Press Release - Innovation across central government
26 March 2009
Government faces increasing pressure to do more with fewer
financial resources and, with challenges such as climate change and
an ageing population, will require innovation in public services.
Since 2006, when the National Audit Office last reported to
Parliament on innovation in central government, departments have
started to implement some of the report’s recommendations and
improve innovation. However, departments are still not maximising
the opportunities to innovate and there are often barriers
preventing public servants from developing innovations through to
implementation.
The majority of cases of innovation seen by the NAO originated
with senior management within departments. There is a potential to
encourage more innovation from front line staff and service users.
At the front line, public servants can be reluctant to put forward
ideas where they do not appreciate how innovation relates to the
goals of the organization and can resist change they feel is forced
upon them. Other barriers to innovation from public servants
include risk averse attitudes within departments and a
concentration on targets, budgets and high-profile national
initiatives.
Although clear guidance and signals from leaders and senior
management within departments would help remove some of these
barriers, it is important that departments develop strategies for
encouraging and developing innovation. Few departments have
appropriate strategies in place.
It is not possible to identify exactly how much central
government spends on developing innovation, as most occurs as part
of large business transformation programmes or initiatives to
improve the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery.
However, estimates by the NAO suggest that departments have
allocated at least £3 billion in the form of innovation budgets,
and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
announced a further £2.5 billion to be spent encouraging and
supporting innovation from 2008-9 to 2010-11.
There are no measures in place to assess the impact of this
expenditure. Measuring innovation in the public sector is complex,
but projects supported by departmental innovation budgets should
have measures in place to ensure their benefits are being realised.
Government should make use of the survey work done by the NAO for
this report and develop it further to determine how effective this
expenditure is.
Tim Burr, head of the National Audit Office, said
today:
"Despite the large sums of money
being invested in encouraging innovation, central government isn’t
making the most of the opportunities to improve the delivery of
public services. Innovation within service delivery is vital and
government must be sure that it encourages staff to contribute,
listens to the people who use its services and measures what it is
getting for the investment made."
Notes for Editors:
- The National Audit Office last looked at innovation in central
government organizations in July 2006 (HC 1447). The report is
available on our website:
(http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/0506/achieving_innovation_in_centra.aspx).
- The White Paper Innovation Nation defines innovation as "the
successful exploitation of new ideas"… "New" in this context can be
new to the sector or the organization, taking an idea from one
context and adapting it to another.
- The Government’s announcement on public service reform on 10
March, Working Together, recognised the importance of public sector
innovation, stating that the government’s strategic roles should be
setting standards, driving productivity and fostering
innovation.
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website, which is at www.nao.org.uk. Hard
copies can be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702
3474.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Tim Burr, is the head of
the National Audit Office which employs some 850 staff. He and the
NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 21/09
All enquiries to Phil Groves, NAO Press Office:
Tel: 020 7798 5339
Mobile: 07770 678 477