With emerging technologies, fast-paced lifestyles, rapid changes in the way society is organised and the rapid growth in the economy, the public sector is left with little choice but to continuously reinvent its operation and delivery mechanisms. To date, innovations in the public sector has been tailing that of the private sector, with most solutions being brought in by vendors who customise existing products/services in the market for the use of the public organisations. From presentations to reports, from implementation blueprints to tracking systems, from monitoring gadgets to enforcement tools, the public sector innovations had the benefit of picking their options and implementing innovative solutions from what the market has to offer. The market-push has thus been the crucial factor for determining the current state of innovations in most governments.

The challenges that necessitate a greater degree of innovation in the public sector:

Public sector must be able to meet increasing demand in all areas of service, in particular –health, education, housing and basic necessities such as energy, water and transportation. While population may not increase that rapidly, the demand on services increases as per-capita consumption rates around the world are accelerating due to huge leaps in technologies and lifestyles.

Maintaining competitiveness in its services also means that the public sector must be able to develop more effective and efficient solutions that create value to the public and achieve long term goals for the country. The public sector must be able to engage better service platforms, methods, tools, solutions and technologies and acquire the necessary expertise to manage them in order to maintain quality and competitiveness of service across all areas.

The public sector becomes increasingly burdened by rigid cost structures and procurement practices as operations and developmental costs escalate. Apart from technological innovations which reduce costs of delivery, innovative resourcing, employment and funding schemes that unburden the government yet maintain stable rate of development become necessary.

In maintaining its ability to discharge its supervisory, regulatory and enforcement duties effectively, the relevant departments/organisations in the public sector require superior technologies, expertise and capabilities that can rival those available in the market place. Much closed-door development work has to be undertaken in strategic areas without excessive engagement of open solutions so that security, internal safety and other areas of national interest can be maintained.

Environmental constraints will feature heavily in the methods employed by the public sector in its service delivery, in particular in its developmental activities. Again, the need for more innovative solutions arises.