‘Innovation’ is cool. In the airport bookshop business section it’s probably about equal with ‘leadership’ as the hot topic (with AI coming up fast on the outside).

I mean, who can be against innovation, right? It’s brought us smart phones, Twitter, Instagram, Google, Netflix and take-away meals in the supermarket. What’s not to like?

In my own main field of expertise – Government institutions and public policy, or what used to be called ‘public administration’ – innovation is now also ‘king’.

You can’t move for tripping over learned academic articles or gushing Government papers about the wonders of innovation in public administration and how it is going to solve the problem of ‘doing more with less’ (again).

At the risk of being accused of conservatism, let’s stop and think about this “innovation = good” fashion? Continue reading “The Tyranny of Innovation?” →