By Atolagbe Alege GAMBARI, The Administrative Staff College of Nigeria,

INNOVATION AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT IN THE
PUBLIC SECTOR: A NEW CONVERSATION IN THE
COMMONWEALTH NATIONS
By
Atolagbe Alege GAMBARI,
The Administrative Staff College of Nigeria,
P M B 1004, Topo-Badagry, Nigeria.
E-mail: gambariaa@gmail.com
Mobile: +2348033264449
OUTLINE
 Introduction
 Innovation and risk-taking in the public sector: inhibiting
factors
 Innovation and risk-taking in the public sector: enabling factors;
 The Roles of leadership in managing change
 Concluding remarks
INTRODUCTION
The global financial and economic crisis has accelerated the
trend, spurring government into new, sometimes spectacular
attempts of reforming, restructuring and reorganising in the hope
that these initiatives would bring about large-scale productivity
gains.
INTRODUCTION (contd.)
However, in most Commonwealth Nations, the senior leaders in the
public sectors face herculean challenges as regards innovation such as
 risk taking;
 maintaining the status quo and
 facilitating innovative and creative ideas.
INTRODUCTION (contd.)
That is, the public service tends to have more emphasis on risk
mitigation rather than outcomes because the sector operates:
 within pre-set confines of rigid procedures and
 guidelines and policies which are alien to modern management
techniques.
Hence, risk taking, creativity and innovation are stifled and
discouraged among public servants.
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INTRODUCTION (contd.)
This is not to suggest that there has been no innovation in the
public services of some Commonwealth countries in the past few
years. For instance, South Africa (Balogun, 2013) is a good
example because ‘Batho Pele’ is the country’s response to the
disparity in access to quality service in post apartheid era.
INTRODUCTION (contd.)
Roughly translated, ‘Batho Pele’ means ‘People
First’ and it is anchored on:
 Consultation with the citizens and ‘consumers’ of service;
 Development of service standards including courtesy,
openness, transparency, timeliness, integrity, ease of
access, value for money, client’s convenience, and
accountability.
INTRODUCTION (contd.)
As part of the efforts to achieve the goals of being one of the first
twenty world economies in 2020 and Transformation Agenda, the
Federal Government of Nigeria is currently developing a critical
mass of professionals who would serve as catalysts of change
agents of scientific and technological advancement, and sustainable
economic development. (National Universities Commission,
2014:24).
INTRODUCTION (contd.)
The Federal Government of Nigeria has therefore instituted
the Presidential Special Scholarship Scheme for Innovation and
Development. The scheme which was established in 2012 has
awarded a total of 205 scholarships.
INNOVATION AND RISK-TAKING IN THE PUBLIC
SECTOR: INHIBITING FACTORS
The world of the public service is changing continually through
the interaction of such variables, i.e.:
 economic instability;
 technological revolutions;
 shifting demographics and
 global competitiveness.
These changes have important effects on public policy thereby
making the public sector becoming increasingly complex.
INHIBITING FACTORS (contd.)
Another impediments to innovation are the:
 decline of public trust in government and
 perceptions that past policies have been ineffective because
governments are unable to solve important economic and social
problems.
INHIBITING FACTORS (contd.)
 Constant criticism of the public service has a strong negative
impact on public service morale and productivity.
 Differences in orientations of the political class and the career
Officials
 Continuing era of expenditure restraint, combined with increasing
demands from the public for more programmes and services.
 capacity issues,
 lack of training, and
 proliferation of rules.
INNOVATION AND RISK-TAKING IN THE
PUBLIC SECTOR: INHIBITING FACTORS
(contd.)
 the fear of being punished for mistakes and
 lack of understanding on how to reconcile
entrepreneurship with democratic responsibility.
 conservatism,
 rigidity to regulations,
 formality
ENABLING FACTORS
Be it innovation or risk taking perspective, the assumption is that
it occurs in a systemic context and it is internally and externally
driven. The internal drivers are manifested in:
 Organsational Strategy,
 Organisational Climate
 Strategic Leadership
 Organisational Entrepreneurship
 The Organisation’s Intangible Resources
Internal factors(contd.)
The Organisation’s Intangible Resources are:
 the workforce,
 depth of expertise and breadth of experience,
 knowledge of employees, and
 expertise in certain fields that are important to the success of the
enterprise.
Internal factors(contd.)
However, the real issue is not the skills and
Knowledge per se, but the new conversation should
be on how these intangible resources are managed
through:
 effective rewards systems,
 autonomy, and
 opportunities for further development.
 knowledge which must be elicited, shared.
ENABLING FACTORS (contd.)
The external drivers are:
 Political Environment
 Economic Environment
 Legal Environment
 Social Environment:
 Technological Environment
 Ecological Environment
Internal factors(contd.)
Similarly, human capital, which encompasses the skills, creativity
and experience of individuals, is the most valuable resource for
innovation.
The leadership in the public sector of the Commonwealth Nations
should therefore invest in this critical resource. This can be done
by:
 improving education,
 training and learning opportunities as well as
developing the innovation skills of their workforce.
THE ROLES OF LEADERSHIP IN MANAGING
CHANGE
Managing change is no doubt a complex task and in order to
surmount the complexity leaders should:
 Ensure the need;
 Provide a plan;
 Build internal support for change and overcome resistance;
 Ensure top-management support and commitment;
 Build external support;
 Provide resources;
 Institutionalize change;
 Pursue comprehensive change;
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Innovation and risk-taking are only two aspects of a major
cultural change for the public service. The change is influenced
by the paradigm shift from bureaucratic functioning and control
to a focus on quality service and achievement of desired results
using available resources. The challenge is no doubt enormous.
CONCLUDING REMARKS (contd.)
To respond to this challenge, Public Services in the
Commonwealth Nations must become borderless institutions.
This does not mean they are institutions without structures,
without legislative frameworks or without accountability. Rather,
they are institutions committed to reducing the barriers to the
flow of ideas and information within and among public sector
organizations.
CONCLUDING REMARKS (contd.)
There is no choice about accepting this challenge because global
competitiveness demands that the public service evolve, become
more entrepreneurial and creative. It stands to reason therefore to
conclude that in order to be relevant:
risk taking, creativity and innovation should form part of the
new conversations among the leaders of the Commonwealth
Nations.
Thanks for your attention