Good Practices and Innovations in Public Governance 2003-2011

2006 Special AWARD: Republic of Korea
Asia and the Pacific
Republic of Korea
2006 Special Award in Innovation Winner
The Government Innovation Index (GII)
The Ministry of Government Administration
and Home Affairs, Republic of Korea
Description
Measuring the level of innovation in the public sector through a user-friendly
web-based system.
The Problem
Innovation must be oriented to achieving measurable progress. The Ministry of Government
Administration and Home Affairs developed a diagnostic tool to measure
the level of innovation in the public sector.
The Solution
The Government Innovation Index (GII), developed by MOGAHA, is a tool to measure
the level of innovation achieved in the public sector. The GII is a compound index
consisting of various elements that ascertain innovation efforts and results by
scientifically diagnosing numerous dimensions of innovation.
The core components of the GII include “Foundation Readiness for Innovation”,
“Level of Active Innovation” and “Innovation Results.” Each institution can use
the web-based system to measure and diagnose their level of innovation at various
standpoints.
The web-based system is easy to use, enables the accumulation of data and is a
superior method, advantageous for statistical analysis. The basic concept for the
GII emerged in 2004 in response to the need to assess the level of innovation in
governmental organisations. It was eventually conceived in 2005. A total of 496
public institutions, including the central government, local government agencies,
local office of education, took part in the voluntary diagnosis to measure their innovation
level. The first round of diagnosis resulted in comprehensive information
on the level of innovation for each respective agency and their weakness in promoting
innovation in government. It also provided statistical, narrative explanation
on the innovation level according to specific areas and the innovation level in
comparison to similar agencies. Furthermore, it helped the MOGAHA, an innovation-managing
agency, to establish appropriate innovation strategies by understanding
the public sector’s overall innovation level and what causes successful
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