Innovating government is both maddeningly frustrating and brilliantly inspiring. Frustrating because most of what I see is unprincipled process improvement, delivering shininess so that the mainstream can continue unchanged.

Despite the goodwill, I’m left wondering whether institutions can change themselves. Inspiring because we are at the core of what really matters; what it means to be human and in symbiosis with our environment.
 

We're on a cliff edge

The UN’s Agenda 2030 outlines very ambitious objectives rooted in facts and necessity. It’s a serious document implying that our current concept of change needs to change radically. It took 20 years to implement a public smoking ban in the west; 30 years to clean the river Rhine; and 60 years and counting to deliver on the US affirmative action vision. Now we are tasked with doing far more in far less time. How can we be radical without alienating the institutions we seek to transform?  The story of Government Digital Services in the UK Cabinet Office is a good start.
 

Rethinking the logic of money

Organisations are driven by the logics of budgets, spending lines, and a pervasive culture of cost. But many of the challenges we face today cross traditional categories. An education intervention today may create positive health outcomes tomorrow. To make the case for change, one needs to capture the total impact and cost of the intervention. 

We need to think about total budgeting and shift the conversation from cost to investment. Here we find inspiration in many pockets, including the US where the fight against chronic homelessness has understood that providing free housing will reduce overall public costs (through reduced dependency of emergency care services) while creating greater social impact. How might we rewire the logic of money to induce fundamental behaviour-change? What are the acupuncture points and techniques for delivering change within the system?
 

Getting the basics right

I’m going on record to claim that approximately 75% of innovation challenges are about getting the basics right: scheduling calls; running meetings; managing initiatives. This leads to less frustration and more focus on what matters. I’m finding that prototyping good meeting behaviours with senior management is quite effective. 
 

This starts with the most basic of issues. Schedules (not ideas) rule our lives, so start with the calendar. If you want to create a new norm then institutionalise it. Start by designing a regular working cadence, meetings with a standing agenda, and be pedantically disciplined about execution and follow up. Don’t schedule things at the last minute, in an ad-hoc manner. Doing so annoys everyone and lets them know that innovation is low priority and not “real work”. Not a great way to lead change.

Anyone have insights on how to help get the dullest of dull issues to shine?