Practical Innovation in Government, Alan G Robinson
Practical Innovation in Government, Alan G Robinson
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Practical Innovation in Government
How Front-Line Leaders Are Transforming Public-Sector Organizations

Author: Alan G Robinson, Dean M. Schroeder

Narrator: Walter Dixon

Unabridged: 6 hr 18 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Ascent Audio

Published: 07/19/2022


Synopsis

This book is a comprehensive guide to an exciting new approach that managers at any level can use to transform their corners of government.

Whether people want more government or less, everyone wants efficient government. But most innovation efforts try to change the very nature of government-such as dismantling bureaucracy or privatizing services-and thus they usually fail.

Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder accept government on its own terms and simply ask how some existing organizations are dramatically improving their performance. What they found is that the best innovations come not from the top down but from the bottom up.

Drawing on their study of seventy government organizations and interviews with nearly 1,000 people in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Sweden, they found that the most innovative agencies and offices solicited and implemented ideas from frontline workers, the people who directly serve the public.

These often modest, pragmatic improvements can have a huge cumulative effect. For example, the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses was able to cut its average wait time from an hour and forty minutes to just seven minutes. Robinson and Schroeder offer a comprehensive guide for systematically collecting, evaluating, and implementing game-changing frontline ideas.

Reading group discussion guide available in book.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Bob on September 06, 2022

When Alan Robinson puts his name on a book, you know there's value, and although I'm not directly involved with government improvement, I knew there would be lessons to learn. And as a volunteer for Maine's Continuous Improvement Lean Collaborative, government and education are key areas we support.......more

Goodreads review by Marianne on April 17, 2023

Read this book for a workplace Innovation discussion. Working in state government, this book provided many concepts, ideas, and examples that can be adapted to a variety of projects. Also got to hear the speaker present, and he was great!......more

Goodreads review by Isaac on September 09, 2023

This book is excellent and a must read for Digital Trailblazers working in the public sector.......more

Goodreads review by Emily Parkany on February 06, 2024

SOV read this book and organized clunky book groups. Much of the book was annoying (why shouldn’t the public sector be innovative?) But a lot is interesting. Lots of great public sector examples of innovation. Some of this can be used anywhere. Good to review the book and get inspiration for things......more