Delivering Innovation in Public Institutions

Advanced Module, Newspeak House 2024-25

Andreas Varotsis

Welcome!

Aims for today

• Introduction to the module content
• Some group decisions
• A case study from me

About Me

• Operational policing and crime background
• Lots of work around community tech innovation
• Focus on impact evaluation
• Now work in central govt

Module Overview

Module Aims

• Focus is not on building innovation (covered in plenty of other modules)
• Instead, we’ll look at how to implement innovation (and when it fails)
  • Implementation and delivery
  • Pushback, internal and external
  • Incentives and pushback
  • Implementation delivery challenges that can kill good ideas.

Linked Modules

• There are several other modules that will touch on topics touched here.

  • Institutional Analysis

  • Political Organising

  • Service Design

  • Product Design

  • and more!

  • Evaluation masterclass next year?

Structure

• Attend Meetups and Events: I’ll mantain a list of government innovation associated meetups. You should attend at least 1 of these, and share notes and reflections with the group
• Case Study Discussion Sessions: As a group, we’ll select 2-3 examples of innovation as case studies, to read up and discuss
• Online Discussion Platform: Space for ongoing conversations, article sharing, and reflection.

Decisions for today!

Online Content

• Where do you want online stuff?
  • Slack
  • Discord
  • WhatsApp
  • Others?
• Consider what works best for interaction, notifications, and accessibility.

In Person - Where and When?

• I’ll aim to pencil in the next event for the end of this year.
• Every 6-8 weeks?
• Case studies 4 weeks in advance

Case Studies

• I’ll suggest a few interesting case studies…
• But you should also come up with your own!
• We’ll aim to select the first in the next couple of weeks

Case Studies

Finding case studies

• I’ve listed a few potential case studies in the module guide. These include
  • GOV.UK
  • NHS Horizon
  • Healthcare.gov
  • X-Road
• but I’d encourage you to think beyond the technical! For example…

Case Study 1 - Sortition in Ancient Athens

Sortition in Ancient Athens

• Innovation: Random selection of officials.
• Time Period: Classical Athens, circa 5th century BCE.
• Aim: Reduce the power of elites and increase representation.
• Why It Was Innovative: Sortition was a radical approach to ensure equal opportunity and fairness, promoting democracy by reducing elite influence.
• Outcome: Despite its democratic intent, sortition faced significant resistance from powerful elites and gradually faded as societies favored expertise and elections over random selection.

Key Resources

• Sortition (Wikipedia)
• Selection by Lot and Democracy: New Trend, Ancient Model
• Ancient History Encyclopedia - Athenian Democracy

Case Study 2 - Pneumatic Tube Mail Systems

Pneumatic Tube Mail Systems

• Innovation: Pneumatic tubes for fast mail delivery.
• Time Period: Late 19th to early 20th century.
• Cities: New York, Paris, London.
• Why It Was Innovative: The pneumatic tube system was an exciting and novel way to move mail quickly, reflecting significant ingenuity in urban logistics.
• Outcome: The system eventually became obsolete due to rising mail volumes and the advent of better communication technologies, such as telephones and electronic mail.

Key Resources

• Smithsonian Postal Museum - Pneumatic Mail
• Atlas Obscura - Pneumatic Tubes
• Book: “Neither Snow Nor Rain: A History of the United States Postal Service” by Devin Leonard

Case Study 3 - Metric System Implementation in the U.S.

Metric System Implementation in the U.S.

• Innovation: Standardized metric system.
• Aim: Align U.S. with global measurement systems.
• Challenges: Cultural resistance.
• Why It Was Innovative: The metric system offered a universal, rational standard that could have streamlined commerce, science, and daily life.
• Outcome: Despite its advantages, the metric system faced strong cultural resistance in the U.S., where the familiarity and tradition of customary units prevailed, leading to only partial adoption.

Key Resources

• NIST - History of the Metric System in the U.S.
• Smithsonian Magazine - The Story of the Metric System in the U.S.
• Book: “Measuring America: How an Untamed Wilderness Shaped the United States and Fulfilled the Promise of Democracy” by Andro Linklater

Case Study 4 - Proportional Representation in the UK

Proportional Representation in the UK

• Innovation: Align vote percentages with seat allocation.
• Aim: Fairer electoral representation.
• Challenges: Political resistance.
• Why It Was Innovative: PR aimed to provide a more equitable electoral system, ensuring that the representation in government matched the popular vote more closely.
• Outcome: The introduction of PR faced significant resistance from entrenched political interests that benefited from the existing first-past-the-post system, leading to limited adoption in the UK.

Key Resources

• Electoral Reform Society - PR
• BBC - Proportional Representation Explained
• Book: “Electoral Systems and Democracy” edited by Larry Diamond and Marc F. Plattner

And more!

• There are plenty of other suggested case studies in the module handbook
• We’ll aim to highlight a few, and identify suggested reading, in the next few weeks