Governments around the world are under pressure to do more with less. Dispelling the conventional wisdom that government is the enemy of innovation, this book argues that the promise of innovation addressing the most compelling societal problems will only come to fruition if governments become full partners and participants in innovation. The authors provide a systematic overview, analysis, framework, research agenda, and strategic directions for the study of public sector innovation, examining drivers, sources, barriers, typologies, and outcomes of innovation along with ethics. They suggest that innovation in government requires a new approach to public sector strategy, organization, human resources, and culture. Featuring large data analyses and poignant case studies drawn from best practices across the globe, Demircioglu and Audretsch identify what works and what doesn't in transforming governments from the periphery to the very heart of the most profound innovations driving societal change and development.

‘Innovation is critical to keeping public organizations impactful, relevant, and up-to-date. Demircioglu and Audretsch offer an indispensable overview of the context and advancement of public sector innovation. This book should be mandatory reading for academics and their students!’

Evan Berman - Professor Titular in Public Management, FGV EAESP

‘A highly comprehensive and clearly structured book on public sector innovation - a must read for all scholars and students of this topic!’

Albert Meijer - Professor of Public Innovation, School of Governance, Utrecht University

‘Public sector innovation may strike some as an oxymoron, but this book begs to differ. The authors offer not just persuasive evidence that public organizations and employees can be innovative, but also provide a comprehensive review of the conditions under which such innovation can occur. Anyone interested in how governments can work better should be interested in Public Sector Innovation.’

Donald Moynihan - McCourt Chair at the McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University

‘For both believers and sceptics, this book will help readers to understand innovation and change how they think about the public sector.’

Janine O'Flynn - Director of the Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University

‘A thorough and detailed description and analysis of public sector innovation, including a timely and important consideration of the role of the government in promoting entrepreneurship. This book is a ‘must read’ for scholars and policymakers interested in the antecedents and consequences of public sector innovation. Given the growing importance of innovation and entrepreneurship in the global economy, the usefulness of this landmark volume will not diminish over time.’

Donald Siegel - Foundation Professor of Public Policy and Management and Co-Executive Director of the Global Center for Technology Transfer, Arizona State University

‘Public Sector Innovation is a valuable resource for scholars, research students, and practitioners interested in the government’s evolving role in fostering innovation. Its strength lies in its comprehensive synthesis and its call for a more nuanced, evidence-based approach to public-sector innovation. Readers seeking a robust theoretical framework or a more critical analysis of governmental failures or unintended consequences may find the book less satisfying. The authors themselves highlight these gaps as opportunities for future research, including questions about the ethical implications of different types of innovation, the conditions under which public-sector innovation fails, and the measurement of public value. This book is perhaps best seen as a starting point for deeper engagement with the complexities of innovation in the public sector - a field that, as Demircioglu and Audretsch convincingly argue, deserves far more scholarly attention than it has received to date.'

Karl Wennberg Source: Administrative Science Quarterly