Encouraging Innovation in Public Sector Employees: The Role of Financial Incentives on Creative Tasks?

Abstract

Innovation in the public sector is no longer a luxury. Change has now become the rule, rather than the exception, as new global challenges mean innovative and creative solutions are required from government employees as never before. This task is made both more urgent and more difficult as budget cuts continue to bite. What are the primary levers available to encourage innovative ideas and behaviour from public sector employees? This paper looks at current evidence from behavioural science to better understand the problem and argues that classic assumptions of reward do not apply when trying to encourage more complex and creative behaviours.