Culture Content Area Thoughts

Ryan Ortega:

The “Setting the Stage” section has a lot of good ideas. I think the final version should be a tight, compelling narrative that highlights how the good components of current government culture can serve to improve other areas of gov culture. What does a well-functioning innovation culture look like in government? What does a well-rounded team look like?

Content areas I’d like to see in a toolkit to build an innovation-positive culture:

• Things to try – a description of some methods to stimulate, implement, and gain support for innovation. This should be granular and straightforward enough that the steps can be followed by someone who may not consider themselves an innovator. It could also list some common challenges for implementing each method and how to overcome. Innovation implementation checklists.
• Success stories – These should be varied both in the type of innovation, the scale, and the agency highlighted. I’ve found that being able to point to a success similar to what I am trying to do is great for getting buy-in.
• An innovation reading-room – Links to sources or a repository of sources on implementing innovation and the innovation mindset. These can be both aspirational/philosophical and practical. There should be a special focus on innovating in government or big organizations and the sources could reflect that focus (i.e. have a lot of sources from gov agencies, US and outside US).
• An innovation rolodex – Links to innovation teams and idea labs in government agencies. Maybe brief bios of the groups and agency Innovation Officers, with a focus on completed projects.
• Team building exercises, employee self-actualization exercises, and management exercises/literature – Innovation teams work best when the team works with purpose and inter-team relationships are managed in an intentional and directed fashion. Having some sources and exercises in the toolkit to explore management styles, work styles, and teammate personalities may help facilitate this. Good management and teamwork is critical to creating a strong culture.