Urban Leadership for Relational Public Sector Innovation

As discussed throughout this book, public sector innovation cannot be understood as the simple transference of techniques and methods from the private sector to the public. Instead, innovation in the local public sector – the micro level – is to be located within larger levels of urban leadership as a whole – the macro level – in an essentially political process. Public innovation is shaped by interactions between local communities and larger scale public institutions, providing scope for co-production of outcomes in a collaborative process. Innovation is thus not a product of a sequential, rational policy-making model. Public sector innovation arises instead from a relational process, which is necessarily complex, and implies both active citizens and non-hierarchical organisations built upon trust and shared interests. This relational process requires different skills and different knowledge from local leaders who are not all-knowing, heroic, or all-powerful. This relates directly to local place and to local leadership, linked to current moves in the UK and elsewhere towards greater devolution and decentralisation. This also places public sector innovation firmly within the political realm, wherein facilitative leadership may support co-creative strategies to empower stakeholders and communities towards shared problem-solving.