1. The South African Perspective Thuli Radebe Centre for Public Service Innovation

2. Presentation structure 1.Introducing the Centre for Public Service Innovation 2.Challenges 3.Key learnings/ lessons 4.Recommendations 5.Conclusion

3. 1. Centre for Public Service Innovation A government institution mandated to entrench and drive the culture and practice of innovation in the public service (ICT & non-ICT): -in response to identified service delivery challenges -In line with government’s priority outcomes -to achieve an independently solution-focussed public sector CPSI derives its mandate from the Public Service Act Brings public service innovation context to the science & technology based National System of Innovation – to ensure that ICT innovation benefits service delivery

4. Core business programmes In terms of core business, on the structure are 3 programmes with following functions: Research & Development (partnering with academic & research institutes) -Receiving, identifying and confirming service delivery challenges from departments -investigating and confirming root causes, existing solutions to curb re-inventing of the wheel, contributing to knowledge repositories Solution Support & Incubation (in collaboration with service delivery departments as business owners, private sector, not-for-profit organisations) -Leading the testing and piloting of solutions/prototypes – context & funding -Managing the Multi-Media Innovation Centre (MMIC) safe space, risk-friendly environment for piloting & testing & innovation repositories -Facilitating the handover of completed pilots to business owners for implementation, mainstreaming, facilitate replication, scaling up

5. Programmes cont’d Enabling Environment -Creating an enabling environment for innovation throughout the public sector (culture & mindsets) -driving knowledge platforms and products including Annual Conference, Awards programme including the Continental programme, Ideas that work( journal), -capacity building workshops (general & sector-specific), collaborating with capacity building expert institutions & individuals (Innovation Management Module), -contributing to repository of innovative practices, tools and approaches -Mobilising, advocacy, (e.g. network of innovation champions) Innovation does not always happen in a neat straight line: MATRIXING – processes not smooth but lots of stops, restarts and twists

6. 2. Challenges Risk averseness (Public finance legislation & procurement processes, BUREAUCRACY - counter risk taking and exploring New solutions celebrated and launched - no follow-through, scaling up, replication (sometimes ignored locally but external recognition) Silos = competition amongst government institutions (with cross-cutting mandates) – hampers learning & sharing of solutions for replication leading to exploitation by unscrupulous service providers -Reinventing the wheel (wanting to be first all the time!) - waste of resources -therefore integration & coordination as valuable building blocks of innovation are severely compromised

7. Challenges cont’d Developments in the ICT landscape very slow or limited – Connectivity, interoperability of systems, data integration challenges, remain pervasive – limiting innovation potential Doomsayerism – generally civil sector very slow in adopting innovation -Fear of venturing into new things - Positive disruptiveness of innovation not understood by leaders Entrepreneurship (audacity/audaciousness) not entrenched - critical ingredients for innovation to thrive (testing and piloting solutions) Lack of or limited political & leadership sponsorship - High turnover rate of political principals each time there’s a political principal we start all over again with the convincing game No funding model – very few public institutions have funding ring-fenced for innovation, thus limited scaling up, replication & mainstreaming

8. 3.Key Learnings/ lessons 3.1 Partnerships and collaboration are critical for citizen focused service delivery outcomes not political correctness, with: Public/government institutions - They own the business (they implement & mainstream, scale up, update policies); CPSI a facilitator, catalyst, project manager Innovation Hub - Solution Xchange Platform: web-based platform on which public & private sector institutions post challenges to a broader, entrepreneurial community in search of new innovations. -Space for them to incubate solutions, mentors, seed funding Private sector - best practices and funding for pilots in PS contexts (off-the-shelf solutions) – Public Finance legislation risk averse; Social Corporate Investment opportunities Academics & CBOs/NGOs – research findings (no reinventing of the wheel), innovative solutions respectively

9. Key Learnings / lessons 3.2 Focusing on current challenges & anticipating future ones is key Approaching innovation from real-life challenges facing citizens gives public sector innovation credibility because - we capitalise on the urgency and desire by public officials and governments generally to improve citizens’ lives - Keeps us grounded in practical efforts to find meaningful solutions in response to identified needs 3.3 Enhancing our award programme - a critical platform for entrenching the culture (awarding with a purpose beyond glitz & party) – unearth for replication, encourage) – creating communities and networks of innovators & use them in advocacy programmes

10. Key Learnings/ lessons 3.4 Articulate impact (practically) - Challenge of impact-crazed people wanting theoretical, broad statements). To us, the answer is contextual/context specific (not neatly packaged, one-directional answers) Example of approach we are following: Number of Departments or provinces implementing innovation programmes & ring- fencing funding for innovation as a result of engaging with the CPSI From replication of Schools Water project in a province – monthly water bills decreasing (costs down and water being saved through learners’ & teachers’ changed behaviour) From Ligbron e-Learning solution replication - Maths & Science pass rates from 0% - to 100%

11. Key Learnings/ lessons Impact continued: Retinal screening – on winning the CPSI award, R19m released for roll out to destitute rural people Traffic department – since winning CPSI Award, project took a different shape – funding used to employ driving schools to train learners to get drivers licences, some then funding them through college & tertiary institutions From our community security pilot, crime rate decreased by 9% during the pilot & solution being scaled up in other sectors

12. 4. Recommendations We should demonstrate our indispensability and that of innovation - innovation is not an option but has to be a way of doing things: invade all public sector spaces and be the catalysts in weaving innovation into all important planning debates, discussions & documents get involved in making sense of those good long-term plans (e.g. to an ordinary public official, let alone the citizen, what does the UN’s 2030 Agenda for SDGs mean, the AU’s Agenda 2063?) – get involved in the development of short-term targets & use innovation to achieve those targets by tackling bureaucracies & archaic approaches, short-circuit, leapfrog - (identify what needs to be achieved in the next year, the next 5 years).

13. Recommendations We should lead the process of creating synergies between national, regional, continental and global programmes (NDPs, AU Programmes, UN Programmes, OECD programmes (simplifying and consolidating) Deepen our global networks e.g. NESTA, CIIAP, and others Cultivate & support public entrepreneurs by providing/ facilitating platforms for testing ideas (avail public contexts/spaces for tests/pilots) – clinics, schools, hospitals

14. Recommendations Prioritise convincing political principals & leaders that public sector innovation does not come cheap - aggressively sell innovation to them AS AN INVESTMENT that facilitates saving of government money Convince political principals to lead the development of funding models and availing real funding for innovation By influencing the infusion of innovation in the design and development of policies to ensure that successfully piloted innovative solutions get scaled up, replicated, streamlined

15. Recommendations By encouraging leaders to embrace diversity - not to alienate the “eccentric-but-talented” and give comfort to the “bland-but-mediocre” -To recruit staff with very different perspectives to spice up their knowledge mix, NOT hiring “people like us, who think like us” e.g. public administration scholars only -Innovation to be included in leaders’ contracts (as Key Performance Area) By emphasizing that innovation rhymes more with simple/ simplifying/ simplification than with complex – challenges are complex but solutions/innovations simple

16. 5. Conclusion Persuade by demonstration – do innovation beyond talking about it (theory versus practice) – American behaviourist on cell-phones & slow walkers Advocacy, persuasion and convincing through practical demonstration of benefits of innovation to the politicians (else they will not hear us; charm them; give them ownership of the initiative (sell it to them) Have to be vigilant on our core business and protect its space – not be subsumed under other topics – (ICT, Research, KM)

17. Thank you