Leading public sector innovation

Christian Bason is the Director of MindLab, a cross-ministerial innovation unit in Denmark. He was formerly responsible for the public organisation and management practice of Ramboll, an international consultancy. As an experienced presenter and facilitator, he has served as advisor to numerous public institutions around the world. He has also been a university lecturer and is the author of three previous books on citizen involvement, leadership and innovation in the public sector.

"Christian Bason has written a book that should be read by everyone interested in public sector innovation. With clear writing and concrete examples, he demonstrates how public officials can embrace a new way of thinking - despite some challenging obstacles. Bason's hands-on experience at MindLab makes the book extremely practical. As problems grow more complex, the innovation culture described in the book becomes increasingly important." John O'Leary, Research Fellow, Ash Center, The Harvard Kennedy School of Government 'This book can be recommended to those interested in developing innovation within their own services, for no other text has provided such a rich, detailed and accessible guide.' - Social Policy "Innovation in public services will be a critical issue for professionals, politicians and the public in the next decade. Christian Bason's book provides a massively valuable and timely contribution to thinking and action on the subject providing both practical advice and theoretical frameworks." David Albury, Visiting Professor in Innovation Studies, Kings College London "Christian Bason combines a strong intellectual foundation with real on-the-ground experience and a wide understanding relevant of global developments. His book is an indispensible source of knowledge for anyone interested in public sector innovation." Patricia Kelly, Deputy Secretary, Australian Government, Department of Innovation, Industry, Science & Research "Christian Bason has consistently been on the cutting edge of thinking about how public services can keep ahead of the pressures of change. This book is very timely, drawing on examples from around the world and showing how public services can work with citizens to create better, and more cost effective, solutions to their needs. Most public agencies prefer to talk about innovation than to do it for real: but the pressures of the crisis mean that this is no longer a serious option." Geoff Mulgan, Director, The Young Foundation "There's never been a time when innovation in the public sector has been more urgently needed. But whilst the commitment might be in place the understanding of how to make innovation happen in this context is often missing. Building capability in organising and managing innovation is urgently needed - and this book is a very welcome aid to that process. This is an excellent book, setting out a clear framework within which the practical issues involved in public sector innovation are explored, using insights drawn from extensive practical experience of implementing and supporting it. It draws on an impressive range of research and relevant wider experience in both public and private sectors and is written in a clear and persuasive style. The book offers an excellent synthesis of principles, practices and tools to enable real traction on the innovation management problem - and it ought to find a place on any manager's bookshelf." John Bessant, Director of Research and Knowledge Transfer and Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of Exeter Business School "This book is a practical how-to guide on reinventing the state to make it more innovative, citizen-centric and collaborative. It is the most comprehensive intervention to date to intellectually accompany the global quest for more modern and responsive government. Bason provides a major contribution on a contemporary issue that will dominate public discourse and political decision making for years to come." Ann Mettler, Executive Director, The Lisbon Council

• Introduction; The Innovation ecosystem; Part one: Consciousness: Mapping the landscape; Part two: Capacity: Political context; Strategy; Organising for innovation; People and culture; Part three: Co-creation: Design thinking in government; Citizen involvement; Orchestrating co-creation; Measuring to learn; Part four: Courage: Four leadership roles.