Dealing with regulations and procedures in public sector innovation

Bureaucracy and red tape are often seen as the main barriers to innovation, particularly in the public sector. This chapter examines to what extent rules actually do inhibit innovation. Defining bureaucracy as a system of values as much as a system of rules and procedures, it considers how the wider bureaucratic context of risk aversion, silos, hierarchical organisations and lack of diversity can inhibit innovation rather than laws and procedures in the narrowest sense. The chapter examines some initiatives OECD governments have used to tackle barriers to innovation, from red tape reduction initiatives to behavioural insights. It discusses the challenge of using discretion to deal with use and procedures that seem to block innovation. It concludes with some considerations governments should apply to tackle both the specific rules and procedures which may be blocking innovation, and the wider context preventing civil servants from trying new approaches.