In this thoughtful episode, I speak with Nick Scott the Director of Open Government and Innovation in New Brunswick, Canada. In this episode, referencing Zaid Hassan, Nick makes the point that the original sin of complex challenges is the belief that you can change things without changing yourself. This is a wonderful and insightful episode on innovation within government. A word that is not usually associated with the public sector, but Nick break some myths and misconceptions here. One of the main things we discuss is the role of open government in the future of public sector and decision-making.
Nick and I explore how we are learning more about innovation within in big bureaucratic organizations. He makes that point that innovation is changing and that the cost of not innovating is too high for us not be boldly creating the conditions that foster innovation.
He argues that if innovation is to be successful in the public sector, it will need to improving the currency of trust with citizens. His goal is to change the quality of the relationships between governments and citizens so we can improve overall quality of life. He explains that innovation does not occur within organization or institution but as a result of the flow of information across and between organizations. There is no one organization that has the capacity to respond any of these complex challenges alone. There needs to be a change in culture and teams need to operate in a way that reflects the way you want the organization to work. We need to collaborate generously and share more innovation. The more we share innovation, the more value we can create. Change comes through hard work and reflection and it may take some time, but we are the ones who need to do the work.
Hope you enjoy this wonderfully thoughtful episode.
Note: Open Government is based on three principles – participation, transparency, and collaboration.
Links mentioned in the podcast:
Selling social change: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/selling_social_change
Wheeling in the Trojan Mice: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/wheeling_in_the_trojan_mice
In praise of maintenance: http://freakonomics.com/podcast/in-praise-of-maintenance-2/
Link to Beith Noveck: http://www.thegovlab.org/beth-noveck.html