81536 Leading Public Sector Innovation

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

Subject handbook information prior to 2019 is available in the Archives.

UTS: Design, Architecture and Building
Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks

Requisite(s): 81533c Foundation Public Sector Innovation Practices AND 81534c Problem Framing
The lower case 'c' after the subject code indicates that the subject is a corequisite. See definitions for details.
There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.

Description

In this subject students learn how to initiate, lead and manage design-based innovation in their own organisation, and gain a deeper understanding of the implications of design-based innovation methodologies in the wider context of public sector innovation. Topics include leading complex public sector innovation projects, influencing the organisational innovation culture, understanding the influence of the political context, and engaging with and learning from the evolving international body of knowledge on public sector innovation.

Subject learning objectives (SLOs)

1.	Demonstrate knowledge of current best practices in public sector innovation
2.	Critically engage with the growing body of knowledge on public sector innovation
3.	Discern between approaches that can be employed to lead and drive change at different levels within the public sector
4.	Understand how to encourage negotiation and collaboration across different disciplines and levels of hierarchy within the public sector
5.	Explore emerging trends in public sector innovation, both nationally and internationally
6.	Identify key barriers to innovation in the public sector, and opportunities and strategies for overcoming these
7.	Recognise how the framing of an organisation could foster or, conversely, inhibit opportunities for innovation in the public sector
8.	Develop a plan for how to build innovation practices within their own professional environment

Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)

This subject also contributes to the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes:

• actively engage with professional public sector innovation networks to continuously learn from and contribute to the evolving body of knowledge of public sector innovation (A.2)
• apply leadership skills to take a proactive role in identifying and collaboratively addressing problem situations in a public sector context, and to promote the values of innovation to others working in the public sector (A.3)
• communicate and collaborate effectively in a multidisciplinary team to develop innovative cross-disciplinary interventions (C.1)
• facilitate cross-organisational communication and collaboration in a public sector innovation context (C.2)
• apply design management principles to manage an innovation project in a public sector context (P.2)

Teaching and learning strategies

This subject is delivered in one intensive face-to-face block of five days.

Classes will be collaborative and have a strong emphasis on the critical evaluation of what public sector innovation is, and the various contextual factors that influence it. Students will be expected to bring in their own experience and use this as case material. Students will explore the opportunities and challenges within this field through subject resources provided – including guest speakers, case studies and readings – and through resources sought independently.

The course will be delivered through a combination of facilitated group exercises, individual independent research, guest lectures, group presentations. Learning resources for the subject range across research articles, online content, internet blogs, other suggested readings.

Feedback for assessments will be provided through the UTS Canvas system. Where assessments involve presentations, some initial comments will also be given in person.

Content (topics)

• Methods and tactics for influencing the innovation culture in public sector organisations – distinguishing actions that are necessary from those that are optional.
• Current best practice in public sector innovation
• Power and accountability – negotiating and collaborating across disciplines, levels of management and operation within and across organisations
• Identifying and encouraging champions of innovation
• Ways of engaging – including making the most of your available resources and working with challenges.
• The key issues and opportunities in public sector innovation
• Finding, making and taking leadership as a role in your organisation.

Assessment

Assessment task 1: Paper: Reflection on your industry approach to innovation leadership

Objective(s):	This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 1, 2, 4, 5 and 7 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): A.2 and C.2
Type:	Essay
Groupwork:	Individual
Weight:	35%
Criteria:	This task will be assessed on your understanding of the current innovation context within your organisation and your ability to critically assess that environment.
Criteria linkages:	Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs Demonstrate understanding of frameworks offered and ability to show how they apply in practice 20 1 A.2 Demonstrate the ability to ask critical questions about the innovation culture in the organisation 20 2 A.2 Ability to show novel opportunities for collaborating across organisational bounderies 20 4 C.2 Ability to connect findings with international frameworks 20 5 A.2 Ability to show how the organisational frame supports innovation 20 7 C.2 SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Assessment task 2: Design an innovation framework for your industry

