PUBLIC SECTOR INNOVATION AND ORGANISATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS IN THE 21ST CENTURY: EXPERIENCES AND LESSONS FROM THE 4TH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Abstract

The focus of this paper is to critically examine public sector innovation and how it can enhance organisational effectiveness in the 21st Century. It argues that public sector innovation involves the introduction of new ideas that create value for society. It examined innovations and best practices in the public sector: international, continental and national experiences. The paper adopted a qualitative approach to research and analysed data gathered from secondary sources thematically. Major findings from an examination of the Nigerian experience reveal that innovation efforts side-by-side with public sector reforms were invigorated following Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999. It also revealed that despite noble intentions of the innovations/reforms in the public sector to address leakages in government resources, service delivery, and inefficiency, several challenges continue to impede efforts at innovation. These include leadership, the changing environment, and growing citizens’ expectations, globalization, resource constraints, challenges of embracing emerging technologies s, the politicization of public sectors, and fear of change. The paper concludes that while the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) comes with its disruptions, it is notable that innovations and technologies in the context of the 4IR provide room for innovations in the public sector for effective service delivery in the public sector organisations in the 21st century.