On the day after President Obama's 2012 State of the Union speech, here is a timely report to stimulate your thinking about innovation and economic growth.
In a world dealing with increasingly severe austerity measures and languid job creation, the social innovation movement is sweeping the globe with the promise of job creation and innovative solutions to social problems.
A new report, "Public Administration and the Impact Economy," defines the impact economy and describes the various forces at play within it. The resulting picture is a market with an estimated value of $500 billion, millions of jobs created, and miles of opportunity for both public and private sector employees to make a lasting social impact.
The report was prepared by Yvonne Fischer, a researcher and writer with the PublicAdministration.net project. She believes that the public sector is an untapped source of creativity and innovation. It is her goal to educate and to present to others the diverse impact of today’s socially-conscious public administrators.
Here is the opening paragraph:
When you hear the word ‘innovation,’ what is the first thing you think of? Amongst images of lightbulbs, smart phones, and Steve Jobs, individuals involved in public administration are probably near the bottom of the list. But in terms of social innovation — the ideas, concepts, and strategies applied to addressing social needs and problems — public administrators are proving themselves to be incredibly effective agents of change.
Certainly innovation and job creation are two of the most critical keys to unlocking our economic potential and driving the future of work in all parts of the economy. And as Yvonne notes, we need innovation in the public sector just as much as we need it in business. This report is both interesting and important. I encourage you to read it.
What do you think? Comments about the report, and the broader topic of how to get the economy moving again with growth in all sectors, are welcome.
{ 1 trackback }