Events
SHOWCASING INNOVATION AND BEST PRACTICE IN MEMBER ORGANISATIONS
Date: 25/04/2018
PRESENTER: FIONA ROSS
During 2018, ACESA invited to participate in the Project Board set up by DPER to oversee the development of the new Public Service Development and Innovation Framework 2020.
To support this initiative Fiona Ross (ACESA Alumnus) was commissioned to compile a report highlighting the innovations which ACESA members are pursuing across the public sector. This work came on foot of the annual innovation surveys which the ACESA Secretariat has developed over the past few years. The report and its findings were presented by Fiona on Wednesday 25th April 2018 at a briefing attended by 30 ACESA members. Some of the CEOs interviewed as part of the study made brief presentations on their own experiences of innovation in their Agencies. There followed a discussion about how to make best use of the report in our dealings with stakeholders in the coming year.
The Innovation Report was considered excellent. It provides further impetus for members to feed into the network on innovations.
Members were reminded not to shy away from highlighting innovations and the impact they achieve. When considering an innovation, ACESA members can learn from the experiences of other members who have already experimented or paved the way with implementing new systems or methodologies. Contributions from the audience raised pertinent issues for future consideration, for example, how member organisations build innovation into strategy; digital innovation; and making businesses leaner, more responsive, and more accessible. It was suggested that there is a need for sub groups to engage in further discussion on the topics raised, given the wide variety of functions within the Agency network.
For this session, the mentimeter.com website was used. It was a welcome addition as it captured the immediate and important thoughts of participants.
The evaluation was very positive. Many people felt that it was great to see a light shone on the progress that has been made by so many Agencies, with the bonus of highlighting these achievements to DPER. There is a considerable level of in-built motivation within the Agency network to strive for improvement. This is commendable and particularly praiseworthy, taking account of various pressures throughout the years of economic crisis and austerity.