If you ask anyone on the street to name an entrepreneurial leader or an innovative organization, their response will invariably be the likes of Apple’s Steve Jobs, Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, or Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. What do all these responses have in common? They all refer to the private sector.

President Ronald R. Reagan used to quip, “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help,” and the audience would invariably laugh. They got the joke. Only today it is no joke. Governments face formidable challenges as both providers of goods and services, capable of swiftly impacting citizens’ lives. Without harnessing entrepreneurial creativity to drive transformative innovations, societies risk being overwhelmed by impending environmental, social, political, and economic crises.

A global survey by Accenture involving 590 public officials from ten nations reveals near-universal acknowledgment that citizens value and desire more innovative solutions from their governments. However, only a small fraction—just eight percent—of agencies surveyed were identified as trailblazers in government innovation.[1]

But one might ask— is it possible for the public sector to be innovative? The public sector is oftentimes criticized for its inefficiency bogged down from an overwhelming bureaucracy. Rarely is it seen as a place where one can pursue entrepreneurial dreams or create something greater. This book will first take you on a journey through history to uncover the exciting journey of public innovation from around the world that shaped the world we live in today. We will discuss some of the unsung heroes of public leaders that helped along the way and their stories. Based on the historical facts, we will then debunk the conventional myth that government cannot innovate.

Next, we will use real-life examples and large data sources around the world to provide various lessons of public innovation. While it is important for the public sector to innovate, there is limited guidance for the public sector on how to innovate. Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Public Sector, therefore, seeks to address this gap by providing actionable strategies for the public sector to push innovation forward.

Admittedly, there are various barriers and risks associated with public innovation. This book offers a balanced examination of public innovations, exploring both intended outcomes and occasional unforeseen consequences. Nevertheless, despite risks and challenges of public innovation and entrepreneurship, we argue that with the right tools and approaches, it is possible for the public sector to lead and create new values for the world. 

We also explore the impacts of technology on public innovation, how to build strong public entrepreneurial ecosystems that support and empower public entrepreneurs, and the making of public entrepreneurs themselves. This book makes it clear that to address the challenges posed by the daunting threats confronting contemporary society, public sector entrepreneurship and innovation need to rise to new levels, to be better than they have been. The promise of the public sector is to deliver the requisite entrepreneurship spawning a new era of breathtaking innovations to tackle the pressing issues burdening our society.

By the end of the book, you will leave equipped with the following insights:

1. Innovation is all inclusive including technology and also non-technological innovation.
2. Leadership strategies to ensure impactful and effective public innovation so that your organization can be viewed as a leader rather than an average government organization.
3. Public entrepreneurs can potentially have an even greater impact than their private sector counterparts.
4. Lessons from around the world on what other governments of different sizes are doing to engage and enrich the lives of their citizens.
5. Potential pitfalls leaders face and how to adjust course to reduce risk and rate of failure.

Perhaps the biggest takeaway we hope you take home after reading this book is the idea that public leaders are not only civil service workers- but are entrepreneurs in their own right that can create a culture of innovation to bring about change. We wrote this book to serve as a valuable tool that blends the applicability of “how to” with the overarching contexts of leadership books. We truly believe this will be but one small step towards the larger vision of building a more resilient and entrepreneurial public sector and that the best days of public entrepreneurship are yet to come!

[1] https://www.accenture.com/ch-en/services/public-service/innovating-public-service?