The great challenge for the public sector: innovation or stagnation?

“Nothing freer than public service” and other similar refrains are the dominant narrative of government inefficiency. It is a defining characteristic that has shaped the very foundations of international industries.

Yet the reality is far from this.

The public service, whether operating in the federal government, states and territories or local governments, operates at a pace that outstrips the pace and efficiency of those tasked with providing services to those very officials.

The problem, however, is that the public sector as a whole finds itself in the thankless position of having to respond and adapt to large, urgent policy programmes while lacking the resources, coherence and support needed to maintain focus.

The role of highly effective, trusted, supported and empowered management is crucial.

In this highly complex world, where demands on public services are stratospheric, how can we ensure rapid and effective delivery? We are in times of crisis and must position ourselves at the intersection of more coordinated creative effort, deeper systemic action, and pace.

This need to accelerate is not just another keyword in a report fragment. It must be a built-in principle of action to achieve systemic change and generate sustained momentum. Action driven by a backbone of imagination that ignites the design of a better, possible future. This cannot be done without true innovation, co-design, and momentum.

The momentum needed to sustain this is not being generated against, but rather driven by, people across the country who have taken on the mantle of service to deliver it to the public. Whether at the grassroots of councils, the offices of prime ministers and heads of government, or in the nation’s capital itself.

While some corporations may disagree, the move to reduce reliance on external support and focus on increasing public service capacity is undoubtedly the right move.

Achieving impact at a rapid pace in the context of changes surrounding the governance system is the role and task of good governance. And good governance must be government-driven and supported by focused and effective, focused and connected external experts who are geared towards catalyzing the capacity to achieve this, rather than duplicating capacity and redistributing budgets to foreign shareholders.

World-renowned Professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation at University College London, Sir Geoff Mulgan CBE, argues in his book Another World is Possible for the need to think differently about the problems we face – and to ignite a renewed imagination for bold ideas for transformative change. It is in this space that real acceleration can be achieved by navigating, understanding and interacting with the pressure points of the system itself.

A book by economist and author Professor Mariana Mazzucato Mission Economy: A Guide to Changing Capitalism offers an idealistic dream about the ability of governments to drive innovation in service delivery and how “(we need to) create more effective interfaces with innovation across society; rethink how we design policies; change how we manage intellectual property systems; and leverage research and development to disseminate intelligence across academia, government, business, and civil society.”

Although the assumptions are utopian because they ignore the pervasive negative influences of political engineering on public service, the concept of focusing on the mission and aligning with a common goal and task is crucial to accelerating development.

Mazzucato’s direct involvement in the Australian public sector grounds her work in the realities of effective governance and challenges us to think differently about how to deliver on key missions such as green industrial policy and achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

Missions are accomplished through the collective ingenuity of diverse minds, relentless drive, and seamless collaboration at every level. We must activate an ecosystem of individuals, industries, expertise, academia, organizations, boards, and governments to focus on tangible results, not revenue targets.

In the current climate, the challenge for the market is clear. Will we continue to view public services as a slow-moving profit target, or will we rise to the occasion and work together to deliver meaningful change?

As Sir Geoff Mulgan said, we need to “rekindle the social and political imagination.”

Remember:

• Public services have the capacity to innovate rapidly and perform at high levels, but to do so they need support and an understanding of the context in which they operate, as well as permission to try.
• Strategically building internal capacity is essential to achieving sustainable progress, recognising the critical role that the internal workforce plays in achieving the public service purpose.
• Truly collaborative efforts between the public and private sectors drive significant social progress, and that means seeing private sector teams working across government to build networks and connections regardless of the logos on their LinkedIn profiles.
• Often the greatest possible impact is not something new, or even something best, but knowing how to use what has already been done in the context of the system.

Whether this mission is lightning-fast or ministerial, it is time to abandon the outdated narrative and embrace a bold, imaginative approach as a collective force for meaningful change – or we will be doomed to earn it.

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ThinkPlace Senior Management Challenge^X: John Body, Sally Dorsett, Dr. Nina Terrey, Darren Menachemson, and Jason Perelson.

Think about the place^X is a boundary-pushing business of strategy, design and impact acceleration, co-created to address the complex challenges of today’s world. Activating the human experience, with deep domain knowledge and creativity through a systems approach to co-create strategy and actionable actions at the intersection of people, the system and its context.

Think about the place^X is part of the Synergy Group, a sovereign Australian enterprise.