Trend: Innovative practices 

A trend indicates a direction of change in values and needs which is driven by forces and manifests itself already in various ways within certain groups in society.

We see a growing need to build up new types of methods, structures and capacities in public service, to anticipate extreme events, influence socio-technical shifts and make visions of more desired future actionable now. We are fundamentally rethinking the way we do public policy and deliver value.

Governments have less time then they think to prepare themselves for revolutionary and disruptive change. Different types of innovation in governance will require different interventions and strategies, as well as different governance. Anticipatory innovation is the least developed facet in the public sector and beyond.  

This Trend is part of the Megatrend Increasing influence of new governing systems

Manifestations

Developments happening in certain groups in society that indicate examples of change related to the trend.

Anticipatory governance

There is growing interest in using anticipation and the practice of foresight among policy makers in international bodies, think tanks and governments. Anticipatory governance is defined as “a mode of decision-making that perpetually scans the horizon” (Fuerth, 2009). 
More and more governments around the world understand the added value of using foresight in their governance strategies. Foresight is the discipline of exploring, anticipating and shaping the future to help build and use collective intelligence in a structured, and systemic way, to anticipate developments.

Signals of change: OECD, European Commission

Change in leadership mindset

There is an increasing change in the type of governments and public service leaders. A substantial role for leaders nowadays is to navigate through Turbulent-Uncertain-Novel-Ambiguous (TUNA) circumstances and complex working environments. Creativity and resilience are increasingly needed from the leader. Also, competent leaders need to be ready to serve (and not be driven by personal appetites and interests), be able to understand complex matters; to be able to think outside of the box and to balance options. With the higher penetration of digital technologies in our everyday lives, leaders need to develop even more 'soft' skills such as empathy, care for each other, adaptation to change and change management in complex environments. 

Signals of change: Forbes, Harvard Business Review, OECD

Need for the new public sector skills

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for a more agile public sector. It has also shown the need for upskilling of public administration in order to be able to face the challenges of tomorrow. Governments around the world needed to adjust to new circumstances and react fast through innovation, collaboration and digital skills.

New skills, methods and ways of working are being tested and applied. For example, hackathons (events in which people or teams try to solve a problem, develop innovative solutions through using their coding skills and build an app together) have been organised by the European Commission (#EUvsVirus initiative) and several governments (e.g. Estonia, Germany). This presents a new way of working collaboratively with public administrations, innovators, enterpreneurs and civil society to impact public policies.

The further development of competencies such as continuous innovation, learning and working effectively with citizens are needed - and doing so with integrity and based on values. Developing skills such as critical thinking, creative problem problem solving, and teamwork will continue to be important to face future challenges.

Signals of change: Code Week, JRC, OECD, EUvsVirus

Open government

Open government means providing access to government documents to the wider public. There is a slow increase in the opening up of government data for broader scrutiny. One of the requirements for an Open government is open data. Openness is based on several essential characteristics of Good Open Data Governance, such as ‘open by default’ (publishing data at the same time it is created). Data protection and the right to information legislation could support a culture change, with open data as a starting point. 

Signals of change: Data Europe, WEB foundation, Open Government Partnership, Open Data Barometer

Cyber and hybrid politics    

A future cyberspace that incorporates elements of virtual reality, would challenge conventional means of political activity and state-centric decision-making, because, political participation would be increasingly carried out in the new digital realm, facilitating dynamic and localised, decentralised decision-making. The metaverse could give rise to a global civil society where communication, political activity, leisure time, and economies are shaped by the immersive cyberspace, the stability and security of which are enforced by binding international agreements.

The expansion of cyberspace could also provoke nation states to adopt policies limiting cyber access to ensure cyber sovereignty in their territories, limiting undesirable political influences and vulnerabilities to cyber and hybrid attacks - at the expense of freedom of information. Alternatively, the world may be plunged into a state of chaotic cyberspace anarchy leading to a violent dissolution of nation states.

Signals of change: Pew Research Centre

Data literacy for public servants and policymakers

Cyber and data literacy will be important for everyone to better understand the potential and limitations of digital platforms, their underlying business models and their governance, in order to prevent society and government from being manipulated. There is a need to develop and implement programmes for civil servants to be reskilled to use the technology to reach positive goals for society, as well as to develop more open and collaborative ways of thinking.

Signals of change: EC JRC, Data Foundation

Interesting questions

What might this trend imply, what should we be aware of, what could we study in more depth? Some ideas:

• How can innovation in government and public sector be fostered?

• How to have more responsive and resilient government ready to face turbulent, uncertain, novel and ambiguous conditions of the future?