The Government That Unlearns Fastest Wins: Bootstrapping Public Innovation and the Strategic Value of Labs

"OMG I'm so glad this position exists!"

"Your job is to change government? Good luck with that!"

These represent polarizing reactions to my appointment as Executive Director of Open Government and Innovation for the Government of New Brunswick (GNB). Between 2017 and 2020, our team catalyzed open government initiatives through executive backing, prototype-driven approaches, grassroots momentum, and emergent strategy.

Core Thesis

The shift from traditional governance to openness and innovation requires paradigm change. Drawing on Eric Ries' concept that "the company that learns fastest wins," I would argue this principle applies even more critically to government. As the adage goes, "Governments cannot afford to operate like a Blockbuster in a Netflix world."

Seven Strategic Objectives

The GNB initiative aimed to:

1. Attract, retain, and refresh innovation talent, problem solvers and public leaders
2. Change how we view government services and challenges
3. Source more, better, and uncommon ideas to solve public problems
4. Develop the ability to test ideas for desirability, feasibility, viability, and impact
5. Find new approaches to develop, scale, and accelerate what works
6. Foster an engaged, networked, and boundaryless public service
7. Build capacity to use new tools with awareness of selecting the right tool

Year One: Exploration and Community Building

The initial year focused on exploration and developing common innovation language. Approximately 300 public servants participated in various activities:

• Innovation Week highlighted and connected innovators across the province
• Opportunities Summits became more participatory and transparent
• Public Innovation 101 workshops developed shared innovation vocabulary
• Executive Training helped senior staff make better decisions on innovation challenges
• Public Innovation Challenge encouraged staff to work collectively on public problems
• Craft Alcohol Policy Lab demonstrated co-creation value through collaborative spaces

Year Two: Community of Practice Formation

A key insight emerged: government innovation wasn't primarily a supply problem. Rather, executive leadership needed to "create the demand" to pull on existing supply. In January 2018, inspired by the Governments of Canada and British Columbia, our team established the Deputy Minister Public Innovation Council (DMPIC). This council:

• Identified priorities requiring innovation
• Learned about innovation practices
• Removed barriers and allocated necessary resources
• Oversaw progress on activities

The council signaled innovation's importance throughout government.

Supporting Initiatives

Public Innovation Challenge. This initiative showcased existing public service innovation capabilities while strengthening them through networking, training, and experiential learning. It supported "everyday innovation" and leveraged collective intelligence, serving as a prototype for an incubation program.

Public Innovation Internship Program (launched 2018). Drawing inspiration from GC Free Agent Program, GC Entrepreneurs, Talent Cloud, and NESTA's Innovation competency framework, this program reimagined the staffing lifecycle. Working with Alongside, the team developed novel recruitment messaging resulting in ten multidisciplinary new hires — five placed in departments and five forming the innovation team (i-Team).

The i-Team. Comprised of systems thinkers, engagement architects, designers, facilitators, and data scientists, this team developed capacity in citizen engagement, systems mapping, behavioural insights, strategic foresight, human-centred design, prototyping, and data science across the public service.

The Innovation Lab. Established as both a practice and physical collaboration space in 2018, the DMPIC selected three strategic innovation challenges for cross-departmental teams. The i-Team provided support including a five-day design sprint facilitated by NouLab to produce three innovation proposals.

Year Three: Strategic Platform Testing

The lab reached its stride in year three, surviving an election and relocating from the Executive Council Office to Corporate Services at Finance and Treasury Board, where it was renamed Innovation and Design Services. The expanded team contributed to initiatives addressing mobility, literacy, second language acquisition, natural resource development, municipal reform, and child protection. A research project during the pandemic captured lessons from novel public service responses.

Challenges and Lessons

By 2021, I accepted an assignment with Canada's Digital Academy, and the Innovation Lab subsequently closed. This reflected a broader pattern: the Helsinki Design Lab, Alberta's CoLab, the Aotearoa New Zealand Service Innovation Lab, and the MArS Solution Lab have all ceased operations in recent years. Many such initiatives struggle to survive leadership transitions, creating predictable cycles of expansion and contraction.

Strategic Recommendations

Success in 21st-century government depends on fostering rapid learning, strategic innovation, and cultural transformation. Labs create spaces for safe-to-fail experimentation and multi-sectoral collaboration, helping organizations explore alternatives, unlearn outdated practices, and chart new courses.

For those advancing innovation in government, I recommend:

• Planning for three annual cycles
• Drawing inspiration from the Berkana two loops approach
• Identifying existing innovators in the system
• Building networks and communities of practice
• Facilitating demonstration of alternatives
• Sharing successes and lessons widely
• Growing influence through celebration and annual recognition

Closing

Adapting Eric Ries' framing: "The government that unlearns fastest wins." Modern government must unlearn outdated New Public Management modes and accelerate learning the capabilities needed for the Networked age at individual, departmental, and system levels. Strategic innovation labs provide powerful mechanisms to break path dependence and forge new directions.