PUBLIC INNOVATION IN LATIN AMERICA: CONCEPTS, SUCCESSFUL EXPERIENCES, CHALLENGES AND OBSTACLES

Abstract

According to certain perspectives within academic debate, public innovation is possible with an open platform of democratic government which implies collaborative governance, spaces for digital and in-person participation, innovative public leadership, networks of capacities and social innovation. In this respect, public innovation means going beyond the governmental. It implies a civic commitment which is expressed in collaborative terms among citizens, civil servants and the private sector, and which aims to produce changes in values, attitudes, processes and leaderships for the co-creation of decisions and public policies which achieve the improvement of the provision of public services. This article discusses the different approaches to be found in the current literature on the subject, analyzes the articles that form part of the dossier which the Revista de Gestión Pública prepared on public innovation in Latin America, and identifies a series of questions critical both for academic debate as well as for the boosting of innovation in Latin American public administrations