Last week I gave a talk to the 2014 Code for America fellows, titled Strategic Serendipity, where I discussed the importance of their role in bringing about longer-term change in their host cities. The fellows have the opportunity to “stage” interactions between residents, government staffers, community leaders, researchers, foundation professionals, civic hackers, and elected officials. If the interactions are positive and the government leaders are given the tools to recreate those positive interactions, it is likely that the process will be repeated, developing a culture of collaboration, exploration, and innovation. In this way the fellows act as catalyzers in the process of civic innovation.
The notion of innovation being a process, and one that requires multiple actors and enablers, is not new. In our report, The 2050 City: What Civic Innovation Looks Like Today -- and Tomorrow, we describe a civic innovation ecosystem where partnerships and collaboration are essential to the innovation process. So naturally when I read Professors Eva Sorensen’s and Jacob Torfing’s report, Enhancing Social Innovation by Rethinking Collaboration, Leadership and Public Governance, outlining the role of public leaders and managers in collaborative innovation I was excited. Not only do the authors argue that innovation shouldn’t be left to individual “innovation heros,” they also argue that collaboration improves all phases in the innovation process.
I’m highlighting this report because the thinking behind how innovation happens within the public sector, and how it spreads throughout government, parallels CCIP’s research findings and my personal experiences working in government. The authors maintain “that the barriers to collaborative innovation in the public sector can be mitigated or overcome by public leaders and managers who assume the role of ‘conveners’, ‘facilitators’ and ‘catalysts’.”
The roles as described in the report:
The three essential functions described by the authors summarize the roles I hope the Code for America fellows play in their cities, and more importantly the roles that I hope they develop in public leaders throughout the fellowship.
The notion of innovation being a process, and one that requires multiple actors and enablers, is not new. In our report, The 2050 City: What Civic Innovation Looks Like Today -- and Tomorrow, we describe a civic innovation ecosystem where partnerships and collaboration are essential to the innovation process. So naturally when I read Professors Eva Sorensen’s and Jacob Torfing’s report, Enhancing Social Innovation by Rethinking Collaboration, Leadership and Public Governance, outlining the role of public leaders and managers in collaborative innovation I was excited. Not only do the authors argue that innovation shouldn’t be left to individual “innovation heros,” they also argue that collaboration improves all phases in the innovation process.
I’m highlighting this report because the thinking behind how innovation happens within the public sector, and how it spreads throughout government, parallels CCIP’s research findings and my personal experiences working in government. The authors maintain “that the barriers to collaborative innovation in the public sector can be mitigated or overcome by public leaders and managers who assume the role of ‘conveners’, ‘facilitators’ and ‘catalysts’.”
The roles as described in the report:
- “The role of the convener is to bring together the relevant actors and spur interaction and the exchange of information, views and ideas.”
- “The role of the facilitator is to get the actors to collaborate by constructively managing their differences and engaging in processes of mutual learning that bring them beyond the least common denominator. “
- “The role of the catalyst is to create appropriate disturbances and stimulate the actors to think out of the box and develop and implement new and bold solutions.”
The three essential functions described by the authors summarize the roles I hope the Code for America fellows play in their cities, and more importantly the roles that I hope they develop in public leaders throughout the fellowship.