Volume 17, Number 2 Article by G Ramesh June, 2005
Innovation in Public Systems Genesis Phase :
Innovation has been described as a process of idea generation, coalition building, idea realisation and innovation diffusion. Innovation in public systems has been studied mainly in the implementation and diffusion phases. This article describes an attempt to capture the innovation generation process, that is the incubation and action phase of idea generation until an idea gets accepted for implementation.
Innovation in public systems is considered an oxymoron in some circles, and in others, even improvisation is considered as innovation. The reality lies somewhere in between because of the complexity, magnitude and challenges involved even incremental interventions in public systems presuppose innovation. Weick's sensemaking process, comprising the phases of ecological change, enactment, selection, and retention and remembering, provides a suitable framework for studying innovation in the public system. G Ramesh uses an extended version of this framework (borrowing the concept of framing from March) to analyse four cases from public systems, dealing with interventions in the areas of health, public accounting and community development. In all the cases, the unfolding of a complex intervention and a continuing process of sensemaking could be observed. The ideas were bold enough, the impact massive enough, and the processes different enough to be called innovative. While the selection process, framing and enactment determine the future path and success factors, the cases and analysis underline the importance of the genesis phase of innovation, including framing. They also underline the necessity for administrators to be conscious about their initial enactments, which indicate commitment and subsequent justification and help create a community of willing adopters. These cases demonstrate that innovations can happen in public systems through ordinary thinking and organisational processes.
Reprint No 05203