Everyday innovation report - Nesta

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available for use in testing new ideas; the
imperative is on making more effective use of
the scarce resources that they have. However,
unexpectedly, given the current economic
situation, the large majority of respondents
reported being ‘optimistic’ about the future of
their organisation (77 per cent).
Many interviewees listed employee
engagement as a core resource in promoting
innovative working. “We know there’s a
causal link between employee engagement
and organisational performance. The problem
is with the current economic climate, this
could damage employee engagement, and
people tend to be more committed when they
have a sense of safety, a sense of control
in the organisation. I’m sure the same goes
for innovative working. One of the reasons
employees may still feel optimistic is that a
crisis helps shift behaviour… there’s almost a
sense of anticipation of what might happen
and therefore more potential for significant
change”. (Linda Holbeche, former Director
Research & Policy, Chartered Institute of
Personnel & Development, CIPD).
2.3 The public sector is less focused on
innovative working
The capacity of organisations to innovate varies
considerably by sector and region. Previous
research has identified the public sector as
being “less driven to be innovative and slower
to adopt and implement innovations” (National
Audit Office survey, 2007; p.11). Survey results
reported here broadly confirm this to be the
case today. A higher proportion of employees
from the public sector were significantly more
likely than private sector respondents to
endorse the statements ‘available resources
for innovation will be reduced’ and ‘control
will become more centralised’ as a result of
the current economic situation. This is likely to
reduce the potential for innovative working.
Although there are many examples of
innovative practices and initiatives among
public sector organisations (see case example
below), the approach to innovation in the
public sector is often described as being
fragmented, with a lack of resources and
rigorous methods aimed at promoting
innovative working. Although examples or
‘pockets’ of innovative working could be
observed in most organisations, this was not
usually indicative of a broad innovative working
culture. ‘Cultural barriers’, ‘bureaucracy’, and
an ‘under-developed understanding of how
to nurture and foster innovative working’
were often cited as contributing factors in our
interviews. “The response to the economic
climate in relation to innovative working
varies from company to company; ultimately
it comes down to leadership” (Peter Harrison,
Innovation Manager, Entheo Consulting). Our
survey findings confirm that senior leadership’s
development of an innovation strategy and
related priorities is described as one of the
most important catalysts for innovative working
in organisations.