Advancing innovation in the public sector: Aligning innovation measurement with policy goals

There is sufficient evidence, drawn from surveys of innovation in the public sector and cognitive testing interviews with public sector managers, to develop a framework for measuring public sector innovation. Although many questions that are covered in the Oslo Manual guidelines for measuring innovation in the private sector can be applied with some modifications to the public sector, public sector innovation surveys need to meet policy needs that require collecting additional types of data. Policy to support public sector innovation requires data on how public sector organizations innovate and how a strategic management approach to innovation can influence the types of innovations that are developed. Both issues require innovations surveys to delve deeply into the innovation processes and strategies that are used by public sector managers.. This paper provides a framework for measuring public sector innovation through representative surveys, with a goal to guide policy to support public sector innovation and facilitate policy learning. After a brief overview of experience with surveys to measure innovation in the public sector, this paper evaluates the appropriateness to the public sector context of the Oslo Manual’s definition of innovation and its guidelines for measuring innovation inputs, activities, and outcomes