| Danial Norjidi |
PUBLIC sector innovation and the role governments can play in fostering it were among the highlights of the recent Asian Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility (AFCSR) 2016.
The topic of public sector innovation was discussed during one of the concurrent sessions of the AFCSR 2016 when it took place in Naw Pyi Taw, Myanmar in September.
One of the speakers to lead the discussion was Peter Batchelor, Country Director of the United Nations Development Programme in Myanmar.
Batchelor began his presentation by defining social innovation, saying that it means new solutions, methodologies and approaches to meet a social need. It also means new or improved capabilities and relationships and better use of assets and resources.
Social innovation is good for society, and enhances society’s capacity to act, he shared, adding that it provides new ideas for the public sector to meet social challenges and social goals.
It combines design thinking, systems thinking and entrepreneurial action. It is “more than invention or creativity,” he said, adding that it is the practical application of new ideas in financially sustainable form.
He then highlighted why social innovation is relevant for the public sector, noting that governments are faced with growing social challenges. Addressing these challenges requires a paradigm shift, mindset or behaviour change, he said.
“The public sector needs to be receptive to social innovation,” he highlighted in his presentation. “Public managers need to interact with, partner with and support social innovators inside and outside the public sector.”
Peter Batchelor speaking at the event. – PHOTOS: DANIAL NORJIDI
Verity Lomax speaking during the session.
The private sector can also help with social innovation, he continued.
“Social innovators exist in all sectors, including the private sector,” he said. “Social innovation is about new relationships, new partnerships.”
He shared that the role of the private sector in social innovation is to: identify social needs/challenges;
provide funding to support innovation to address social need; support CSR initiatives; develop business opportunities pioneered by civil society; develop new consumer solutions (high-tech and low-cost); and to deliver innovation to address social needs (public-private partnership).
Batchelor proceeded to highlight the added value of social innovation in the public sector.
This includes improved outcomes for citizens (to address social challenges); improved implementation at scale; greater cost-effectiveness; new partnerships; helps cross-sectoral (whole of government) approaches; improved public institutions; enhanced social stability and social cohesion; and a more dynamic society.
On what governments can do to foster social innovation, he said that they can redefine the vision of the public sector (public passion for innovation), promote motivation for innovation amongst public managers as well as redefine the notion of citizenship with aspects of citizen engagement.
Governments can also embrace experimentation, introduce user and citizen perspectives (design thinking), share evidence for free, introduce competition with a diversity of providers (including the private sector), invest in innovation (incubators, hubs, funding instruments), reward innovation (make public managers innovators) and develop a national innovation system and strategy, he added.
Verity Lomax, Advisor at the Australia-Myanmar Chamber of Commerce was another speaker to feature at the session.
In her presentation, while touching on what governments can do to foster public sector innovation, she listed three things, saying they can create enabling environments, create incentives and create shared value.
She explained that creating enabling environments requires transparency, accountability, certainty and stability, trust, clarity and protection.
She then spoke on “The Stick” and “The Carrot”.
In this context, “The Stick” is regulation in the form of legislation creating an enabling environment that has: strong oversight bodies, open data, ESG disclosure requirements and strong financial institutions.
“The Carrot” refers to creating incentives. Such incentives can come in the form of: public recognition through awards and rankings; tax incentives; sharing risk and outcomes based contracting; grants and finance; and government procurement.
As an example of an incentive, she mentioned the Australian Government’s social benefit bonds – a financial instrument that pays a return based on achieving agreed social outcomes. “If the provider achieves the agreed social outcomes, this can result in savings to the government in the form of future avoided costs,” she shared in her presentation.
Another example she provided was that of a grants programme – Australia’s Business Partnerships Platform. Here she shared that the Australian government collaborates with the private sector to solve social challenges, offering dollar for dollar grants of AUD100,000 to 500,000 leading to joint investments of AUD200,000 to 1 million.
The post Call for public sector to be receptive to social innovation appeared first on Borneo Bulletin Online.