Innovating in order to improve public services, while also assisting public sector employees in facing the changes under way in their duties – this is a long-term priority for Denmark. For nearly 20 years now, the country has been modernising its administration, encouraging any initiative that can contribute to the “State of Tomorrow” (morgendagens Staten). Many innovative proposals have been made, with two flagship initiatives: the Centre for Public Innovation (COI) and MindLab.

In its National Reform Programme for 2014-2020, the Danish government emphasised the transformation of its public sector. The aim was to assert the political determination to support high-performance schemes by incorporating them into strategy that would foster synergies. A Ministry for Public Sector Innovation was created in November 2016. Sophie Løhde, the current minister, heads up a new government department comprising four national agencies, with total headcount of 1,000: Modernisation, Digitisation, Governmental IT Services and Personnel.

Grouping together all the stakeholders of public sector transformation and ensuring that human resources holds its rightful place is an innovative approach. With this last step, Denmark has placed the civil service and the full set of HR processes at the heart of public sector transformation.

Interactions between the three levels of administration in Denmark (central, regional and municipal governments) are highly encouraged. In 2017, 131 public sector managers took part in an initial immersion programme to develop new networks and share best practices.

One noteworthy example of this kind of cooperation in management is the Code for Chief Executive Excellence. A result of collaborative efforts involving two researchers, this code aims to give management the keys for success in an administrative world that is constantly changing. More than a set of principles and values, this code is a document designed as a self-evaluation mechanism. The manager is asked a series of questions about real-life situations related to each of the nine recommendations identified by the code’s authors. Initial feedback is provided to the manager, who can also get additional advice from a team of specially-trained ministerial staff.

MindLab is the world’s pioneering public innovation laboratory. It collaborates with government departments to find solutions that will improve how work is organised and make it more efficient. MindLab’s daily efforts include hosting co-building workshops with multidisciplinary teams and designing new models that take into account the general public’s expectations. Thomas Prehn, the head of MindLab, states that his project managers always take this management dimension into consideration. After the experiment phase, MindLab produces deliverables including proposals for training and supervision in the public-sector agencies that benefit from its services.

Minister Løhde will give the keynote address at Innovation Labs World 2018 on 25 September in Singapore.


¹ MindLab activities will be integrated within the Ministry of Trade and Growth on May 1, 2018

 

For more information: coi.dk