Understanding Innovation: What Inspires It? What Makes It Successful?

Public sector innovation may be considered an oxymoron, but for 15 years the Ford Foundation and John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University have been identifying innovative public sector programs at the state, local, federal and tribal government levels through the Innovations in American Government Awards program, funded by Ford and administered by the Kennedy School. What the initiatives identified through the program tell us is that despite government's well-deserved reputation for being unfriendly to new ideas and change, government has actually proved to be remarkably -- even resiliently -- innovative. This report reveals where innovation come from, what drives people to innovate, and what characteristics make for sustainable, replicable, results-based innovation. Innovation