Wanting to innovate: Personal motivation and enabling environments

Abstract

This article describes the motivations that explain WHY a person working in the Administration would WANT to get involved in an innovative initiative. This reflection is improved if the Equation of Change, by Beckhard and Harris, is taken as a reference to understand what drives this predisposition. The eight motivations that usually mobilize public personnel in favor of innovation are described. It also explains what “ignites the fuse” of the concern for innovation, with the different itineraries that are followed. The public vocation, as an intrinsic motivation, is a lever underused by public entities; it is difficult to understand why there are no lines that specifically work on this lack. When the organizational context makes things easier, creates the right conditions, people feel more encouraged to innovate. That is what the APCAC innovation ecosystem attempts, which is described at the end of the article.