Public Sector Innovation
Explore real-world insights, reflect on your practice, and find inspiration for actionable change
Public Sector Innovation is a collection of 16 articles that were originally published in the online EXPRESS magazine. Public sector innovators can use these international insights to reflect on their own practice and also create actions for change that are tailored to their personal and organisational contexts.
EXPRESS is the online magazine published three times a year by the Entrepreneurial Mindset Network. Since its launch in 2018, it has established itself as a dynamic and inclusive global platform, featuring contributions from authors in 67 countries.Entrepreneurial Mindset Network is an inclusive, international community of practice where anyone can learn to use entrepreneurial behaviours and make their unique contribution to the world.Paul Coyle is the Founder and Executive Director of the Entrepreneurial Mindset Network and the editor of the Express magazine. He is an expert in the entrepreneurial mindset, innovation, entrepreneurship, leadership and organisational change.
RI:SE Mindset Development Framework
To date 24 articles have been published in EXPRESS on the theme of Public Sector Innovation.Use the Network's RI:SE Mindset Development Framework to support your personal and organisational development. RI:SE stands for Reflect & Initiate : Scale & Excel.Reflect & Initiate: use the real-life lessons from the Express magazine articles and executive summary to Reflect on your personal goals and to Initiate actions to strengthen your entrepreneurial behaviours.Scale and Excel: the Network's premium development services enable leaders to Scale entrepreneurial ways of working, building from individuals to teams, and creating a culture in which everyone can Excel.
Executive Summary
All the articles align with the broader topic of public sector innovation, public policy reform, and state-supported innovation ecosystems. While they span various sectors—including local government, public healthcare, higher education policy, digital governance, and social enterprise—the articles directly examine how public policy, state agencies, or government frameworks can foster innovation. An analysis of all the articles reveals the following common challenges and practical solutions suggested by the authors:
Diverse Policy Interventions
Public policy innovators navigate a wide spectrum of state-level initiatives, spanning municipal economic development, healthcare payment reforms, higher education strategy, inclusive entrepreneurship policies, and digital governance across global contexts.Fiscal Constraints
Severe municipal grant reductions and tight public budgets often trap authorities in reactive daily "firefighting", depriving leadership teams of the operational headspace needed to plan long-term innovation.Institutional Silos
Policy innovators regularly encounter rigid departmental boundaries, overly theoretical training frameworks, and a pronounced disconnect between top-down policy formulation and frontline execution.Inclusive Growth Barriers
Structural inequalities, complex regulatory hurdles, and a widespread fear of failure continue to prevent under-represented groups—such as women, youth, and immigrants—from fully participating in regional economic ecosystems.Entrepreneurial Mindset
Transforming public governance requires shifting civil service culture beyond simple technology upgrades, intentionally encouraging proactive problem-solving, institutional risk-taking, and adaptable leadership.Triple Helix Collaboration
Successful ecosystems leverage structured multi-stakeholder partnerships between local government, higher education institutions, and private industry to establish shared incubators and co-funded R&D pathways.Evidence-Based Diagnostics
Leaders employ monitoring frameworks and challenge-based tools—such as the OECD-EU Better Entrepreneurship Policy Tool, the Social Entrepreneurship Index, and hackathon models—to benchmark ecosystem readiness and target interventions.Grassroots Service Delivery
State agencies can support localised frameworks, such as Micro Healthcare Entrepreneurship and social enterprise partnerships, to sustain essential public services where traditional state subsidies fall short.Reflective Practice
Public sector innovators must audit institutional bottlenecks, engage directly with frontline practitioners, and deliberately protect structured time for ongoing trial and experimentation.Tailored Organisational Change
Driving lasting institutional transformation depends on aligning local strategies with national growth goals, establishing professional coaching networks, and embedding continuous learning into governance frameworks.(Summary generated by Gemini Notebook).
Public Sector Innovation Articles
Thank you to the authors of these global insights on Public Sector Innovation for taking the time to share their inspiring stories from Belgium, Benin, England, France, Germany, Japan, Morocco, North Macedonia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and the USA.Click on any image to read the article on screen or to download a PDF.
List of references and authors
Copyright notice. You may quote, paraphrase or refer to information in these articles on condition that you credit the author and publisher by using the following references.Burgdorf-Schröder, E. (2020). The entrepreneurial mindset in research & development. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 3(3). https://express-volume-3.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Ellen Burgdorf-Schröder (Harz University ofApplied Sciences, Germany) PDF linkChichevaliev, S. (2022). Lessons for social entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 5(2). https://express-volume-5.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Stefan Chichevaliev (Social Entrepreneurship Observatory, North Macedonia) PDF linkCoyle, P. (2022). * Who benefits from academic research into entrepreneurship? Part 1.* Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 5(2). https://express-volume-5.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France) PDF linkCoyle, P. (2021). 10 actions to sustain and scale organisational capacity. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 4(3). https://express-volume-4.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Paul Coyle (Entrepreneurial Mindset Network, France) PDF linkDadjo Kossou, E. (2026). The democratisation of entrepreneurship in Africa. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 9(1). https://express-volume-9.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Esdras Dadjo Kossou (Private consultant, Benin) PDF linkGonzalez-Montes, L. (2023). Encouraging a new generation of health innovators. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 6(3). https://express-volume-6.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Lorena Gonzalez-Montes (EIT Health, Spain) PDF linkGregory, A. (2022). Achieving work-life balance. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 5(2). https://express-volume-5.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Abigail Gregory (Independent coach, England) PDF linkHalabisky, D. (2024). * How public policy can release untapped entrepreneurial potential.* Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 7(2). https://express-volume-7.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
David Halabisky (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, France) PDF linkHossain, F. (2025). Entrepreneurship as a powerful tool for long-term social development. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 8(2). https://express-volume-8.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Forhad Hossain (Sophia University, Japan) PDF linkKhamis, S. M. (2026). Building transformation through entrepreneurial mindsets: reflections from Zanzibar. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 9(2). https://express-volume-9.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Said Mohamed Khamis (Samok Consulting Company Ltd, Tanzania) PDF linkMcLoughlin, C. (2024). Transformative health interventions & collaborative partnerships in Malawi. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 7(2). https://express-volume-7.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Charles McLoughlin (Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, England) PDF linkMswaka, W. (2025). Social entrepreneurship: lessons from Africa, Brazil. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 8(1). https://express-volume-8.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Walter Mswaka (Rollins College, USA) PDF linkOutamha. R. (2023). Supporting entrepreneurial journeys in the city of Casablanca, Morocco. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 6(1). https://express-volume-6.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Rabii Outamha (Independent Consultant, Morocco) PDF linkSama, H. (2024). Developing the entrepreneurial mindset in the Middle East. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 7(2). https://express-volume-7.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Hussain Sama (Independent coach, Saudi Arabia) PDF linkStevens, S. (2019). * Entrepreneurship in the city of Ghent.* Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 2(1). https://express-volume-2.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Steve Stevens (Ghent University, Belgium) PDF linkSwift, E. (2023). Value-based healthcare reform in the US and Europe. Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 6(2). https://express-volume-6.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Elissa Swift (Independent consultant, France) PDF linkThornberry, A. (2018). * A new mindset for local government.* Entrepreneurial Mindset Network: Express 1(2). https://express-volume-1.entrepreneurial-mindset.network
Anita Thornberry (Haven Gateway Partnership, England) PDF link
This website is published by the Entrepreneurial Mindset Network © 2026 all rights reserved.
All the content on this website is written by humans.
Only the Executive Summary was generated using Gemini Notebook.