutions worldwide. Through its research, publications, leadership training, global net- work, and awards program – developed in collaboration with a diverse, engaged community of scholars and practitioners - the Ash Institute fosters creative and effective government problem-solving and serves as a catalyst for addressing many of the most pressing needs of the world’s citizens. The Ford Foundation is a founding donor of the Institute. Additional information about the Ash Institute is available at www.ashinstitute.harvard.edu. Applicants for the 2009 Innovations in American Government Awards are encouraged to apply at www.innovationsaward.harvard.edu. The Public Innovator’s Playbook: Nurturing bold ideas in government William D. Eggers and Shalabh Kumar Singh Deloitte Research Foreword by Stephen Goldsmith Harvard Kennedy School of Government The Public Innovator’s Playbook: Nurturing Bold Ideas in Government By William D. Eggers and Shalabh Kumar Singh Deloitte Research Foreword by Stephen Goldsmith ISBN 0-9790611-1-3 ISBN13 9780-9790611-1-0 About Deloitte Research Deloitte Research, a part of Deloitte Services LP, identifies, analyzes, and explains the major issues driving today’s business dynamics and shaping tomorrow’s global marketplace. From provocative points of view about strategy and organizational change to straight talk about economics, regulation and technology, Deloitte Research delivers innovative, practical insights companies can use to improve their bottom-line performance. Operating through a network of dedicated research professionals, senior consulting practitioners of the various member firms of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, academics and technology specialists, Deloitte Research exhibits deep industry knowledge, functional understanding, and commitment to thought leadership. In boardrooms and business journals, Deloitte Research is known for bringing new perspective to real-world concerns. Disclaimer This publication contains general information only and Deloitte Services LP is not, by means of this publication, rendering accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice or services. This publication is not a substitute for such professional advice or services, nor should it be used as a basis for any decision or action that may affect your business. Before making any decision or taking any action that may affect your business, you should consult a qualified professional advisor. Deloitte Services LP its affiliates and related entities shall not be responsible for any loss sustained by any person who relies on this publication. About Deloitte Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, a Swiss Verein, and its network of member firms, each of which is a legally separate and independent entity. Please see www.deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and its member firms. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Copyright © 2009 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved. Member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Printed by Printcrafters, Winnipeg, MB, Canada Cover photograph by Andrew McGarry “Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.” Theodore Levitt Contents Foreword 2 Introduction 5 Part I: The innovation process Chapter 1 – The innovation cycle 17 Part II: The five innovation strategies Chapter 2 – Cultivate 33 Chapter 3 – Replicate 49 Chapter 4 – Partner 63 Chapter 5 – Network 77 Chapter 6 – Open source 95 Part III: The innovation organization Chapter 7 – Sustaining a culture of innovation 113 Appendix Frequently asked questions 131 Good sources of information on innovation 137 Endnotes 141 The Public Innovator’s Playbook: Nurturing Bold Ideas in Government Foreword As this foreword is being written, governments around the globe face unprec- edented challenges. The global economic meltdown made an already challeng- ing set of circumstances exponentially worse for government. Public officials now face job, housing and revenue losses on top of the still daunting list of previous problems, including rising health care costs, global warming, crumbling infra- structure, terrorism, and immigration issues. The greatest economic turmoil since the Great Depression will create the 2 perfect storm of falling revenues and increasing spending for social welfare. At the same time, democratic governments are taking on a greater role in financial markets and other ailing industries. The temptation will be for government to hunker down, to depend on estab- lished approaches. This would be a big mistake. Now more than ever, government needs to embrace innovative approaches to daunting problems. The reason is simple: existing practices will not suffice. To have any hope of success, governments must embrace innovation as a core discipline, becoming adept at adopting new practices. Innovation must become part of the public sector DNA. In this book, authors William D. Eggers and Shalabh Singh lay out a blueprint for how to do this. The concrete insights they offer will prove invaluable to those public officials seeking to apply innovative solutions to unprecedented problems. As the authors point out, innovation can and does occur in the public sector. Too often, however, the public sector fails to actively promote innovation—a short- coming this book can help rectify. This book is co-published under the auspices of Deloitte’s Public Leadership Institute and the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. The Ash Institute was established in 1985 amidst widespread concern about citizen apathy and loss of trust in the government. On the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the program, the Ash Institute sought to revisit the impact of government innovations worldwide and lessons learned. This book forms a part of that series. The Ash Institute has been encouraging innovation since its inception. For example, the Institute’s Innovations in American Government Awards Program has received more than 25,000 applications from federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial government programs and has given recognition to more than 400 agencies—proving that creativity is indeed flourishing in the public sector. Few government agencies, however, have earned a reputation for being serial in- The Public Innovator’s Playbook: Nurturing Bold Ideas in Government novators; only a handful of them, for example, have been repeat winners of the Innovations Awards Program. The goal of this book is to improve this track record—to help governments become serial innovators. The book describes how public organizations can develop and sustain a culture of innovation. It could not be more timely. A recurring theme of the book is that governments have to become better at leveraging the creativity of those closest to the problem, be they employees or citizens. How can public leaders break the suffocating grip of bureaucracy and 3 stimulate the innovation process? This book shows how through breakthrough examples such as the Development Marketplace at the World Bank and the Idea Factory at the Transportation Security Administration. The innovation process, the authors emphasize, cannot remain a top-down, bureaucratic process, far removed from the concerns of citizens. Governments need to draw upon all their sources of innovation — employees, citizens, private organizations, and other governments — to produce regular and successful in- novations. In September 2007, the Innovations Awards Program conferred awards to its twentieth class of winners.