What the White House Needs to Know about Government Innovation
Over the past decade and a half, both inside and outside of government, I have had an incredible opportunity to work with public sector leaders across the country to foster more nimble, collaborative and data-driven governments. I have been fortunate to be a part of brilliant innovations, like the NYC Department of Finance taking the bold step of filling out amended federal tax returns on behalf of low-income New Yorkers in the hope of ensuring they received EITC benefits they were entitled to, and some fantastic failures, including two unsuccessful efforts to establish nonpartisan elections in New York City.
Through it all, I have come to the understanding that for solutions to take hold in communities on a systems level, nothing can match the scale and impact of government, and I have worked with mayors, commissioners, big city chiefs of staff, technologists, innovation directors, and local officials all hungry to break away from business as usual.
So when I learned that President Trump is launching a White House Office of American Innovation, it naturally piqued my interest. The Office, which will be led by Jared Kusher and include other officials with private sector experience, is looking to tap top chief executives around the nation, including Tim Cook, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk to identify new methods of solving pressing national problems, including workforce development, opioid addition, and overhauling the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Policy changes to these vexing issues will impact millions of Americans, and in many cases, some of our most vulnerable residents. In the spirit of collaborating to find ways that make our communities stronger, healthier, and more inclusive — I thought I would offer some lessons from my experience working with city governments that have dedicated innovation staff in the hopes that it could help inform this new office as it begins its work.
An Office of Innovation — or its equivalent under any number of names — can do a number of great things. By looking at issues from a macro-level and working across departments and agencies, these offices can lower existing barriers to progress and introduce a variety of new solutions to the public quickly. Teams can bring new ways of thinking to government, including human centered design and behavioral economics that give then credibility as innovation and creative experts.
These offices also have the capability to activate the creative potential of the larger organization. At their best, Offices of Innovation are partners for new ways of doing business. At their worst, they become isolated and other government workers feel that they no longer have to think innovatively because it is someone else’s job. To that end, it is important for these offices to build relationships early with a broad range of characters.
There can be a tendency in government to exercise caution when sharing new things, but successful innovation offices have found that developing relationships both inside and outside government early in their effort was pivotal in their ability to achieve key buy-in. Change is hard, but when the people who will be impacted by changes, both on the supply side (e.g. government employees) and the demand side (e.g. residents) are part of the process of investigating problems and generating ideas, they also develop ownership of the solutions. By actively engaging more stakeholders in a big change, the fewer the roadblocks down the road. Imagine an issue where advocates, residents, elected officials, and administration staff have all worked toward a potential solution- where would the opposition come from?
Special care should be taken to integrate government staff. They know the work the best. Perhaps they’ve seen others try to make changes and can identify potential obstacles before you hit them head-on. Perhaps they’ve always had an idea for making their work better or easier, but had never been empowered to make a change. In any case, they are existing and often undervalued experts who embarked on their careers in public service because they wanted to make something better, and at the end of the day they are going to be the ones who are implementing any changes; to ignore their expertise and risk alienating key staff is a win for the status quo.
An additional benefit from tapping into a diverse set of partners is that you are pulling in a wealth of varied experiences — by including employees, the social impact sector, legislators, government leaders on the state and local level, as well as outside of the United States, consultants, universities, community leaders, and end-users (the real people impacted by their work) into their process, innovation offices can leverage the combined talents of field-level experts who have never been pulled into a common conversation before. By partnering broadly, city governments have in some cases been able to do in a matter of months, what previously it had taken years to achieve.
Another key lesson when it comes to innovation offices, as with many things, is that leadership matters much more than subject matter expertise. In fact, subject matter expertise on an innovation office can potentially hinder thinking that leads to new insights and ideas. Generalists are much more adept at thinking on a macro level and pulling in experience when necessary in these types of efforts.
This is complicated work that doesn’t always fit into a nice neat little package. Strong leaders need to know how to be flexible, leverage executive authority, work with a variety of stakeholders, and utilize new innovation techniques. They also need to be able to check their ego at the door and add value, without necessarily taking credit. Some of the best innovation offices in the country have found directors who have formed strong and collegial teams with balanced and diverse skill sets and experiences. These leaders are nimble enough to keep progress moving despite setbacks, confident enough to incorporate new views and embrace technical assistance when it is offered, and motivated enough to push boundaries to achieve measurable results. Trouble spots have developed when directors have struggled to manage staff effectively or allowed themselves to be pushed into policy areas either outside their initial scope or outside of the office’s responsibilities.
Offices of Innovation around the country have taken on some broad challenges — improving infrastructure, advancing economic development, and reducing racial disparity to name a few. With areas so broad, it can be difficult to coalesce around solutions and set compelling, measurable goals. It is important to investigate these issues thoroughly and get a deep understanding of them before launching into new ideas and solutions. Take a look and see if any other jurisdictions have tried tackling these similar challenges- even failed solutions can lead to great understanding (Bloomberg Philanthropies i-team Playbook offers a compelling process that can serve as a guide for innovation offices).Through a careful investigation, analysis, a deeper investigation based on key insights, patterns can emerge that will guide the generation of new ideas. Be patient. By understanding contributing issues, offices of innovation can evaluate solutions based on feasibility and impact, and develop a theory of change that includes a portfolio of initiatives (rather than a silver bullet solution) that can contribute to measurable progress against their challenge.
Lastly, it is worth mentioning that the power of the presidency can be used to accomplish great things. Offices of Innovation need authority, direction and space. In a complicated government environment, this can only come from the top. Particularly in the beginning, department heads and other officials can be reticent to forego other pressing responsibilities to engage with a new group. Innovation offices have a unique charge to work across agencies, and this means that they need to be empowered by top administration officials and set to work on a top priority to ensure a healthy level of cooperation.
We all want a government that solves problems — and taking visible action can be seen as a political necessity for elected officials. But, if ambitious officials and senior leaders can be patient, afford innovation offices the room they need to work, fight the instinct to promote the first halfway decent idea that bubbles up, and create a culture where agencies work together towards common goals regardless of whose “turf” it is, they will ultimately arrive at a set of initiatives that represent not just action — but also successful outcomes. As a nation, we would be lucky for that.