Objective(s):	This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 3, 6 and 7 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): A.3 and P.2
Type:	Presentation
Groupwork:	Group, group assessed
Weight:	30%
Criteria linkages:	Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs Ability to demonstrate how the organisations environment hinders innovation 34 6 A.3 Ability to develop a frame for the organisation and show how it relates to the organisation's ability to innovate 33 7 P.2 Ability to show how an organisation can be designed fit for purpose 33 3 A.3 SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Assessment task 3: Your Leadership Strategy

Objective(s):	This task addresses the following subject learning objectives: 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 This task also addresses the following course intended learning outcomes that are linked with a code to indicate one of the five CAPRI graduate attribute categories (e.g. C.1, A.3, P.4, etc.): A.2, A.3, C.1 and C.2
Type:	Reflection
Groupwork:	Individual
Weight:	35%
Criteria linkages:	Criteria Weight (%) SLOs CILOs Ability to demonstrate understanding of the role of leadership in innovation 20 2 A.2 Ability to show state-of-the-art leadership concepts related to innovation 20 5 A.2 Ability to identify which aspects of leadership are helping or hindering innovation 20 6 A.3 An increased awareness of how one can take up their role as a leader 20 7 C.1 Ability to identify practical action steps to be more effective leader of innovation 20 8 C.2 SLOs: subject learning objectives CILOs: course intended learning outcomes

Required texts

1. Dorst, K., Kaldor, L., Klippan, L. and Watson, R. 2016, Designing for the Common Good, BIS Publishers, Netherlands
2. Kimbell, L. 2015, Applying Design Approaches to Policy Making: Discovering Policy Lab. Discussion Paper. University of Brighton, UK, viewed 9 January 2017, <https://researchingdesignforpolicy.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/kimbell_policylab_report.pdf >
3. Kimbell, L. 2016, ‘Design in the Time of Policy Problems’, DRS2016: Design Research Society 50th Anniversary Conference, Design Research Society, UK, viewed 11 January 2017, <http://www.drs2016.org/s/498-Kimbell.pdf>
4. Margo, O ; Illuminating due experience of role.

Recommended texts

Argyris, C. 2000, Flawed Advice and The Management Trap, Oxford University Press, UK.

Argyris, C. 2004, ‘Double-Loop Learning and Implementable Validity’, in H. Tsoukas and N. Mylonopoulos (Ed.), Organizations as Knowledge Systems, Palgrave Macmillan, UK, pp. 29-45.

Bason, C. 2010. Leading Public Sector Innovation: co-creating for a better society, Bristol, UK: Policy Press, 2010.

Blackmore, E., Hawkins R., Holmes, T., Wafeford, T. 2011, The Common Cause Handbook, Public Interest Research Centre, UK, viewed 24 November 2016, <http://valuesandframes.org/download/reports/Common-Cause-Handbook2.pdf>

Design Council UK 2015. Design in the Public Sector, report, Design Council UK, viewed 27 January 2017, <http://www.designcouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/asset/document/DC_design_in_publicsec_WEB.pdf>

Dorst, K. 2015, Frame Innovation: Create new thinking by design, MIT Press, USA.

Formica, P 2017. 'Why Innovators Should Study the Rise and Fall of the Venetian Empire', Harvard Business Review, 17 January, viewed 27 January 2017, <https://hbr.org/2017/01/why-innovators-should-study-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-venetian-empire>

Foster Wallace, D. 2000, ‘Up, Simba: Seven Days on the Trail of an Anticandidate’, in D. Foster Wallace, (2005), Consider the lobster: and other essays. Little, Brown and Co., USA, pp. 182-277.

Talgam, I 2009, July. Italy Talgam: Lead like the great conductors [Video file]. Retrieved from <https://www.ted.com/talks/itay_talgam_lead_like_the_great_conductors>