The OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OPSI) and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Government Innovation in the United Arab Emirates call to submit innovation for 2021.
This year, the innovations that will be presented should be specifically focused on cross-border cooperation. Such innovations involve action between administrations at the national, regional, or local level and highlight the importance of working together in new and exciting ways to address common challenges. Such innovations at the time of the pandemic could involve the joint design of new services or actions between states to manage the challenges of COVID-19.
This call encourages innovative actors around the world to come up with innovative practices to fuel international research on better public policy management, but also to inspire others to work in new and creative ways. Innovation can be submitted by Public Administration Bodies, civil society organizations, academic institutions, but also organizations from the private sector. However, in order to be taken into account, initiatives should focus on improving public governance and the public sector should be fully involved in the project.
As in previous years, many of these innovations will be presented by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in its exhibitions and events. The teams that will submit their innovations will win:
- Global recognition: innovative initiatives are promoted to event participants, as well as to thousands of readers of OECD exhibitions,
- Scaling platform: The selected initiatives receive increased attention and support and new collaborations are formed, which enable the projects to be scaled and copied from other countries,
- Global movement: Innovations and their teams act as leaders and role models to inspire others and build a global innovation movement.
Cross-border Cooperation
Over the past four years, governments at the international level have begun to create the innovation agenda and apply innovative approaches to transform the ways in which they operate and provide services to society.
- Innovation trends at the international level in 2017 were largely oriented towards projects related to Public Bodies, which prevented a significant change in the culture of public administration,
- In 2018 and 2019 the trends showed a change of course towards systemic approaches, which contributed to the alignment and the creation of a vision for policies and services that allowed to create conditions for real change and delivery of public value.
- In 2020, more collaborative approaches were sought, with which new forms of cooperation between public organizations and the public emerged.
This transition highlights a significant and rapid change in how governments use innovation to bring meaningful change. 2020 emerged through the pandemic crisis, which dealt significant blows to the abolition of silos as a catalyst for change.
Governments today need to recognize their role in the global community and work together to create something bigger than they could do on their own. Cross-border innovation is now the next level of innovation development in the public sector.
Choice of Innovations
The innovators who will be finally selected will be invited to participate in a workshop to get close to other innovative organizations from the international community, share their experiences, network and gain new knowledge. These bodies will gain publicity and will be presented on the website Innovation.gov.gr.
In addition, some of the teams that created the selected innovations will be invited to the OECD Annual Innovation Conference to be held in the fall of 2021 to present their work.
Submission Procedure
Step 1: Register on the OPSI website (https://oecd-opsi.org/register/ ) or login here (https://oecd-opsi.org/login/ ) if you are already registered
Step 2: Submit your innovation through the online innovation submission form (https://oecd-opsi.org/login/?redirected=1 ) by April 29, 2021.
Public Sector Innovation Observatory of the Ministry of Interior
Today in the Innovation Repository of the Ministry of Interior, we host innovations in order to improve their visibility in other public organizations, but also to study the innovation trends at the national level, in order to create the national innovation agenda.
We ask the applicants to inform the Department of Innovation and Best Practices at the email address innovationunit@ydmed.gov.gr and to submit electronically their innovative practices at the relevant link (https://innovation.gov.gr/submission-innovation ) of the Public Sector Innovation Observatory.