Conference on Open Innovation in the Public Sector organized in Manila, Philippines
The Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) in collaboration with the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) organized the Conference on Open Innovation in the Public Sector in Manilla, Philippines from 28th – 29th, 2024, with the participation of nearly 300 delegates from 17 APO-member economies.
According to a Havard University report in 2024, open innovation is a strategy that suggests the best ideas, solutions, and people to solve difficult problems of organizations. In recent years, this type of innovation is being used by a growing number of public-sector organizations to adopt good ideas from all over the world to improve the public services.
In order to implement open innovation in the public sector, it is necessary to have a shift in mindset from conventional, narrow approach to one that is more open, collaborative. It involves creating mechanisms for engagement, such as innovation labs, hackathons, crowdsourcing platforms, and public-private partnership, as well as policies that support data sharing, intellectual property management, and service co-creation.
During two-day event, speakers presented strategies for improving governance and delivering better outcomes for citizens.
At the first presentation, Dr. Atreyi Kankanhalli from the National University of Singapore started with inside-out and outside-out innovation, emphasizing the vital role of user-driven innovations and the need for organizations in public sector to leverage the creativity and insights of citizens and stakeholders.
Dr. Michiko Iizuka, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies Japan, explained the critical aspects for public-private partnerships for providing effective public services as well as examined complexities of this type of partnerships in open innovation. From this point, speaker outline key challenges and offered strategies to improve effective collaboration.
Next, the session presented by Director Diane Gail L. Maharjan, Innovation Staff Policy and Planning Group National Economic and Development Authority Philippines aimed to explore the strategies and frameworks which are necessary to establish a robust innovation ecosystem within the public sector. The discussion also delivered how government policies, collaborative institutions, and proactive public engagement can foster sustainable innovation.
Alexandru Oprunenco, Regional Innovation advisor at the United Nations Development Programme in Thailand, proposed a system-based, collaboration-based “portfolio” approach adopted by several public-sector organizations. This approach is a diversities platform to support organizations address multifaceted difficulties they are facing.
Angela Hanson, Innovation Lead Observatory of Public Sector Innovation, Open and Innovative Government Division Public Governance OECD, France, concluded the presentation session with topic “Building a Culture of Open Innovation for Public-sector Organizations”. This presentation focused on empowerment of organizational middle managers to lead innovation efforts, ensuring that they have the authority, courage, and resources to drive changes, and encouraging experimentation and collaboration.
The conference also provided practical insights into successfully applying open innovations through panel sessions and case studies.
Thanh Huong – Board of Quality Management and Conformity Assessment
