The Darker Side of Innovation

This chapter discusses the darker side to innovation. It is both destructive and creative. In seeking new ways forward, it replaces what previously prevailed. This destructive tendency may not be easily controlled, and thus even a successful innovation process may have unforeseen and negative aspects. Innovation in the public sector is not a value-free term: it promises that the future will be better than the past or the present, reflecting a modernist notion of inevitable progress. Yet, this may not be so. For instance, innovations in technology may exclude lower income families or the most elderly, as they lack access to the latest smartphone or indeed to internet connectivity. Many may lack the skills to use new technology. Smart cards may replace existing ways of accessing public services, such as libraries and leisure facilities. Thus, public sector innovation may serve the better-educated, the more affluent, or those who are already more engaged with the latest services or technologies, to the exclusion of sections – perhaps significant sections – of the public. Commercial interests may promote an “innovation” which is newly presented and newly promoted but is not an actual innovation at all.