Designing beta public service: Finding the courage to be imperfect

by Laura Bunt

When Oslo's transport authorities wanted to design and implement a new transport system for Ruter, they knew that providing useful, legible information would be as critical as the lines themselves.

Thrills! Spills! Procurement!

There's no easy way of saying this. This is a blog post about government procurement and how it can encourage innovation.

Thoughts from the Philosophy Shop

This week I visited a learning experience that The Philosophy Shop are delivering on idiscover.

Manchester workshop

It was great to see the Neighbourhood Challenge projects taking part in the Manchester workshop we held last week.

Social innnovation that is global

There’s a lot of social innovation going on. All over the world, citizens, governments, communities, NGOs are experimenting with new ways of responding to social issues.

Prototyping as habit

Wouldn’t it be good if our public and social organisations were in the habit of prototyping?

The big day is here

NESTA is abuzz with activity this morning because the Neighbourhood Challenge projects are being announced today!

10. Don't try to save money

If you take one thing away from this series, it’s the insight that the only way to make savings sustainably is to start from how services can be better, not from how to save money.

9. Don't start with creating an innovation culture - culture only comes from practice

An important challenge now for chief executives and service leaders is how to create the right environment for radical innovation across the organisation, supported with the right balance of risk and reward. But this doesn’t mean creating an innovative culture for its own sake, but a culture where staff feel empowered and supported to affect change and adapt their own practice.

7. Turn to your community as partners in tackling big issues

Meaningful community participation can be a powerful way to respond to social challenges and to prompt redesign of public services. With appropriate support, communities can and want to get involved.