Best Places to Work Analyzes Innovation in Government

In this uncertain environment, many federal employees are facing the same challenge: do more with less and do it better. A new report from the The Partnership for Public Service and Deloitte’s _Best Places to Work in the Federal Government_® looks at how federal employees feel about innovation at their agencies. It also examines what drives innovation in federal agencies and what can leaders do to promote it. 

The analysis found that the vast majority of federal workers want to be innovative and are looking for ways to perform their jobs better. However, many employees said that they often lack their leaders’ support to do so, and even fewer said that creativity and innovation are rewarded in the workplace. There are exceptions, and the new analysis includes rankings of the most innovative agencies along with the biggest movers. 

The Best Places to Work innovation score is based on responses from three survey questions that best reflect employee opinions on innovation. It was developed in concert with The Hay Group, a technical partner.  

What does the data say? 

From 2011 to 2012, the government-wide innovation score dropped by 1.7 points to 61.5 out of 100. While the vast majority of employees (91 percent) said they are always looking for ways to do their jobs better, a smaller majority (57.2 percent) said they feel encouraged to do so.  

However, only roughly four out of 10 employees—36.3 percent—said creativity and innovation are rewarded in their agency. The latter two questions slipped by 2.0 and 2.5 points, respectively, since last year’s survey, suggesting that while federal workers remain motivated to improve the ways they do their work, they do not feel supported by their organizations in doing so. 

For the third year in a row, NASA was the top-ranked large agency on innovation. NASA’s score was almost nine points higher than that of the second-ranked agency, the Department of State. Among mid-size agencies, the Federal Trade Commission took top honors on innovation.  

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) took the top honor for innovation among small agencies. In spite of a 4.7-point drop, the STB still had the highest innovation score of any agency (large, mid-size, small, and subcomponent) in the rankings, while the Office of Management and Budget had the largest increase, with a gain of 6.0 points. 

What can agencies do to increase innovation? 

Government is slipping on innovation at a time when its ability to be creative is paramount, given the increasing needs for its services and the reduction in available resources. Innovation depends on the total environment that leaders and managers shape for employees. Leaders and managers should take some steps to improve their agency’s innovation culture. 

• Federal leaders and managers should emphasize the importance of innovation and provide employees with concrete examples of success.

• Organizations must create an open and collaborative culture that allows innovations to take root.

• Organizations need to offer appropriate incentives to reward innovative approaches.  

To learn more about the rankings, download the full report.